Privilege & Fraud — Academia Is Still Important!

Academia is still a very important institution — it's a place where we: test ideas; gather & share knowledge; challenge each other; and give people the tools to navigate the complicated world around them. That is why the recent news about admissions fraud is even more disappointing. Those that value academia need not turn their back on it, but should be critical & honest about the ethical failures of these schools.

My parents worked multiple jobs and saved for years so that we could move to a nicer school district. In the end, I wasn't able to attend Wayzata High School because they re-did district borders (because you can't have the poorer part of Plymouth coming to such a pristine school). It all worked out for me because I met some of my best friends and had some of the best teachers at Osseo Senior High School. But this is why my professional career will be about breaking down barriers, giving people more access, and helping people to see privilege.

Who Gets Divorced? (Quality Under Pressure Podcast)

Really proud of this episode because it captures what I hope The Quality Under Pressure Podcast becomes — it's conversational, funny, engaged, but we also touch on a topic that is considered taboo by some. I hope we help normalize topics with lots of social stigma attached by talking about them. An intentional, engaged, and meaningful conversation is a very powerful tool. It's why I love meeting up with people for 1-on-1 chats over coffee and it's why I formatted the show after that sentiment. Plus, I get to see 2 of my best friends & co-hosts more often because of this project.

A big thanks to Leah for joining us and being an open book. Not everyone would be that open about their divorce and I am grateful for your generosity & courage. I'm glad we got your perspective on divorce and that we all laughed while you shared your insight. Also, thank you for the solid logo! It almost looks like we know what we're doing because of it.
It's crazy to me that one could judge another for being divorced. Marriage is an antiquated practice and if divorce brings happiness to the people involved we should be supporting them. At the same time, if marriage brings you joy then you should be allowed to practice it, but that doesn't mean it's right for everyone. The issue is that society tells you to get married and to stay married even if it means sacrificing happiness and health. Hopefully our conversation helps shine a little light to bring a little more balance to the topic.

I get stoked every time we record episodes. I really hope future episodes end up like this one and our episode on religion with McKenna & Leo — they're funny & light, but we dig into some important topics. If you're going to check the podcast out, I would start with 1 of those episodes. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, YouTube, and many other platforms.

The Super Bowl: A Cacophony for the Deaf

That is an image of Mercedes-Benz’s marketing campaign involving Che Guevara. That is not from a The Onion article — it was a real thing which you can read more about HERE. More on this later.

I have been a fan of sports since the fourth grade. I was first introduced to the National Basketball Association (N.B.A) by someone at church which acted as my gateway to baseball which lead me to football. I love playing and following sports, but the Super Bowl is easily the most exaggerated event on the planet. It’s less about football and more about spectacle. I’ve seriously been to “football parties,” although I try to avoid these now, where the people attending do everything but watch the football game. There are moments at these parties when I get excited about a splash play and literally everyone else will look up from their phones and ask me, “What happened?” At a “football party.” Where people gather to watch football.

Super Bowl 52 happened to be a really entertaining game. It was a well played, relatively penalty free, back and forth game that came down to the end. However, it was still overhyped. And to make things worse, the commercials were really atrocious. Take for example, this BUDWEISER COMMERCIAL. Now, I am not knocking their effort to help people — that is a wonderful thing. What I am knocking is how they spent north of 5 million dollars to pat themselves on the back for helping people when they could have used those 5 million dollars to actually help people. The only thing valuable to emerge from this commercial is that Budweiser has finally admitted that their beer is water.

Then take this well thought out DODGE RAM COMMERCIAL. And by well thought out I mean mind numbingly stupid. Who thought using content from a Dr. Martin Luther King Junior speech to sell a horrible truck was a good idea? If it wasn’t the person involved in the Che Guevara Mercedes-Benz campaign, here’s what needs to happen — the person behind the MLK commercial and the person behind the Che Guevara idea need to sit in a cold, dark, isolated room together and slap each other in the face until something semi-intelligent materializes.

