What’s
O c t o b e r
2 0 1 3
your
search?
w o r d s
f r o m
t h e
editor
dear readers, Here at The Wanderer we collect individual experiences and wisdom gained from life experience to share with you. Our mission is to expose you to a diverse group of individuals that you would not meet on day to day basis. Through our collaboration around the world, we promote travel or whether across overseas or in your own back yard. In the end it’s about engaging in something new In this issue our theme is about searching. Whether it is finding the meaning of service, the perfect joke or capturing moment in a photography, all are about furthering our understanding of the world we live in today. We hope that this collection of writers and artists will inspire you to on your own journey, wherever it may be and give you a connection unique on its own. Lastly, if I can leave you with any advice: go ahead and wander.
sincerly, Jill
Parks
|ˈ e d i t ə r |
1
contents t a b l e
2
5 7 11
o f
I n t e r v i e w : A n n i e L e i b o v i t z Chance has everything to where she is now and where she’s been.
3 P a r a d o x e s o f g e n e r a t i o n
y
Understanding and appericating this generation from an unique optimistic Baby Boomer .
c r o s s w o r d Test the variety of your knowledge.
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13 19 29
B e i n g
S e r v e
N O t
THYSELF
Michael’s search for the meaning service and Jill’s exploration of a decaysing cities together in serach for something bigger then themselves.
f u n n y
Steve Martin explains the trails and errors in a life of being a comedian.
3 T O P
TWENTY
Books meant for twenty-somethings to help answer the big question, “What next?”
FACT O ID : TRAVEL Get more out of your vacation and pick one of the ten unique places to fly to while still saving bucks.
upclose
&
personal
Annie Leibovitz b y H a n s- U l r i c h
O b r i s t
This much we know: Annie Leibovitz is one of the truly great
photography; her photographs are just as at home in glossy
photographers of our time. Her pictures, superlative in their
magazines as they are in leather-bound books, white-walled
honesty, range from spontaneously captured reportage to
galleries or gigantic advertising billboards, such is her
exactingly prepared conceptual portraits, exquisite in their
versatility. Leibovitz dramatically advanced her field as she
delicate intimacy, but also often deeply visceral in impact.
worked: she changed the rules of the game entirely. But one
Sylph-like, she has constantly shifted between the worlds of
of her greatest achievements is to remain acceptable to a
music, literature, politics, art, fashion and movies: she brings
wide audience: she is at once high art and mainstream. This
all those disciplines together in her work. She transcends
is perhaps why her oeuvre as a whole, in all its diversity, is so
the traditional borders that separate commercial and artistic
extraordinarily interesting.
| i n t ə r ˌ v y o͞ o |
How did you begin to breach the worlds of art, fashion, photography, music and literature. A: It probably really started off with my mother. She was dragging me to dance classes in downtown Washington DC with these old Ballets Russes dancerslikePola Nirenska. You couldn’t understand what they said because their accents were so thick, but they were still teaching. So I took modern dance until I left home to go off to college. I went to school at the San Francisco Art Institute, thinking I was going to become an art teacher. Within the first six months I was there, I was told that I couldn’t be an art teacher unless I became an artist first. It was a pure art school, and Bruce Nauman taught there. All the great California artists went through there. So I went there as a painting major, and spent the first year trying to paint. I wasn’t very good. It was during the Vietnam War and a lot of the soldiers were coming back into America through California, and San Francisco was filled with veterans. It was a leftover moment from the summer of love and peace, which didn’t really work in the long run.
Were there any heroes in photography who influenced you? A: I’m a huge, huge fan of photography. I have a small photography collection. As soon as I started to make some money I bought my very first photograph: an Henri CartierBresson. Then I bought a Robert Frank. When I went to the Art Institute, the photography that was being taught was very personal reportage. It was Robert Frank, Cartier-Bresson. Robert Frank was considered the father of 35mm photography in America; Cartier-Bresson was the father of 35mm photography in Europe. They were the first photographers who went out with a very small camera and took pictures.
Is it important to you that your work builds bridges to a wider audience?
Is there someone you’ve always wanted to photograph?
A: I’m not that sophisticated. If you do
A: I want to make sure I have the people in
something for a long time, it only gets more
popular culture that interest me. I want to
interesting, and I think that’s something that a
continue to do that. I don’t think there’s a
lot of people shy away from; they don’t realise
single image that stands out for me; it’s more
that if you stick with something, it gets more
like the importance of the work is in the body
complicated, and it’s up to you to continue to
of the work. There are all these photographs
grow it. You can have talent, but it can go away
in it from this period of time, and they look
and you need to feed it. You need to take care of
more interesting together, which is what I like
it and you need to find ways to inspire yourself.
about the book. I don’t know if I believe in the
After Susan Sontag died, I didn’t think I was
decisive moment any more. Life is filled with
going to do the project i had planned with her,
too many moments and I don’t think it’s about
but I picked up the pieces and made a small
a decisive moment: it’s about many moments.
series of pictures, wondering if it would work. It’s going to be published this November and
There is also death, a moment when people
it’s called Pilgrimage. It’s what your peripheral
disappear. If you photograph people [a lot], they
vision sees when you go to do a portrait.
