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This story is all too tragic: Gunman Opens Fire on Northern Illinois Campus. I watch it on CNN. The headlines flash under the screen with that familiar and gruesome uncertainty of breaking news: FIVE PRESUMED DEAD. FOURTEEN WOUNDED. But my immediate sympathies have been tamped down by the realization that I have seen a similar story last week: a nursing student (a woman) opened fire at the campus of Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge.  I am also thinking of a less recent school shooting in Tuusula, Finland, where an 18-year-old shot and killed eight at his high school. It is hard to make sense of it all. 

Soon after the NIU shooting, the public learns that the shooter was a former graduate student named Steve Kazmierczak.  A video of his dad declaring “I am a diabetic” plays on a continuous loop on every television news channel. We learn that there were no red flags and that the shooter had been a very promising student. It becomes clear he went off his meds. We, the viewers, become bombarded with the same few facts over and over again.  We feel sorry for the victims’ families, even if we lose track of the victims as quickly as we lose track of the tragedy. Each school shooting - random, senseless and independent - appears to be the same story. The noise buzzes for a while amid breaking headlines. Then it gets lost in other noise. This is the infotainment age.

Similarly, watching the first car bombing was a horrifying experience. The next 100 were equally horrifying, but after so many explicit clips, audiences have become desensitized. Nothing surprises anymore. And no matter how horrific a car bombing or school shooting may look on television, it is only on television. The buzz has become part of the background. Each subsequent tragedy gets less coverage, and the depth of that coverage is less thought provoking than the preceding one. Old news, unfortunately, gets few views.

In fairness, the media gets paid for bringing news that is, well, new. Car bombings and to a lesser degree, school shootings, do not satisfy our insatiable need for infotainment. The television news media does an excellent job of framing breaking stories inside of SMART boards and presenting statistics on cool - albeit confusing - 3-D holograms. And online news can be equally superficial.

I have copied and pasted the first paragraph of the NIU shooting as it was first covered by major news sources.

The New York Times The man who opened fire on students in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University was described by police on Friday as a 27-year-old former sociology student there who had been highly regarded, but who had begun to act erratic after he stopped taking medication.

National Public Radio The gunman who shot and killed five people at Northern Illinois University before turning the gun on himself had recently become erratic after stopping his medication, authorities said

Los Angeles Times A gunman accused of killing five students in a Northern Illinois University classroom Thursday had stopped taking medication two weeks ago “and became somewhat erratic,” campus police said Friday

The Arizona Republic The man who gunned down five people at Northern Illinois University in a suicidal rampage became erratic after halting his medication and carried a shotgun to campus inside a guitar case, police said Friday

The Dallas Morning News The man who gunned down five people at Northern Illinois University in a suicidal rampage became erratic after halting his medication and carried a shotgun to campus inside a guitar case, police said Friday

Only hours after the shooting, the story is taking shape. The shooter was a good student. He took some kind of medication and then went off of them. Does all of this lead to the horrible shooting? No. But the message seems clear to me.

The shooter went offs his meds and then he did the unthinkable.

What he was taking is not important, apparently, but if this is true, then the solution seems equally clear: Medicated individuals need to stay medicated, or else.

The trend seems to be this: that the more frequent a tragedy is, a car bombing say or a school shooting, the less it is covered by the news media. As a result, we never talk about what causes car bombings or schools shootings. Those discussions -if they occur at all - get lost in the hum of persistent, flashing background noise. We get bored. We change the channel to American Idol or visit YouTube. Then the next tragedy occurs and we shake our heads and say, “what is this world coming to?”

Of course, even if we had the answers, none of them will bring solace to the victims or their families, but simplifying a story does little to raise public awareness or to help us understand the increasing frequency of school shootings. The public needs to at least partially understand an issue before it can address it. The media has to be a better job of informing the public, of raising the issues and of asking “why is this happening” as much as presenting “what is happening”.

