The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Category: Reviews

  • HSU students discover their own spark with “Soul”

    HSU students discover their own spark with “Soul”

    Pixar’s newest animation “Soul” teaches us multiple lessons that can be applied to our lives daily .

    The movie was released on December 25, 2020 and already has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It tells the story of a man named Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) who lands his dream gig at the best jazz club in town. On the way, however, he falls into a dark hole that leads him to the “before life.”

    Throughout the movie, themes of compassion, empathy, and self discovery are discussed. Joe is faced with many challenges that help him rediscover his “spark” or purpose in life. The movie is family friendly that people of all ages will enjoy.

    Rachael Kee, is a junior at HSU majoring in psychology and communications who watched “Soul” with her boyfriend Rowan.

    “I loved the movie,” Kee said. “It had so many subtle but relatable themes throughout the film, which really made me think about my own life and my purpose,” she said. “This movie is honestly pretty emotionally intimate for couples to watch together.”

    “Soul” dives deep into the so-called “meaning of life” by teaching us multiple lessons throughout each character’s experiences. When 22 is put on Earth inside of Joe’s body, they become grateful for the little things in life, as small as just the appreciation of living and the ability to breathe fresh air.

    Rowan Feltges is a sophomore, fisheries major and Kee’s boyfriend who also enjoyed the movie.

    “The animation looked almost lifelike and the story was extremely introspective,” Feltges said.

    He not only enjoyed the visual aspects of the movie but also learned multiple lessons that he can use in his daily life.

    “Your passion does not define you as a person,” Feltges said. “What defines you is the pursuit to make oneself feel happy with life.”

    He emphasized that it’s important to not let your passions turn into addictions.

    “As people change and the world changes, so do our passions. It is how you adapt and overcome these changes to find true happiness and self gratitude,” he said.

    Paola Morgado is a senior majoring in chemistry. She enjoyed how “Soul” showed her that the main purpose of life is to simply live it.

    “My main takeaway from the film was, if you’re good to others, good things will come your way such as, second chances and ‘rediscovering’ your purpose,” Morgado said.

    “Soul” was released on Christmas Day, 10 months into a global pandemic. Though intended to be seen in theaters, Disney+ provides us with a thought provoking, heartfelt, and overall positive film we can watch without leaving our house.

    The movie has gained a significant amount of attention on social media in a short amount of time. It first intrigued Kee with its diversity, music, and psychological aspects.

    “Society tells us to grow up, get a job, and pay taxes, and never really allows us to connect to our souls in our individualistic way,” Kee said. “I feel a lesson that we can all learn from ‘Soul’ is that no matter how ‘lost’ or ‘unworthy of life’ one may feel, all it takes is the exposure of a new friendship or interest to pull you out of the darkness. Thus, don’t stop this crazy journey of life and keep going.”

  • The Overnight Sensation is Back at It Again

    The Overnight Sensation is Back at It Again

    DaBaby releases his third album in 13 months, “BLAME IT ON BABY”

    Capitalizing on a unique sound and unique circumstances, with COVID-19 providing more available listeners than ever before, DaBaby is flooding the market—a strategy that’s proven most useful to artists like Lil Wayne and Young Thug in the past. Coming less than seven months after his previous effort, “KIRK,” and only a year after his extremely successful debut, “Baby on Baby,” DaBaby has returned with his third album, “BLAME IT ON BABY.”

    Since his introduction to mainstream hip-hop with his platinum-hit-record, “Suge,” DaBaby has kept his name relevant in the media with a string of negative headlines, most recently “accidentally” slapping a female fan. Despite the negative nature of these incidents, each headline only seems to contribute to his success.

    A great deal of DaBaby’s launch into the mainstream can be credited to arguably the most impressive feature run from a rookie, landing himself a verse on songs with the likes of Chance the Rapper, J. Cole and Post Malone and playing a standout role on each of the associated albums. This earned DaBaby the attention of hip-hop fans everywhere.

    “He’s just different from everybody else—his style, the way he goes about it. I just like him cause you can never tell what direction he’s gonna go with it.”

    Jesus Ontiverof, College of the Redwoods student

    Although nothing on “BLAME IT ON BABY” is as personal as “Intro” from “KIRK,” DaBaby switches up the vibe in the second quarter of the album, revealing his emotional side while he sings on “SAD SH*T,” “FIND MY WAY” and “ROCKSTAR.”

    “BLAME IT ON BABY” is still mostly filled with the party music that we expect from DaBaby, with raw lyrics about guns, girls and guap laid over high-energy beats intended to be played at high volumes.

    Jesus Ontiverof plans to transfer to Humboldt State University after completing the nursing program at College of the Redwoods. As a casual fan of DaBaby, Ontiverof enjoys all his music.

    “He’s just different from everybody else—his style, the way he goes about it,” Ontiverof said. “I just like him cause you can never tell what direction he’s gonna go with it.”

    “A lot of his music sounds the same, which is kind of a bummer. But I do like some of his shit when he mixes it up.”

    Jay Coch, kinesiology major

    HSU kinesiology major Jay Coch has a different view and experience with DaBaby’s music.

    “A lot of his music sounds the same, which is kind of a bummer,” Coch said. “But I do like some of his shit when he mixes it up.”

    Even though Coch wasn’t eagerly awaiting the new release, he can’t knock the hustle.

    “For him, it seems like he’s being pretty successful putting out a lot of music,” Coch said. “A lot of people like that. They’re like ‘Drop more music, drop more music,’ but it would be cool [if] he took a little more time and really mixed it up and thought about his lyrics more, and actually put himself out there as a musician more than just a big name in the rap industry.”

    Despite having its moments on the song “ROCKSTAR,” with a feature from the other hottest new name in rap, Roddy Ricch, and another feature on the song, “NASTY,” with DaBaby’s biggest featured guest to date, Ashanti, “BLAME IT ON BABY” is easily his most forgettable album yet.

  • Revamped Resident Evil 3 Radiates Nostalgia

    Revamped Resident Evil 3 Radiates Nostalgia

    20 years later and Resident Evil 3 still feels just as good

    The Resident Evil franchise began as a survival horror video game that rose to fame in the 90s and has continued with a series of sequels and film adaptations. This is a brief, spoiler-free review about the recently released Resident Evil 3.

    Twenty years ago, I embarked on one of my many video game binges. This included playing Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. It was the first time I learned about the anxiety of being chased by the video game’s antagonist, Nemesis. On April 3, I relived that experience, thanks to Capcom delivering on the Resident Evil 3 remake.

    The plot of the video game features protagonist Jill Valentine, a returning character from the first game’s story line, which saw the Special Tactics and Rescue Service members trapped in a mansion fighting for survival against nightmarish creatures. In Resident Evil 3, the fight for survival takes place in the streets in the fictional Raccoon City.

    In the remake, the game’s mechanics have changed slightly, giving you the ability to dodge more efficiently, as opposed to the original, in which you had to rely on frantic button-pressing and leaving it to chance. Another returning feature is the ability to craft ammunition, giving the player a fighting chance as increasing difficulty makes items more scarce.

    With Valentine and Nemesis as the main features of the game, it did radiate the nostalgic feeling I had when I first played 20 years ago.

    Although the game was a perfectly rendered remake, I do have some complaints that affected my nostalgia. Let me start off with the main concept, which is encountering Nemesis. In the original game, you had to fight your way through the city, and upon arriving at the police station, you had to fight for your life.

    In the remake, that suspense is taken away when you encounter Nemesis at the start of the game. Adding on to that complaint is the use of cut scenes in which Jill Valentine runs away from Nemesis. In the original it was solely up to you, the player, to control Valentine in hopes that you can fend off the creature.

    Another grievance focuses on the locations in the game. The remake felt shorter than the original and that’s because the creators decided to cut down the time it took for the player to explore certain parts of the game. Originally it took hours of exploration to acquire items for progression through areas, but by taking that out, it felt more like a rushed experience.

    Other than those issues, the game is worth trying out. With Valentine and Nemesis as the main features of the game, it did radiate the nostalgic feeling I had when I first played 20 years ago. Capcom really went above and beyond to deliver another quality product similar to their Resident Evil 2 remake which launched last January.

    Whether you are a lifelong fan or new to the Resident Evil series, I assure you the recent remakes are worth the purchase, especially for the revamped story line.

  • Half-Life: Alyx Makes VR Worthwhile

    Half-Life: Alyx Makes VR Worthwhile

    Half-Life: Alyx is the first properly high budget virtual reality effort from a major studio

    The previous game in the Half-Life series ended on a cliffhanger, and since then, the franchise sat in limbo for over a decade. By the time Half-Life: Alyx was announced, most had given up hope of a sequel. The inflated expectations for a new Half Life game made constructing a sequel too daunting a task for developer Valve to ever release anything, but now they have. Does it live up to the hype?

    For the most part, yes.

    With the majority of people currently stuck inside, virtual reality is one of the best ways to pretend you’re not. The problem is the high price point. Currently the barrier for entry for a VR headset is a minimum of $400, and that doesn’t include a gaming PC that meets the hefty requirements of VR. Those PCs generally start at $600. Up to this point, small-scale games made up the majority of the VR catalog. VR lacked a system seller to justify the high price point.

    The game’s story is excellent, but can feel sparse at times. Some chapters should have more dialogue than they do, but the writing and performances that are there are excellent.

    Luckily, Half-Life: Alyx is an incredible game. It takes what made the older Half-Life games great on a 2D screen and translates them to the 3D space with an incredible amount of polish.

    In Half-Life 2, your main method of interacting with the world was the gravity gun, the weapon that could pick up and manipulate nearly any object in the world around you. In Half-Life: Alyx you have gravity gloves.

    These gloves let you aim your hands at nearly any object, press the grab button and flick your wrist to bring that item towards you. It’s an action so simple and satisfying to perform that since playing I have on several occasions found myself with the urge to perform it in my day-to-day life.

    The game’s story is excellent, but can feel sparse at times. Some chapters should have more dialogue than they do, but the writing and performances that are there are excellent.