do die. It’s part of life. When I photographed John Lennon, hours after I took his picture
I’ve always been very interested in location.
he was killed. It was harrowing. It was very
The studio’s not my favourite place to be;
upsetting. I was supposed to be photographing
it’s frightening to me. It’s just you and the
Roy Orbison and he died. I had a conversation
person [you are photographing]. I’m not a bad
with Princess Diana and was supposed to be
studio photographer, but it’s not my preferred
photographing her in October, and she was
place. I love to be somewhere, having other
killed in August. It’s a strange occupation.
things go on. My landscape work came out
There are moments in my work when I know
of looking for locations for my portraits,
that the subject is at this pinnacle in their life,
and then I started to like my locations better
and I feel responsible to take a photograph of
without the people standing in them.
them that will last long after they are gone.
Is painting an inspiration for you?
What role does chance play?
A: I guess I take it for granted: I was brought
A: It’s everything. If I go into a sitting I think
up going to museums. Susan Sontag went to
of what I’m going to do, have an idea, have
the Metropolitan [Museum of Art in New
a plan, and then hope for chance. I hope
York] every week. She gulped down culture
for other stuff to happen. Especially in the
- she loved New York for that. She couldn’t
portrait, I’m not alone - I’m working with
get enough; she would go back to see a film
another person. I’m hoping stuff happens.
eight times. I learnt from her about going back again and again to get a different experience. She took me to meet so many people who rounded out my world. I met [stage director]
Hans-Ulrich
Robert Wilson through her, and I also met
is an art curator, critic and historian of art. He is Co-director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects at the Serpentine Gallery, London.
Mark Morris through her. Baryshnikov I met through working for Vanity Fair.
Obrist
5
generation y p a r a d o x e s
o f
b y L y n d a G r at t o n
i ll u s t r at i o n s b y A m e l i a T r e j o
7
O
ver the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a considerable amount of attention focused on Generation Y from both the media and business world. The May 20 issue of Time Magazine led with a cover story labelling them the ‘Me, Me, Me’ generation: narcissistic, fame-obsessed, and self interested; Meanwhile PwC reported findings from a comprehensive Next Gen study of its Gen Y
8
employees – a cohort that will make up around 80% of its workforce within the next three years. This recent focus on Gen Y reflects a buildingsense of nervousness around how this generation, the biggest since the Baby Boomers, will reshape work. It’s a nervousness I’ve felt from the HR leaders in my executive programme at LBS who often despair that this generation just aren’t accepting ‘the way things are done around here,’ and are instead challenging long-standing processes and practices.But is this anxiety justified? Are Gen Y really so different from their predecessors? And, if they are, do organisations need to change to accommodate them?
1
S h o r t- t e r m focus, b u t e q u a l ly c o m m i tt e d Gen Y are fast movers. We know
3
Require recognition, but not trophies Time Magazine rather negatively
they will change jobs, and perhaps even entire careers, many
dubs Gen Y the ‘trophy generation’ who, as a result of
times in their long working lives. This is a stark contrast
receiving too many participation trophies as children, have
with the ‘job for life’ career pattern of their Baby Boomer
a sense of entitlement far beyond that of their older peers.
parents, and the HR leaders at my executive programme.
It’s easy to see where this assumption comes from. Just
It also shows their desire for meaningful, stimulating work
look at games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft,
from day one, and their lack of interest in traditional career
which provide satisfying rewards for every action the player
paths that promote slowly.This focus on short-term success
takes. So, it should come as no surprise that, according to
is sometimes used to depict Gen Y as less committed to work
a study cited by Time Magazine, 40% of Gen Y believes
than their Gen X and Baby Boomer peers. Yet this stereotype
they should be promoted every two years, regardless of
is certainly not true of those surveyed in the Next Gen study.
performance. But again, this may be misinterpreting the
According to Dennis Finn, Global Human Capital Leader at
issue. We know Gen Y place an real emphasis on continual
PwC, ‘this generation is as engaged, committed and prepared
learning, and the drive for regular promotion should not be
to work as hard as previous generations’. They don’t mind
confused with the desire for regular feedback, which many
working. They just think there are better ways to work.
see as a vital part of their personal and career development.
2
Though a visual indicator of progression, promotion does not always bring with it greater learning opportunities.
T e c h s a v v y, bu t va l u e face-to-face Gen Y is known for its intensive
use of social media and virtual communication. In the USA, this generation send and receive around 88 texts a day according to research by Pew, and 70% check their phones every hour. With these statistics in hand it’s easy to view this generation as happy to conduct their lives, both professional and private, exclusively through their phones, iPads and laptops. But PwC’s research tells us that Gen Y’s aptitude for electronic communication augments rather than replaces face-to-face interaction. Particularly when
9
it comes to performance and career discussions where personal interactions are still the preferred method.
“
“
The y don’t mind working. The y ju st think the re are better ways to work.
