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Culture

Movie Review: "The Happytime Murders" combines comedy and mystery

Tiffani Watteyne | September 9

“The Happytime Murders” is an interesting concept of a light-hearted comedy and murder mystery movie involving puppets, although, as the movie progresses, one finds a redemption story that brings up more serious topics like racism, drug abuse and objectification. The movie’s main character is Phil Philips, a puppet detective played by Brian Henson, who worked for the police force. When looking for evidence on a case, he gets caught up at a crime scene warranting the police to show up. Along with them is his ex-partner Connie Edwards, an actual human, played by Melissa McCarthy. The two trade insults upon seeing each other and mention a past event later about a career ending situation for Philips that had created a bad relationship between him and Edwards.

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Culture

Photo Story: Hatch celebrates Chile Festival

Anthony Jackson | September 9

The annual Hatch Valley Chile Festival took place in Hatch, New Mexico Sept. 2 to 3. Tens of thousands of visitors trekked to the small village of Hatch and filled the streets. More than 70 vendors, many of them local to Hatch, set up shop. Most sell chile.

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Music

Part 1: The best hip-hop albums of 21st century

Colton Newman | September 9

Editor's Note: This is part of a series of lists looking at some of the best albums to be released this century in a variety of genres. Part 2 of the hip-hop list will be published Wednesday 9/12. If you Google “the best hip-hop albums ever,” chances are you’ll find countless pages listing albums from the likes of Nas, Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., which are all wonderful and impactful albums, but many new hip-hop albums are seemingly overlooked because of how highly we value albums from the 90’s. This list contains ten albums made between the year 2000 and now that have been culturally impactful, genre changing, lyrically magnificent or conceptually brilliant.

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News

UNM researcher finds a cause of mass extinctions

Megan Holmen | September 9

A geological researcher at the University of New Mexico has discovered that low oxygen levels contributed to the Earth’s great mass extinctions. Maya Elrick, the sedimentary geologist behind the research, said ocean water anoxia — the depletion of dissolved oxygen in water — can be linked to four out of the five mass extinctions on Earth. The earth has had five mass extinctions, and the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction occurred about 450 million years ago. This extinction was when most life on earth was in the sea and resulted in a drastic reduction of species.

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News

NMAG report reveals transparency issues at UNM

Danielle Prokop | September 7

Despite all of New Mexico’s “Sunshine Laws,” which guarantee access to public information, the University of New Mexico is still keeping people in the dark. At least, that’s what the New Mexico Attorney General’s office (OAG) is saying in their 2018 Transparency Report regarding UNM’s alleged violations of two state transparency laws. The laws in question are the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA). “Since 2015, UNM has established a pattern and practice of neglecting their responsibility to allow access to public information and access to meaningful discourse and deliberation on public business,” the report said.

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Culture

Harvest Wine Festival celebrates 400 year tradition in NM

Yana Apostalon | September 6

The words “it is not a race, but a marathon” was heard coming out of the mouths of attendees at the 2018 Viva Vino New Mexican Harvest Wine Festival. The 18th annual wine festival boasted award-winning musicians playing live tunes over the hum of over 20 wineries, abuzz with service to the backdrop of the Sandia mountains. This three day celebration of wine lasted from Sep.1 to 3. After entering the gates, which opened at 12 on Saturday, the lawn of the balloon fiesta was awash with aromas from food trucks and vendors selling a range of goods from jerky to message oils.

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Culture

Worries are burned away at the 2018 Zozobra

Justine Lopez | September 6

Thousands of people packed into Fort Marcy Park on Friday for Santa Fe’s annual burning of Zozobra. This 94-year-old tradition is a time for the people of Santa Fe to let go of their worries and anxieties by writing them down on pieces of paper that are then packed into the 50-foot-tall marionette to be set ablaze. “It’s like our new year,” said Kiwanis Club Press Liaison, Lisa Jaramillo. The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe has organized this event since 1964.

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Music

Wiz Khalifa, Rae Sremmurd put on lights out performance at Isleta

Macey Rose | September 6

Huge masses of Wiz Khalifa and Rae Sremmurd fans gathered at Isleta Amphitheater, which hosted the Albuquerque tour stop for the artists performing on Aug. 29. Lil Skies opened for a night of exciting performances, and a quote where he encouraged others to follow their dreams fostered a sense of youth pride throughout the audience. At just twenty years old, the rapper set the electrifying tone for the night. The crowd stood on their feet throughout the entirety of his performance, and got into the groove of the intense beats.

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Culture

New mural unveiled at Parish Library

Macey Rose | September 6

On Sept. 5 in the Parish Memorial Library basement, guests gathered at 2 p.m. for the mural reveal created by Albuquerque-based artist Robbin Lou Bates. The mural features a colorful desert landscape, with the focal point being a detailed roadrunner. “I chose the roadrunner, because it is not only the state bird, but I felt that it would incorporate New Mexico in a unique way in my piece,” Bates said.