Yes, these commercials are heinous and the Super Bowl is a joke, but what bothers me most is that it works. Common folk will irresponsibly spend a silly amount of money on the Super Bowl only to serve the wealthy. If these commercials didn’t cause people to go out and buy these stupid products, these companies wouldn’t spend 5 million dollars for a 30 second spot. Plain and simple, it works. The Super Bowl is a cacophony wasted on the deaf. It is such a wasted teachable moment and that is why it stings. If the deaf could hear, they would know that what looks like a beautiful symphony is in fact a cacophony that is so loud that we are all going deaf. 

There, however, was one good commercial — check out this GROUPON COMMERCIAL and watch a rich white dude get a football kicked into his nuts. 

Thank You Mr. Kevin Garnett

I never got a chance to post about Mr. Kevin Garnett after he announced his retirement. I was obsessed with basketball when I was younger, and I can't think of another athlete that had a bigger impact on my life than Kevin Garnett. His fire during the games, his charisma after the games, and his loyalty (especially to the Minnesota Timberwolves) is a package that may never be matched.
To this day, when I play basketball, I run on every single possession. It's a characteristic that I learned from Kevin Garnett when I was in grade school. It's a lesson he learned from Karl Malone. I have prevented so many easy fast break opportunities, and it's all from watching Kevin Garnett play. Sure, 99% of the easy fast break opportunities were converted successfully, but that 1% is completely worth it. I learned that being exhausted and in pain is an easier feeling than the feeling of, "I didn't do enough".
Giving-it-your-all is a lesson I learned early. So thank you, Mr. Garnett.

Growing Up Really Poor - Wage War Against Poverty

A little over a month ago I applied for the Krusell Fellowship. It's a program that helps people in developing communities with housing and other needs. In a portion of my application statement I shared a bit of my history growing up in South Minneapolis. I never felt poor growing up, but I learned later in life that my family was indeed very poor. My parents immigrated to America with almost nothing, and they could not find much traction here early on due to cultural and language barriers. There was virtually no way we could not have been poor during the early years of our family. Now that I am an adult, I better understand that we lived well under the poverty line, but I did not understand exactly how poor we were until recently.

There were only two occasions I ever felt poor growing up. I remember feeling poor after winter break would finish and all the kids would meet up at school and brag about their Christmas gifts. My friends would have a laundry list of gifts the received, but I hardly ever got more than one gift. The lack of Christmas gifts stopped bothering me when I entered junior high. I had to quickly overcome the envy because we moved to affluent Plymouth when I entered junior high. There was no possible way my parents could get us gifts that matched the gifts of my suburban friends. The only other time I remember feeling poor was when I was around second grade age. A friend of mine had me over for dinner one night. Milk and macaroni and cheese was served that night. That must have been the most, middle-of-no-where-Wisconsin-white-meal I have ever had up to that point. I thought it was delicious. I remember going home and bragging to my parents what was served for dinner at Kevin's house. It must have been a few weeks later that my parents weren't able to even put food on the table at home. I remember being especially hungry that night, and all we could afford was a slice of bread for dinner. I remember vocalizing my disappointment and frustration with my parents. I compared what we were having for dinner to what I had at Kevin's house only a few weeks prior. I know I can claim youthful ignorance, but it breaks my heart to think about how my parents must have felt in that situation as their first born child sat in the middle of the kitchen crying and complaining.

My father, mother, and 2 siblings shortly after we moved to Plymouth

My parents did a wonderful job shielding us from the a lot of the craziness that life throws at families (especially at families in need). They exposed us to the stressors of life in small doses to insure we weren't overburdened with concern while not missing out on important life lessons. I am forever grateful for their masterful balancing act. It is a bit strange researching your own family's history though. I asked my parents about programs we utilized to help us get to the place we are today. One of the greatest things to have come out way was a program my father had access to. It was a program that reimbursed his tuition at a technical college if he worked full time and kept his grades above a B average. It gave my father the economic mobility our family needed to pursue a decent standard of living and more educational opportunities. Our family used that program and food stamps to stay afloat, and I feel a bit of regret now as I feel as though I have not vocalized my defense for welfare enough after learning how food stamps helped my family tremendously. I have a lot of Republican friends (I did, after all, grow up in Plymouth) and I consistently see their anti-welfare posts on social media.

Why should people have access to an education if they can't afford it? Why should people get food stamps when they are just going to abuse the system?