So, in conclusion what do organisations do about these paradoxes and how can they truly understand what drives their Gen Ys? PwC’s Next Gen report has a few recommendations, but one stands out to me as particularly important for this fast-moving, tech-savvy group: ‘Invest time, resources and energy to listen and
10
stay connected with your people’. If there’s one thing we know for sure about this generation, it’s that they like to have their voices heard, and to feel empowered.
Whether in the virtual or real world, perhaps the key to understanding this generation and knowing how to engage them is to simply listen to them.
L y n d a G r at t o n
is the Professor of Management Practice at London Business School and the founder of the Hot Spots Movement. She has written several books and academic articles on organisational behaviour. She was formerly Chief Psychologist at British Airways and Human Resources Director for PA Consulting Group.
|ˈ k r ô s w ə r d |
across 1. He, to Hadrian
5. Multigenerational tales 10. Historic time periods 14. Persuade with flattery 15. Get ___ on: hurry 16. Pet of the Flintstones 17. Madonna role 19. Catch, slangily 20. “___Eat Cake” 21. Settle snugly 23. Pews’ place 26. Discus great Al 27. Noel Coward play
down 1. Reykjavik’s home: Abbr.
2. “All You Need is ___”: Beatles 3. Cafe au lait 4. Dimensions 5. Schmo 6. Letters in many black church names 7. “Earth in the Balance” author Al 8. Stratford-on-___ (Shakespeare’s birthplace) 9. It picks up readings 10. Noted role for Art Carney 11. Happy as a lark 12. “Have ___ day!” 13. Cobbler, at times 18. Asian nannies 22. Cover an upper surface 24. ___ Marsala 25. Prison break, e.g. 27. Sheet of cotton 28. Ancient harp
32. Certain votes 33. “Borat” creator ___ Baron Cohen 29. “Love ___ the air”
34. A heap
30. ___ Penh
38. Advanced math
31. “My sentiments exactly”
40. Oscar-winning Jessica
35. W. Point, e.g.
42. Sports org. with a March tourney
36. Soren Kierkegaard, e.g.
43. Coffee time, maybe
37. Suffix with dino-
45. Seaside towns
39. Armada ships
47. Babylonian sky god
41. Accusatory Latin phrase
48. Elvis’s first feature film, or a 1956 #1 hit
44. Open wasteland
51. Hoi ___
46. Sturdy fabric
54. River at Chartres
49. Outlooks
55. Devalues
50. Straighten up
58. Mr. Nasser
51. They’re taken by H.S. juniors
62. Welk word
52. ____ ball (alert)
63. Fast rhythm
53. Annual telethon host Jerry 56. Seed jacket
66. Scrawny
57. It’s on the watch
67. Find in a viewfinder
59. Greedy word
68. Site of Vance A.F.B.
60. Author Martin or Kingsley
69. Period in Cong.
61. Some digital displays, briefly
70. Winter transport
64. Rubber stamp accompanier
71. “The Untouchables” protagonist
11
being funny
by steve martin
In the late 1960s, comedy was in transition. The older school told jokes and stories, punctuated with the drummer’s rimshot. Of the new school, Bill Cosby (one of the first to tell stories you actually believed were true) and Bob Newhart (who startled everyone with innovative, low-key delivery and original material) had achieved icon status. Mort Sahl t weaked both sides of the political fence with his college-prof delivery. George Carlin and Richard Pryor, though very funny, were still a few years away from their final artistic breakthroughs. Lenny Bruce had died several years earlier, fighting both the system and drugs, and his work was already in revival because of his caustic brilliance that made authority nervous. Vietnam, the first televised war, split the country, and one’s left or right bent could be recognized by haircuts and clothes.
13
The country was angry, and so was comedy, which was
offering punch lines, I’d never be standing there with egg
addressed to insiders. Cheech and Chong spoke to the
on my face. It was essential that I never show doubt
expanding underground by rolling the world’s largest
about what I was doing. I would move through my act
doobie on film. There were exceptions: Don Rickles
without pausing for the laugh, as though everything
seemed to glide over the generation gap with killer
were an aside. Eventually, I thought, the laughs
appearances on “The Tonight Show,” and Johnny Carson
would be playing catch-up to what I was doing.
remained a gentle satirist while maintaining a nice glossary of naughty-boy breast jokes. Tim Conway and
Everything would be either delivered in passing, or
Harvey Korman, two great comic sketch actors working
the opposite, an elaborate presentation that climaxed
for the affable genius Carol Burnett, were deeply funny.
in pointlessness. Another rule was to make the audience believe that I thought I was fantastic, that
A skillful comedian could coax a laugh with tiny
my confidence could not be shattered. They had to
indicators such as a vocal tic (Bob Hope’s “But I wanna
believe that I didn’t care if they laughed at all and
tell ya”) or even a slight body shift. Jack E. Leonard
that this act was going on with or without them.
used to punctuate jokes by slapping his stomach with his hand. One night, watching him on “The Tonight
My first reviews came in. One said, “This so-called
Show,” I noticed that several of his punch lines had
‘comedian’ should be told that jokes are supposed to
been unintelligible, and the audience had actually
have punch lines.” Another said I represented “the most
laughed at nothing but the cue of his hand slap.
serious booking error in the history of Los Angeles music.”“Wait,” I thought, “let me explain my theory!”
