Kanye West

Hear Ye, Hear Ye…

Kanye West and his Phoenix.

            One of my favorite musical artists, and an icon of my generation is Kanye West. Kanye West is a Rapper, who is more than that. He is an author, clothing designer, producer, director, and fine artist—he’s basically summa cum laude when it comes to innovation.

            Kanye West is a genius, and ever since The College Dropout released in 2004, I was in love. Kanye West isn’t exactly a “media outlet,” but he is apart of this huge media, that has become my exit. I love to turn on his music, and simply vibe, or,  “close my eyes and imagine, feel the magic,” (Kanye “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”).

            One of my all time favorite songs, titled, “All Falls Down,” from his early LP The College Dropout is apart of my life story. It perfectly describes my life now, and the entire C.D. foreshadows this ongoing battle I have had with myself these past four years. I guess the reason I relate to West’s music so much is because he tells the stories I am too afraid to tell, or that I too experience.

            Another reason why I enjoy Kanye West is because he is so imaginative. One of my favorite songs (and trust me I have so many) is “Flashing Lights,” from Graduation. It’s just a cool song about love, fame, paparazzi problems, and time—and the music video is one that tells that story.

            Many spectators and critics believe that an artist should not solely be judged by their art, but also by their personal traits and how they are portrayed in the public eye. West gets so much scrutiny with secret society, devil worshipping, his public appearances and outbursts, but also his scandal. He has caused so many problems with his opinions that he has become a household name. From saying, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” to stopping the MTV Video Music Awards to protest an award, and stage crashing at other awards show the rapper has received his fare share of backlash.

            When it comes to an artist that’s what I judge them on; their art, I think it’s unfair to believe that a person can be perfect, and even if they were the media would crucify them When it comes to public figures I don’t judge them on what they do outside of the studio, or the concert I paid for, I simply judge them on their work. Kanye West’s work speaks for itself and he has become my outlet because of his storytelling rhymes and soul-samples that are placed on his tracks. Even though he has been crucified for some of his actions he is also awarded for his success. His awards, and accolades also show that he is great at what he does. 

Kanye and Jay-Z

            Kanye not only devours a lot of other rappers with his simple openings from his College Dropout days on songs like “Jesus Walks,” but with his simple endings to songs like, “Flashing Lights.” All of his music meshes will, and has matured over the years. Recently, he has went platinum along with his “Big Brother,” and counterpart Jay-Z on their collaboration for Watch the Throne they released a couple months prior. Hopefully nothing but amazing things happen for him and his music.

Living Out Loud

Being a hopeless romantic is something that I am unbelievably ashamed of. Time and time again, I watch films and find myself day dreaming about similar love stories, auditioning people to play the role of the gentlemen and the cad. Recently, I got a chance to catch the movie “Living Out Loud.” The film, starring Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito, and (one of my favorite’s) Queen Latifa, is directed and written by Richard Lagravenese and was originally released in 1998.

Each character played a role and as you may have guessed they were all orthodox. The movie, based on freshly divorced Judith Moore’s (played by Holly Hunter) quest to rediscover herself through her hysterical conquests through the city of New York.  You can definitely find the usual stereotypical characters  in this raunchy depiction of a early forty year old woman going through the motions. This doesn’t really relate too well, but in order to paint Judith’s picture right, she looks like the fraternal twin of Sookie Stackhouse or Anna Panquin from “True Blood.”

You have the gentlemen, portrayed by stocky Pat Francato (Danny DeVito), also divorced and recently lost his daughter. The overweight, balding character was wallowing in self-pity, debt, and loneliness until one day all of his hard work being the doorman in an upper-east side apartment building paid off—he meets the Judith Moore.

They hit it off one night, after Judith gets swept off of her feet in the backroom of a nightclub and tonged down by a complete stranger. It seems to be her first real encounter with a man after her divorce and they (she and this mysterious gentlemen) plan to meet up. That night, Judith finally speaks to Pat in the elevator, and they immediately have an odd interaction.

The fact is, until that kiss at the nightclub Judith was the typical lonely woman. She had the, “woe is me, I’m divorced and want to kill myself,” mentality while her husband moved on with a beautiful young woman. Typical is the only thought that crossed my mind and I kind of got mad at myself when thinking about the whole woman verses man conflict. Why is it that she needed a man to kiss her for her to come back to life? The only good thing that came out of the kiss was a date, which ended in a no-show; followed by Judith getting so drunk she finally got the balls to speak to someone she admired singer Liz Bailey (Queen Latifa). Basically, the two become fast friends, and with Liz’s help Judith becomes full of life again, and starts to experiment with drugs, and women—and more importantly finally stands up to that cheating bastard she married. Sorry for getting so caught up in the plot, but I must paint this picture of lust, and foolishness before I go any further on my review on this movie.

