Culture

Culture

'American Sniper' a heartfelt but disjointed film

David Lynch | January 27

It’s tough to decide whether “American Sniper”, the latest directorial effort from Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, is a biopic or not. On one hand, the film’s main subject, Chris Kyle, (Bradley Cooper) —dubbed the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history — has an unwavering presence. This is his show for roughly two hours, from the southern boy to the cowboy to the soldier.

---

Culture

Review: Fresh pieces in theater festival

Graham Gentz | January 22

Divergent art is important, especially since you don’t have to like it. For the past 15 years, local Albuquerque theater company Tricklock has organized the Revolutions International Theater Festival, in which national and international performers of dance and theater come to our little desert town. It isn’t always the best stuff, but at least it’s different, and the fairly incestuous local Albuquerque community can always use some shaking up. I saw three performances over the weekend and there will be plenty more diverse events for the remainder of the month, including lots of stuff on weeknights.

---

Culture

Faculty to vote on Chicano department

Mateo Rocha | January 22

Chicanismo at UNM is taking a definitive step toward the integration of heritage, identity and communal support through their efforts to create a department for the Chicano Studies Program. The CSP will soon know whether its request for departmentalization will be granted during the campus-wide faculty senate vote Jan. 27. CSP Director Irene Vasquez said that the creation of such a department will provide a structure and level of authority that the program currently lacks.

---

Culture

Film industry drives interest in media program

Lauren Marvin | January 22

The glitz and glamour of movies are drawing students to a unique program at UNM. The Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media program has been gaining interest because of the growing movie industry in New Mexico and accomplished professors within the program. Miguel Gandert, director of the IFDM program, said the program began in 2005 and was created because there was a need to start an above-the-line program.

---

Culture

Sticking to New Year's workout resoution

Moriah Carty | January 20

Lose weight: it’s one of the most common resolutions people make at the start of a new year. Sometimes it sticks. Sometimes it doesn’t. Vanessa Rodriguez, a first-year graduate student in public administration, said she started working out three years ago as a New Year’s resolution. There have definitely been times where she didn’t feel like working out, she said,but she dedicated herself all the same.

---

Culture

Five and Why: What Lobos love to read with Asian American Studies Director Julie Shigekuni

Skylar Griego | January 20

Many people who love to read find they have a hard time choosing their favorite books. With so many spectacular works to choose from, it can be a difficult decision. Some notice that while choosing a favorite novel seems impossible, choosing a favorite author comes much more naturally. Julie Shigekuni, director of Asian American studies and a creative writing professor, said that while she constantly changes her favorite books, she keeps going back to the same authors.

---

Culture

Five and Why: What Lobos love to read

Lauren Marvin | January 15

Books have a unique way of radiating telltale signs of a reader’s future. And in the case of Summer Little, director of the Women’s Resource Center, all of her favorite books have a strong female lead, which points to her work in equality.

---

Culture

Stale book makes for stale movie

Moriah Carty | January 15

An ever-changing maze in a race against murderous creatures sounds like an OK premise to what could be a good story, but sadly, it was not. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name, “Maze Runner” does a poor job of connecting the dots and delivering a story worth watching. However, if the book, the first installment of the three-part teen fiction written by James Dashner, didn’t read like a 10-year-old boy wrote the tale, then the movie might have been better. It begins with a bunch of boys trapped in a maze with no way out. Everything needed is given to the boys from the Creators through an elevator, known as the box, which comes up once a month with supplies and a new member.

---

Culture

Lectures highlight international experiences

Ana Jayme | January 15

With a lobby buzzing with chatter of India and beyond, the Albuquerque Museum welcomed the Albuquerque International Association and professor Ned O’Malia last Sunday for the opening lecture of the AIA’s 2015 season. Managed by the Center for International Studies, the AIA is a non-profit organization aimed at encouraging the local community to join conversations on foreign affairs, international business, culture and art. It puts on events such as lectures, book clubs, cooking classes and more in order to teach attendees about cultures around the world. The AIA’s 2015 program will focus on the social, political and cultural aspects of Asia, a continent that has a growing effect on Western societies. For the opening lecture of 2015, ticket sales were so successful that the event was moved to a larger ballroom to accommodate the overflow of attendees.

---

Culture

Understanding the middle ages through Tolkien

Moriah Carty | January 15

Sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction — and sometimes fantasy is more real than it seems. A unique English class is bridging the gap between the two realms to give the fictitious tales a sense of tangibility. Megan Abrahamson, an English teacher of a one-of-a-kind Tolkien class, said this is the first, and most likely the only, non-honors Tolkien class to be offered at UNM.