I cannot say I have ever agreed with their sentiments and I do believe a social safety net is important (especially in a nation as wealthy and as "Christian" as ours). I am ashamed that I didn't defend the people who aren't that much different than my family more vehemently. To be negligent of their needs is to fail morally. Henceforth, when I see people bashing social programs that work and that saved families like mine, I will take it as a personal affront. To take these programs away from people in need is to create a vacuum is misery, and certainly you have a little more compassion than that.
Our application statements for the Krusell Fellowship were limited to two-pages. I dedicated a paragraph to my family's history. It took forever to write and it was heartbreaking. Imagine me in my dimly lit room hacking away at my keyboard with vision blurred from the tears running down my face. I have it exponentially good because of my parents, but also because there is a community and system that is willing to lend a hand. I cannot begin to summarize the level of malice some people must have to want to deny people access to these programs of mobility. There are families out there that are treading water and all they need is a little assistance to find solid ground and run inland. I am hoping to soon be in a position to search the sea for these people.

Oh, one last thing. I did not get the fellowship, but life goes on.

Amazing Couple To Spend Entire Year Exploring United States

Meet Carl and Anna. They started an amazing project called US ANYWHERE at the start of 2016 where they will explore every state in these United States. You can see some of the photos they took and videos they made here, but you'll want to follow their travels for the remainder of the year.


Introducing US Anywhere from US Anywhere on Vimeo.

Here is my interview with Carl:

Min: Could you please explain what this project is about and what sparked the idea for this project?
Carl: My wife Anna and I are both native Minnesotans. We both grew up camping and have cultivated a love of travel domestic and abroad. But despite being passionate about these things, we’ve had difficulty making time for them in our busy lives. I’m a filmmaker by trade, and have developed a body of work organically by filming projects in my spare time involving friends and nature. These personal projects have led to job opportunities, and I found myself working in advertising, most recently doing work for Minnesota tourism. The idea for this project struck me a couple of summers ago, when my friends and I drove out to Glacier National Park for a backpacking trip. On our way home, I got stuck with the red-eye shift driving through North Dakota. I was white-knuckled as I tried to avoid hitting the seeming thousands of deer- but as the sun started to come up, it dawned on me that North Dakota could be truly breathtaking. I realized that I would love to come back to shoot something. At the same time, I realized that if I could find something interesting to shoot in North Dakota, an oft-maligned state, I could probably find something to shoot in every state. I started doing the math about how long it would take to shoot a short video about a state- and I decided a week would be about right. From there, it works out almost perfectly.  If you spend a week per state, it rounds out to almost exactly a year (if you include a week for Washington DC and a week in case anything goes wrong.) The concept of spending an entire year on the road and visiting every state was too compelling to pass up. I told Anna what I was thinking about, and she was immediately on board. We spent the next year and a half saving up and planning before launching the project in 2016. Our aim is to have a great adventure in seeing all of the USA, but to make creative work in the process so that we can bring people (virtually) along for the ride.


M: Were you ever worried this project wouldn't be possible leading up to the start of it?
C: There were a lot of times that we doubted our ability to do something so time-consuming and costly. The logistics alone are so complicated and daunting. We’d never even trailer camped before, and were talking about doing it for an entire year! However, I have a stubborn streak- once I’ve made up my mind that I’m doing something, I’m doing it. It was going to take a lot to prevent us from going- and luckily, we managed to pull it off!



M: What has been the toughest thing about the project so far? 
C: We absolutely underestimated how hard it would be to travel so quickly. We knew the week-per-state framework was ambitious, but we didn’t understand just how ambitious until we learned how long it takes to set up and take down camp, and how traveling with a camper has its own unforseen delays (slower speeds, more frequent stops for gas, fewer accessible places, more difficulty parking, etc.). This also makes our logistics a bit trickier, since we want to be flexible- RV campsites are limited and fill up quickly, so we have to be more forward-thinking than we’d like when planning future states. Also, the lack of WiFi is killer! We’d assumed it would be easy to keep connected from the road, since we have such an easy time with it at home (if it’s not at your house, it’s at work, or at a coffee shop, library, etc.) We’ve quickly learned that public wifi can be hard to find when you’re not in a city, and connection speeds are slow to nonexistant at most campgrounds. This has made working and planning tough!