    During those few encounters with human characters I was in awe at how life-like they were. If there’s anything about the game that is a disappointment, it would have to be the lack of melee weapons. You can pick up almost anything in the environment, but none of it can actually harm enemies. Half-Life is known for having the crowbar as a weapon, so it’s weird to not have that in this game.

    These are all nitpicks though. Half-Life: Alyx is proof that VR as a medium can work. It’s proof that virtual reality can be its own storytelling medium, with its own stories and experiences and that gets me excited for the future of gaming.

  • Here’s What The Lumberjack is Watching, Reading, Playing and Doing

    Here’s What The Lumberjack is Watching, Reading, Playing and Doing

    Some unedited recommendations and brief reviews from some of our staff

    Life and Arts Editor Grace Caswell

    What I’m watching:

    Just finished “Tiger King.” It’s the most ridiculous and unbelievable show I’ve seen yet with a surprising amount of depth.

    What I’m reading:

    “Noam Chomsky” by John Lyons.

    What I’m playing:

    None :/

    What I’m listening to:

    Lots of new music is being released but right now Toro y Moi and Jhene Aiko.

    What else I’m doing:

    Yoga and meditation has been a go to as well as cooking healthy foods. Anything to keep my mind at ease and health immunity high.

    Managing Editor Chelsea Wood

    What I’m watching:

    I’ve been watching the final season of “Schitt’s Creek” which has been a bittersweet reflection of the last five seasons.

    What I’m reading:

    I’ve been reading more of a book I started last summer. It’s called “The Spaceship Next Door” and it about a teenager who grew up in a small town where a spacecraft crashed years ago but never left.

    What I’m playing:

    Minecraft. I trash talked this game as a teen, but it’s amazing and I love creating things on it. It’s extremely entertaining and relaxing.

    What I’m listening to:

    I’m listening to lots of downbeat songs—music that soothes the soul with catchy beats. Just stuff to satisfy this melancholy phase I’m swimming through.

    What else I’m doing:

    I picked up an old hobby, basket weaving. It’s a relaxing and simple task that yields a useful item. And no that’s not a BS excuse, basket weaving is the shit.

    Editor-in-Chief James Wilde

    What I’m watching:

    I just finished season three of “Ozark.” It’s a crime drama with superb characters and writing that had an unexpected depiction of mental illness that probably hit a little too close to home and (full disclosure) made me tear up.

    What I’m reading:

    I just finished “Why Time Flies,” by Alan Burdick, a fun little foray into the way we think about time. Next up: “The Glass Hotel,” by Emily St. John Mandel.

    What I’m playing:

    Call of Duty: Warzone with my brother and some friends. I hate the premise of Call of Duty and, you know, shooting people, but as long as I ignore that it’s lots of fun.

    What I’m listening to:

    Kind of all over the place, which isn’t out of the ordinary. Indie stuff to hip hop to alt rock to electronic stuff to jazz to whatever else. Oh, and random Tiny Desk Concerts.

    What else I’m doing:

    Walking or going on runs to get out of the house. Drowning in schoolwork. Lying on the floor.

    Opinion Editor Alexis Parra

    What I’m watching:

    “Gentrified”- A show that hits home for people of color. “Tiger King”- A cult war in the world of big cats.

    What I’m reading:

    “Z: The Beginning of Everything”- the untold story of Zelda Fitzgerald and beautifying her life.

    What I’m playing:

    None.

    What I’m listening to:

    My playlist on LJ- All of my favorites songs and energy that I carry into one playlist. “La Platica”- A bilingual podcast where the host is funny and talks about dumb shit and real shit.

    What else I’m doing:

    Painting. Make-up. Face masks. Talking to my family. Getting creative while also taking care of my skin and keeping in touch with my loved ones.

    Sports Editor Thomas Lal

    What I’m watching:

    “Drive To Survive,” a super fun look into the 2019 F1 season with the dramatic thrills and spills to match!

    What I’m reading:

    “Permanent Record” by Edward Snowden. An intriguing and somewhat terrifying read.

    What I’m playing:

    The Witcher 3. This game has consumed my life. Loving the story and exploring the world.

    What I’m listening to:

    So much music, mostly ska, punk and jazz along with the “Every Little Thing” podcast.

    What else I’m doing:

    Being sad without any sports to watch.

    Web Editor Seth Finnegan

    What I’m watching:

    “Community.” The always funny comedy about students at a community college.

    What I’m reading:

    None.

    What I’m playing:

    Dead Rising and MLB The Show 19. Filling the sports void with hitting baseballs and zombies with baseball bats.

    What I’m listening to:

    The “Adventure Zone” podcast. Three brothers and their dad play D&D together.

    What else I’m doing:

    Learning to play darts. It’s very frustrating but very fun!

    Video Editor Benjamin Zawilski

    What I’m watching:

    The filmography of David Fincher and Hayao Miyazaki, and “The Good Place” on Netflix.

    What I’m reading:

    Rereading “Peter and the Starcatchers” by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, which was one of my favorite book series as a child

    What I’m playing:

    Overhearing my sister play Animal Crossing.

    What I’m listening to:

    The film scores of Mark Mancina, Alexandre Desplat, and James Newton Howard.

    What else I’m doing:

    Hiking at least five miles a day, sometimes up to seven, and have done a considerable amount of housecleaning.

    Reporter Deion Alston

    What I’m watching:

    “Coffee & Kareem.” Cop dates kid’s mother and him and kid (Kareem) uncover a conspiracy of dirty cops.

    What I’m reading:

    Haven’t been reading books tbh, but a lot of news article pertinent to sports, COVID-19, crimes etc.

    What I’m playing:

    Fortnite and NBA 2K 20. Fortnite is a shooting game and 2K is professional basketball at your finger tips.

    What I’m listening to:

    For podcasts, I listen to “Up in Smoke” hosted by two former NBA players, Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. It’s very interesting—great interviews and guests as well. For music I’m listening to a lot of Lil Uzi, G Herbo, Tory Lanez. So basically rap, hip-hop and R&B.

    What else I’m doing:

    I’m cooking a lot more—takes time up in the day. Do my 250 push-ups everyday and step-ups for some cardio. And occasionally throw the football in the drive way.

    Reporter Dakota Cox

    What I’m watching:

    “Seinfeld” & “Empire.” “Seinfeld” is a wonderful waste of time. “Empire” is a must-binge, cutthroat musical.

    What I’m reading:

    “Hurricanes” by Rick Ross is a fairly generic success story in terms of rapper autobiographies. “The Alchemist” is an extraordinary journey of the body, mind and soul.

    What I’m playing:

    Animal Crossing; don’t ask questions, go pick up the game!

    What I’m listening to:

    Going back and forth between oldies and hip-hop, gotta keep the serotonin up. Michael Jackson, Bob Marley and The Beatles are timeless, go listen! Gambino got the best album of 2020, @ me!

    What else I’m doing:

    Slipping out of sanity; would not recommend. Get a mask-on walk in when the sun shows it’s face; I like to play a little game called guess the gang members.

    Reporter Sarah Blunt

    What I’m watching:

    I just finished “I am not okay with this.” It was a really good show with short episodes that have a lot going on in them. 10/10. I also just recently watched “Freedom Writers.” That one was really good and empowering, also took place in Long Beach (where I’m from) so that was relatable (kind of).

    What I’m reading:

    “Looking for Alaska.” I’ve already seen the show on Hulu but I realized I had the book. So far it’s really good and John Green (the author) writes really descriptively so I never feel bored when I’m reading it.

    What I’m playing:

    None.

    What I’m listening to:

    Tons of music. Nothing in particular just going through my music apps and looking for things I haven’t heard before, or even music from shows i’ve watched that I liked the soundtrack. That’s most of what I spend my free time doing.

    What else I’m doing:

    Lately I’ve been taking bike rides alone just to get fresh air and not be stuck in the same surroundings. I never ride bikes but lately it’s just been a really nice way to get out the house but also keep my social distance from others. 10/10

    Reporter Ivan Ramirez

    What I’m watching:

    “Castlevania,” the show. “Mewtwo Strikes Back: EVOLUTION,” the movie.

    What I’m reading:

    Marcy Burstiner’s Investigative Reporting Book.

    What I’m playing:

    None.

    What I’m listening to:

    Psytrance, Electronic Dance Music, Drum & Bass, Electronic Rock.

    What else I’m doing:

    Meditating, talking to people on Discord, Instagram.

    Reporter Alberto Muro

    What I’m watching:

    I have started watching the Amazon Prime series “The Boys.” It has an interesting take on superheroes proving that not all of them are super. It’s a world where super heroes exist, now imagine their lack of empathy for saving people.

    What I’m reading:

    Currently reading through my textbooks so that I don’t fall behind on homework.

    What I’m playing:

    I am currently playing the remake of Resident Evil 3 which has updated graphics and character development.

    What I’m listening to:

    I am listening to the “Tinfoil Hat” podcasts since conspiracies take my mind on a wild ride

    What else I’m doing:

    I have transitioned from a student using critical thinking to an essential asset during a global pandemic thus turning me into a critical drinker.

  • 14 Books to Read While Self-Isolating

    14 Books to Read While Self-Isolating

    There’s never been a better time to start reading books

    You’re stuck inside. You’ve already watched all the best shows on Netflix. You’ve already done your homework. Instead of wasting away the hours on social media, do something good for yourself and your mental state. Read a book.

    Maybe you’ve never read a book for fun, but don’t let that discourage you. Reading is for everyone. You don’t have to be an intellectual to enjoy books.

    Listed below are a few my favorite books—hopefully you can find something to check out.