As far as cinematography there was one amazing shot when we first met Pat. In the background there is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that is stunning and so eye catching. When it comes to the plot, I will have to say it turned me off. In 1998, I feel like women were becoming more like men, there were more single mothers and “crack babies” (a phrase that is prominent in the movie), which shows that this was a different time—I mean this was the turn of the century. The fact is, the stereotypical characters and their motives really made this movie a train wreck waiting to happen. In movies about divorce it is kind of hard that, “woe is me I’m a woman” montage that seems to in the end make the woman out to be the victor, when from the beginning she should be two steps ahead. Even though, I find myself as a hopeless romantic, I found this movie to be a desperate portrayal of a woman scorned. And the ending was terrible!

 I couldn’t stop myself from asking, why is it that when a woman has love looking them right in the eye she can’t see past the material things, or the looks?—Because honestly, if Pat (Danny DeVito) was 6’3” tall, unbelievably handsome with a headful of hair and muscles she would’ve fallen in love with him so fast the movie would’ve had to end.

I guess the bigger question this movie posed for me was, would I recommend someone to see it, and that answer is yes. Honestly, as trivial as the plot was, most movies for me come up short in one way or the other. There are very few movies about love that actually live up to the hype. I feel that you could take away something from this movie, whether it’s a question of, why doesn’t Pat just shave his hair all the way off, or is that really what ecstasy does to you, or even who is that actress that Judith (Holly Hunter) favors? Whether or not you like romantic comedies you could place this into any genre; for example the awful lip liner Liz Bailey wore every single time we see her could turn this movie to become a horror film. Or the awkward conversations between Pat and Judith could easily make this a documentary. Whatever you’re into, you can definitely find it in this movie. “Living Out Loud” was a decent film with honest intentions; I would at least try the movie on for size if I were you.

Nike Air Mags (Revised)

            One of the greatest movies of all time in my book is Back to the Future II. Michael J. Fox, or “Marty McFly” was so lucky to have slipped his foot into one of the best things to ever hit the silver screen, Nike Air Mags. Nike Air Mags, a shoe dedicated to making Marty live up to his last name, McFly. I am no “Sneakerhead” as some of the hipster kids call themselves, but I adore some sneakers.

            Like most of my friends, I watched the unveiling of the Nike Air Mags on David Letterman’s late show, and tried to come up with my cash for them, until I heard the words, “bidding,” and “eBay.” I was shocked, not only did I know I wasn’t going to be able to afford one of the 1500 pairs, but I knew that I would be waiting until 2015, for the, “general release,” as Fox put it.

             After over 20 years of waiting,  (well more like 10 years for me, I didn’t get the privilege of being old enough to understand the movie, let alone watch it 20 years ago) the very famous shoes were released, but not to the general public. The shoes were being auctioned off on eBay, and the sleek white high-tops that illuminate when a button is pressed are going for cold hard money to support the Michael J. Fox foundation and Parkinson’s disease. I find it amazing that people are willing to support him and his disease but the only thing that disappoints me is not being able to afford them. Many celebrities have brought the shoes but unlike them if I had that kind of money I would be paying for my tuition bill.

             When it comes to the shoe I love the design. I’ve always loved the smooth futuristic look of it, but when it comes to function I was really disappointed that the shoes don’t actually hover. I know what you’re thinking, how ridiculous a shoe that hovers, but for the price tag it should come with a hover board and flying lessons. The lights are an added plus, I love the fact that shoes light up, and come with a charger! (How cool charging your shoes?”

            This downfall added to my disappointed, and knowing that I would have to wait until 2015 to get my hands on a pair, but hopefully by then they will be automatic lacing just like in the movie. (Another function the shoes don’t have.) When it comes to rating the shoe, overall I would give the style and design a thumbs up, but I wish that the shoe contained the functions from the movie, and also a lower price tag. Hopefully by 2015 they revamp the shoe and the design a bit and come up with at least one more cool function besides the illuminating Nike sign. (I guess that’s one good thing, they have time to work out the kinks.)

  Pop culture went crazy on the 8^th, I watched people Tweet constantly about the shoes and how much they wanted a pair, but just like me they grew disappointed as the first pair sold for over $30,000 dollars at a secret Nike auction in Los Angeles.

            To get the Mags you had to bid for it on eBay (nikemag.ebay.com), and the 1500 pairs are gone, just like that. They released on September 8 and sold out on the 18^th, so good luck ever getting a pair before the year 2015!

Nike Air Mags!

            One of the greatest movies of all time in my book was Back to the Future II. Michael J. Fox, or “Marty McFly” was so lucky to have slipped his foot into one of the best things to ever hit the silver screen, Nike Air Mags. Nike Air Mags, a shoe dedicated to making Marty live up to his last name, McFly. I am no “sneakerhead” as some of the hipster kids call themselves, but I adore some sneakers.

            Like most of my friends, I watched the unveiling of the Nike Air Mags on David Letterman’s late show, and tried to come up with my cash for them, until I heard the words, “bidding,” and “eBay.” I was shocked, not only did I know I wasn’t going to be able to afford one of the 1500 pairs, but I knew that I would be waiting.

          After over 20 years of waiting,  (well more like 10 years for me, I didn’t get the privilege of being old enough to understand the movie, let alone watch it) the very famous shoes were released, but not to the general public.

