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Why So Many Thanksgiving Break Ups?
One positive offshoot of the slowdown in hard news during the holidays are the more creative, feature stories that make their way to the airwaves. My favorite so far this year is the Turkey Drop story that aired on All Things Considered this past weekend.
The story featured an interview with Washington University student Carly MacLeod, who wrote a column for her school newspaper about “turkey drops,” the break ups that plague so many college freshman who have tried and failed to keep their high school romances alive during the transition into college.
Romance and sex columnist Dan Savage was also tapped to give his insight into why a Thanksgiving drop is your last hope for romantic freedom before the onslaught of the Christmas, New Year and Valentine holidays.
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Black Friday Defined
One of the interesting things about working in a newsroom is the language (and no, I’m not talking about the colorful, expletive kind) and how a term can saturate conversation one minute and disappear completely the next. Remember, hanging chads, subprime mortgages and our most recent example– the S-curve? Those of us at In Other Words thought it would fun and well, perhaps even helpful, to define one buzzy phrase a week. We started with an easy one: Black Friday.
What terms would you like us to define?
A Day in the Life of Tehran
Photo: Courtesy of Intersection for the Arts
This article is republished from WireTap.
By Zoneil Maharaj
Aerial views of nuclear test sites, armed troops, riot police attacking angry protesters, Ahmadenijad’s sly grin and demoralized citizens — these are the images Western media often transmits from Iran. Stories about Iranian life outside of politics, war, or anti-American extremists are rare. Stories that showcase everyday people doing everyday things are even less frequent.
A new group art show in San Francisco aims to change perceptions by celebrating the mundane and ordinary in the Islamic Republic.
San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts exhibit, “One Day: A Collective Narrative of Tehran,” (running Nov. 4 through Jan. 23) features photography, sculpture and installations that reveal both ordinary and surprising elements of Iranian life.
Featuring the works of eight Iranian artists living and working in Tehran, “One Day” documents daily life in Iran’s capital city, which has an estimated population of eight million. The exhibit demystifies what life is like in Iran and the Middle East, says Kevin B. Chen, program manager for literary, visual arts and jazz events at Intersection for the Arts. “A lot of people think they still ride camels there.”
Conceptualized by San Francisco-based artist Tahraneh Hemami, she and Chen hope the exhibit will humanize Iranians and Middle Easterners.
“These people have been bastardized by the media and, especially, our government,” Chen says. “The media is showing us the extremists. It’d be like showing rednecks in Appalachia and broadcasting to the world that this is what America is like.”
Among the installations are pieces that capture the ordinary in the Islamic Republic, such as photographer Abbas Kowsari’s triptych “The time is 24:00. This is Tehran.” One photo depicts Tehran’s smoggy skyline. The next sees police women dressed in full burkhas repelling from a police station wall during training. The final shot simply shows people walking.
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Ali Reza Talks Art, Politics and Shepard Fairey
This article is republished from WireTap.
By Zoneil Maharaz
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Iranian-American street artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and DJ Ali Reza (a.k.a. ABCNT) creates work that is rooted heavily in politics. His enigmatic trademark design features the upper body of a man in a business suit wearing a bandit mask.
His designs — including a tribute print of slain Iranian protester Neda Agha-Soltan, a poster of Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Dracula and a graphic of Bill O’Reilly with a gun to the back of his head (guess who the masked assailant is) titled “Kill Bill” — have hit walls from L.A. to Iran and everywhere in between, either by Reza himself or those aligned with his mission.
We caught up with Reza to talk about art and politics.
Zoneil Maharaj: Shepard Fairey is the first artist that comes to peoples’ minds when I show folks your work. Fairey’s been criticized by other artists for his re-appropriation of political images; some have called it plagiarism. You posted the “Disobey Duh Fairey” video on your blog. What’s your opinion of Fairey and artists using fair use images in their work in general?
Ali Reza: [Our work is] in the same genre, if anything, but I feel like my work is more relevant politically and that’s been intentional. I do a lot of different stuff in various mediums so the comparison is maybe true regarding some of my work. I mean, street art is a global movement and Shepard Fairey definitely made his mark, got up all over the world and influenced a lot of people, but at this point his whole gimmick is transparent to a lot of people. Personally, he lost me a long time ago.
As far as plagiarism, just recently Obey Clothing ripped off our crew member Mullett’s (Restitution Press) bandit image , which, in a way, led to the “Disobey Duh Fairey” video. Phantom was already spearheading that project and I happened to catch him on the radio on KPFK just a couple days after we found out about the Res Press situation. I just knew I had to take that audio and narrate it visually to teach people who just don’t know any better. It’s a beautiful thing to represent truth. So, I mean, it is what it is, and people have a right to call him out.