These notions stayed with me until they formed an idea that revolutionized my comic direction: What if there
The plum television appearance during the ‘60s and
were no punch lines? What if there were no indicators?
‘70s was “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
What if I created tension and never released it? What if I
Bob Shayne, who in the late ‘60s booked “The Steve
headed for a climax, but all I delivered was an anticlimax?
Allen Show,” had moved over to “The Tonight Show”
What would the audience do with all that tension?
and mentioned me to its producer, Freddy De Cordova.
Theoretically, it would have to come out sometime. But
Bob showed Freddy a kinescope of my appearance
if I kept denying them the formality of a punch line, the
on “The Steve Allen Show,” and Fred replied, “I don’t
audience would eventually pick their own place to laugh,
think he’s for us.” But Bob persisted, and Johnny
essentially out of desperation. This type of laugh seemed
saw the kinescope and said, “Let’s give him a try.”
stronger to me, as they would be laughing at something
I was booked on the show in October 1972.
they chose, rather than being told exactly when to laugh. There was a belief that one appearance on “The Tonight To test my idea, I went onstage and began: “I’d like
Show” made you a star. But here are the facts. The first
to open up with sort of a ‘funny comedy bit.’ This has
time you do the show, nothing. The second time you
really been a big one for me...it’s the one that put me
do the show, nothing. The sixth time you do the show,
where I am today. I’m sure most of you will recognize
someone might come up to you and say, “Hi, I think we
the title when I mention it; it’s the “Nose on Microphone”
met at Harry’s Christmas party.” The tenth time you do
routine [pause for imagined applause]. And it’s always
the show, you could conceivably be remembered as
funny, no matter how many times you see it.”
being seen somewhere on television. The 12th time you do the show, you might hear, “Oh, I know you.
I leaned in and placed my nose on the mike for a few
You’re that guy.”
long seconds. Then I stopped and took several bows, saying, “Thank you very much.” “That’s it?” they thought.
But I didn’t know that. Before the show, as I stood in the
Yes, that was it. The laugh came not then, but only after
backstage darkness behind the curtain of “The Tonight
they realized I had already moved on to the next bit.
Show,” hearing the muffled laughter while Johnny spoke and waiting for the tap on the shoulder that would tell
Now that I had assigned myself to an act without jokes, I
me I was on, an italicized sentence ticker-taped through
gave myself a rule. Never let them know I was bombing:
my head: “I am about to do ‘The Tonight Show.’” Then I
this is funny, you just haven’t gotten it yet. If I wasn’t
walked out onstage, started my act and thought, “I am
doing ‘The Tonight Show.’” I finished my act and thought, “I
For the next few years, I was on the road with an itinerary
have just done ‘The Tonight Show.’” What happened while
designed by the Marquis de Sade. But there was a sexy
I was out there was very similar to an alien abduction: I
anonymity about the travel; I was living the folkie myth of
remember very little of it, though I’m convinced it occurred.
having no ties to anyone, working small clubs and colleges in improvised folk rooms that were usually subterranean. In
I did the show successfully several times. I was doing
this netherworld, I was free to experiment. There were no
material from my act, best stuff first, and after two or three
mentors to tell me what to do; there were no guidebooks
appearances, I realized how little best stuff I had. After
for doing stand-up. Everything was learned in practice,
I’d gone through my stage material, I started doing some
and the lonely road, with no critical eyes watching, was
nice but oddball bits such as “Comedy Act for Dogs” (first
the place to dig up my boldest, or dumbest, ideas and put
done on “Steve Allen”), in which I said, “A lot of dogs watch
them onstage. After a show, preoccupied by its success or
TV, but there’s really nothing on for them, so call your
failure, I would return to my motel room and glumly watch
dog over and let him watch because I think you’re going
the three TV channels sign off the air at 11:30, knowing
to see him crack up for the first time.” Then I brought out
I had at least two more hours to stare at the ceiling before the adrenaline eased off and I could fall asleep.
“ They had to believe that I didn’t care if they laughed at all and that this act was going on with or without them.”
The consistent work enhanced my act. I learned a lesson: it was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time. What was hard was to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the circumstances. Performing in so many varied situations made every predicament manageable, from Toronto, where I performed next to an active salad bar, to the well-paying but soul-killing Playboy Clubs, where I was almost but not quite able to go over. But as I continued to work, my material grew; I came up with odd little gags such as “How many people have never raised their hands before?” Because I was generally unknown, I was free to gamble with material, and there were a few evenings when crucial mutations affected my developing act. At Vanderbilt University in Nashville, I played for approximately 100
four dogs “that I can perform to so I can get the timing
students in a classroom with a stage at one end. The
down.” While I did terrible canine-related jokes, the dogs
show went fine. However, when it was over, something
would walk off one at a time, with the last dog lifting his
odd happened. The audience didn’t leave. The stage
leg on me. The studio audience saw several trainers out of
had no wings, no place for me to go, but I still had to
camera range, making drastic hand signals, but the home
pack up my props. I indicated that the show had ended,
TV audience saw only the dogs doing their canine best.