I make these remarks with a guilty conscience. I used to be a high school English teacher, so I should feel a painful connection to the professors and students at Northern Illinois University. I have experienced the chill of lock-downs. I have felt the vulnerability of wanting to help and the powerlessness of waiting for the school principal to announce that “students can move to their next class”. In the end, my experiences amounted to precautions. My school’s administration acted in good judgment. I am thankful for their preparedness.

And yet I am sad, frustrated and confused. Schools used to be sacred ground, at the very least sanctuaries for the young and inexperienced, at the most ivory towers for scholars and intellectuals. But at some point in the last 15 years, schools have become battlegrounds for senseless violence. No longer sacred, they are now the targets of misguided, often youthful rage. And although each shooting appears to be an independent act of senseless violence, we must acknowledge that this trend is a recent one. It was not until the mid 90s that school shootings became a serious threat. And it wasn’t until after the Columbine tragedy that this trend - the idea any day a person could walk into a school and open fire - penetrated public awareness. Click here for a complete list of school shootings worldwide.

I cannot blame all my frustration on the media’s dumb-downed coverage. Viewers tune-out when news becomes complicated or old. But with every school shooting, there is more to the story than what the news media covers in the first twenty-four hours. The public needs to start thinking about this. Accepting the tragic reality that there will be another school shooting is not good enough.

I am not willing to accept this reality. Are you?

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According to a recent article in the New York Times, online schools are growing, sparking contentious debates in courtrooms and legislatures. The article points out that there are two models of virtual schooling: programs that do not give diplomas but offer course work to supplement traditional schools, and full-time online charter schools.

Educators need to make a distinction between these two models, and as the research becomes clearer about the relative successes or failures of virtual schooling, they should evaluate how, specifically, each model adds value to the current system.

Opponents of online schools argue that students who attend these schools fail to learn how to interact socially. In addition to content knowledge learned from books, attending bricks and mortar schools teach students how to get along with other students. Therefore, virtual schools might all but eliminate “social” education. Another argument involves funding. Opponents argue that funding online schools diverts payments from school districts that are already struggling financially. And given that research about online schooling is unclear, then educators should understand the effectiveness of online schools before they spend money on what might otherwise be used to fix existing problems in the current system.

But much of the opposition against online schooling is directed towards a misunderstood model of virtual schooling. Although it is not clear the effectiveness of full time online schools, state led, state financed virtual schools have been successful. Education Sector, a nonprofit non partisan think tank, states in its report Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education that

Most people think of “cyber” charter schools, schools that are responsible for students’ entire education experience and that students attend full-time, as the primary sponsors of online learning. But in fact these cyberschools serve a small portion of the students learning online.

The fact remains that most online schools supplement traditional education, and these programs often sponsored by school districts and universities are part of, and not an alternative to, the current public education system. The Education Sector report discusses how online schooling supplements a traditional curriculum:

Often, the virtual programs fill curriculum gaps, providing Advanced Placement and other courses that are not available, or courses that help students make up credits for missed or failed classes. And it is these supplemental virtual programs that have the most important lessons to teach public school reformers.

The discussion about the growth of virtual schooling needs to move forward, but how educators, parents and legislators think about virtual schooling, as “independent cyberschool” or as a “supplement to traditional school” will help push the debate towards a practical compromise, one that will improve the existing system. Certainly, to think about online schools in the latter context will advance the progress of serious education reform.

-Michael Armillay

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I have very large nostrils, which I use to hypnotize people. This is what you have to do when you’re a travel writer who doesn’t travel. I draw them in with the seductive power of my nostrils and then they tell me everything. Mostly, I do this on the Chinatown bus. The other day I was sitting next to man I will call Gary, who recently returned from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

The following photos I stole off of his computer.

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Gary says, “San Pedro is the kind of town you visit for a week and end up staying for a year.” There is something very true about this, I guess. Check out this picture of the town.

You’ll notice that nobody walks the streets during the day. Why is that? I have two working theories:

1. It’s deadly hot, which is why visitors motivate either very early or after dark.

2. San Pedro is a fun town. Remember that in fun towns people stay out late, and in San Pedro there are surprisingly many places where to eat, drink and socialize.

