Ashia & The Bison Rouge Records an Album

 Posted by  Immigrant Songs, We Are Here  No Responses »
Jun 212012
 

For one more day you can support the effort of Portland’s and Poland’s own Ashia Grzesik to raise money for the recording of her debut album with Ashia & The Bison Rouge. The project’s “meat and potatoes” in Ashia’s own words (edited for length/clarity by American Robotnik; details are at Kickstarter): As a child of Polish immigrants growing up on the West Coast of the United States, I was raised in two cultures, and my music and art is an extension of that upbringing. This will be an album of […] Continue reading >

The New Outsiders

 Posted by  We Are Here  3 Responses »
Apr 192012
 
The New Outsiders

Richard Florida’s 2002 book "The Rise of the Creative Class", has become a landmark study on the ascendance and impact of creatives on the American economy. The Creative Class, a socioeconomic force comprising knowledge workers, artists, and creative professionals, drives economic development, innovation, and the growth of post-industrial cities.* Florida finds only mixed evidence on the impact of immigration on development and growth. Immigrant, What Is He Good For? Citing a plethora of sources, Florida first shows that not only has "[o]penness to entrepreneurial individuals from around the glove long […] Continue reading >

Take Comfort, Immigrant, Your Experience Makes You More Creative

 Posted by  New World, New Life  No Responses »
Jan 112012
 
Take Comfort, Immigrant, Your Experience Makes You More Creative

Two of the defining features of immigration  are the crossing of the language gap and the multicultural experience, both which can often be tough to navigate. You find yourself cherishing every little cause for relief or consolation you can find, so this can help: the multi-language and multicultural experience immigration entails helps boost your creativity.  Exhibit #1: Psychologists Charlan Nemeth and Julianne Kwan discovered that bilinguists are more creative than monolinguists—perhaps because they have to get used to the proposition that things can be viewed in several different ways. —Eli […] Continue reading >

Welcome to American Robotnik!

 Posted by  New World, New Life  2 Responses »
Oct 012011
 

They say the United States is a place where you can be who you want to be: if no one knows you when you get here, you can be anyone you choose. As a newcomer, you are free to take the opportunity to reinvent yourself. If you simply want to continue being who you were before you arrived, congratulations! But if all your life in the “old country” you felt compelled, even forced to become what others around you (your family, friends, society) expected you to be, the possibility […] Continue reading >