but they just sat there, even after I said flatly, “It’s over.” They thought this was all part of the act, and I couldn’t
Another time I claimed that I could read from the
convince them otherwise. Then I realized there were
phone book and make it funny. I opened the book
no exits from the stage and that the only way out was
and droned the names to the predictable silence, then
to go through the audience. So I kept talking. I passed
I pretended to grow more and more desperate and
among them, ad-libbing comments along the way.
began to do retro shtick such as cracking eggs on my head. I got word that Johnny was not thrilled, and
I walked out into the hallway, but they followed me
I was demoted to appearing with guest hosts, which I
there too. That night I went to bed feeling I had entered
tried not to admit to myself was a devastating blow.
new comic territory. My show was becoming something else, something free and unpredictable, and the
16
doing of it thrilled me, because each new performance
Instead of looking like another freak with a crazy act,
brought my view of comedy into sharper focus.
I now looked like a visitor from the straight world who had gone seriously awry. The act’s unbridled nonsense
The act tightened. It became more physical. It was true I
was taking the audience—and me—on a wild ride, and
couldn’t sing or dance, but singing funny and dancing funny
my growing professionalism, founded on thousands of
were another matter. All I had to do was free my mind and
shows, created a subliminal sense of authority that made
start. I would abruptly stop the show and sing loudly, in my
members of the audience feel they weren’t being had.
best lounge-singer voice, “Grampa bought a rubber.” Or, invoking a remembered phrase from my days working in a
Between 1973 and 1975, my one-man vaudeville show
magic shop, I would shout, “Uh-oh, I’m getting happy feet!”
turned fully toward the surreal. I was linking the unlinkable,
and then dance uncontrollably across the stage, my feet
blending economy and extravagance, non sequiturs
moving like Balla’s painting of a Futurist dog, while my face
with the conventional. I was all over the place, sluicing
told the audience that I wanted to stop but couldn’t. Closing
the gold from the dirt, honing the edge that confidence
the show, I’d say, “I’d like to thank each and every one of
brings. I cannot say I was fearless, because I was acutely
you for coming here tonight.” Then I would walk into the
aware of any audience drift, and if I sensed trouble, I
audience and, in fast motion, thank everyone individually.
would swerve around it. I believed it was important to be funny now, while the audience was watching, but it was
The new physicality brought an unexpected element into
also important to be funny later, when the audience was
the act: precision. My routines wove the verbal with the
home and thinking about it. I didn’t worry if a bit got no
physical, and I found pleasure trying to bring them in line.
response, as long as I believed it had enough strangeness
Each spoken idea had to be physically expressed as well.
to linger. My friend Rick Moranis (whose imitation of Woody
My teenage attempt at a magician’s grace was being
Allen was so precise that it made Woody seem like a
transformed into an awkward comic grace. I felt as though
faker) called my act’s final manifestation “anti-comedy.”
every part of me was working. Some nights it seemed that it wasn’t the line that got the laugh, but the tip of my finger.
In Florida one night, I was ready to put my experience
I tried to make voice and posture as crucial as jokes and gags. Silence, too, brought forth laughs. Sometimes I would stop and, saying nothing, stare at the audience with a look of mock disdain, and on a good night, it struck us all as funny, as if we were in on the joke even though there was no actual joke we could point to. Finally, I understood an E. E. Cummings quote I had puzzled over in college: “Like the burlesque comedian, I am abnormally fond of that precision
“ I cut my hair, shaved my beard and put on a suit.”
which creates movement.” Precision was moving the plot forward, was filling every moment with content, was
at Vanderbilt into effect. The night was balmy and I was
keeping the audience engaged.
able to take the audience outside into the street and roam around in front of the club, making wisecracks. I
Around this time I smelled a rat. The rat was the Age of
didn’t quite know how to end the show. First I started
Aquarius. Though the era’s hairstyles, clothes and lingo
hitchhiking; a few cars passed me by. Then a taxi came
still dominated youth culture, by 1972 the movement
by. I hailed it and got in. I went around the block, returned
was tired and breaking down. Drugs had killed people,
and waved at the audience—still standing there—then
and so had Charles Manson. The war in Vietnam was
drove off and never came back. The next morning I
near its official end, but its devastating losses had
received one of the most crucial reviews of my life. John
embittered and divided America. Change was imminent.
Huddy, the respected entertainment critic for the Miami
I cut my hair, shaved my beard and put on a suit.
Herald, devoted his entire column to my act. Without qualification, he raved in paragraph after paragraph,
I stripped my act of all political references. To politics I
starting with HE PARADES HIS HILARITY RIGHT OUT
was saying, “I’ll get along without you very well. It’s time
INTO THE STREET, and concluded with: “Steve Martin is
to be funny.” Overnight, I was no longer at the tail end
the brightest, cleverest, wackiest new comedian around.”
of an old movement but at the front end of a new one.
Oh, and the next night the club owner made sure all
tabs had been paid before I took the audience outside.