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Managing Money Isn’t Easy
By William Sprecher
I am going to be frank with you. I am not very good with money. It isn’t that I buy things that I don’t need, in fact quite the opposite. The holes in my shoes are a good enough indicator of that. Despite putting off some needed purchases, I still cannot keep track of the money that I have. There seems to be some disconnect between me and my checking account that my bank is all too willing to exploit in the form of hefty over-draft fees.
I still haven’t decided if that cup of coffee was worth $35 and while it was very good coffee, multiply that by a half dozen this year, and well, you get the idea. Lets just say I’ve sunk more than my fare share into this banking black hole but I’ll spare you my over-draft sermon. Recently, I stumbled upon a website dedicated to teaching young people how to save. Despite the graffiti like headings, a few intimidatingly cool silhouettes, and an overall forced urban attitude, I do think What’s Up in Finance is a good resource. It offers information on how and when to choose a credit card, buying a car, and even has a financial careers section if you’re really keen on saving.
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Cal Tackles World’s Record
Students at UC Berkeley created a California roll that was more than 100 yards long, setting a new world’s record in the process.
Visit the The California Report to hear the audio story and look through photos of the event below.
Live From Oakland: BRWN BFLO
Photo: Matt Mills
By Kimberly Turner
In the turbulent 1960s, activist, lawyer, and author Oscar Zeta Acosta was an outspoken voice in the Chicano movement. Acosta, best known as the basis for Hunter S. Thompson’s Dr. Gonzo character, fought against injustice and bigotry for a demographic expected to be seen and not heard. While he was no angel (had an affinity for methamphetamines & hallucinogens), Acosta did succeed in one area before his mysterious disappearance: highlighting the Chicano experience. Oakland’s BRWN BFLO is taking Acosta’s message and name (nabbed from Acosta’s semi-autobiography) and setting it to a really loud MPC.
Composed of Giant, Somos One, Big Dan, and Jacinto, BRWN BFLO had quite convoluted beginnings. Somos had created a reputation as a poet on the demonstration circuit at his alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley. At the urging of friends, he linked up with Giant, who was known at the time as DJ Oye. The two started working on projects together. After graduation, Somos began working as a college counselor at a high school when Big Dan walked into his office. He had researched Somos and was determined to record something with him. All three emcees decided they wanted to create a hip-hop crew, but they were in dire need of beats. The trio lucked out during a chance meeting with (then high school student) Jacinto at Emery High School’s African American history celebration where he was performing with the jazz band. Jacinto made them a few beats and the rest of the crew knew they had “something special.”
Roughly a year and a half ago, the newly formed quartet hunkered down to record in Jacinto’s Oakland home. Originally called the Brown Buffalo Project, they built up a strong local following playing community events. After compiling a year’s worth of songs, the group decided to move forward as BRWN BFLO and released their self-titled debut earlier this year. Read more
The Slow Wheels of Change
By Will Sprecher
As a Democrat and a political news addict, I am constantly rifling through all number of news stories about the happenings in Congress and the Obama administration. It’s a habit that’s been a bit discouraging lately due to the logjam that is health care overhaul. I am thrilled by the progress that has been made, but, my god, has it been slow coming. I try reminding myself that this stuff takes time but I had no idea it took this much time. I figured Obama would get elected, and boom, change. Done and done, Great Society achieved. But not quite.
The sluggish pace of progress has left me feeling like a child demanding attention. I want to scream, “Where’s my change? I want it now!” while banging my fists on my desk. Given that this week marks the anniversary of Obama’s election, you know every news station and pundit will rate Obama’s effectiveness thus far. Some, like CBS, were critical 6-months in, citing the economic stimulus package and health care as proof of Obama’s broken promises. Fox News, recently added an “Obama Change Index“ that uses a seemingly arbitrary scale of 0-700. Currently Obama rates just over 370 on the index. But as fun as the Fox index might be to play with and as tempting as it might be to label Obama as the harbinger of false hope, we must remember the politics of progress are complicated.
I tend to forget this. Read more
Youth Respond to Gang Rape at Richmond High School
Youth Outlook put together this video with footage from a press conference held at Richmond High School earlier this week. It’s great to hear so many youth voices.
Richmond High Responds to Homecoming Rape from New America Media on Vimeo.
Teen Suicide
Yesterday’s Forum discussed teen suicide. The statistics presented during the show’s introduction were quite startling: suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for teenagers in California. 8.5% of high school sophomores attempt suicide. Four Palo Alto teens have taken their lifes at or near the same Caltrain crossing in the last six months.
Many callers voiced concerns that not enough preventive measures are in place. One voice not heard throughout the show was that of teenagers, the very people the show was about.
If you are a teenager, please tell us, what is being done in your community to educate you about suicide prevention? Are there mental health resources at your school? Does media coverage of teen suicides help prevent more deaths or is the media coverage part of the problem?
Please, listen and share your thoughts:
A list of counseling resources can be found on Forum’s archive of the show.
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