M: What has been the most fulfilling and coolest thing you've seen so far?
C: We took a risk by starting in Wisconsin- the first week in January isn’t the friendliest time to be there by a long shot (especially if you’re camping!) But the gorgeous sunsets in Door County, ice-covered branches and snowy landscapes turned out to be just as beautiful as we’d hoped. Even though we were freezing our butts off, we were experiencing midwestern winter at its best, and we knew the decision to start there had been worth it.


US Anywhere: Wisconsin from US Anywhere on Vimeo.

M: Have expectations changed now that you've been on the road for a while?
C: They definitely have. For one, we’d planned to release videos about each state as we went, weekly- alongside blogging and posting to other various social media. We’ve quickly realized that all of that on top of moving so quickly leaves almost no time for the actual experience of the trip, which should really be the main point! We’ve had to scale back on the videos (for now, it’s still the plan to release a video for every state, but they will be released as I finish editing them, and actual experience will be the focus.) That means I’ll have a fair amount left to edit when I get back, but it will be a fun way to extend the experience of the trip! We’ve also realized that (aside from the northeast) the states are really big! We’ve started to become more focused in our planning.  Honing in on specific areas within each state, so we can have more in-depth experiences.



M: Now that you've explored the country a bit, what is one thing, in general, that even citizens of the United States might not know/expect about our own country?
C: The United States is an incredibly accessible place. Even though it’s massive, it can be surprisingly easy to get around.  Having grown up in the middle of the country, I always thought of the coasts as being so far away. I had only ever flown to the oceans, but it’s entirely possible to drive there in just a few days. If you get some friends together and take turns driving, you can go anywhere. With the current price of gas, there’s never been a better time.



M: If people wanted to stay in touch, follow your journey, and/or contribute to your journey, how can they do that?
C: We keep our channels up-to-date with lots of photos, fun facts, state recaps, and videos. OUR WEBSITE (USANYWHERE.NET) is a great resource where everything is pooled (and links to our Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo and mailing list can all be found there, too). We can be reached on all of those channels, but the best way to reach us is to shoot us an email at us@usanywhere.net! The best way for people to contribute to our journey is to share it with others that might be interested and to pass along their knowledge and suggestions. We rely heavily on input and suggestions from others when deciding what to do in a particular state!

When Someone Alters Your Life

On Thursday I learned that I will be starting a new chapter in my life later this year. It was a joyous day, but usually when one chapter begins, another one must end. As I begin to ink the first page of my new academic career, I might have punctuated the final period to my Christian career. I was born a Seventh-Day Adventist and I have been attending the same church for all 29-years of my life. Around the age of 21, I went on a spiritual journey that exposed me to many ups and downs. Over the last 5-years, I've grown into a comfortable atheist. I settled on being a huge skeptic about the physics of Yahweh, a lover of Jesus Christ's philosophies, and a continuing member of the church. The last remaining connective tissue between the church and I were long time members of my church and my pastor. This Saturday was my pastor's final day at the Minneapolis Korean Seventh-Day Adventist church. Pastor Kim came into my life at the perfect time. Had he not come when he did, I might have lost my connection to my church. My frustrations about religion were cooling, but hadn't completely hardened. He showed me that there is still space for love in religion and Christianity. He strengthened our youth group by opening the church doors wider than they had ever been opened, and by making his personal home, everyone's home. He never put himself above anyone, and treated everyone he interacted with like royalty. He was quick to nurture the ideas of other people (Without him A Night Back In Korea wouldn't have been possible). He embodied what Jesus Christ is to me.

With tearful goodbyes, we watched him and his wonderful family begin their new journey to Los Angeles. For every kind statement written about Pastor Kim, two equally great comments could be written about his wife. There will be an immense void at our church, but I am so happy for the church in L.A that will be adopting Pastor Kim. He will bring many great examples of love through his words and especially his actions. His children and his beautiful wife will enhance their new community exponentially. Thank you for changing my life, Kim Family, and I wish you nothing but the best.

