BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST® FOR THE CLASS OF 2010

Members of the class of 2010, entering college this fall, were mostly born in 1988. For them: Billy Carter, Lucille Ball, Gilda Radner, Billy Martin, Andy Gibb, and Secretariat have always been dead.

1.	The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
2.	They have known only two presidents.
3.	For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines have been bankrupt.
4.	Manuel Noriega has always been in jail in the U.S.
5.	They have grown up getting lost in "big boxes."
6.	There has always been only one Germany.
7.	They have never heard anyone actually "ring it up" on a cash register.
8.	They are wireless, yet always connected.
9.	A stained blue dress is as famous to their generation as a third-rate burglary was to their parents'.
10.	Thanks to pervasive headphones in the back seat, parents have always been able to speak freely in the front.
11.	A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.
12.	Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.
13.	Faux fur has always been a necessary element of style.
14.	The Moral Majority has never needed an organization.
15.	They have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football teams.
16.	DNA fingerprinting has always been admissible evidence in court.
17.	They grew up pushing their own miniature shopping carts in the supermarket.
18.	They grew up with and have outgrown faxing as a means of communication.
19.	"Google" has always been a verb.
20.	Text messaging is their email.
21.	Milli Vanilli has never had anything to say.
22.	Mr. Rogers, not Walter Cronkite, has always been the most trusted man in America.
23.	Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.
24.	Madden has always been a game, not a Superbowl-winning coach.
25.	Phantom of the Opera has always been on Broadway.
26.	"Boogers" candy has always been a favorite for grossing out parents.
27.	There has never been a "skyhook" in the NBA.
28.	Carbon copies are oddities found in their grandparents' attics.
29.	Computerized player pianos have always been tinkling in the lobby.
30.	Non-denominational mega-churches have always been the fastest growing religious organizations in the U.S.
31.	They grew up in mini-vans.
32.	Reality shows have always been on television.
33.	They have no idea why we needed to ask "...can we all get along?"
34.	They have always known that "In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups."
35.	Young women's fashions have never been concerned with where the waist is.
36.	They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.
37.	Brides have always worn white for a first, second, or third wedding.
38.	Being techno-savvy has always been inversely proportional to age.
39.	"So" as in "Sooooo New York," has always been a drawn-out adjective modifying a proper noun, which in turn modifies something else
40.	Affluent troubled teens in Southern California have always been the subjects of television series.
41.	They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.
42.	Ken Burns has always been producing very long documentaries on PBS.
43.	They are not aware that "flock of seagulls hair" has nothing to do with birds flying into it.
44.	Retin-A has always made America look less wrinkled.
45.	Green tea has always been marketed for health purposes.
46.	Public school officials have always had the right to censor school newspapers.
47.	Small white holiday lights have always been in style.
48.	Most of them never had the chance to eat bad airline food.
49.	They have always been searching for "Waldo."
50.	The really rich have regularly expressed exuberance with outlandish birthday parties.
51.	Michael Moore has always been showing up uninvited.
52.	They never played the game of state license plates in the car.
53.	They have always preferred going out in groups as opposed to dating.
54.	There have always been live organ donors.
55.	They have always had access to their own credit cards.
56.	They have never put their money in a "Savings & Loan."
57.	Sara Lee has always made underwear.
58.	Bad behavior has always been getting captured on amateur videos.
59.	Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.
60.	They never saw Bernard Shaw on CNN.
61.	Beach volleyball has always been a recognized sport.
62.	Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti have always been luxury cars of choice.
63.	Television stations have never concluded the broadcast day with the national anthem.
64.	LoJack transmitters have always been finding lost cars.
65.	Diane Sawyer has always been live in Prime Time.
66.	Dolphin-free canned tuna has always been on sale.
67.	Disposable contact lenses have always been available.
68.	"Outing" has always been a threat.
69.	Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss has always been the perfect graduation gift.
70.	They have always "dissed" what they don't like.
71.	The U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existence.
72.	Richard M. Daley has always been the Mayor of Chicago.
73.	They grew up with virtual pets to feed, water, and play games with, lest they die.
74.	Ringo Starr has always been clean and sober.
75.	Professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics.

© 2006 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin

Many More Than 2000 Lives Lost in Iraq

This week, the US reached the 2000 figure for American soldier deaths in Iraq. It is a horrible figure but the war does not seem to be getting any nearer to the end.  As a contribution to the Department of Defense’s “perception management,” (they really have such a program) conservatives have compared this number to the numbers of dead in previous American wars. Two thousand becomes a small number when compared to the 58,000 killed in Vietnam or the brain-numbing 400,000 dead in WWII. 

Those numbers are not the truth.  The reality is that the number 2000 does not include the non-military support people (300 +), the Coalition casualties (200 +), and the journalists (75?).  Naturally, it doesn’t show the number of Iraqis – even those on our side -- killed.  It doesn’t show the percentage of troops killed.  More significantly, it doesn’t account for the stunning numbers of wounded and ill soldiers the Iraq war has created.

During the Civil War, there was no anesthesia or antibiotics. Soldiers with a wounded limb might survive if a field surgeon cauterized the wound or chopped the wounded limb off. (My grandfather had an uncle who was a field surgeon in that war.) More often than not, a serious wound meant death. In the 21^st century, medicine saved some 15,000 soldiers wounded in Iraq.  More surprising is the percentage of soldiers suffering from debilitating mental illness because of the war. I found that 55,000 soldiers evacuated from Iraq to hospitals because of medical problems.  15,000 of them were physical wounds.  Many of the others had overwhelming mental illnesses.  From 10% to 20% of the soldiers serving in Iraq have major symptoms of disabling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and estimates say that many more will have symptoms that show up later. There are already homeless Iraq War vets.