The town has a rich history, in fact it is known as archaeological capital of Chile according to its website. But besides the history, which is very old, and the town itself, which has a cool adobe feel, San Pedro has a lot to offer. This is why people end up staying longer than they plan to.

“The only problem”, says a large fatherly man named Jorge, “is tourists are always throwing themselves inside the big dune”. Jorge, of course, is talking about Valle de la Luna, or Valley of the Moon, which is about ten miles from San Pedro. With its moonlike landscape, sleek brown dunes and awesome spectral sunsets, it might be one of the most beautiful places you ever see. Just don’t throw yourself inside the big dune.

“Why are people always temped to throw themselves?” I ask Jorge, the large, fatherly man. “I mean, just because a dune is big doesn’t mean you have to throw yourself inside it.”

“It is because of the sign,” says Jorge. “People always want to do what’s not good for them, including smoking, drinking, and throwing themselves inside a big dune. It’s human nature.”

If you don’t want to risk hurling yourself into a beautiful slope of huge brown sand, you might want to see the Geysers del Tatio and then stop at a small village to enjoy some the most savory llama kabobs known to man.

Beside the dune danger in Moon Valley, visitors might experience some mild altitude sickness in San Pedro. At 2450 meters above sea level, you might need to ease into the altitude.

And of course, there could be an earthquake.

“It was a cold and blustery morning,” says Gary. “I was sleeping peacefully, when the ground began to shake. El terremoto, I screamed, but it was too late.”

The earthquake Gary describes had a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale and occurred approximately 60 miles away, so what they felt was more like 5.0. It lasted about 30 seconds. Gary was traveling with John Nash and Mikeypipe.

When I phoned John Nash and asked him about it, he said he didn’t mind the earthquake. “If it happened in Boliva, then I would have hated it,” said Nash. “But it wasn’t so bad in Chile.”

If you are coming from Bolivia, remember to bring your wallet. Chile costs three times more than Boliva.

“Well worth the price,” says John Nash “for roads and working toilets, I’ll pay”.

So if decide to visit San Pedro de Atacama then be sure to visit Moon Valley. Just don’t throw yourself inside the big dune. It might sound tempting, but then again San Pedro is a tempting place, or at least that’s how I gauge it from the pictures I stole with the hypnotic powers of my nostrils.

-Bunk Johnson

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A self proclaimed “Career Advice Guru”, Carl brings 20 years of professional experience to PIPEinArgentina. In what, we’re not sure. His column: “Career Advice from Carl Fortebraccio” appears every Monday, more or less, or when Carl remembers to write it.

The other day I’m talking to Gus Mariano, a friend of mine who does tile work. I tell him that I’m going into the marketing field. I figure there must be money in it. He tells me that marketing is very important in the tile industry. Who knew?

“What kind of experience do you have?” he asks me.

If the Fortebraccios know anything, it’s marketing. Even before I could roll a cigarette, I went with my Uncle Luigi to Sabatelles, where they make the best prosciutto. In fact, Uncle Luigi always says he would trade his wife for half a pound of their choice stuff. Poor Aunt Tomasia makes good lonza too, but it is nothing like the proscuitto at Sabatelles’. Anyway, by the time I was seven, I knew more about procuitto than Dom Deluise. “I put the “M” in marketing, if you know what I mean.”

Gus Mariano goes on and on to explain that marketing involves customers and competitors not prosciutto and provolone. (Easy for him to say. He married Irish.) The man is speaking a different language.

“Blab blab blab blab,” I say. These tile-ists are all nuts.

“Crazy Carl,” he says, “If you really want to get a Marketing job, then you’ll have to learn something about it. More importantly, you need customize your resume to show your transferable skills. And you need to brand yourself.”

“Like a cow?” I ask. “You mean I have to put the Fortebraccio crest on my-”

“Not exactly,” says Gus Mariano. “A ‘brand’ is another way of showing what makes you unique. How will Crazy Carl Fortebraccio add value to our company?”