    If: you want to read a dystopian satire set in a world eerily similar to our current pandemic-stricken one,

    Then read: Severance, by Ling Ma

    If: you want a thrilling, can’t-put-it-down time travel science fiction novel paced like an action movie,

    Then read: Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch

    If: you want to read a smartly plotted story of the very real lives of modern, urban Native Americans in Oakland,

    Then read: There There, by Tommy Orange

    If: you want a masterwork of combining science fiction and fantasy and also race relations in the first of a trilogy,

    Then read: The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin

    If: you want the best damn story of friendship chronicling two women in Italy from the 1950s onward,

    Then read: My Brilliant Friend (and the next three books in the series), by Elena Ferrante

    If: you just want some relaxing, in-touch poems about nature,

    Then read: New and Selected Poems, Volume One, by Mary Oliver

    If: you want to experience Nobel Prize-winning literature mixed with a little science fiction fun,

    Then read: Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

    If: you like history and want to reframe your perspective of society without feeling like you’re read a history book,

    Then read: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari

    If: you want to discover what it’s like to grow up without ever going to school and somehow ending up at Cambridge,

    Then read: Educated, by Tara Westover

    If: you want to read a saga about a Korean family living through multiple generations, spanning topics of love, family and history,

    Then read: Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee

    If: you want to get lost in the long, engrossing story of one kid’s slip into darker and darker rungs of society,

    Then read: The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

    If: you want some truly strange and original dystopian fiction with a giant floating bear,

    Then read: Borne, by Jeff VanderMeer

    If: you just want to read the words of a fearless, always-interesting filmmaker,

    Then read: Werner Herzog – A Guide for the Perplexed: Conversations with Paul Cronin

    If: you want to get existential and ponder how you experience life,

    Then read: Why Time Flies, by Alan Burdick

    Where should you buy a book if you want to pick one up?

    I always recommend supporting your local, independent bookstores, especially right now. Each book above is linked to Powell’s bookstore—probably the most famous independent bookstore, located in Portland, Oregon.

    If you’re in Arcata, you can order books online from Northtown Books and pick it up on the curb as of March 25. You can also order a book from Tin Can Mailman, which is shipping orders of $10 or more for free to anywhere in Humboldt, and orders of $40 or more for free outside Humboldt.

    Eureka Books and Booklegger in Eureka can also ship books to you.

    If you’re outside Humboldt, look up your local bookstore and see how to grab a book. More than ever, they could use your support.

    If you’d rather not have anyone handle your books, your alternative is to try the e-book versions. Happy reading!

  • Joyner Drops Disappointing Debut

    Joyner Drops Disappointing Debut

    Grammy-nominated rapper Joyner Lucas shares his debut album, “ADHD,” with the world

    Joyner Lucas, the 31-year-old rapper, first caught traction with his 2015 music video, “Ross Capicchioni.” In the video, Lucas reimagined the true story of a gang initiation gone wrong that nearly claimed the life of a high school student.

    The video’s success can be attributed to the unique strategy Lucas chose, taking on both the perspective of the victim and the criminal. Lucas has managed to keep his name relevant over the years with a string of viral music videos, including the critically praised “I’m Not Racist” and the polarizing “Devil’s Work.”

    Humboldt State University alumnus De’Aundray Gooden has been a fan of Lucas since “Ross Capicchioni.”

    “I think he brings a lot of awareness to certain subjects people don’t feel comfortable talking about,” Gooden said.

    Gooden’s favorite Joyner Lucas songs are “I’m Sorry” and “Devil’s Work.” The first track follows a suicide note as it’s being written into the hands of the victim’s brother or cousin. In the latter song, Lucas calls out to God, questioning his choices in the young men and women he’s chosen to take.

    “We don’t pay attention to people until they die,” Gooden said. “We need to pay attention to the people who are alive, and appreciate them for what they’re doing now.”

    Lucas also racked up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube over a short series of remixes, between 2016 and 2018, and eventually caught the attention of rap god Eminem. Lucas secured a spot on the highest performing song from 2018’s “Kamikaze,” “Lucky You.” The high-tier rapping ability that earned Lucas the legendary co-sign has also contributed to beef with platinum-selling rapper Logic and R&B singer Tory Lanez. The beefs have since been squashed, both resulting in gained exposure and new content, including the third single from “ADHD,” “ISIS,” featuring Logic.

    HSU’s soccer goalkeeper, Tab Heinz, is a fan of old school hip-hop, and appreciated Lucas’ meaningful lyrics and authentic sound.

    “I appreciate the older stuff a little bit more than the newer stuff,” Heinz said. “I like the older style of making music. He has a super cool flow and rhyme scheme. I like the way he doesn’t sound too mainstream. He kinda has more of the underground style.”

    Lucas followed up “ISIS” with the rags to riches track, “Broke and Stupid.” The song paints a picture of all the hard work that has paid off for Lucas. With no chorus, it still competes for best song on the album. Apparently unready to release the project, Lucas proceeded to drop five more singles over the next nine months, at least three of which would’ve been better off left for the album.

    Just two days before the release of “ADHD,” Lucas dropped his ninth single, “Will,” along with another viral music video paying homage to Will Smith. With four skits on the album, including voicemails from Chris Tucker and Kevin Hart, Lucas left fans with a total of five new songs out of 18 on the album.

    Fans were given hope, with features from R&B legend, Chris Brown, industry favorite, Young Thug, and veteran-rapper, Fabolous, that “ADHD” would deliver. Unfortunately, out of the five new songs, only the “I Lied” intro track lives up to the hype. Brown and Thug’s features on “Finally” and “The War” are the most memorable moments of the remaining new tracks.

    After two years of waiting, as Tucker points out in his skit, and with how much of the project we had already been teased leading up to the official release, the anticipation for “ADHD” worked to its detriment. Despite Lucas arguably not producing a bad single, anything less than greatness from all of his new efforts on the album would’ve been a letdown. With most of the new content generating nothing to write home about, fans will be disappointed. Those just now discovering Lucas are much more likely to enjoy what “ADHD” has to offer.

  • Gambino Goes Out with a Banger

    Gambino Goes Out with a Banger

    Childish Gambino releases fourth and final album

    The Swiss Army knife of creative minds, Donald Glover, also known by his musical alias Childish Gambino, has returned with his fourth and final studio album, “3.15.20.”

    Glover announced the planned retirement of his Gambino alias at the 2017 Governors Ball Music Festival.

    “I’ll see you for the last Gambino album,” Glover said.

    He later doubled down on the retirement of the Gambino name, announcing on his 2018 This is America Tour that it would be the last Gambino tour.

    Glover, meanwhile, has kept himself extremely busy between musical releases, starring as Lando Calrissian in 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and voicing Simba in 2019’s rendition of “The Lion King.” Glover also writes, directs, produces and stars in his own television show, “Atlanta,” which is currently green lit for two more seasons.

    Karen Castañeda, a Humboldt State University environmental studies major, discovered Glover through his show, “Atlanta.”

    “I love him as an actor and I blew through the whole show really fast,” Castañeda said. “He’s super talented and I really support everything he puts out.”

    “3.15.20” saw its official release on March 21, after briefly appearing on donaldgloverpresents.com before it was removed and replaced with a countdown clock.

    The album is peppered with conscious messages that apply now more than ever, in the current pandemic circumstances. The first real song of the album, “Algorhthym,” was unofficially released to fans that attended the This is America Tour in 2018. On the track, Glover addresses brainwashing of humans by social media to make them feel inadequate.

    Particia Pettit-Blair, an HSU psychology major, discovered Glover’s music through friends, and has listened ever since. Despite the unique sounds he creates by layering instruments and combining styles, Pettit-Blair finds Glover’s lyrics to be extremely meaningful and relatable.

    “I like that he kinda takes a different approach to music,” Pettit-Blair said.

    On the previously released “Feels Like Summer,” now titled “42.26,” Glover confronts the climate crisis with a global warming public service announcement.

    Glover reinforces the same message on the track, “Time.” The song sounds like a remix to “Feels Like Summer,” and stresses the obvious truth that “We’re running out of time.” Glover is able to address serious issues without compromising the quality of his music because they come off as organic with the brand he’s built.

    Glover carries his unorthodox approach to the release of “3.15.20” into the album itself. Out of the 12 tracks, 10 on the LP are simply named after their linear location on the album. The project also has two tracks with hidden features, including pop-star Ariana Grande on the song, “Time,” and Grammy-award-winner 21 Savage on the next track, “12.38.”

    On top of a cinematic intro track, each song has its own intro or outro, providing a transition between each one. This gives the album the cinematic experience Glover was after with his 2013 album, “Because the Internet.”

    “3.15.20” is packed with Glover’s versatile singing and the unique sounds he’s developed over the span of his career. He largely leaves rap behind, as he did on “Awaken, My Love” and his “Kauai” EP, with the exception of his distorted verses on the song “Algorhythm” and the highly aggressive flow on the outro track. Glover takes the hardcore fans of his music on a trip down memory lane, incorporating sounds from all of his previous projects into the album.

    Glover brings back the chaotic energy of his debut single, “Bonfire,” on his weirdest song to date, “32.22.” Glover continues to push the boundaries of his audience with the mostly incomprehensible track that can only be described as a war chant. Glover gives fans more deja vu on the track, “19.10,” with a heavy dance vibe resembling Glover’s 2014 single, “Sober,” along with several other tracks from “Kauai.”

    The project with the most influence on “3.15.20” is the most recent and most unique, “Awaken, My Love.” The album’s presence can be felt on multiple tracks, including the heartwarming love song, “24.19,” sung in the same style as his biggest hit, “Redbone.”

    Paired with some of Glover’s most meaningful messages, the experimental sounds Glover has flirted with since he first came on the scene have come together in spectacular fashion for the ultimate payoff on the last Childish Gambino album.

  • Pop-Star Weeknd is Here to Stay

    Pop-Star Weeknd is Here to Stay

    The Weeknd’s fourth album, “After Hours,” has arrived

    The R&B villain, better known as The Weeknd, has returned with his fourth studio album, “After Hours.” In this album, The Weeknd revisits the same themes of drugs, lust and heartbreak found in previous releases, but this time, with a different approach. In the past, his music has come off generally unapologetic, but “After Hours” brings a mix of emotions on his lifestyle.

