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Voices of Insiders and Outsiders: Ping Chong+Company’s ALAXSXA/ALASKA

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Ping Chong + Company’s new multimedia workALAXSXA/ALASKA premiered at the Harper Studio Theater at the University of Alaska, Anchorage on August 31, 2017.

The title ALAXSXA/ALASKA is two different words for Alaska: Alaxsxa, an ancient word of the Unangax tribe, meaning the land against the sea breaks, was changed, by Russian traders in the eighteenth century, to Alaska. The juxtaposition of the two names suggests social, political, and cultural encounters and clashes between the natives and new settlers.

Integrating multiple theatre languages such as puppetry, video projections, movement, and music within a small performing area with a table in the center and two stools, ALAXSXA/ALASKA portrays past encounters between indigenous Alaskan Native communities and newcomers with three performers.   [Read more…]

Can a Baboon Troop Show the Way For Human Society to Adapt in Order to Survive? | Video Worth Watching

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This is a four minute segment from the documentary “Stress, Portrait of a Killer”. It presents an encouraging sign that there may be hope for human society. A troop of baboons, after surviving a tragedy that killed off a large segment of the group, has adapted in a way that reduces stress for the entire troop. Amazingly, the adaptation has survived now for twenty years.   [Read more…]

How the World Sees America’s Gun Problem | Video Worth Watching

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Even the Europeans have noted the terrible addiction epidemic taking place in the United States. No, not that addiction. It’s the addiction to firearms. And the Europeans want to help.   [Read more…]

How Artist Rocio Hoffmann Silva Painted My Portrait

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By George Howell

So, I find myself sitting in an old stuffed chair with worn arm rests, waiting for artist-activist Rocio Hoffmann to paint my portrait (video). As she preps her canvas with a wash of flat red acrylic, Rocio chuckles. “I always start with rojo, red, because this is the name of my gallery, ‘Roho!’”

A small, round-faced woman with a permanent smile and a sharp sense of humor, Hoffmann regularly interviews Baja artists, musicians and dancers while she does their portraits, posting the live feeds to her Facebook page as part of a project called “Conversaciones in ROHO.”  Galeria RoHo, her small, but vibrant studio-school-market space, is located in the artisanal district along Boulevard Popotla, just south of the big hotels and tourist shops of downtown Rosarito.

Today, we’re switching roles. Ever since I met Rocio a few years ago at Festiarte, Tijuana’s exuberant celebration of the arts, I have wanted to interview her because she is a rich source of information about art and culture in Baja Norte.   [Read more…]

252 Days Under the Trump Regime

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By Lauren Botuck

252 days under the trump regime

just 50 votes needed
and it still didn’t pass
he can still take healthcare
from the middle class

stop the funding
maybe no one will notice
I’m guessing that’s next
from this heartless potus

he must have a win
no matter the cost
if the ACA thrives
in his mind he’s lost   [Read more…]

Our Life Under the Oaks – A Kumeyaay story for Indigenous Peoples’ Day | Video Worth Watching

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In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day here is “Our Life Under the Oaks”, a Kumeyaay story curated by the American Indian Studies program at SDSU.   [Read more…]

Lin-Manuel Miranda and All-Star Ensemble Sing ‘Almost Like Praying’ for Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Effort | Video Worth Watching

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Lin-Manuel Miranda assembled an All-Star group of musicians (“Artists for Puerto Rico”) to record his song Almost Like Praying in an effort to raise funds for Hurricane Maria disaster relief for Puerto Rico. There are 78 incorporated towns and cities in Puerto Rico and as Miranda explained in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, he crafted a lyric that names each one. Proceeds benefit The Hispanic Federation’s Unidos Disaster Relief Fund. Vocals performed by Marc Anthony, Ruben Blades, Camila Cabello, Pedro Capo, Dessa, Gloria Estefan, Fat Joe, Luis Fonsi, Juan Luis Guerra, Alex Lacamoire, John Leguizamo, Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rita Moreno, Ednita Nazario, Joell Ortiz, Anthony Ramos, Gina Rodriguez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, PJ Sin Suela, Tommy Torres, Ana Villafañe.   [Read more…]

Geo-Poetic Spaces : Encounter with the Anthropocene

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A woman
is standing at the bottom of an escalator
directing passengers
to departure gates
in the King’s English

She enthusiastically
repeats instructions
without
altering pitch
or tone   [Read more…]

Michael Moore’s Proposal to Repeal the Second Amendment and Replace It With a New 28th Amendment

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By Michael Moore / Facebook

My Proposal to Repeal the Second Amendment and Replace It With This:

PROPOSED 28th AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION
“A well regulated State National Guard, being helpful to the safety and security of a State in times of need, along with the strictly regulated right of the people to keep and bear a limited number of non-automatic Arms for sport and hunting, with respect to the primary right of all people to be free from gun violence, this shall not be infringed.”

I, Michael Moore, along with all who support an end to this epidemic of gun violence, propose a new Amendment to our Constitution that repeals the ancient and outdated 2nd Amendment (which was written before bullets and revolvers were even invented), and replaces it with a new 28th Amendment that guarantees States can have State militias (a.k.a. State National Guards which are made up of citizen-soldiers who are called upon in times of natural disasters or other State emergencies), allows individuals to use guns for sport and gathering food, and guarantees everyone the right to be free of, and protected from, gun violence (i.e., the public’s safety comes ahead of an individual’s right to own and fire a gun).

This amendment would allow states and the federal government to pass laws that would regulate gun ownership in the following manner:   [Read more…]

Our Eclipse Adventure, Part III: The Journey Home

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By Michael-Leonard Creditor

A long-ago traveling companion taught me that you couldn’t truly know a route until you’ve traveled it in both directions. I’ve experienced the truth of this many times in ways both large and small. It was demonstrated again on this journey. Having seen and noted the geology and topography on the trip north, I was now more ready to really observe the differences and changes I’d see on the way back.

It wasn’t long after Totality ended that vehicles began exiting the campground. The reason, we reasoned, was that some folks had long drives home ahead of them to get to work on Tuesday. We had the luxury of being able to take our time, and the need to stop again in Casper for fuel, before heading out on our return journey.   [Read more…]

Remember. Again.

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I woke up to The New York Times headline on Tuesday, October 3: No Easy Answers After Las Vegas.

Yes, there are. 

Let’s not sell automatic rifles to anyone who goes to a gun show or a gun shop. F**k ’em. Let them manufacture their own, like the moonshiners during Prohibition did. Then they can strut and have movies and serials that can make them feel like they won the Civil War.

Maybe they’d even be arrested for possession of killing machinery.   [Read more…]

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