“Listen Gus, I’m not interested in tile work. I appreciate your help and all, but -”

“No Carl, I mean when a potential employer looks at your resume, she needs to see not only that you’re qualified, but also that you’re different. Your personal brand is your value story. How do you add value? How can you bring value to a company?”

“I have no idea,” I say.

“Well, before you look into a marketing or any other job, you need to first determine a compelling value story. You need to think about the Fortebraccio brand.”

And I thought I was crazy. Talk to a Tile-ist for five minutes. I searched the Internet and sure enough I found a few articles on personal branding. If you want to succeed in this job market, then stand out like a cow and brand yourself.

Below are list a few articles and websites that might help you determine your personal brand. But if you want the best proscuitto, head to Sabatteles on Main Street, Pittston.

Remember, it’s never too late to move out of the basement. At least that’s what my mother says.

–Crazy Carl Fortebraccio

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The Personal Branding Blog. This is a fantastic resource with articles and links related to discovering, creating, maintaining and managing your personal brand. It’s useful even for career gurus like me.

Branding – Your Key to Success. This article discusses presenting your personal brand on a resume. It’s posted on JobCircle, a great resource for career changers.

If you have other links or articles related to personal branding, please post a comment.

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Bunk’s column, Around the World with Bunk Johnson, appears every Sunday on PIPEinArgentina. His first article, “The Chinatown Bus”, is based on a real experience.

This weekend I went to Washington DC to attend the 17th annual FWC (Fraudulent Writer’s Conference). I covered the event for PIPEinArgentina, the low paying company I work for. With a travel budget of thirty dollars, I had one way to get there: the Chinatown bus.

A round trip ticket from Philadelphia to Washington DC is 28 dollars, a great value if you consider Greyhound charges almost double that. And forget about Amtrak. Although the train is far more pleasant, the average price of a round trip ticket is 120 dollars. So if you work for a cheap company like PIPEinArgetina (and you need to cover a story outside of Philadelphia, PA), then the Chinatown bus is your best option.

Why is a ticket so cheap then?

For starters the bus left the terminal 45 minutes late. When I asked the man at the ticket office why the bus was so late, he said “because the driver said”. Satisfied with this explanation, I took a seat in terminal and read my March copy of ANALOG: Science Fiction and Fact.

When the bus finally arrived and I got on it, the first thing I noticed – besides that the driver looked sixteen – was the smell. It was a powerful and lingering stink, a cross between body odor and urine. Normally, my nose acclimates to those scents, but not this time. Have I smelled worse? Sure, but nothing quite as persistent as CT bus funk.

It was hard to sleep on the bus, especially since the lights stayed on the entire trip. I was able to talk on my cell phone though. Unlike Greyhound, which doesn’t allow cell phone use, the Chinatown bus doesn’t mind it. Just don’t talk to the driver for any reason.

I soon realized that everybody on the bus qualified for a Lifetime mini-series (not that I ever watched one). Two seats across from me, a fourteen year old couple argued and then made-up, clawing at each other before declaring deep love in altering fifteen minute periods. Next to Romeo and Juliet a woman who looked forty made out with a guy at least half her age. It was one of the few occasions where I felt comfortable being me. A trip on the Chinatown bus will do wonders for your self-esteem.

Also, language learners are encouraged to ride. The less provocative passengers bantered in Russian, Spanish, Hebrew and French. And for the entire trip, a woman answered calls in a mixture of Frisian and Danish.

Twice the bus stopped. Each time it felt unexpected. The first time, the sixteen-year-old driver said something in Chinese. I think he was looking for Baltimore, but got off at the wrong exit. To hide his mistake he bought a pack of cigarettes at the mini-mart. He did this casually, like he was following standard protocol. The second stop actually was Baltimore.

When the bus arrived in DC, the driver let half the passengers out and then made an impressive K-turn on I street while the second wave of passengers got off. Fortunately, there were no accidents. Total travel time was fifteen minutes faster than Greyhound’s best effort albeit much less predictable.

In all seriousness, Chinatown Bus companies offer inexpensive and convenient trips to New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia. You never know what could happen, but for less than fifteen dollars a ticket, who cares.

-Bunk Johnson

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