    After nearly a decade of partying and coming onto the scene in 2011, The Weeknd reveals on track eight, “Faith,” that he’s spent the last year sober. Still battling the urge to return to the fast life, The Weeknd comes to terms with the choices he’s made in “After Hours” and the mental war he’s fighting to avoid making those same mistakes.

    Coming into this project, The Weeknd set the tone by dropping two pop singles at the end of November, claiming the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his lead single, “Heartless.” His follow up, “Blinding Lights,” is currently peaking at number two on the Hot 100 chart in the wake of the album release. He followed up in the second half of February with the title track, “After Hours,” as an unofficial single. The song is slow to build, but is equal parts patience and pop, making it clear that the pop-star style is here to stay.

    “I will always prefer his earlier stuff. It’s just a sound you couldn’t have found anywhere else at the time.”

    Alexa Noperi, HSU film major

    Alexa Noperi is a film major at Humboldt State University, and she hasn’t been happy with The Weeknd’s direction since he dropped “Starboy.”

    “I will always prefer his earlier stuff,” Noperi said. “It’s just a sound you couldn’t have found anywhere else at the time.”

    The Weeknd’s gradual transition to pop music has left some of his day-one fans behind in the darkness of his mixtapes. Made official by his 2016 album “Starboy,” the style shift can be attributed to the success of his biggest single, “Can’t Feel My Face,” along with other pop efforts on “Beauty Behind the Madness,” including “Earned It” and “Angel.”

    When he released his first EP, “My Dear Melancholy,” in 2018, the day-one fans that were left behind were delighted by the return of a dark Weeknd. With his latest release, The Weeknd is likely to disappoint hardcore fans again, as he mostly leaves behind the dark, moody atmosphere of his earlier music to make room for the pop sound that generated so much success with “Starboy.”

    “After Hours” is a rollercoaster of indecisiveness. The Weeknd’s desires constantly clash with one another on his quest for true happiness.

    The album begins with chilly instrumentals that build into their own pop section. The Weeknd flaunts his typical unremorseful attitude, claiming, “It’s too late to save our souls,” on the song “Too Late.”

    “After Hours” is the most consistently solid project The Weeknd has dropped so far.

    Track four, “Scared To Live,” marks the first shift in his approach. He begins to express remorse for his actions, as well as an authentic desire to leave the fast life behind on the stand-out track “Snowchild,” reinforced on the next song, “Escape From LA.”

    Unfortunately, The Weeknd relapses, back to the fast life on his song, “Heartless.” This marks the beginning of the pop-star section that dominated the sound of “Starboy,” this time, with a heavy ’80s electro-dance influence.

    “After Hours” then enters its final section, returning to the slower, chilly instrumentals that opened the album on the “Repeat After Me” interlude. The Weeknd concludes his fourth album, echoing a desire to leave the fast life behind and asking for one last chance at a normal life.

    Though it may be missing the unique, dark sound of The Weeknd’s early music, found on songs like “D.D.” and “The Hills,” as well as the beauty and optimism found on “True Colors” and “I Feel It Coming” from “Starboy,” “After Hours” is the most consistently solid project The Weeknd has dropped so far.

    “It’s not bad background music to try on jeans to. But I don’t think I will be playing it again.”

    Isabelle Eddisford, HSU political science and dance major

    This album marks a growth in his discipline, but also in experimentation. Following the massive success of “Starboy” and the widely-positive reception of “My Dear Melancholy,” the less-than-spectacular “After Hours” might just leave all of his fans a little disappointed.

    Isabelle Eddisford, an HSU student studying political science and dance, felt disappointed that the new songs sounded the same. She described the album as something that would be playing in an Abercrombie and Fitch store.

    “It’s not bad background music to try on jeans to,” Eddisford said. “But I don’t think I will be playing it again.”

    With predicted first-week sales of 400,000 units for “After Hours,” The Weeknd’s continued success in the pop genre may mean the death of his dark times.

  • 5 Dystopian Films to Watch Now That You Now Live in One

    5 Dystopian Films to Watch Now That You Now Live in One

    Lock yourself indoors and pretend these films are strictly fiction

    With a deplorable excuse of a federal administration lying through their teeth about having the situation under control, it’s starting to feel like the world is descending into the plot of an apocalyptic or dystopian film. Fortunately, there are quite a few films to compare with the current state of the world.

    1. Equilibrium (2002)

    • Equilibrium (2002). | Image courtesy of Miramax

    “Equilibrium” is a brilliant 2002 futuristic thriller starring Christian Bale in a fascist police state mandates daily medication that eliminates all feelings. “Sense offenders” that refuse their medication are rounded up and disposed of in ovens, and books and other forms of media that might inspire emotion are burned. Subtlety is not this film’s forte, but that’s to be expected when it also boasts brilliantly-staged action sequences where Christian Bale uses his guns as all-purpose weapons. It’s “The Giver” meets “1984” meets “The Matrix.” The fighting style is referred to as “gun-kata,” and its efficiency and balance reflects the tightness of the film’s storytelling.

    2. Snowpiercer (2013)

    • Snowpiercer (2013). | Photo courtesy of RADiUS/TWC

    Did you like Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite” from 2019? If so, you might enjoy one of his previous masterpieces. In “Snowpiercer,” Earth is in the midst of a new ice age, leaving humanity to survive within the confines of a train that runs on a perpetual track. The train spins its wheels around the icy remains of the former metropolitan homes of the billionaires responsible for the crisis in the first place. An extreme contrast in quality of life lingers on the train, which continues to spin its wheels until a rebellion begins. “Snowpiercer” is another brilliant deconstruction of the class divide and inequity that reminds us that we all live in a capitalist country.

    3. Looper (2012)

    • Looper (2012). | Photo courtesy of Alan Markfield, Looper, LLC

    From Rian Johnson, director of the best Star Wars film, comes an exciting thriller in which time travel is possible, but outlawed. Gangsters send victims back in time to be killed by a hit man until he becomes the target. Unlike most time travel films, this one accepts and plays around with many of the potential paradoxes of time travel and stages scenes only possible in films with time travel. It takes great advantage of the strengths of its cast, as all Rian Johnson films do, and is a whole lot of fun, as all Rian Johnson films are. All of them.

    4. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

    • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). | Photo by Giles Keyte, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

    OK, this one takes place at the time that it was made, and isn’t particularly dystopian, but to be fair, it’s about a group of rich vigilantes, who already killed the entire Obama administration in the previous “Kingsman” film, “The Secret Service.” Thus, they are indirectly responsible for the Trump presidency, which is a major part of the plot of this film. Now investigating a foreign cartel with a monopoly on drug trade, they discover the cartel’s plan to poison cannabis users and hold the planet hostage so that drugs will be legalized. In the real world, this would just mean that Big Pharma takes a huge share of the market and kills their business. But in the Kingsman world, it means a healthy helping of flashy action helped out by an Elton John appearance.

    5. Planet of the Apes (1968)

    • Planet of the Apes (1968). | Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox

    Before the Andy Serkis trilogy and the underwhelming Tim Burton effort was the original 1968 classic, “Planet of the Apes.” It watches more as an extended “Twilight Zone” episode than a futuristic adventure film, and it is superbly well-crafted, with intricate and detailed sets. The chemistry between the humans and the apes is a wonderful tone balancing act that offers plenty of ideas on race relations. And its brilliant twist ending goes down as an all-time classic.

  • Polish Professor Melds Magic and Music

    Polish Professor Melds Magic and Music

    A dream of illusions and piano prowess with Igor Lapinski

    I know a little about magic. And by the end of Polish pianist and magician Igor Lapinski’s Feb. 22 show, I knew I had witnessed something good.

    “Your free will,” Lapinski said in an almost-cliché line that sounded much more convincing with his Polish accent and navy suit, “is just an illusion. A dream.”

    He then pulled a signed dollar bill out of an unopened kiwi.

    Lapinski interlaced illusions with piano pieces by Frédéric François Chopin, the Polish composer. Lapinski, originally from Poland, teaches as an assistant music professor at the University of Oklahoma.

    “He’s going to do something I think we haven’t seen in Humboldt,” music Professor Daniela Mineva and former teacher of Lapinski said before he took the stage. “I’ve been waiting 18 years to bring him here.”

    Hands, he said, are capable of both the sublime and the violent.

    The crowd of mostly older locals sat in a semicircle on the Fulkerson Recital Hall stage around Lapinski and his piano. Rather than have the crowd sit in the hall seats, Lapinski had chairs arranged around him for an intimate experience.

    Lapinski fluctuated between musical pieces of chaos and pieces of order. He rapped on “a haunting desire to belong.” In a three card monte-style routine with red solo cups and a single metal spike, he noted the opposing potentials within people.

    Hands, he said, are capable of both the sublime and the violent.

    He then shrugged off the thought and smashed his and an audience member’s hands down onto the cups in a game of Russian roulette.

    Multiple effects relied on the appearance and disappearance of letters—mostly written by Lapinski, with one supposedly written by his mother. The letters framed the performance in the idea of belonging, as Lapinski brought the audience along on an imaginary plane ride and read letters from home.

    I have to confess, because I know a bit about magic, I’m not a good judge of it. I spent about two of my teenage years learning magic tricks. I know the basics, and I can recognize standard sleight-of-hand moves.

    I’m no longer what magicians call a layperson. Even when I don’t know exactly how a trick is performed, it’s conceivable. It’s rare for me to see something inexplicable. But it does happen.

    • Piano-playing magician Igor Lapinski performing his routine in the Fulkerson Recital Hall at Humboldt State University Feb. 22. Lapinski combined sporadic piano playing with audience-involved illusions. | Photo by James Wilde

    Any attendee of Lapinski’s show can expect to exit with a smile on their face, or at least, a warm feeling in their mind. I can deduce how Lapinski performed his effects—but several of them I can only grasp loosely. For a layperson, his performance may be miraculous, not just puzzling.

    Magicians ultimately seek to produce miracles. The central argument of “Designing Miracles,” a well-regarded book by magician Darwin Ortiz, is that a magician should seek to produce an effect that doesn’t make the audience ask, “How do they do it?” Instead, the goal is, “How is that possible?”