Eating Insects With Rustle Up Sum Grub

I read an article at the beginning of 2016 that stated that crickets might be a food item to catch on this year. I expressed my interest about looking into foods created with crickets a bit more, and Kiah Brasch of RUSTLE UP SUM GRUB reached out to me. I visited her and recorded my experience trying foods made with insects.



A huge thanks to Kiah for teaching us about new food items and feeding us.
Thank you to Brad Olson for also helping me film this project. Brad runs a film company in Minneapolis. CLICK HERE to check out his website. You can watch one of his short films below.

Article XVII from Braddon Alexander on Vimeo.

Zombie Pub Crawl | Minneapolis | 2015-Oct-17th

Another weekend, and another great time. Last week I attended the CHVRCHES show and had a night out with some buddies (READ MY REVIEW HERE). 2 weekends ago I had some family time in Chicago. This weekend I hung out with the undead at the Zombie Pub Crawl in downtown Minneapolis.

My friends and I hit up @ZombiePubCrawl last night. We did a horrible job taking photos (We took none of ourselves). I did document my various injures, including a fat lip while orchestrating @Sum41's circle pit during "Fat Lip". Who needs makeup when you actually get hurt! But the scariest thing I saw all night was a Troy Williamson jersey.

A photo posted by Min Lee (@minlee2) on Oct 18, 2015 at 2:38pm PDT

My friends and I did an absolutely horrible job taking pictures (We had zero pictures of us as zombies). And as you can see, I sustained multiple injuries, but that's what happens when you're as hardcore as I am. Actually, most of my injuries were sustained in the circle pit for Sum 41. #WorthIt.

So glad they had some rock and roll at @ZombiePubCrawl last night. #Sum41 #ZPC

A video posted by Min Lee (@minlee2) on Oct 18, 2015 at 2:42pm PDT

It was my first year attending the Zombie Pub Crawl and I really didn't know what to expect, and although on paper it doesn't look like a lot of fun, I had a great time. Going into the event, I thought to myself "Okay, people are dressed up as zombies, and there's going to be music...so what?" but there were also food trucks and just having access to that space in downtown was a lot of fun. Having a wide range of music does help to. For example, we also got to see rapper Lil Dicky

 

If you're on the fence about Zombie Pub Crawl, give it a shot next year. Buy your tickets early because you can buy a ticket for $20 if you do. I purchased my tickets the day before the event and it was $45.

Uhh...@AaronCarter also happened at @FirstAvenue. #ZPC

A video posted by Min Lee (@minlee2) on Oct 18, 2015 at 2:59pm PDT

Taylor Swift Review | Minnesota | 2015-9-11

I went to Taylor Swift's show on Friday night (9/11/2015) and I didn't really know what to expect. I knew Vance Joy was opening and it was cool to see him again since I interviewed him when he dropped by Studio C.



I knew I was going to hear Swift's hits I have heard a million times while at work, and I knew it was going to be a big show. It's probably the biggest show I have ever been to. The only thing I can think of that compares is the Vans Warped Tour. All those bands, all those buses, all those stages, all those locations, and all those moving pieces. But comparing the Vans Warped Tour and Taylor Swift's 1989 Tour is not a good comparison. I grew up on punk and metal music, so I haven't ever been to a massive pop show. I'm used to going to intimate club shows where most of the people are there strictly for the music. I did not go into Taylor Swift's show with this mindset, and I'm glad I didn't because it would've been the incorrect approach. I went for the spectacle, the experience, and to witness the production value that I could never get at a 200 person show.

I grew up listening to small rock bands so I haven't been to a lot of massive arena shows. This might actually be the biggest show I've ever attended (Maybe the Warped Tour can compete with their logistical chaos). Bring it on, @TaylorSwift. #Cities97Taylor #1989

A photo posted by Min Lee (@minlee2) on Sep 11, 2015 at 4:17pm PDT

 I was pretty much amazed right away. Everyone at the show received a wristband that would light up in sync with the music at the show. These wristbands were taped to the back of every seat at the Xcel Energy Center. That means before we were all admitted, a group of people walked around the arena and taped these wrist bands to all 17,000 seats. My pal and I wore our wristbands proudly the entire weekend.

