Bridging the Gap between an Economist and a Comedian
When a person thinks about an economist, they think about someone who’s in academia who teaches economics to students or who advises government on economic policies. And when someone thinks about comedians, they think about a person who tells jokes about different subjects.
Earlier today, Yoram Bauman, Ph.D, part-time professor at the University of Washington, who is also a stand-up economist, gave a presentation in the LSC theater as part of the Literacy Financial Week at Sam Houston State University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics from Reed College in Portland Oregon and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in economics from the University of Washington. “Comedy works when there are stereotypes and they are strong stereotypes about economist, so it is easy to [do]”, Bauman said. In 2008, he did a supply-side world tour in Europe and Israel.
His presentation was fun and interesting because he made fun of those who are in the profession such as the macro-economist. But his main focus is on environmental tax reform. It involves raising taxes on air pollution, fossil fuels, etc. and lowering taxes on income, etc. so that it will force those to find alternate resources that will be good for the environment. Bauman’s three main goals in performing stand-up are:
1. Spread the joy of economist comedy to the world
2. Get people excited about economics
3. Pollution pricing and environmental tax reform
The presentation was great because not only did it make people laugh, but it introduced a new type of genre that seems opposite to each other and it gives a new avenue to get an important message across to the audience.
For more information about the Stand Up Economist, click here.
For more information about SHSU’s BearkatOne Services, click here.
Let the Rythm Give You Inspiracion
Well-known international artist in the music and art world will be making their way to Sam Houston State University for festival called “Festival Inspiracion”. The Festival Inspiracion is a one week festival that is focused on the Latin American cultures of the world. The event will be held from February 21-February 26. It will feature music, art, lectures and workshops that will educate those that are interested in the Latin American field.
The four artist that are headlining the event are:
Danilo Perez of Panama and Luis Marin of Puerto Rico, who performed with the late Tito Puente and other artists; Adelina Moya of Mexico and Jesus Moroles a sculptor from the USA. Both will be displaying their artwork in the Wynne Home museum. Moroles won the 2008 National Medal of Arts which is the highest honor in the art world and was presented by the President of the United States.
The brainchild behind the first ever latin festival that will be occurring here on campus is Dr. Sergio Ruiz, professor of music in the School of Music at Sam Houston State University. “I have been planning this for several years”, he said. “The plan was to bring the art, the music, the lectures, and the workshops together to make it fun and educational for everyone that attends.
This event will be one of the major events that will ever happen at Sam Houston State University because it will be bringing a huge exposure not only to the Latin American music scene, but to the culture of Latin America and it will inspire those to have a greater understanding of the Latin American people.
For more information about Festival Inspiracion, visit these links:
www.shsu.edu/~music
today@SAM.edu
Now I’ve Seen Everything
by Cheval John
A little of Panama was featured at the Latin Jazz Concert last Saturday night. The concert was headlined by Danilo Perez of Panama and the “Perez Trio” which featured bassist Ben Street and drummer Adam Cruz, both who from the New York area.
The first half of the concert, the SHSU symphony orchestra played with the trio along with a couple of jazz musicians from Woodcreek High School.
The second half of the concert, the SHSU Jazz Band, under the direction of Aric Schneller, professor of music at SHSU, played along with the trio. In the final rendition, pianist Luis Marin of Puerto Rico, who played on Monday night, joined in the festivities.
The concert was the finale of Festival Inspiracion. I personally enjoyed it because of the presentations that was given, the improvisation concert on Wednesday that featured the works of Jesus Moroles, a sculptor from Corpus Christi, Texas in which the musicians played music from the works and the SHSU dancers created choreography for the performance.
Will we see another festival inspiracion? Only time will tell.
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