    It’s slight, but this marks the difference between a trick and a miracle. A trick is a matter of deception that can be explained by a magician’s actions. A miracle is just that: pure magic that a magician merely facilitated. In the ideal, the performance transcends trickery and becomes magic.

    In the moments after Lapinski’s show, the audience agreed on his excellence.

    “He’s totally amazing,” a woman behind me said.

    “He’s a delight,” Mineva, the professor, said.

    “He’s hilarious,” a man beside me said. “He’s great.”

    At the very least, you can escape into a dream for just over 60 minutes. Lapinski finished with one last letter and one last piece by Chopin.

    “And so with this piece,” he said, “I wish you all a good night.”

    The night, indeed, was good.

  • Stuck Swimming in Circles

    Stuck Swimming in Circles

    Completing and contemplating Mac Miller’s final album

    Mac Miller‘s family and record producer, Jon Brion, released his final album, “Circles,” on Jan. 17. “Circles” completes his previous album, which was under works during his accidental overdose a month after “Swimming” was released in 2018.

    “Circles” goes deeper into his personal life and the struggles he was dealing with. Songs such as the last song, “Once a Day,” hit home. Miller had posted a snippet of the song on his Instagram story the day before his death.

    Jena Schuh, a zoology student at Humboldt State University, said she knew this album was going to be one of, if not the greatest, album Miller worked on when she first started listening.

    Miller’s album goes deeper into the idea that although he was rich and famous, he still dealt with struggles.

    “The style of ‘Circles’ truly portrays who Mac as a person was,” Schuh said. “Even though he had a lot of money and fame, he still went through the daily struggles that a lot of normal people have too.”

    Throughout the album, Miller openly talks about how he was feeling and some of his darker thoughts about the world and himself. He displays vulnerability to himself and is more transparent in “Circles” than any other album he made.

    Miller’s album goes deeper into the idea that although he was rich and famous, he still dealt with struggles. In the song “Circles,” Miller talks about how he’s tried to change, but can’t.

    “He’s just so creative and so unique. I feel like no one could ever guess what Mac would want, you know?”

    Hazel Belair

    This album in particular has a lot of things that people can relate to, such as going around and around in circles in life. In his song, “Blue World,” Miller describes the craziness of the world and the devil being on his doorstep, but carrying on and shining. It’s an album of pain and tribulations, but also triumph. He continues to talk about himself rising up, shining or continuing on.

    This album gave Mac Miller fans mixed emotions. Hazel Belair, a 21-year-old Arcata resident, said she chose to avoid listening to the album because it wasn’t finished by Miller himself.

    “He’s just so creative and so unique,” Belair said. “I feel like no one could ever guess what Mac would want, you know?”

    The family asking Brion to complete the album was an important part of keeping the authenticity. Brion had been working with Miller on not just “Circles,” but also on his last album, “Swimming.” They had been experimenting with different sounds, instruments and lyrics.

    With the amount of time the two spent together, Brion learned a lot about Miller, but particularly about his music style and preferences. After countless hours in the studio with him, Brion picked up on what Miller was looking for in the album and how he wanted it to sound. There isn’t anyone else who could have made this into a more pure Mac Miller album than Brion did.

    HSU geography student Olivia Dorenkamp thought Brion did a great job on the album and brought out new sounds.

    “‘Good News‘ and ‘Woods‘ put me in a state of bliss and remembrance of his past music,” Dorenkamp said. “Overall into a groovy state of mind.”

    Although “Circles” was Mac Miller’s final contribution to the music world, it was one of his most beautiful. He died over a year ago, but his memory continues to live on through his lyrics and the musical creativity that’s portrayed in “Circles” and his other albums.

  • 03 Greedo Releases Second Album From Prison

    03 Greedo Releases Second Album From Prison

    The incarcerated Los Angeles rapper releases a full-length studio album produced by Kenny Beats

    Jason Jamal Jackson, better known as 03 Greedo, turned himself in to the police in June of 2018.

    Greedo is serving a 20-year sentence on the charges of drug trafficking and possession of a firearm. The 32-year-old, south Los Angeles rapper is spending his sentence at a detention center in Amarillo, TX, but continues to release new music, including three projects this year.

    His newest project, “Netflix and Deal” released on Nov. 22, is produced by one of the largest producers in hip-hop, Kenny Beats.

    Greedo has been creating music since 2010, but didn’t rise to prominence until the release of his Purple Summer series and “The Wolf of Grape Street” mixtape. Both garnered enough attention for him to sign a deal with Alamo Records.

    Greedo initially fought the numerous charges against him, ultimately landing him with a life sentence in prison, which was later reduced to 20 years.

    Knowing he planned to eventually turn himself in, Greedo built up a vault of his music before the time of his imprisonment. Around 30 albums worth of material will be distributed over the length of his sentence. He has kept that promise since, releasing an album with producer Mustard called “Still Summer in the Projects” and an EP with Travis Barker called “Meet the Drummers.”

    The overall presentation and production of “Netflix and Deal” laments Greedo as a versatile, ambitious musician who produces a lasting sound.

    “Netflix and Deal” revolves around the eight month period that Kenny Beats and 03 Greedo knew each other before Greedo’s incarceration. Kenny Beats still sits on nearly 80 songs from the both of them.

    This album carefully selected mixes from the large amount of songs and all happen to revolve around the idea of Greedo reflecting on his life through movies he loves. Following the theme, he interweaves iconic movie references into true depictions of his life makes for an excellent album. He references the movies “Blow,” “Honey I Shrunk the Kids,” “Avatar,” and there’s even a whole song dedicated to Brad Pitt references.

    Even better, Greedo doesn’t disappoint in delivering his signature flows and styles on every song. The beats on this album don’t follow similar sounds, 03 Greedo becomes a part of each beat and is able to turn it into something that sounds perfect for him even if it isn’t a beat he would normally be associated with.

    If you’re a fan of Greedo, you will love everything about this album. And if you don’t know him, his combined elements of California rapping flows and creeping R&B trap singing offer a lot to like.

    Greedo defies genres, taking a large assortment of different beats and making them sound authentic to him through his versatile use of rapping and singing. With Greedo and the high caliber rappers like Buddy, Maxo Kream, Vince Staples and Freddie Gibbs featured on the album, 03 Greedo’s newest album is more than a solid project.

    You can listen to “Netflix and Deal” and 03 Greedo’s other albums on Apple Music or Spotify.

  • Danny Brown: U Know What I’m Sayin?

    Danny Brown: U Know What I’m Sayin?

    uknowhatimsayin¿ stylizes manic energy and strives for greatness

    The last time we heard a full-length project from Danny Brown, it was 2016’s spiraling ode to excess and insanity, “Atrocity Exhibition.” The album used off-the-wall production, manic vocal inflections and harrowing subject matter to paint Brown’s life as a descent into chaos.

    Now with 2019’s “uknowhatimsayin¿,” Brown leaves the coked-up, hyperactive energy of his last project behind and replaces it with motivational tracks focused around striving for your goals and never giving up. Of course, there’s still a healthy dose of bizarre punchlines, drug and sex-related content and enough eclectic beat choices to leave your head spinning after a full listen.

    The introductory “Change Up,” lays out the thematic groundwork of the album. Organs, synths and a steady, understated drumbeat flesh out the track as Brown laments, “Up all night, toss and turn when I sleep; Pacing around, drowning sorrows in my drink; Can’t even think, got my mind wrapped up; But I still bite down, clench my teeth, knuckle up.”

    Resiliency is a common theme in Brown’s projects, but this album embraces self-reliance and motivation as the central theme of the work. Rather than basking in the highs and lows of overindulgence and addiction like previous works, Brown finds a nice middle ground where he acknowledges the darker moments of his life while committing to forward motion.

    The best example of this is on an early single for the project, called “Best Life.” The tracks verses detail Brown’s origin as a dope dealer, but pairs an uplifting chorus about living your best life now, because it’s the only one you’ve got.

    This cut is followed in the tracklist by the title song, which has Brown spitting life lessons and motivational advice, with the refrain, “Know what I’m sayin’?” A chorus from Obongjayar and smooth, jazzy drums contribute to the uplifting vibe of this song.

    One of the hallmarks of a Danny Brown project is wildly creative wordplay, and this album delivers that in spades. Brown sums up his writing style succinctly on the track “Savage Nomad,” which features looped electric guitar over a thumping beat. “It’s quite simple, I’m mental, all over instrumentals; Detrimental to health, lyrics is quintessential,” Brown spits.

    Brown is no stranger to bizarre instrumentals, but the beats on this project deserve special praise. From the spacey, reverbed A$AP Ferg adlibs on “Theme Song” to the hectic basslines of “Negro Spiritual” and the atmospheric, synthed-out breathing on “Belly of the Beast,” the album provides a wide range of vibes and moods that have been lacking from the current rap climate with its affinity for loud, hi-hat-heavy trap production.

    Features from Run The Jewels, JPEGMafia, Obongjayar and Blood Orange are sprinkled throughout the album to provide variety. Special praise must be lauded to Killer Mike of RTJ, who comes through with some of his coldest bars to date in the song, “3 Tearz.” “I sip on fine wines, fine dine with dimes and nines; I got an Einstein mind and I still tote iron; I’m a P-I-M-P in my own rhyme; Space-age gorilla pimpin’ out the cage with mine.”

    If there’s one thing missing from this new album, it’s the staggering emotional highs and lows felt on “Atrocity Exhibition.” Because this new project is more laid-back, it never reaches these heights. Regardless, “uknowhatimsayin¿” is confirmation of Brown’s place as one of the most creative and consistent rappers working today.

  • Film Screening Displays Indigenous Resistance and Heroism

    Film Screening Displays Indigenous Resistance and Heroism

    ‘From Wounded Knee to Standing Rock’ offers insight into 71-day rebellion

    As Indigenous Peoples’ Week came to an end, one of the last events was an airing of the documentary, “From Wounded Knee To Standing Rock: A Reporter’s Journey” at the Eureka Theatre.