One more @TaylorSwift post. I plan on writing a full review on my blog later. This is the biggest show I've ever been to and I had a great time. I went for the experience, not the music, and it was so cool to see all the moving pieces. Things I would never see at a club show. Some of the coolest people in my life I have met because of my job, and I also get to experience things like this. I'm very lucky. #Cities97Taylor #1989

A video posted by Min Lee (@minlee2) on Sep 12, 2015 at 10:31am PDT

Looking back, I still prefer going to intimate shows, but I don't see how anyone could be disappointed attending a stop on the 1989 Tour. Taylor clearly has mastered working the crowd. She can get you to leave your feet when she wants, and she can slow it down and tell a story and connect when she wants. She had pre-recorded transitions that featured other celebrities, there is a moving stage, there are lasers, and so many other production pieces you can see moving around in sync if you are able to calm your inner teenager and watch the show with an objective eye. But the 1 thing we cannot replicate at an intimate club show that I wish we could is the energy. I don't even mean the energy Taylor pours out, although she does exert a lot of energy into her well choreographed 1.5 hour show. I just mean the energy in the building in general. My ears literally rang from the screaming girls, the arena was lit from the flash of cameras, and minus a few disgruntled parents, everyone was into it. I don't think I could sit through all pop shows, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Taylor Swift's 1989 Tour.

CHVRCHES Review | Minnesota Show | 2015-10-10

I had a very adventurous and fun weekend, but I will spare you the details as the weekend was much more “adventurous” in person than it is on paper. Let’s just say we utilized Craig’s List in the best way possible and met some cool people. The reason I bring up my weekend is because I attended the CHVRCHES show and I wanted to share my experiences with people who weren’t able to attend the show. I am a fan of the band, and I have enjoyed both their debut album (The Bones Of What You Believe) and their recent release (Every Open Eye).

  

However, I’ve seen videos of their live performance and I very much thought they are a better studio band. They didn’t seem to dominate the stage like bands I have enjoyed seeing live in the past. They are also at a disadvantage since they are locked behind their computers and other devices. This was a case of YouTube videos not being able to capture the actual “energy” of a live show.

I saw @CHVRCHES last night at Myth. I've been digging their new album and it was fun to see them live.

A video posted by Min Lee (@minlee2) on Oct 11, 2015 at 7:40pm PDT

They are a much better live band than I had given them credit for. They obviously have a very cool synth sound and their stage matches what they are trying to accomplish. They have a bunch of big lights and even their gear is set up behind a neat little package. Frontlady, Lauren Mayberry, does a good job moving from song to song while breaking the show up with a few cool stories in between.

Myth was packed last night for @CHVRCHES. Despite the number of people, the crowd was actually kinda dead.

A video posted by Min Lee (@minlee2) on Oct 11, 2015 at 10:08pm PDT

Even when listening to their albums, you understand that Mayberry isn’t trying to challenge Mariah Carey on range. She gets what works and she does it very well. She brings that exact same sound to her live performance. With a band like CHVRCHES, you have to appreciate the entire package when seeing them in concert. You aren’t going to be blown away by their stage presence, you aren’t going to leave feeling like your life has changed, but between the songs, the lights, and a solid performance, you’ll leave very happy.

 

My biggest disappointment of the night has nothing to do with the band. Myth was completely packed, but the crowd was dead. I went with a few people and we wanted to cut-a-rug, but our energy was drained by how dead the people around us were. It wasn’t until the show was about 75% over that people started really getting into it. This could be a case of their new album being too new since “Every Open Eye” came out at the end of September. Either way, if you’re a fan of the band and you missed this show, make sure you go next time they’re in town.

Meg Myers Interview

I've been following MEG MYERS for a little while now. I really wanted to watch her perform live, and especially watch her perform "Heart Heart Head". She was also generous enough to give me a few minutes of her time for me to interview her. She's definitely a professional and a gamer as we joked around while we were setting up the equipment for the interview. Her music is serious, but you can tell that she has a really soft spot too. I asked her about her awesome music videos, and I also asked when we might see a full-length debut. Check out the full interview here.



This is probably my favorite song by Meg Myers and I absolutely love the video. It comes off her 2014 EP "Make A Shadow". I got goosebumps watching her perform it live. It's just so emotional and powerful!