Brandon's Blog

     The Blue Sweater  by Jacqueline Novogratz had a unique and nuanced perspective on how to more effectively help those in need. I enjoyed her process from going in as a naive banker to an insightful leader and founder of Acumen. However I found myself wondering if her call to action was a bit much at times.      The main takeaway from the story was that charity itself was not the end all be all for impoverished communities in Africa- that there needed to be infrastructure built for people to thrive without outside actors. Much like the verse "teach a man to fish"- she wanted to establish a foundation on which local economies can grow by investing what she coined as "patient capital".  I really liked how Novogratz built up systems in which local leaders could lead and how Acumen itself is a non-profit.     As much as I agreed with Novogratz and her mission- I found myself wondering if her call to action was too much to ask from the ave...

      Critics aren't here to say what music you should enjoy and what you should turn your nose up at- they're here to critique the technical mastery of the sounds, their place within the zeitgeist of their genres, and the impact they made on music as a whole. Listening to this podcast and thinking about the music critics that I follow, I couldn't help but agree that critics have lost their purpose. Time and time again I find. myself asking what the point is when all I can glean from a review is "I really liked it!" and other superficial comments that never delve into why or what makes the music good. I wanted to explore the cultural shift in music reviews, the militarization of "stans", and why honest music reviews are so important.     Tensions in America have never been higher, and the music reviews reflect that. The shift from "rockism" and "poptimism" was in response to the overly critical and serious nature of reviews from the p...

 I feel like when I think about making the world a better place my mind instantly goes big picture. Things like climate change, poverty, hunger, abuse and war all seem like things that need to end- but I feel powerless to change those things. The more I got caught up in the tragedies and wallowed in the helplessness I felt the less I had energy to help others. It took me a long time to realize that ending wars and hunger isn't my responsibility and it isn't any other individual's responsibility (unless you're a billionaire). So starting off small within your community and asking your friends to help out at a food drive or other volunteering opportunities is the best place to start. In the large scale I agree with Novogratz and how we should be conscious of our place on earth as a global citizen- I believe that initial call to action in the excerpt is too much for the average person. We are all trying to survive and get by- and I feel like we should first focus on being ...

My love for sneakers started when I was in middle school, when the pinnacle of my fashion was an Abercrombie and Fitch shirt that was two sizes too small, Tommy Bahama cargo shorts, and worst of all Skecher shape-ups. The shoes that every suburban mother of two had to work out their glutes while wrangling their kids in the grocery store- and I was relentlessly bullied for them, so I started looking at shoes. I fell in love with Air Jordans, I could recite every model up to the twentieth, who designed them, and their backstories. For example, the Air Jordan 5 draws inspiration from World War 2 fighter planes and their jagged shark teeth livery, and the 15's tongue paid homage to Jordan's iconic tongue out dunk, and how the 12's flu-game color way commemorates MJ's 38-point performance in game 5 while having the flu. I could talk about these sneakers for hours and hours! So I saved, I skipped school lunches, I did chores, I scrounged up birthday and Christmas money until ...