Johnny enjoyed the delights of split-second timing, of watching a comedian squirm and then rescue himself, of
Roger Smith had told me that when he came to Hollywood
the surprises that can arise in the seconds of desperation
from El Paso to be an actor, he had given himself six
when the comedian senses that his joke might fall to
months to get work. The time elapsed, and he packed up
silence. For my first show back, I chose to do a bit I had
his car, which was parked on Sunset Boulevard, where his
developed years earlier. I speed-talked a Vegas nightclub
final audition would be. Informed that he was not right for
act in two minutes. Appearing on the show was Sammy
the job, he went out and started up his car. He was about
Davis Jr., who, while still performing energetically, had also
to pull away, away to El Paso, when there was a knock
become a historic showbiz figure. I was whizzing along,
on his windshield. “We saw you in the hall. Would you like
singing a four-second version of “Ebb Tide,” then saying
to read for us?” the voice said. He was then cast as the
at lightning speed, “Frank Sinatra personal friend of mine
star of the hit television show “77 Sunset Strip.” My review
Sammy Davis Jr. personal friend of mine Steve Martin I’m
from John Huddy was the knock on the window just as I
a personal friend of mine too and now a little dancin’!”
was about to get in my car and drive to a metaphorical El
I started a wild flail, which I must say was pretty funny,
Paso, and it gave me a psychological boost that allowed
when a showbiz miracle occurred. The camera cut away
me to nix my arbitrarily chosen 30-year-old deadline
to a dimly lit Johnny, just as he whirled up from his chair,
to reenter the conventional world. The next night and
doubling over with laughter. Suddenly, subliminally, I was
the rest of the week the club was full, all 90 seats.
endorsed. At the end of the act, Sammy came over and hugged me. I felt like I hadn’t been hugged since I was born.
I continued to appear on “The Tonight Show,” always with a guest host, doing material I was developing on the road.
This was my 16th appearance on the show, and the
Then I got a surprise note from Bob Shayne: “We had a
first one I could really call a smash. The next day, elated
meeting with Johnny yesterday, told him you’d been a
by my success, I walked into an antiques store on La
smash twice with guest hosts, and he agrees you should
Brea. The woman behind the counter looked at me.
be back on with him. So I think that hurdle is over.” In September 1974, I was booked on the show with Johnny.
“Are you that boy who was on “The Tonight Show” last night?”
This was welcome news. Johnny had comic savvy. The
“Yes,” I said.
daytime television hosts, with the exception of Steve Allen,
“Yuck!” she blurted out.
did not come from comedy. I had a small routine that went like this: “I just bought a new car. It’s a prestige car. A ‘65 Greyhound bus. You know you can get up to 30 tons of luggage in one of those babies? I put a lot of money into it....I put a new dog on the side. And if I said to a girl, ‘Do you want to get in the back seat?’ I had, like, 40 chances.” Etc. Not great, but at the time it was working. It did, however, require all the pauses and nuance that I could muster. On “The Merv Griffin Show,” I decided to use it for panel,
17
meaning I would sit with Merv and pretend it was just chat. I began: “I just bought a new car. A ‘65 Greyhound bus.” Merv, friendly as ever, interrupted and said, “Now, why on earth would you buy a Greyhound bus?” I had no prepared answer; I just stared at him. I thought, “Oh my God, because it’s a comedy routine.” And the bit was dead. Johnny, on the other hand, was the comedian’s friend. He waited; he gave you your timing. He lay back and stepped in like Ali, not to knock you out but to set you up. He struggled with you too and sometimes saved you.
STEVE MARTIN is an American honorary Academy Award winning actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright and producer.
the
t op
twenty
books f o r
t w e n t y - s o m e t h i n g s
I still can’t believe my debut book 101 Secrets for your
the 21 books that influenced me on this quest for finding the
Twenties is on paper and in bookstores. Still feels surreal.
twentysomething secrets. The list below is entirely non-fiction.
(Read 21 Secrets for your 20s to see what started it all and
Some I’ve just recently been introduced to. Others have been
check 101 Secrets for your Twenties out here.) And what
with me for the entire decade. I often get asked what books I’d
better way to celebrate the book launch than to talk about
recommend for twentysomethings. Now here it is!
1
Man’s Search for Meaning Victor
Frankl
Writing about his survival of concentration camps, Vicktor Frankl’s powerful book shows twenty-somethings the power of hope and belief to get us through any situation.
2
Into the Wild Jon
Krakauer
Into the Wild is a powerful and provocative warning that we need to know, and be known. A man of extremes created a life for himeself he was truthful. His story has so much influence, that in my book it became Secret #14 “Don’t go Into the Wild all by yourself.”
4 5
Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes William
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation Parker
3
Palmer
If your grandpa, who just happened to be an incredibly wise, well-spoken educator who is 100% authentic and honest, just took a day and talked you through how to truly find what you love by looking at your life, this would be that book.
Bridges
Life after college is one of the most significant transitions we will ever go through. William Bridges provides a stellar framework for how to handle transitions and not freak out! (well at least not too much).
Amusing Ourselves to Death Neil
Postman
We are obese on information and entertainment – useless facts that are high in fat and sugar, and that require us to do absolutely nothing. This is an incredibly timely and needed book for plugged-in twentysomethings. And it was written in the 1980’s.
|
6 7 8
They Don’t Teach Corporate in College Alexandra
Levit
A no BS, honest, practical, tactical handbook for entering the workforce.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years Do n a l d
Miller
Encouraging book for twentysomethings looking to take an active role in their own life story.
