Culture
LGBT edition: 10 amazing movies to watch for Pride 2015
Nathan Reynolds | June 8In honor of Pride 2015, here is a list of some of the most incredible, but often forgotten, LGBT films in history.
Culture
Culture
Creativity festival showcases local art
Skylar Griego | June 1On Saturday, Civic Plaza Presents hosted a ‘creativity festival’ titled Creative 505, a showcase at which Albuquerque locals and tourists alike experienced local culture at Civic Plaza. Creative 505 was a collaborative, family-friendly event among local organizations and businesses to showcase Albuquerque’s film, theater, art, music, tech and other communities. The event provided a variety of entertainment options, including live music and other performances, interactive informational booths, vendors, food trucks, face painting and chalk art. There were also more formal options, such as business demonstrations and installations.
Culture
Exchange system looks to empower through books
Kevin Haaf | June 1Motivated by a desire to help people enrich their lives through literacy and education, local organization Zombie Bar Krawl is launching a free exchange library system called 1000 Paper Brainz. Chelsea McBride, founder of 1000 Paper Brainz, said the name was originally an idea for an art project based on the Japanese novel “A Thousand Paper Cranes,” which is founded on the legend suggesting that if one folds 1,000 origami cranes, he or she will be granted a wish. “I’m an avid book reader and lover. I’m always trying to think of ways to convince everybody to read,” she said. “I took the idea to my Albuquerque Bar Krawl Krew (the local chapter of Zombie Bar Krawl), and they loved it.”
Culture
Review: French film similar to Helen Keller story
Nathan Reynolds | June 1Feeling, hearing, speaking: the often intense, sometimes intimate relationship between the senses and interpersonal communication. These are the elements that make “Marie’s Story,” the new film by Jean-Pierre Améris, a unique variation on the common subject of communication. “Marie’s Story” centers on a French monastery — a school for the deaf — and a nun named Soeur Marguerette, played by Isabelle Carré. Her sole mission is to teach Marie, a young, blind and deaf girl portrayed by Ariana Rivoire, how to communicate and eventually find pleasure in a world outside her own perception. The story is similar to that of Helen Keller, which has been dramatized as “The Miracle Worker” in English several times. The concept is well-trod, and it feels that way in the film. The two primary characters go through little development. Marguerette starts out as a woman with something missing from her life and trying to fill the void with teaching Marie. She then discovers a newness and excitement about the world through her own eyes in the process.
Culture
Review: 'Fury Road' does action right
Nathan Reynolds | May 26In “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the latest addition to the groundbreaking post-apocalyptic film series directed by George Miller, Mad Max describes himself as “a man reduced to a single instant.” “Mad Max: Fury Road” is very much a film obsessed with the instant: particularly frantic instants of fire, twisting metal, and endless sand. Miller has taken the Mad Max concept and not only expanded on the world of the story, but pushed the elements that made the earlier movies popular as far as he could. The plot of “Fury Road” revolves around Max, played by Tom Hardy, and Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa as they attempt to steal the wives and war rig of the tyrannical warlord Immortan Joe, played by Hugh Keays Byrne, who also played the villain in the original Mad Max. Immortan Joe, not too happy about theft of his wives, sets out after the heroes with a whole party of white-painted warriors on an array of deadly vehicular monstrosities. The breakneck narrative of “Fury Road” takes place almost entirely in, on and around these constructions — particularly the war rig, a giant semi equipped with armored hatchbacks and machine guns.
Culture
Food Fridays promote use of Civic Plaza
Skylar Griego | May 26As summer approaches, homebound local students may be wondering what to do with their newfound free time. One option to consider is ABQ Food Fridays, a weekly event held from May through August, created by Civic Plaza Presents. ABQ Food Fridays is a social gathering held from 4 to 8 p.m. at Civic Plaza where people can eat, drink and experience the week’s music and events for Friday night fun. Damian Lopez-Gaston, director of event services at the Albuquerque Convention Center, said Food Fridays is a pop-up happy hour food-and-beer event designed to get people to start thinking about Civic Plaza in a slightly different way. Last fall, Civic Plaza was awarded one of four place-making grants by Southwest Airlines, Lopez-Gaston said. The purpose of the grant is to make an underused area more important to the city it’s in, he said.
Culture
Service animals treat invisible disabilities
Imani Lambert | May 26Service animals are typically trained dogs that assist people who are blind or have a physical disability. However, a new type of service animal has emerged in recent years. Emotional Support Animals are prescribed by a mental health professional for a person who has a mental health diagnosis, according to the National Service Animal Registry. That animal’s presence helps to minimize the symptoms of a person’s diagnosis both at home and in public. Registering a pet as an ESA is a simple process: the pet owner must have a mental health diagnosis, and the animal must be leash trained, follow simple commands and be non-aggressive toward people, according to nsarco.com. If those qualifications are met, the licensure process can be completed online for about $65.
Music
Album review: Folk band's music lovely in any language
Skylar Griego | April 30The beautiful thing about music is you don’t have to understand what a musician is saying to connect with it. Regardless of whether or not lyrics are present, one only has to listen to the melodies, harmonies and beats of a song to feel what the artist is conveying. Of course, it still helps if you speak the language. “Têtu,” Le Vent Du Nord’s latest release, captures its audience with a traditional style unlike any found in today’s popular music. The opening track, “Noce tragique,” has an abrupt beginning that quickly draws you in with a steady beat, a repetitive accordion melody and the strong presence of a hurdy-gurdy. When the lead vocalist begins singing, one will be surprised to hear a voice full of timbre in contrast with the light melody. The music complements him beautifully.