    This story followed rookie reporter Kevin McKiernan and his experiences recording the events of the 71-day seizure and occupation of the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation from Feb. 27 to May 8, 1973.

    • Photo courtesy Kevin McKiernan
    • Photo courtesy Kevin McKiernan
    • Photo courtesy Kevin McKiernan

    Richard A. “Dick” Wilson was chairman of the Oglala Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Protests started in response to failures of impeachment. Wilson had accusations ranging from giving jobs to friends and family, to suppressing his political opponents with his private militia, the Guardians of the Oglala Nation.

    In addition, there were protests of the United States Government’s failure to uphold treaties with Native Americans. This was concerning since there was a history of abuse and neglect from American police and government. Cases such as State v. Bad Heart Bull served as a catalyst for the occupation.

    As a result of the GOON squads’ weaponized militia, the American Indian Movement was brought in to assist the protesters. Wilson also received help from the American Government in the forms of U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI.

    Photo courtesy Kevin McKiernan

    AIM started as a grassroots movement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to address police brutality towards Native Americans; and grew to represent all indigenous tribes and help them with the issues they have faced since European colonialism, as well as helping people reconnect with their heritage. Many people lost their history once Americans forced native youth assimilate into Euro-American society.

    Acclimation to the colonizers’ lifestyles included forcibly removing Native people from their families, as well as preventing them from practicing their traditional customs. By accepting the different values as their own, such as Christianity, private property and material wealth, people became disconnected from their roots. AIM was a way for people to reconnect to their ancestors’ ways of life.

    During the time of this occupation, the U.S. Government prevented media personal from entering the reservation or recording any discussions between them and the rebel leaders, such as Dennis Banks and Russell Means. They also implemented roadblocks to prevent aid for the natives.

    McKiernan snuck in with the help of some rebels and slept on the floors of a church. While inside he recorded conversations with multiple members of the rebellion, shootouts with the FBI and USMS, took pictures of the aftermath of the altercations and recorded meetings with U.S. officials. Conflict escalated to the point of the USMS and FBI using helicopters, armored vehicles, snipers and automatic weapons.

    Photo courtesy Kevin McKiernan

    U.S. Marshal Lloyd Grimm was shot in the conflict and suffered paralysis from the waist down and Cherokee activist Frank Clearwater was shot in the head April 17, within 24 hours of his arrival, during a fire fight with federal forces.

    Shootings were just one reason for keeping the media in the dark, by preventing coverage of the measures that the government took against the AIM and Sioux. At one point during the winter, Department of Justice appointee Kent Frizell, to manage the government’s response, cut off water, electricity and food supplies to Wounded Knee in an attempt to starve them out. They also made attempts to stir up distrust in the local factions, which lead to some activists being killed by their own allies, for fear they were government plants.

    The final blow came in late April, when Lawrence “Buddy” Lamont, a local Oglala Lakota, was shot by a government sniper and killed. Soon after, both sides would come to an agreement to disarm. This led to the eventual end of the 71-day standoff between the Wounded Knee activists and AIM, and the United States assisted tribalists, serving as but one example of the Native American’s struggles since European Colonization.

  • 6 Modern Board Games You’ve Never Heard Of

    6 Modern Board Games You’ve Never Heard Of

    Board games don’t have to be boring if you find the right fit

    When you hear “board game,” you might think of games like “Monopoly,” “Scrabble,” “Clue” or “Sorry.” Those games are classics, but they can suck.

    Luckily, an explosion of new board game designs in recent years has created a thriving modern board game scene.

    Many of these games are crap, immensely complicated or so dry they would bore even your grandparents. But some are actually fun.

    I’ve been playing board games for years. Here are some of my most accessible favorites for various crowds.

    For the actor:

    “Monikers” is charades, but with a reliable set of cards to act out. To make things better, Monikers offers three rounds of increasing difficulty.

    In the first round, you can do anything and say anything but the title of your card to try to get your friends to guess what’s on the card. In the second round, you get one word. In the third, you get only your miming ability. Monikers makes you laugh.

    Monikers. | Photo by James Wilde

    For the detective:

    “Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective” hands you a pamphlet for a crime mystery and tells you to go solve it. You and your friends work together, going to locations on a map to find clues or reading from facsimile newspapers to find leads.

    The goal is to use as few clues as possible to solve the case. The game is reading-intensive and the cases often involve illogical jumps, but if you’ve ever wanted to be a detective this is probably the closest you can get without actually becoming one.

    Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. | Photo by James Wilde

    For the artist:

    “A Fake Artist Goes to New York” begins with everyone secretly receiving the same object to draw. However, one player, the fake artist, has no idea what they’re supposed to be drawing.

    Everyone goes around in a circle adding one line to the same drawing, and the players must then suss out who the fake artist is, before the fake artist successfully guesses what the object is. Bonus points to this game for coming in a tiny box.

    A Fake Artist Goes to New York. | Photo by James Wilde

    For the talker:

    “Funemployed” is like a riff on “Monikers.” You get a hand of cards with varying words on them. When it’s your turn, you have to “apply” for a a job determined by a card drawn from a deck. Essentially, you’re giving your pitch in front of your friends.

    The catch is that in your pitch, you have to include the terms from all of the cards in your hand. Good luck fitting “Fifty Cats” or “Scientology” into your pitch for that internship. Another game that’s guaranteed to make you laugh, so long as you play with people comfortable ad-libbing and talking a lot.

    Funemployed. | Photo by James Wilde

    For the gambler:

    “Lords of Vegas” makes you into a prospective businessperson setting out to build Las Vegas. Compete with your friends to buy lots, build casinos, and talk your way into questionable trades to win the game.

    It’s also very probable that at some point you’ll gamble your money at another player’s casino and lose everything. This game is basically what Monopoly should be. It’s also a little more complex than other games on this list.

    Lords of Vegas. | Photo by James Wilde

    For the storyteller:

    “Tales of the Arabian Nights” is a choose-your-own-adventure book on steroids. You and your friends traverse around a map while reading from a booklet of stories and choosing your reaction to said stories.

    There’s not much of a game here. Mostly, there are lots of laughs as your character gets captured by fire worshippers, turned into an elephant or has some other bizarre encounter. I recommend using the app to streamline the choose-your-own-adventure part.

    Tales of the Arabian Nights. | Photo by James Wilde
  • What (Not) To Watch This Week: ‘The Dirt’

    What (Not) To Watch This Week: ‘The Dirt’

    There are many ways to make a decent biopic, but this wasn’t it

    We’re all familiar with the term ‘clickbait’—that thing YouTubers, social media influencers and crappy publications utilize to get views by advertising mind-blowing topics that don’t pan out too much. Netflix is guilty of this.

    Netflix advertises original movies with all-star casts on popular topics and many have been total flops. It’s mind-blowing to try to analyze why these movies haven’t worked out as there are usually decent actors and a whole lot of money thrown at scripts approved by Netflix executives. Yet, somehow we end up with biopics like “The Dirt.”

    The film follows the life and times of the band Mötley Crüe, a rock group from the 80s that were as influential to rock as N.W.A. was to rap. The movie is based on the autobiography of the band by the same name and the production received first-hand help from the members themselves. Somehow, it still managed to suck.

    I would go as far as referring to it as a dumpster fire, but one with a $28 million budget. I hate this expensive dumpster fire so much that it inspired me to start this column, investigating and deconstructing Netflix’s worst original movies.

    “The Dirt” starts with a cliché voice over as we watch the band form, negotiate a signing and start making music before they dive headfirst into a world of debauchery. Despite this and heavy sourced material, the plot feels empty.

    I would go as far as referring to it as a dumpster fire, but one with a $28 million budget.

    There’s tons of drama, struggles with addiction and the rockstar lifestyle, yet all of it feels disconnected. What is a crazy and interesting true story turns into a passionless montage of crude humor, nudity and subplots that have no bearing on the rest of the story.

    The poor structure and terrible acting could be forgiven if the writing didn’t feel so lazy. There were far too many conflicts that resolved due to convenience or off-screen. When the band formed they were down a lead singer. They sought out Vince Neil at a half-nude backyard party and gave him their mixtape in hopes that he’ll join their band.

    Neil starts making out with a girl as a voiceover plays (did I mention that they pointlessly include these fourth-wall-breaking voiceovers that aren’t even consistent throughout?) of him saying he had no interest in joining the band because he was only in a band to get chicks.

    Fast forward five seconds to him and this same girl at his house, the voiceover plays again and he randomly decides that he will call the band back. He hasn’t had an epiphany of any kind, Neil just decides to join the band. Instances like these are prevalent and pointless but, hey, writing like this gives us more time to watch the band do drugs and hang out with naked women. And, of course, see Ozzy Osbourne drink urine off the ground.

    When I said that the movie was a bad montage, I wasn’t exaggerating. The filmmakers decided to take all of the band’s most iconic and emotional moments and reenact them for the camera. Then they threw in some basic cut edits of band arguments and performances. The scenes are exaggerated for shock value and not narratively rewarding.

    This brings us to N.W.A. and their 2015 biopic. The exaggerations made by the screenwriters of “Straight Outta Compton” were intentional and contributed to tension within the movie which helped hold it together. The characters that N.W.A. struggled with in the film motivated the audience to root for their success.

    Mötley Crüe’s biopic has no antagonists or even attempts to emphasize tensions felt between members. When the band gets back together at the end of “The Dirt,” I felt nothing.

    Mötley Crüe’s biopic has no antagonists or even attempts to emphasize tensions felt between members. When the band gets back together at the end of “The Dirt,” I felt nothing. There was no struggle to get to that point and the movie never made a play for conflict in that regard. Besides external motivations, I also felt very little about Nikki Sixx’s overdose and his continuous struggle with addiction due to the way it was portrayed.

    Meanwhile, I cry every time I watch Eazy-E receive his HIV/AIDS diagnosis in “Straight Outta Compton.” I don’t cry in the scene where he dies, but the scene where he is diagnosed. Why? Because after all the conflict that he and fellow group members survived, this moment pulls everything out from under them.

