Minor General Questions that Don't Deserve Their Own Thread

[LittleFool 1,912]

It's not much of a question, nor is it worthy of its own thread, but I was reading my abnormal psych book and there is an insert on avoidant personality disorder, and it reads: "This woman paints a sad and lonely figure as she sits by the Paris grave of the late Jim Morrison, lead singer of the rock group The Doors. Legions of Morrison fans have visited the grave for a variety of reasons since his 1971 death. Clinicians believe, however, that in some cases the overly devoted fans of long-gone celebrities - particularly fans who build their lives around the celebrities - manifest avoidant personality disorder. Uncomfortable and inhibited in real social situations, some people with this personality disorder develop an inner world of fantasy and imagined relationships." ~Tropico~

 

Sound familiar? Is this my future?

 

I wasn't sure where to post this, I just found it interesting.

[ilovetati 15,295]

Do we have any concrete info about Lana graduating from Fordham? I know the general consensus is that she did not, but is there anything definitive?

[evilentity 13,303]

Do we have any concrete info about Lana graduating from Fordham? I know the general consensus is that she did not, but is there anything definitive?

Interviews that appear to just parrot her claims, yes, but concrete information? No. Though I'm not sure what could constitute concrete proof other than a copy of her diploma, a graduation convocation ceremony program listing her name, or information from Fordham saying she graduated.

 

I wouldn't say the general consensus is that she didn't graduate. Along with @, I'm probably one of the leading skeptics, and I'd put the odds that she graduated from Fordham well above 50/50.

 

That said, the fact that she habitually misstates her field of study while simultaneously speaking shallowly and unintelligently about it in interviews makes me somewhat skeptical about her academic claims. (She routinely says her degree was in metaphysics, a major Fordham does not offer and did not offer when she attended there. It is certainly plausible that she majored in philosophy, as the song "Aviation" suggests, possibly with an emphasis in metaphysics, but her degree, if she obtained one, would have been in philosophy.) Another possible reason for some skepticism is the timeline of her recording AKA. A Fordham article about a campus gig she played says she was a junior in the spring of 2007 and she started recording AKA in the fall. David Nichtern, head of 5 Points Records, confirms this timeline, implying she recorded it during her senior year of college, and graduated, but the question is did she? Was she able to record AKA while going to school? Maybe. In a German interview she said the album was recorded at night.

 

At any rate, here's an interview quote suggesting she did graduate:

 

The Age, May 10, 2014

After high school, Del Rey attended Fordham, a university in the Bronx where she finished a BA with a major in philosophy, but felt out of sync with campus life.

And here's another one supporting the timeline above:

 

NYT, June 15, 2014

In 2007, she got her first recording contract when she was a senior at Fordham, studying metaphysics.

The link's dead, but another user found a MySpace comment by a Fordham student that said Lizzy came back to campus to play her music in her class, referring to her as an "alum":

Randomly looking around for this, i found this comment on a myspace profile

 

Jen

check out lizzy grant -- she is a fordham alum who came to my rock and roll to hip-hop class the other day & we listened to her song "kill kill", you might like her

 

http://www. myspace. com/lizzygrant

 

 

rock and roll to hip hop class Lana?

(Hmm, I wonder if this was a class taught by Mark Naisson.)

 

And here's a Buzzfeed article that suggests she didn't graduate, but provides no sourcing (plus I wonder if it's a feedback loop problem echoing skepticism from this community):

apparently Lana didn't complete her degree (at least not at Fordham)

 

[evilentity 13,303]

@ also drew my attention to this 2012 Channel V Music interview with Lana after her Splendour in the Grass performance that talks about recording at night while going to school, and completing four years of college, but supposedly working something out with her professors to do independent studies to accommodate recording AKA. (She also discussed metaphysics.)

Carissa Walford: But what would you do? If you weren’t doing this...
LDR: What would I do if I wasn’t doing this? Well, for the last 10 years, I mean, I’ve worked sort of in, uh, I mean, I guess you would just kind of generalize as service work in Manhattan, in New York, and music was kind of an afterthought that sort of, you know, like I started writing at night, um, after work and after school, um, so I think I’d just go back to that, being more involved in my community in New York. *laughs* This sounds like a Miss America uh... answer!
CW: *laughs* Miss America for 2012.
LDR: Yeah.
CW: You studied metaphysics?
LDR: Mm-mm.
CW: Tell me about that!
LDR: Well, it depends on what branch you study, um, I was interested in the origin of reality and how it came to be, basically how we came to be right here right now, and the history of the soul and where it goes after this life is over, and so it was just this like in in-depth... yeah, 4 years of school.
CW: Where do we go, please tell me. Somewhere special and pretty.
LDR: I don’t, I don’t know where we go but I know that we have to be very good to...
CW: To go to a good place.
LDR: *laughs* To go to a good place, yeah.
CW: And were you studying as well as writing your music, or was that a separate thing?
LDR: Yeah, I mean, my last 2 years I told my teachers I was gonna be a singer so they gave me an independent course and I lived, uh, I lived outside of New York in New Jersey and started making my record with this guy who was kind of a famous producer in Manhattan named David, and so, I mean, it was on my mind, it was something I wanted to do. I didn’t really think it would work but, um, I really wanted it to happen.

(h/t @ellipsis for the transcription)

Another afterthought I had: She sings about having "a big degree in philosophy" in "Aviation", which appears on Sirens, believed to have been recorded in 2005 or 2006, and also in the leaked collection of songs reputed to be From the End, which was registed with the US copyright office in 2005. So it may still be a reference to her own field of study, but she couldn't have had her degree yet when she sang this.