Culture
Albuquerque wineries have special obstacles
Mychal Miltenberger , Kyle Lord and Scott McCoy | April 30Albuquerque microbreweries have made a name for themselves locally and nationally, but it’s easy to forget the Duke City produces another quality alcoholic beverage: wine. New Mexico is home to nearly 50 wineries, nine of which are located in the greater Albuquerque area. Operations like the Corrales Winery have on-site vineyards and face unique challenges harvesting grapes in such a dry climate. Keith Johnstone, co-owner of the winery, said winter is a major obstacle for vineyards here.
Culture
5 & why with Finnie Coleman
Khadijah Jacobs | April 30The moments that define a generation and genre of music can be as simple as an awards ceremony or as big as a rising star. Finnie Coleman, associate professor of African American studies, taught Introduction to Hip-Hop Culture in fall 2014. The course focused on giving incoming freshmen a historical understanding of the elements of African American cultural production. He said these moments represent the evolution of hip-hop, which has recently culminated in Kendrick Lamar’s recent album “To Pimp a Butterfly.” These are Coleman’s top five moments in the evolution of hip-hop culture.
Culture
Sabaku Con brings together anime fandoms
Imani Lambert | April 28Cosplayers and anime fans filled the Crown Plaza hotel this weekend for Sabaku Con. Sabaku Con is an anime and Japanese pop-culture convention created to help build the anime fan community, according to Sabaku Con’s website.
Culture
Medical school's rave promote wellness
Mychal Miltenberger , Kyle Lord and Scott McCoy | April 23The School of Medicine will host the campus’ first rave, but attendees won’t be heading to an empty warehouse in the dead of night for this one – it will be in the morning. Lori Peterkin, assistant director of advancement at the School of Medicine, said the event Friday morning was conceived to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary and is designed to promote physical activity and positive energy in a non-traditional way. “The morning rave is sort of a new concept. Raves in general have been associated with a nighttime, drug- and alcohol-type thing,” she said. “There has been a new movement throughout the world that started in big cities like London and Hong Kong, where they have morning raves that have been focused on some form of wellness.”
Culture
UNM freshmen unprepared for college-level math
Lauren Marvin | April 23College is hard. Math is harder. UNM’s incoming freshmen are struggling with college-level math courses. However, the blame or where the problem starts can’t be pinpointed. For full-time freshmen taking their first semester in college, 17 percent of students are in algebra and 19 percent are in development math, and only six percent of students start with calculus, said Tim Schroeder, director of UNM’s STEM Collaborative Center.
Culture
Artist Christopher Casey drawn to Arita medium
Imani Lambert | April 22From Arita, Japan to UNM, an art form that began 6,641 miles away created a different avenue for Christopher Casey to explore art. Casey graduated in 2013 with a bachelor of fine arts, specializing in ceramics. During his time at UNM, Casey participated in a wheel-throwing class called Arita Porcelain taught by Kathryne Cyman.
Culture
Five & Why, what Lobos love to read: With Andre Haag
Kevin Haaf | April 22Students must read books. Often they are dry, flavorless textbooks that leave one groaning page after page. Andre Haag, a professor in the East Asian Studies Department, uses cultural artifacts (books) to demonstrate significant historical periods and events. When asked his five favorite novels, Haag said that he did not have any favorites and that the term “favorites” lacks a critical edge. “I don’t believe in the framework of having favorites. I don’t have the stability of preference required. I think it’s artificial to claim that you have a favorite. It changes moment to moment. Frankly, I think favorites are inane. No offense,” Haag said.
Culture
Column: Seven things I will miss about New Mexico
Sophie Earle | April 22My time in New Mexico is quickly coming to an end, as I must return back to England for tea, scones and sarcastic comments. As my first column was about things I did not understand, I thought I would end in a cyclical manner, talking about the things I will greatly miss about New Mexico.
Culture
Student crowned 2015 Miss Indian UNM
Khadijah Jacobs | April 21Renata Yazzie said Native Americans will always be influenced by the diverse outside cultures in modern day America. It’s important to combine those cultures with traditional Native American cultures in order to keep it alive, she said. Yazzie won the 2015 Miss Indian UNM crown Friday night at Keller Hall. Onawa Lacy-Haynes, a law school alumna and Miss Indian World 2003, hosted the event.
Culture
Sun Village Rail Jam sends out winter in style
April 21As winter draws to a close, so does the snowboarding and skiing season. To say farewell to another winter season on the slopes, NMX Sports and Warehouse 508 hosted the fourth annual Sun Village Rail Jam on Friday. This event marked the final snowboarding and skiing competition of the season in New Mexico.
Culture
Green edition: How UNM deals with pot
Lauren Marvin | April 20As legalized recreational use of marijuana is becoming more prevalent around the United States, there are mixed feelings about UNM experiencing an increase in use. According to UNM Police Department statistics, about 65 percent of all drug-related confiscations on campus from April 17, 2014 to March 2, 2015 were of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia. Out of the 53 incidents of possession of controlled substances within the last year, 35 occurred within residence halls or American Campus Communities properties. According to UNM policy, “the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession or use of controlled substances or alcohol on UNM property or as part of any of its activities by any member of The University of New Mexico community — faculty, staff or student — is strictly prohibited.”
Culture
Green edition: Library-cycling makes literature local
Skylar Griego | April 20Reduce, reuse, and recycle books. As the movement to “go green” spreads, a popular method has cropped up in the form of Little Free Libraries. A Little Free Library is a “take a book, give a book” structure in which neighborhoods and communities can exchange books — new or recycled — and other reading materials without having to organize and meet.