    What happens with Sixx’s initial overdose and the band’s continuous struggles with addiction? The directors chose to do a thirty-second scene where the band decides to go to rehab. That’s cool, I guess. Not as much of an emotional impact, though.

    And while we’re on the topic, here are some other things that bothered me about this garbage fire of a movie: Machine Gun Kelly’s over-acted and exaggerated portrayal of Tommy Lee, the recurring mention of the band’s lead guitarist Mick Mars always being sick and no one caring, the weird humor they try to force onto Pete Davidson’s character Tom Zutaut (including a scene where he speaks with a band member through a door while the same band member has sexual relations with Zutaut’s girlfriend), Machine Gun Kelly’s acting (again), the lack of cohesion between personal and on-stage life and finally, the lack of grounding in real world events. I, obviously, could keep going.

    The absence of tension, overarching narrative or fun scenes showing off the band’s greatness doom this movie from the get-go. Even if you were able to look past those issues, the terrible writing and bad performances, the movie leaves you with nothing more than unintentional laughter and the urge to turn it off. Which isn’t anything that even shock value or sweet nostalgia can salvage.

  • JPEGMAFIA: All My Heroes Are Cornballs

    JPEGMAFIA: All My Heroes Are Cornballs

    JPEGMAFIA’s new album is a demented ride through the rappers mind

    JPEGMAFIA’s third studio album, “All My Heroes are Cornballs,” was released Sept. 14 and it perfectly embodies the production characteristics that define his music.

    JPEGMAFIA is the brainchild of music producer and rapper Barrington Hendricks. Hendricks gained interest in music by learning to sample while he was stationed in Japan with the United States Air Force.

    After being honorably discharged in 2016, Hendricks moved to Baltimore, Maryland and began working on producing his first studio album, “Black Ben Carson.” In 2018, he released his critically acclaimed album, “Veteran,” which was a healthy introduction into Hendricks’ twisted, gritty version of postmodern, experimental hip hop.

    The entirety of the “All My Heroes are Cornballs” album, from production to rapping, was done by Hendricks. Hendricks has yet to stray away from the things that define his music production. The choppy, industrial sounds that seem to harass your senses in the best possible way. The usual hi-hats, claps and kick sounds found in a generic rap beat are replaced with clicks, static and pre-2000s computer sounds which seem to invade your privacy. The framework for the bass and ASMR-like drum patterns are still prevalent, but this is what sets Hendricks apart from other producers in the genre.

    While applying his signature drum patterns, Hendricks adds sounds that have never been used in his beats before. There are softer, inviting motifs connected to every melody behind the drums. They usually consist of a few soft piano keys with audio effects added, a lightly strummed guitar or synths that are reminiscent of ’80s and ’90s video games. The sounds radiate nostalgia, spirituality and a sense of peace which largely contrast the rough, nail-biting sounds of “Veteran.”

    These sounds give a more introspective look into what makes Hendricks who he is rather than the persona he gives off in his music. The downside to the project has to do with the lyrics. He changes the flow of his raps on a regular basis but each time they still fall into a generic pattern. The lyrical content rarely strays away from the subjects of fighting internet haters with guns and being better than other artists. Most of the bars consist of Hendricks yelling one of his coined ad-libs. It’s hard to expect any different from a person who is labeled as an internet warrior with a track record of pissing off the alt-right. The lyrics become redundant and feel recycled from past albums.

    Hendricks ventures more into singing on this project and surprisingly, it is one of the best things about the album. Some of the stand out tracks on this album are “Jesus Forgive Me I Am A Thot,” “Free The Frail,” “Thot Tactics” and ”BasicBitchTearGas.” He harnesses the energies of 90s R&B and it perfectly ties together the crunchy, psychedelic beats to produce one of his most personal projects.

    The production on this album is perfect. The chord progressions, song transitions and signature drum beats are completely on par with the JPEGMAFIA sound. The only thing lacking is lyrical variance, but the singing and melodies make up for it entirely. This can easily be one of the best experimental rap albums of the year.

  • The only noods you need

    The only noods you need

    Arts Alive! is the hub of delicious and interesting foods on a Saturday night

    There’s something about meals served from food trucks that satisfies the soul in a different way. Walking through downtown Eureka, all you hear is music and chatter from the community, and all you smell is the wonderful aromas from a variety of food spots. Food trucks and street vendors come off as more authentic, which draws in larger crowds. Arts Alive! in Eureka encourages community members and friends to get together and enjoy some quality meals from quality food spots.

    My first spot I tried was Southside Mike’s Original Bar-B-Que, a food truck parked behind the horse carriage. I ordered the Mac, and it was an ooey-gooey sensation I’ve never had before. There were bits of toasted cheese and a fresh seasoning to top it off. The mac ‘n cheese is made up of four cheeses, but the cheese alone gets placed on the griddle, creating a smokey crust. I’ve had some good mac ‘n cheese, but nothing like Southside Mike’s.

    “The key is good, simple ingredients,” said owner Mike Ross. “That’s it!”

    Ross explained that the food truck is all about southern Louisiana cooking, similar to what his family made growing up.

    My next stop must have been the longest line at Arts Alive!. Casamiento is El Salvadorian and Cambodian food, and there’s no surprise that the name means ‘marriage’ in Spanish with this kind of street food. I ordered the Khmer Banh Mi, a sandwich made from a perfectly seasoned beef mixture, with cucumbers, jalapeños, and an exquisite pickled daikon and carrots. The sandwich was superb with the vegetables adding a great crunch to every bite. The food as a whole was loaded with flavor.

    “The idea is to marry the people and culture,” said Casamiento owner Jennifer Be.

    My last stop was Humboldt Fresh, a food truck that looked like it would have your traditional American food, but it surprisingly packed a punch. I ordered the C.B.G. sandwich, with chicken breast, bacon bits, cheese, tomato, and cilantro. Something that could have stayed a classic sandwich was created as something more. The cilantro added an extra fresh taste, and the chicken and bacon combo was out of this world. The best thing about this food truck is that the food is, as its name claims, fresh.

    “That’s the whole theme of this truck,” said Humboldt Fresh owner Kyle Scott. “Everything is prepped the day of and we only use fresh produce and grass-fed meats.”

    Let it be known that you will not starve at Arts Alive!, it is simply not possible. The event brings people together, creating a food hub for the community. Arts Alive! allows you to taste true authentic food, as well as introduce you to a mix of new foods, and join in with the community.

    “I get to see and hang out with the community, I think that’s the best part,” said Ross. “It’s a good excuse to come out and have a good time with the community together.”

    Arts Alive! takes place in downtown Eureka every Saturday evening.

  • Jazz in the most unlikely of places

    Jazz in the most unlikely of places

    The Speakeasy in Eureka Old Town holds true to its name

    On a rainy Tuesday night tucked away in a dimly lit Old Town Eureka alleyway, a tenor saxophone can be heard echoing off the brick-patterned mural-covered walls. A multistory Billie Holiday painting stands as a beacon of light covering the entrance to the 1920s-style jazz joint, The Speakeasy. Every Tuesday and Friday night The Opera Alleycats can be seen and heard performing covers ranging from Miles Davis’ “So What” to Thelonious Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser”.

    This particular Tuesday night the small and cozy New Orleans-style bar is full. Local musicians and bar patrons have gathered solely to hear the quintet wail the not-so-long-ago Bebop style of jazz that hit America with a left hook harder than Muhammed Ali himself.

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    The Opera Alleycats’, Tim Randals, plasy keyboard at The Speak Easy in Eureka during The Opera Alleycats’ once a week jazz show. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    The brass players, keyboardist and percussionist all play in sync on the same level, feeding off their improvisations and individual solos. The trombone player embodies J.J Johnson, a low beat from the percussionist leads his rhythm and after the last blowing exhale all the hands in the bar are clapping enthusiastically.

    One wouldn’t think of Humboldt County as a destination for authentic jazz. Typically places like New York, New Orleans and San Francisco come to mind. But if you’ve ever heard jazz in any of these cities than you would be pleasantly surprised to realize jazz is at your front door.

    Once you step through the doors of The Speakeasy you are transplanted to when the consciousness of America was widening and bebop jazz could be heard in every dingy dive bar from coast to coast. The low lighting sets a hipcat mood, while the selection of booze behind the mahogany colored bar makes one feel as if they’ve walked into a Humphrey Bogart movie. The only thing missing is the ability to light up a newly packed Camel wide while crossing one’s leg and asking the person next to them for a light.

    WALLIN.FEATS.JAZZ.02.12.1920190212 (4).jpg
    Brian White blows the trombone during The Opera Alleycats weekly jazz night at The Speak Easy in Eureka. | Photo by T.William Wallin

    Trombone player Brian White said that the Speakeasy is his favorite place to play.

    “We don’t really make any money, but The Speakeasy is the only place we can play with such freedom and people actually come to just listen to us,” White said.

    He is right. Sam the bartender was busy making Manhattans and whiskey gingers for a crowd unable to keep their legs from tapping or their bodies from moving in rhythm to the band.

    WALLIN.FEATS.JAZZ.02.12.1920190212.jpg
    Sam the bartender makes cockatails at The Speak Eay in Eureka during The Opera Alleycats’ once a week jazz show. | Photo By T.William Wallin

    Local musician Anna Hamilton said this is the best group of musicians playing together in Humboldt County.

    “I travelled up here from Southern Humboldt because I needed to hear some great music tonight,” Hamilton exclaimed in between sips of whiskey sour.

    Most of the band are transplants to Humboldt County, bringing their musical influences with them. White is from Los Angeles and has been in Humboldt for over 20 years. He said he wouldn’t want to play jazz anywhere else besides Humboldt because although he has regular job, he is allowed room to breathe and play what he wants with his friends.

    The youngest member of the group is the saxophonist Issac Williams, who was born and raised in McKinleyville. The Opera Alleycats have been playing together for six years at The Speakeasy with most members interwoven into other Humboldt County musical groups.