[BENTLEY 3,492]

Does Maha Maha mean anything?

[Subversive 2,213]

Does Maha Maha mean anything?

 

 "Maha" meanings :  

Arabic name meaning moonlit night, or wild cow depending on the situation. 

 

A beautiful girl with big eyes.

 

In Hindi, it means big. Something major.

[evilentity 13,303]

Does Maha Maha mean anything?

"Maha" meanings :  

Arabic name meaning moonlit night, or wild cow depending on the situation. [/size]

 

A beautiful girl with big eyes.[/size]

 

In Hindi, it means big. Something major.[/size]

I rather doubt Lana had any of these or any other meanings in mind when she wrote this. I think it's just gibberish.

[Valentino 884]

@ also drew my attention to this 2012 Channel V Music interview with Lana after her Splendour in the Grass performance that talks about recording at night while going to school, and completing four years of college, but supposedly working something out with her professors to do independent studies to accommodate recording AKA. (She also discussed metaphysics.)

(h/t @ellipsis for the transcription)

 

Another afterthought I had: She sings about having "a big degree in philosophy" in "Aviation", which appears on Sirens, believed to have been recorded in 2005 or 2006, and also in the leaked collection of songs reputed to be From the End, which was registed with the US copyright office in 2005. So it may still be a reference to her own field of study, but she couldn't have had her degree yet when she sang this.

 

Probably not a very good source, but this link from Fordham Daily says she graduated 2008. Does the writer actually know this because it's well known among Fordham students or are they parroting something they read?

 

I e-mailed the Fordham alumni office in the hopes of getting something definitive, but inclement weather has closed them down for the day. They'll start responding to "voicemails and e-mails" tomorrow. What luck!

[longtimeman 8,037]

I e-mailed the Fordham alumni office in the hopes of getting something definitive, but inclement weather has closed them down for the day. They'll start responding to "voicemails and e-mails" tomorrow. What luck!

Would they generally give out that information to random people?

[evilentity 13,303]

Probably not a very good source, but this link from Fordham Daily says she graduated 2008.

Nice find! Absent a copy of her diploma or a graduation convocation ceremony program listing her name, this is probably as much confirmation as we're going to get.

 

Edit: I just found this Fordham University Career Placement report for the class of 2008. This could be of interest: "In addition, one graduate chose to pursue a music career part-time..."

 

Would they generally give out that information to random people?

Yeah, I'd be surprised. Most US colleges are pretty tight about that for legal reasons. If I recall correctly, I don't think the college I went to would give out any information about my academic record, even to prospective employers, without my request. (Granted, I think they also charged a fee for this.)

[FROGGO 2,803]

@@evilentity My world is being flipped upside down....

[FROGGO 2,803]

@: care to share what you know about Lana not graduating?

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,342]

PLAYFULPUPPY, on 06 Mar 2015 - 01:58 AM, said:

PLAYFULPUPPY, on 06 Mar 2015 - 01:58 AM, said:

@: care to share what you know about Lana not graduating?

Well, when I went to a lakehouse around late September with a few friends (95% of them going to Fordham,) we had discussed a lot about Lana when I put on her music as we played a bunch of drinking games outside. Anyway, when I mentioned the song "Fordham Road," we got into the subject of how she went to Fordham University and studied metaphysics/philosophy. Four of the friends that are/were also Fordham students had stated that while she is noted among the university's famous alumni, she did not graduate from the university. The next time I see them, I'll inquire about it again, as I forgot whether it was a yearbook or a listing (or even something on the campus itself like a bulletin board or some shit) that confirmed that she attended but did not graduate. However, as stated above, one source states she did graduate in 2008. Discrepancies.

 

Be that as it may, as far as I'm concerned with my resources, she is not a graduate. Which I don't think would be a breach on academic information unless Fordham said she dropped out or flopped or something. I don't entirely know how degrees work at four-year-schools, so I can't theorize if she got at least an Associate's or was an undergraduate. But I'll try to get confirmation when I can with how far she possibly pursued her academic career.

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,342]

Also, not to DP, but I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone participating in a topic created by the Bermuda Triangle himself.

[Valentino 884]

The Fordham alumni office finally got back to me.

 

 

Take this as you will.

[longtimeman 8,037]

The Fordham alumni office finally got back to me.

 

mysterysolve.PNG

 

Take this as you will.

That's ... fascinating. Calling her LDR is the first obvious strangeness. But thanks for taking the trouble

[Honeymooner 336]

That's ... fascinating. Calling her LDR is the first obvious strangeness. But thanks for taking the trouble

 

Since the original request referred to her as LDR as well, maybe that's why...?

[lmdr 9,894]

The Fordham alumni office finally got back to me.

 

mysterysolve.PNG

 

Take this as you will.

This is so fantastic to know. Good to know some mysteries are getting solved. Thank you.

[TRENCH 15,342]

The Fordham alumni office finally got back to me.

 

mysterysolve.PNG

 

Take this as you will.

I don't wanna say that this is informative but there is something off about that e-mail sent by them.  Its writing and wording is so unprofessional considering it being from a college department.  And shouldn't they say Ms. Grant, not Lana? 

 

Did she graduated in the Spring or Fall?

Do we know if it was an AA/AS or Bachelors?

[LittleFool 1,912]

I don't wanna say that this is informative but there is something off about that e-mail sent by them.  Its writing and wording is so unprofessional considering it being from a college department.  And shouldn't they say Ms. Grant, not Lana? 

 

Did she graduated in the Spring or Fall?

Do we know if it was an AA/AS or Bachelors?

 

I don't know, I work at a university, and e-mails aren't always extremely detailed and cordial.