The World is Flat Thomas
Friedman
“On such a flat earth, the most important attribute you can have is creative imagination.” – Thomas Friedman. In the infancy stages of All Groan Up, I did a video review of the World is Flat – full of stop-motion, phrases like “Wii me please“, and the like. If you want to have a 300 page book given to you in three minutes, this is the book to check out.
9
Pasricha
One. This book is hilarious and insightful. Two. There was a lot of heartbreak that lead to so much awesome. When life is tough you just have to laugh at the small sweet goodness that weaves through the details.
10
Defining Decade Meg
ˈtwentē
|
11 12 13
Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch
Albom
The book is a beautiful reminder on how to live the beginning of our story from someone at his end.
Life After College Jenny
Blake
College is done, what next? This book presents practical and insightful “tips & resources for life, work, money, happiness, personal growth & productivity”.
No Man is an Island Thomas
Merton
Written by a Catholic monk, this book is packed with so much wisdom on spirituality and living life well, that you could sit with this book for a year and just scratch the surface.
14 15
Life After Art
The Book of Awesome Neil
täp
Jay
A recent book that’s making a giant splash. The basic premise – your twenties are not a throw-a-way decade. When her Ted talk came out, I had email after email telling me I needed to check it out.
Matt
App l i n g
An encouraging and challenging read about our ability and need to create as we grow up.
How to Win Friends and Influence People Dale
Carnegie
It released way back in 1936 and continues to stay a bestseller. Three fundamental techniques in handling people. The six ways to make people like you. The twelve ways to win people to you way of thinking. The nine ways to change people without arousing resentment
19
|
16 17 18 Start Jon
Acuff
The subtitle is: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work that Matters. Enough said.
The War of Art Steven
Pressfied
For any twentysomething trying to create something worth creating, this is your battle guide.
täp
ˈtwentē
19 20
The Last Lecture Randy
Pausch
A small, powerful book of a dying man sharing his secrets of success as he nears the finish line.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Dr.
Seuss
Because you’re never too old for Dr. Seuss.
Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success Dan
Schwabel
Dan Schwabel brings a field-guide to the importance of building your brand online and off.
20
Paul
Angone
is the author of 101 Secrets for your Twenties, as well as a speaker, humorist, and the creator of AllGroanUp.com, a place for those asking “what now?” Follow him on Twitter @PaulAngone.
|
YOU ARE THE kit to my kat cheese to my macaroni
salt to my pepper
ping to my pong
pen to my paper... Introverts and Extroverts compliment each other. Find out where you fit @ youfithere.org
Peoria home Series by Jill Parks
#5
b y
m i c h a e l
m a r t e n
“Service� means something different depending on who you ask. Providing dinner once a week at a homeless shelter, joining the armed forces, talking with a friend, chaining yourself to an old oak tree as loggers enter the forest, leaving your car at home and biking to work every day, giving $50 to the Red Cross, choosing professional work that makes a difference, writing a letter to a congressional leader about campaign finance reform, developing a micro- lending project for low-income teens to start small businesses, serving on a committee at a religious institution, giving blood, tutoring a migrant worker, adopting an eight year old boy. These are all examples of service.
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As far as I can see between all examples of service the key interrelating component here is an absence of self. So often our goals – in fact, our entire mindsets – are uniformly self- focused. Immanuel Kant was a philosopher who went so far as to say that, with a few excep- tions, everything we do is motivated for the self. Our society facilitates, even encourages, this line of thinking. The “American Dream” is one of personal gain and triumph and capitalism urges harsh competition and values corporate Darwinism. Those things can grow a prospering economy (or sometimes not) and lead to business success, but they stress self-centric thinking and they dismiss empathy. My personal definition of service is anything that requires sacrifice. It is a response to brash individualism and even selfishness and an affirmation of the more compassionate form of the human spirit. It is remembering that we are social creatures and that none of the amazing privileges our society affords us could have ever existed without working for, and with, each other. While I stress that one’s goal for service should be purely altruistic it is, however, important to have the content of that service be catered to the one’s self. One’s skills, gifts, talents, and interests are vital in searching out a way to serve.
24
I am interested in, and have a growing skill set concerning, digital art and design, and related technological tools. I see the importance of the internet and computers in art, graphic design, and business ventures of all natures, is only going to increase as time goes on. I also know that my High School in Sun Prairie, WI is far behind the times when it comes to learning programs. In searching for a way to give back that would work with my strengths, thus allowing me to give a higher quality of service, I saw a prime opportunity at Sun Prairie High School. Giving high school-aged students the chance to jumpstart their skills in various design programs may not seem like the traditional method of public service, but this sort of mentorship would give students fundamental knowledge of an ever-increasing industry and the chance to explore new interests. I came to MIAD knowing nothing about any of these programs, and having some previ- ous experience and knowledge of them would have benefited me greatly. Photoshop, Illustra- tor, Web Design are the fundamental tools in pursuing any design career. Also, the knowl- edge of design asthetic is meant to be taught with personal critiques
Service, more than anything, is “ about people, so there is no better way to understand this topic than through the people who have experienced it. ”
and collaborative projects which I plan on imploring at every chance I get. Helping kids learn these things now is helping them find success in their future careers. I have benefited from others’ service in countless ways.
can’t remember the name of the place...and he wrote me in big, big writing Mother Theresa, I love you so much...and underlines under “so much”. I’m sending you my pocket money, and inside the letter there was a check of three dollars. All a beautiful gift of God.”