            The shoes were being auctioned off on eBay, and the sleek white high-tops that illuminate when the button is pressed are going for cold hard money to support the Michael J. Fox foundation and Parkinson’s disease. I find it amazing that people are willing to support him and his disease but the only thing that disappoints me is not being able to afford them. Many celebrities have brought the shoes but unlike them if I had that kind of money I would be paying for tuition.

             When it comes to the shoe I love the design. I’ve always loved the smooth futuristic look of it, but when it comes to function I was really disappointed that the shoes don’t actually hover. I know what you’re thinking, how ridiculous a shoe that hovers, but for the price tag it should come with a hover board and flying lessons. The lights that illuminate are an added plus, I love the fact that shoes light up, and come with a charger!

            This downfall added to my disappointed, and knowing that I would have to wait until 2015 to get my hands on a pair also disappointed me.

Rapper Kid Cudi's Tweet 2 days into the auction.

            Pop culture went crazy on the 8^th, I watched people Tweet constantly about the shoes and how much they wanted a pair, but just like me they grew disappointed as the first pair sold for over $30,000 dollars at a secret Nike auction in Los Angeles.

            To get the Mags you had to bid for it on eBay (nikemag.ebay.com), and the 1500 pairs are gone, just like that. They released on September 8 and sold out on the 18^th, so good luck ever getting a pair before the year 2015.

           

Dwelling

“Everybody’s a critic,” well that’s because everybody’s an artist. Reviewing art is sometimes challenging, you wonder what inspires this artist, or how did the artist come up with the concept? You try to be open-minded, and take the time to see beauty in everything. Recently I got a chance to dwell in the 33 E. Congress building’s exhibit entitled Dwelling and caught up with different interpretations of art in general.

Usually, when thinking of expression my mind can go everywhere, but in this case I felt like I caught a case of small-minded syndrome. I walked around the exhibit one quick time, and hated everything. I wondered what exactly were these artists doing. I wondered if most of the mediums were finished, and couldn’t wrap my head around any until I walked back out of the exhibit, and grabbed one of the advertisements for the exhibit. The title read “Dwelling,” and the super cool photograph on it made me want to take another look, so I did.

Walking back into the show I finally took the time to see every presentation. One of my favorite parts of the showing was Carrie Schneider’s family videos. At first I was taken aback by it, I didn’t know what I was supposed to get from it, but they all depicted something we can all relate to. “Mom’s Lap,” was my favorite. The video portrayed a daughter feeling safe near her mom. For those of us fortunate to have mothers find a safety net in our mother’s. Even though there were no faces, just two bodies cuddled next to each other. A nostalgic feeling came over me when watching that short film. Her other videos, also gave me nostalgia.

An artist that was kind of hard to interpret was Olga Chernysheva’s “Windows.” She had two short films that followed a man around his apartment. I wondered why she chose him? I found it hard to get into this interpretation of dwelling. Another artist that I found hard to interpret was Ginny Huo “Corrugated Roof,” it was interesting, but it seemed unfinished. I felt that there should’ve been a little more, like a roof attached to a house, it left so much to the imagination, which isn’t always a good thing.

Most of the exhibit was fulfilling, but at the same time unfinished. I felt like some of the artists were lazy, and made simplicity somewhat of a bad thing. Emily Hunt was way to simple and her polaroid’s didn’t really say much about dwelling.  One of my favorite artists in the exhibit would have to be Heather Boaz. Her simplistic displays told a story, yet both only consisted of two items. “Escape” consisted of a long white sheet attached to a window, and this one simple gesture told any story you could ponder up in your head. Her other depiction, “Defense” which was a chair placed under a doorknob also let my imagination run wild.

I didn’t really get a clear sense of who some of the artists were, yet I did enjoy most of it, but I had to really understand the title and the imagery most of them were using. I think the exhibit had a little something for everyone, from photography like Anna Katherine Peter’s “Memory Archive” which was amazing. Her 200 photos were all purposefully placed together.  There’s also short video films, and steps to make a dress. The display was tasteful, but when walking into Dwelling just remember to keep an open mind, I don’t really have a thumbs up or down, my thumb is pointing to the side. 

-Gina

Thumbs Up Thumbs Down

Thumbs Up:

I give two thumbs up to Frank Ocean and his music. Lately, I've been listening to some of the most soothing rhythms and blues about his long lost loves on his newest mix tape. The 64 song trilogy of love The Lonny Breaux Collection is some of the most interesting music I’ve ever listed to. His voice, added with the stories he tells in each one of his songs, fill my head every day. My favorite song so far (because I haven’t finished listening to all 64 songs) is “Blasted.”



Thumbs Down:

I give two thumbs down to religion. I’m not an atheist. I believe in God, but I don’t believe in religion. Religion is supposed to teach people to love each other, yet the difference in ideologies always lead to hate. Most, if not all religions teach us to not judge each other, yet many people do by thinking their religion is better than the next. I also believe that religion is used to separate people. It’s amazing how for centuries people in the “Holy Land” have been fighting. I give religion in general thumbs down for these reasons and many, many more!