    WALLIN.FEATS.JAZZ.02.12.1920190212 (1).jpg
    The Opera Alleycats’, Issac William, plays saxophone at The Speak Eay in Eureka during The Opera Alleycats’ once a week jazz show. | Photo By T. William Wallin

    Tonight, the band’s lineup is Brian White on trombone, Issac Williams on sax, Tim Randals on keyboard, Ken Lawrence filling in on bass and filling in for drums is Mike Labolle. They play three sets and in each intermission are out in the crowd, sipping I.P.A.’s and engaging in hearty laughter. Humboldt County being so small and rural, naturally the band and the audience are all good friends.

    The band ends on a nine minute ride of Miles Davis’ “So What”. The crowd is aware right as the first key is struck. The keyboard keys start slow and mellow, the bass riff comes in setting the tone, and everyone’s involved by the time the brass comes in. Even without a trumpet player the band is able to summon the feeling of Davis and keep the spirit of jazz alive.

    WALLIN.FEATS.JAZZ.02.12.1920190212 (8).jpg
    The Opera Alleycats’ Issac William, saxophone, Brian White, trombone, Ken Lawrence, bass, and Mike Labolle, drums at The Speak Eay in Eureka during The Opera Alleycats’ once a week jazz show on Tuesday February, 12, 2019. By: T.William Wallin

    After each player gets a chance to express their skills on their individual instruments, they all come together center stage, right toes tapping, lungs filled with inhalation blowing from the Hara outwards.

    They all end the night on the same note, with a ringing of a tenor saxophone echoing across the brick-patterned alleyway walls covered in murals close to midnight.

    WALLIN.FEATS.JAZZ.02.12.1920190212 (7).jpg
    The Opera Alleycats jazz night every Tuesday at 7:30 pm at The Speak Easy in Eureka. By: T.WIlliam Wallin

  • Blotter bytes

    Blotter bytes

    Oh man, there must have been something in the air the week before Spring Break. Someone turned himself in for an outstanding warrant, there were multiple fights on campus and on the bus, slit car tires, drunk people on campus and finally, multiple skateboard violations. Oh yeah, and some folks got their pieces seized, bummer! But don’t worry, the week of Spring Break had its own eccentricities.

    The Rolling Count:

    · Possession charges = 5

    · Contraband/paraphernalia seizures = 6

    Holler hootie hoo!

    Monday March 18

    · RAAAGEEEE FACE!!— “A vehicle owner who was irate with Parking staff regarding a parking citation was warned and advised of proper complaint procedure.” I get it, tickets suck. However, the parking staff are just doing their jobs, don’t scream at them.

    · The circus is in town— “A male who was balancing on a large red ball while juggling bowling pins in the parking lot was asked to move to a safer location.” I don’t know what a “safer location” would entail, but the dude is literally standing on a ball while juggling. I think he has it under control. But maybe not, ya’ never know.

    Tuesday March 19

    · This isn’t your room, it’s down the hall—So someone in Fern Residence Hall was “staying in a different room than the room which was rented to him.” Dude, just go home. If it smells, tell your roomies to clean the eff up.

    Wednesday March 20

    · Someone stole a scooter and that is about it for Wednesday.

    Thursday March 21

    · Open window policy?—Someone was spotted climbing through a window at the Fern Residence Hall. UPD was unable to find the person but concluded, “it was a resident who possibly lost his key.”

    Friday March 22

    · Take it outside—Someone was warned for skating inside of the Science D building.

    Saturday March 23

    · Stop it kid!—Literal children called UPD from one of those blue light emergency post things. UPD heard the “voices of children” in the background. Don’t worry, “the parents will admonish their children.”

    Sunday March 24

    · GHOSTS!!—I freakin’ knew it!! One of the librarians called UPD because she believed “there may be someone on the second or third floor.” UPD showed up… and found someone on the third floor. Dang it, I was psyched for some paranormal activity. One of these days, we will find some legit ghost activity.

  • Review: Adoration of the Old Woman

    Review: Adoration of the Old Woman

    Culture, true love and ultimate forgiveness all wrapped up in one play

    The HSU Theatre Department presented a beautiful performance of “Adoration of the Old Woman” originally written by José Rivera. This was a wonderful story of reconnecting to culture, true love and ultimate forgiveness. The play also sheds light on a country once independent and free now taken over by corrupt governments.

    The play follows an old Puerto Rican native at an age “between 100 and 150” named Doña Belén played by HSU student Savannah Baez. Doña is snarky and humorous but also deals with a dark past.

    AD3.JPG Left to right: Irma Gill as Vanessa, Savannah Baez as Belen. | Photo courtesy of the Theatre Film and Dance Department

    Haunted by the ghost of her late ex-husband’s mistress Adoracíon played by HSU student Andrea Carrillo, Doña is in a state of sorrow and has constant lack of sleep. Adoracíon was a beautiful young woman and seeks freedom from the house she seems to be trapped in. The two start off with immense conflict and appear to genuinely hate each other.

    Doña’s great-granddaughter Vanessa played by HSU senior Irma Gill, visits Puerto Rico by the orders of her mother, Doña’s daughter. Vanessa comes from a modernized world in the United States and knows basically nothing about the island or its culture.

    Vanessa and Doña find themselves unable to communicate because of their language barrier. With the help of characters like Ismael played by HSU student Isiah Alexander and Cheo played by HSU student Victor Parra, Vanessa finds herself reconnecting with her culture as she tries to understand the values of Puerto Rican freedom.

    AD2.JPG Left to right: Savannah Baez as Belen, Irma Gill as Vanessa, Andrea Carillo as Adoracion | Photo courtesy of the Theatre Film and Dance Department

    Ismael is a charismatic guy who enjoys a bit of fun and is also for the Statehood of Puerto Rico because of minor benefits that the states have to offer. Cheo is strongly against Statehood and wants to get rid of American influence that has completely messed up the values of their once-proud country.

    His activism shows his passion for his culture, and although he went to college in the states Cheo came back home to fight for his beloved country. This builds up extreme tension between the two childhood friends, causing heated arguments and eventually two incredibly realistic fight scenes. The stage combat was nicely done, and usage of fake blood and makeup provided an amazing touch causing the audience to fall completely silent.

    Vanessa soon falls in love with her culture, her grandmother Doña and Cheo who taught her so much about the importance of the freedom Puerto Rico deserves. Cheo and Vanessa share something special, they care for each other deeply and it surely shows through Parra and Gill’s impeccable acting.

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    Vanessa does her best to take care and speak to her ailing grandmother Doña and after spending much time together, the two relatives grow to love each other. Even a surprise twist at the end expresses the true feelings that Adoracíon shares with both Doña and Vanessa. A heartwarming act of forgiveness was revealed between Adoracíon and Doña, bringing them peace during Doña’s last moments.

    Lead by the direction of Robi Arce and a set design built to perfection by the works of the artistic staff, “Adoration of the Old Woman” was a success.

    The rate of conflict and emotional hardship along with various amounts of humor to balance the story really had the audience in for a treat. Laughter and occasional “oohs” and “awes” were heard throughout the Gist Hall theatre.

    Isabel Sunglao, a child development major in her last year, said that she loved the play and was happy to see it.

    “I liked it, it was pretty intense,” Sunglao said. “I loved it though, I’m glad I came.”

    “Adoration of the Old Woman” highlights the devastation of losing a country’s freedom. This is taking place and has taken place for many years. Colonization is a method of control that has destroyed many cultures for economic growth and desire.

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    Amy Beltrán, a HSU senior theatre major, expressed her feelings about the political issues that the play demonstrates.

    “I think it is a beautiful story, a very important story politically right now, something that should be talked about,” Beltrán said. “It brings up a lot of issues that are going on with Puerto Rico but also Mexico and all over the world.”

  • Grab a cup and listen up

    Grab a cup and listen up

    A cup of Joe and some tunes make for chill Friday night plans

    Standing on stage with microphone in hand, raising the guitar to the audience, the starting performer kicked off Northtown Coffee’s open mic night.

    “I am the Squirrel. This is my tree [guitar]. Let’s get it on!”

    Last Friday night, artists got it on by paying tribute to International Women’s Day before beginning their session. Rio Cerbini, a musician from Eureka, started off with an on the spot prayer celebrating women and their power.

    “I pray for peace, more understanding and listening,” Cerbini said. “This place [Northtown Coffee] is a love portal, very freeing.”

    IMG_0714.jpg Skyhorse performs his favorite song of the night, “Since I Met You Baby”, by Ivory Joe Hunter. Mar. 8, 2019. | Photo by Grace Caswell

    Northtown Coffee acts as a space for creativity and support, and unique artists traveled from all over to bring their craft to the stage.

    Antonio “Tony” J. Martinez, performed under the name Skyhorse, is a new but frequent performer at Northtown Coffee. He described a magnetic-like energy connecting him to Northtown Coffee.

    “An energy brings me and pushes me here,” Martinez said. “Each [heart] beat. Each breath.”

    With or without an energy present Northtown Coffee captivated its audience, offeried an experience that’s Friday-night worthy. Performers were drawn to the small stage, some visiting every Friday of the month.

    A very familiar face to Northtown Coffee is Squirrel, acting as both a performer and sound assistant he attends almost every Friday, knowing what pleases the crowd.

    “Animation,” Squirrel said. “Songs that bring people up, the audience wants to hear something wild.”

    Audience members enjoy the live performances and cozy vibe of Northtown Coffee. Mar. 8, 2019. | Photo by Madeleine McCluskey

    While energy remains high within Northtown Coffee, a chill and comfortable vibe encompassed the whole building, feeling more like a community. Jose Moreno, a first year social work major, enjoyed Northtown as a first time audience member.

    “I would definitely come back,” Moreno said. “It gives you such a lifting experience.”

    Northtown Coffee offers many experiences to many people. For musicians it’s a chance to perform and showcase their artistry. For the audience it’s a Friday night featuring live music and cozy coffee smells. Regardless, Northtown Coffee has something special that brings people to the same spot every Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.