| Pop culture feeding on itself
It truly is incredible how pop culture feeds on itself. In the early '90s, when rap changed from an interesting genre to gangsta hip-hop, it was a shock to hear the "N-word." Especially years after the civil rights movement lost its leaders in a move to eradicate all derogatory statements made toward African-Americans and to promote equality. Now record labels glorify the music of thugs and convicts and promote them as music artists. Bill Cosby and other educated African Americans have noted that these greedy record producers have sent the civil rights movement back to the stone ages.
Unfortunately, the media gives the camera and radio to the worst possible role models. Where are Will Smith and Halle Berry when you need them to make a stand for a good cause?
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Indie film explores world of lowriding
That's lowriders, as they came to be known. The kings of cool cars reigned over San Francisco's Mission Street back in the late'70s to early'80s. "It was like a parade every Friday and Saturday night," said Roberto Hernandez in a documentary on screen Thursday night in San Francisco that takes a little trip through the history of the lowrider scene. Young Latinos turned cars into "machines you can make dance," said Hernandez, a legendary community organizer. He recalled how it was back in the day while riding in his'64 Chevy Impala — "the BMW of lowriding," which he handled like a first-born son. The documentary, "Why I Ride: From Low to Show," also compares lowriding to the sideshow scraper culture of black youth in Oakland.
Feelings Re Don DeLillo, McSweeney’s, Adam Sandler and 9/11
I mean when was the last time a publication like The Believer or McSweeney's itself wasn't an excercise in trivia? A breeze through the archives renders titles like: "The Personal Journal of Zan, The Male Half of the Wonder Twins", and something about someone's journal entry indicating a need to stop watching porn, and "My Rejected Design Theme For J.Crew's Summer Catalog.", etc. I'm sure a lot of this shit is funny, and one of the funniest things I ever read, an essay about how many 12-year-olds the writer could take in a fight, was in either McSweeneys' or The Believer… but c'mon, isn't there more to life? Life, however, goes on and much of life is trivial and small. Until, of course, it isn't. And then we yearn for the time when it was so. This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 at 9:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
Balasis: LUC art professor goes pop
Crammed into the basement gallery of David Leonardis in Chicago's famous River North gallery district is "Nomenclature," a new show featuring the work of Loyola graphic design professor Michel Balasis. Featuring 10 of his new paintings, along with the work of Andy Kane, this show strives to offer unique commentary on modern life.
Balasis showed an interest in art early in life and explains that his drawings "seemed to have this graphic feel" even in elementary school. Reflecting on his doodles when he was young, Balasis says, "It's interesting because my paintings now really just look like large graphics." From an early age and still today, the interest in graphic design dominates Balasis' work.
Although he had an early interest in art, Balasis did not consider a career in art until a high school teacher suggested studying graphic design in college.
• Was Luis Castro first Latin American player?
Part man, part myth and maybe part Colombian, Venezuelan or North American, the legend of Castro, known by many as the first player from Latin America to play in the big leagues in the modern era, is as mysterious as some of the most famous myths in Spanish-speaking countries across the world. Castro made his debut and history on April 23, 1902, for the Philadelphia Athletics. But did he go by Luis or Louis when he did it? That's just one of many questions regarding Castro's legacy, life and death. "It's definitely a mystery," said Dr. Milton Jamail, an author and former University of Texas professor who is currently working in player development for Latin Americans in the Devil Rays system. "No one knows for sure, but the assumption is that he was the first Latin to play in the Major Leagues, supposedly from Colombia.
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