My uncle, Wes enlisted in the army to help protect our country. My sister’s fiance’s father is a police officer in Madison, WI. My art teacher in High School really motivated me to push myself and work hard to get into Art School. My parent’s sponsor a child in Kenya and I’ve benefited from knowing how hard other people’s lives are and how lucky I am to have loving, supportive parents and the life they gave me.
If everyone would just serve others without even thinking twice, the world would be a much better place. A little boy sent a measly 3 dollars, but that was probably a significant amount of money to him and if everyone in the world would be selfless enough to sacrafice his equivalent of 3 dollars, perhaps world hunger would not be such a prevailent problem in this world. Per- haps the boy sent his 3 dollars after watching his parents be selfless and generous. The world is one big continuous cycle.
Mother Teresa said in her 1996 interview when asked how youth in America can help her cause “And so as love begins at home, we are more and more able. Where there is love, there is joy, there is peace, there is unity. That is why it is very important if we really want to give the kind- ness of God’s love, we must first experience that in our own life-His love. The other day , I had a letter from a child from America....I
Service, more than anything, is about people, so there is no better way to understand this topic than through the people who have experienced it. My older sister, Abby, was kind enough to give me some of her insights on the nature of service: “I define service as anything you can do to make the world better and not worse. Service is important because it is what makes humans human. Doing something for the greater
27
good even though it’s not exactly fun. Service builds good character. I used to volunteer at Lakeshore Kid’s Camp as a lifeguard every summer. I helped in the kitchen, cleaned the pool and the bathrooms and did odd jobs around the camp. It helped me to build a good work ethic and a lot of kids that came through the camp looked forward to the week they were there more than anything else all year. I’ve benefited from the service of the other staff members at the camp because we developed strong friendships and bonded through serving others. Showing kindness and setting good examples for children is going to make future generations better. Children tend to mimic how they’re treated. Therefore if you’re nice to kids and support them and encourage them, they will be more likely to grow into nice, supportive, encouraging adults. I think children in our society are “lost” because some of them don’t have good parents to show them the way. We can improve the lives of less fortunate children by leading with example.”
I define service as anything you can do to “ make the world better and not worse.
”
My future brother in law, Thad, was also able to provide a take on what service is:
26
“I worked with kids at a public access cable station. The same station I got to be a part of, and that instilled a love of and fascination of television production when I was little. Not only was I able to guide kids creatively, I was also able to return the gift that was given to me at a young age. It feels right to give back, because once you’ve benefited from truly selfless people you realize how much brighter and surer the world seems, especially to children. It cultivates a value to help and improve the world around you when you are small and people come out of nowhere to do something nice for you. And it makes you want to live your life with those prin- ciples in mind. If everybody felt similarly, and everybody gave just a little, I can’t see how that wouldn’t be a better place to live.” Service is about people. Not just about the people who are the recipients of the service, but also about those who give. A symbiotic sort of relationship forms as a result of serving others whether it is apparent or not. The served is more likely to serve, with an example set of how we may help each other, it is easy to see how it makes sense. It may sound cliche to say that you get just as much value out of giving as receiving, but the truth is things are only cliche because they are said so often, and this is said so often because it is true, and has been true for so many peoples.
27 m i c h a e l
m a r t e n
is a recent 2013 graduate of Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design . He currently resides in Milwaukee doing illustration and design freelance work. He is also a current volunteer at Milwaukee Resuce Center
j i l l
p a r k s
is a communication design major with an emphasis in photography. Her passion is to photograph worn down bulidings to show the decay of the surrounding towns and cities . She currently resides in Milwaukeee, WI while finishing her degree.
gulf coast
panama
$172
$218
ukraine
$631
nicaragua
$631
croatia
$687
10 28
cheapest
flights
abroad by
(in 2014)
christine
sarkis
It’s a fact almost every traveler faces: The world is bigger than our wallets are deep. And while there are plenty of tricks for squeezing the most out of every vacation dollar, one of the simplest options is to find a place that has a lot to offer but hasn’t yet been hit by the price inflation that comes with bigtime popularity. Here are 10 destinations great enough to make the journey worthwhile, yet still cheap enough to ensure vacation abundance.
|ˈ f a k ˌ t o i d |
sri lanka
$702
south korea
$682
cambodia
$702
tasmania
turkey
$523
$869
Christina
sarkis
Senior Editor Christine Sarkis joined SmarterTravel in 2003. She focuses on travel trends and is always on the lookout for the next great destination. Her work has also been published in Spain from a Backpack, a collection of short travel stories, and The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2008.
29