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Opinion

Column: John McCain's death is a loss for all Americans

Gabriella Rivera | September 6

I’ve always done my best to avoid defining myself politically, as I feel it does more harm than good, but let’s put it this way: you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who would label me “conservative” on most major issues. And while I like to think I associate with people that represent a healthy mix of positions on the political spectrum, an undeniable majority of those close to me are squarely on the left. Senator John McCain, on the other hand, was a fixture of the Republican Party and a consistent conservative — on almost every issue, McCain and I fundamentally disagreed. Not going so far as to revel in someone’s death, perhaps I should be grateful that a powerful adversary to many of the causes I am active in is gone.

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News

Profile: Interim-Provost talks to the Lobo

Anthony Jackson | September 6

Former-Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Chaouki Abdallah transferred to Georgia Tech. Until the long search to fill the position is complete, an interim will have to fill the role. On Aug.

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News

UNMPD creates social media campaign

Tom Hanlon | September 6

Being accessible to the University of New Mexico has always been a goal for UNM’s Police Department, but now the department wants to take it one step further and connect with college students through social media. Last month UNMPD launched a new initiative and hashtag called #UNMStrongerTogether. This initiative also kicked off the department’s new Twitter and Instagram social media accounts. The hashtag aims to make UNMPD more accessible to the University community and increase awareness of the importance of community policing.

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News

ASUNM: Finance Committee approves allocation of nearly $50,000.

Justin Garcia | September 6

The Finance Committee of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico discussed what to do with an estimated $50,000 in surplus funds from the 2017-2018 school year Wednesday night. The Balance Forward request is when ASUNM allots money that has not already been allocated previously to student groups.

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Culture

Movie Review: "BlacKkKlansman" proves relevant in 2018

Macey Rose | September 6

On Aug. 10, 2018 “BlacKkKlansman,” hit theaters nationwide. The movie is based on true events written in Ron Stallworth’s memoir, “Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime.” The film, set in the 1970s, follows Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African-American police officer in his journey through the police force. Although he did not work for the Colorado Springs Police Department for long, Stallworth has his eyes set on advancement. Due to his ambition, his chief places him in intelligence — this is where the story begins.

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Sports

Football: Tuioti and company lead UNM to a victory in season opener

Matthew Narvaiz | September 4

The University of New Mexico football team, with its newly revamped offense, proved to be too much for University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Saturday evening, defeating them 62-30 at Dreamstyle Stadium in its season opener. Despite the score, though, the Lobos gave up 566 yards in total offense to UIW -- something head coach Bob Davie said his team has to fix soon. “We can’t win with the kind of performance we had on defense,” he said. “We got to take this personal, we got to bounce back, we got to watch the tape. And we need to clean all this out and move forward because I know we can play better (defensively). ... We’re not gonna be able to do this offensively to other people like we did tonight, let’s be honest.”

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos lose to NMSU in tournament

Alanie Rael | September 4

 The UNM volleyball brought the house down in two match ups this weekend while hosting the annual Lobo Classic, but fell in three sets against the NM State Aggies in the final match of the tournament.

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Culture

Five sports movies you need to watch

Macey Rose | September 4

Films have an incredible way of inspiring others — especially sports cinema. Even for those who aren’t sports fans, movies that focus on a team, or just a single player, add a unique perspective into the dynamic world of athletics. In honor of the start of the fall sports season at the University of New Mexico, let’s take a look at great sport films to watch during this upcoming season.

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Sports

The many club and intramural sports available at UNM

Yana Apostalon | September 4

With the large budget and team cuts being made to the athletic department of the University of New Mexico, it is comforting to know there are other options for students to get engaged through athletics during the brief college years. Intramural and club sports on campus can be a great option for athletes and non-athletes looking to compete and travel in casual settings. Unlike school-sponsored teams, club sports are not associated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Instead, these sports are student-run and have a student-centered approach to athletic activity.

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Sports

Football: How a new offense helped the Lobos against UIW

Cameron Goeldner | September 2

In their season opener, the Lobos new offense put on a show against FCS opponent the University of the Incarnate Word in a 62-30 victory. Tevaka Tuioti looked the part of a starting quarterback, finishing with 327 yards, four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. It was the highest point total for the Lobos since a 66-0 victory of Mississippi Valley State in 2015.

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News

UNM celebrates Smith Plaza re-opening

Cameron Goeldner | August 29

After nine months of construction that made one of the most heavily trafficked areas on campus inaccessible, the newly remodeled Smith Plaza was officially opened on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The plaza was originally constructed in 1972 and hadn’t undergone any major changes since. One major factor motivating the remodel was safety. Among the new additions are wider ramps to make the plaza more accessible, easier access for emergency vehicles and four plateau areas for socialization.