Currently Listening Anticipation By Carly Simon Anticipation see related

In response to my pal with the iron knee, here are the

The Top 100 Songs of 1972  (from musicoutfitters.com)

1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack 2. Alone Again (Naturally), Gilbert O'Sullivan 3. American Pie, Don McLean 4. Without You, Nilsson 5. Candy Man, Sammy Davis Jr. 6. I Gotcha, Joe Tex 7. Lean On Me, Bill Withers 8. Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me, Mac Davis 9. Brand New Key, Melanie 10. Daddy Dont You Walk So Fast, Wayne Newton 11. Let's Stay Together, Al Green 12. Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), Looking Glass 13. Oh Girl, Chi-Lites 14. Nice To Be With You, Gallery 15. My Ding-A-Ling, Chuck Berry 16. If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want To Be Right, Luther Ingram 17. Heart Of Gold, Neil Young 18. Betcha By Golly, Wow, Stylistics 19. I'll Take You There, Staple Singers 20. Ben, Michael Jackson 21. The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Robert John 22. Outa-space, Billy Preston 23. Slippin' Into Darkness, War 24. Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress), Hollies 25. How Do You Do, Mouth and MacNeal 27. Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond 28. A Horse With No Name, America 28. Popcorn, Hot Butter 29. Everybody Plays The Fool, Main Ingredient 30. Precious And Few, Climax 31. Last Night I Didn't Get To Sleep At All, 5th Dimension 32. Nights In White Satin, Moody Blues 33. Go All The Way, Raspberries 34. Too Late To Turn Back Now, Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose 35. Back Stabbers, O'Jays 36. Down By The Lazy River, Osmonds 37. Sunshine, Jonathan Edwards 38. Starting All Over Again, Mel and Tim 39. Day Atter Day, Badfinger 40. Rocket Man, Elton John 41. Rockin' Robin, Michael Jackson 42. Beautiful Sunday, Daniel Boone 43. Scorpio, Dennis Coffey and The Detroit Guitar Band 44. Morning Has Broken, Cat Stevens 45. The City Of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie 46. Garden Party, Rick Nelson 47. I Can See Clearly Now, Johnny Nash 48. Burning Love, Elvis Presley 49. Clean Up Woman, Betty Wright 50. Hold Your Head Up, Argent 51. Jungle Fever, Chakachas 52. Everything I Own, Bread 53. In The Rain, Dramatics 54. Look What You Done For Me, Al Green 55. The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A., Donna Fargo 56. Bang A Gong (Get It On), T. Rex 57. Mother And Child Reunion, Paul Simon 58. Where Is The Love, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway 59. I'm Still In Love With You, Al Green 60. Layla, Derek and The Dominos 61. Day Dreaming, Aretha Franklin 62. The Way Of Love, Cher 63. Black And White, Three Dog Night 64. Sylvia's Mother, Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show 65. Hurting Each Other, Carpenters 66. Coconut, Nilsson 68. Puppy Love, Donny Osmond 69. You Don't Mess Around With Jim, Jim Croce 70. Hot Rod Lincoln, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen 71. A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done, Sonny and Cher 72. Joy, Apollo 100 73. Anticipation, Carly Simon 74. Never Been To Spain, Three Dog Night 75. Kiss An Angel Good Morning, Charlie Pride 76. School's Out, Alice Cooper 77. Saturday In The Park, Chicago 78. Drowning In The Sea Of Love, Joe Simon 79. Use Me, Bill Withers 80. Family Affair, Sly and The Family Stone 81. Troglodyte, Jimmy Castor Bunch 82. The Witch Queen Of New Orleans, Redbone 83. Freddie's Dead, Curtis Mayfield 84. Power Of Love, Joe Simon 85. Ain't Understanding Mellow, Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager 86. Taxi, Harry Chapin 87. Don't Say You Don't Rememeer, Beverly Bremers 87. Sealed With A Kiss, Bobby Vinton 88. I Saw The Light, Todd Rundgren 89. Motorcycle Mama, Sailcat 90. Day By Day, Godspell Soundtrack 91. Roundabout, Yes 92. Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Browne 93. I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, New Seekers 94. Vincent / Castles In The Air, Don Mclean 95. Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms), Detroit Emeralds 96. Speak To The Sky, Rick Springfield 97. I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, Hillside Singers 98. Walking In The Rain With The One I Love, Love Unlimited 99. Good Foot, Pt. 1, James Brown 100. Pop That Thang, Isley Bros.

"Anticipation" by Carly Simon was almost a theme song for my friends and I that year.  Now it's a ketchup commercial!

Currently Watching Mother Night By Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee see related

I stumbled across Mother Night, a film made from the 1961 book by Kurt Vonnegut, on TV late the other night.  It was a good movie and near the end of the story, Kurt Vonnegut himself appears as part of the crowd that walks past the protagonist.

I never read the novel, but I can almost guarantee that the movie lacks the humor of the 1961 book.  I suppose it's hard to imagine that a story about an American spy so deeply undercover in Nazi Germany that he can't quite remember his "real" identity as a situation with any giggles, but if you're a Vonnegut fan, you can recognize it as a fine vehicle for delivering truth, sarcasm, and fun in the same buggy. A central issue in the story is whether we become what we pretend to be.  I have not been a spy in Nazi Germany, but sometimes I feel I am pretending to be an average American grown-up.  Have I turned into one?

Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions were two other movies made from Vonnegut stories.  Both films were good; the Slaughterhouse Five movie was excellent, in my opinion. There are more Vonnegut books-turned-into-films that I've never seen.  Have any of you seen any?