---

Culture

Fashionably U: Don't let your bag be a burden

Courtney Salinger | January 14

Finding the right school bag is a tough decision. After all, certain school bags say a lot about the person flaunting them and they set the tone for the whole outfit. Here are a few ideas on what school bags students should sport. A satchel bag is classy and sophisticated. This bag makes any outfit look more expensive and luxurious, due to the square shape and sleek, minimal detail. If sporting a satchel, try wearing something that’s a bit on the formal side. Due to its small size, a satchel is good for holding a few notebooks, writing utensils and a wallet.

---

Culture

Illustrator depicts German side of World War II

Skylar Griego | January 14

German submarine explosions, polish firing squads and a pencil and paper will soon show a unique experience of World War II. Freelance illustrator Markus Freise was inspired to create “Großväterland,” a 120-page comic novel about World War II, because the amount of eyewitnesses left to tell their personal experiences of the war continually decrease.

---

Culture

Tents have a place in the past and the present

Moriah Carty | January 14

The nationally recognized Quilt Week is coming to Albuquerque with some foreign visitors. The Quilt Week is put on by the American Quilter’s Society, the largest quilting society in the world. For the second year in a row, two tentmakers from Cairo will be presenting their work, Bonnie Browning, executive director of the American Quilter’s Society said.

---

Culture

Movie review: No surprises in controversial "The Interview"

Graham Gentz | January 13

We live in interesting times.  Despite being relatively racy and dark in subject matter for a mainstream comedy, “The Interview” might have disappeared into the annals of history if not for North Korea blasting the Sony Entertainment Network with enough cyberpunk hacking attacks to make the corporation pull the film from theaters.

---

Culture

Food column: Savory stocks warms cold winter days

Steve “Mo” Fye | January 13

The weather in Albuquerque has been cold, and one of the best good ways to warm up are with soups, sauces and stews. The basis of any good potage is a flavorful stock. But what is a stock? Technically, stocks are made from bones and the meat and connective tissues that are still attached. Usually, aromatics and other seasonings are added. On the other hand, simmered meat is a broth. Broths can be flavorful, but they won’t develop the body and texture of a stock.

---

Culture

Theater festival internationalizes arts

Lauren Marvin | January 13

For theater fans seeking something different, one local festival looks to cause a revolt. Juli Hendren, one of the founders of the Tricklock Theater Company, said the Revolutions International Theater Festival’s mission is to connect the international and local theater communities.

---

Culture

Lookin' fresh: Layer your winter looks

Courtney Salinger | January 6

Winter weather raises the demand for accessories: thick scarves, fancy gloves, comfy beanies, heavy coats and leather boots. The secret to achieving a put-together look while staying warm and accessorizing is to dress in layers. One way to make this happen is to mix leggings with a crochet or knit sweater underneath a heavy pea coat. Finish it off with some leather boots, a beanie, a scarf and some leather gloves, and the outfit makes the wearer look sophisticated and classy. In exchange for a sweater, one can wear a leather jacket with a T-shirt or tank top to add more of a trendy feel to the ensemble. For those who are looking for more of a flirty, fun outfit, try on a bodycon dress with some tights, a scarf and knee-high leather boots underneath a chunky, long cardigan. The cardigan can instead be a leather jacket or a cropped faux-fur jacket, if one likes: The leather jacket adds toughness to the outfit, whereas the cropped faux fur jacket can add a radiant, over-the-top feel.

---

Culture

Review: Manion's stories a dismal read

Skylar Griego | January 6

here are few moments when critics find themselves at a loss for words. Reading Lance Manion’s collection of short stories titled “The Song Between Her Legs” was one of those rare speechless moments. From the very first page, on which Manion quotes himself, this is one of the worst things a person can ever have the misfortune of being subjected to. These stories assault the reader’s IQ relentlessly until there is nothing left but a bloody pile of broken bones and torn flesh. One might literally feel the intelligence being sucked out of them while reading about two men arguing over whether the peanut is the preferred nut of the upper or the lower class, as in “Mr. Peanut.”

---

Culture

Comic conventioneers can be heroes to heroes

Lauren Marvin | January 6

Superheroes, nerds and doctors alike will join forces to help Special Operations Wounded Warriors. The Albuquerque Comic Convention – a three-day pop culture event – hopes to raise $15,000 for the Special Operations Wounded Warriors, according to Jim Burleson, the convention founder. “I think that, in the end, this is why we do it. It really helps us to help other people,” Burleson said. “As a nonprofit, that’s what we are really striving to do: To grow our reach to be able to help people.”

---

Culture

Lookin' fresh: Freshening up an old pattern

Courtney Salinger | December 8

Marl is making a second splash in the fashion industry. It is a versatile old pattern that goes with everything in the closet, yet it stands out and looks great on any body type. Marled pattern looks like marbled granite; it has a mixed, grainy look. Usually, the colors associated with marled print are black, white and grey, but it can also consist of other colors.