California is in shambles. I am currently looking for paid work in the Sacramento area and wherever I apply, the advice is the same: stay away from the government. The situation is so bad that people are taking unpaid, forced vacations to keep their jobs. With the world economy the way it is, relief is almost entirely out of the question. Still, some people want to come to our aid.
From the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, fallen soldiers are quietly and discretely flown home. Together, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed the lives of some 4,825 American soldiers since the initial invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. As casualties continue to rise on both civilian and coalition fronts, the media continues to debate policy issues in theoretical terms while following a Bush administration policy that bars photographers from taking images of the coffins of fallen soldiers. While there are many perspectives to consider over this issue, ultimately the Defense Department and the new administration should decide that the public should be exposed to images of fallen soldiers so that the visual reality of war is apparent for all to see.
I recently made one of the biggest mistakes of my life: I voluntarily chose to go see the movie "He's Just Not That Into You." Sitting through the agonizing two hours and nine minutes of the "chick-flickiest" film I have ever seen, I could feel the testosterone slowly leaking out of my body. Although the movie was mainly about relationships, friendship, love and all that other fluffy garbage, I found one particular scene very interesting and thought-provoking. This scene focused on this idea of how people have become dependent on countless social networks and technology to foster their relationships.
Aloe Vera stood terrified outside the Detroit, Michigan courtroom at 9:30 a.m. on a spring morning in 2008, waiting to be called in as chief witness in the preliminary hearing of a man she knew was a pedophile.
Aloe Vera stood terrified outside the Detroit, Michigan courtroom at 9:30 a.m. on a spring morning in 2008, waiting to be called in as chief witness in the preliminary hearing of a man she knew was a pedophile.
With 15 minutes until midnight on Friday, Feb. 20, 76 groups of UC Irvine students began filling the grassy amphitheater located near the ArtsTEC Lab in the Claire Trevor School of Arts. As the high level of energy and exclamations of excitement echoed through the halls of the arts center, there was no hint that students were about to endure 24 hours of exhausting and extensive work.
Angelina is a woman scorned. Still wearing her wedding dress in court, she is suing Edwin for leaving her at the altar. The judge takes his seat, the usher pleads with the jury to be "free from all bias" and Edwin tries to sway opinions. Meanwhile, Edwin's past and current lovers are dispersed throughout the jury and audience. The Judge is actually just very lazy, and comedic stops and humor are in every other line. Is this the opera? It is, and director Robin Buck phrased it right while staging the opening scene. "I'm adding one thing," he said. "Laughter."
The fight to combat global warming and energy dependence was a key domestic issue ingrained in the American psyche roughly a year ago as President Barack Obama and John McCain journeyed on the campaign trail, preaching the importance of sustainability and decreasing America's dependence on foreign oil. Just as the environmental political platform began to pick up popularity, the financial crisis and global economic woes blew the steam out of environmental issues, making them mere afterthoughts in comparison to the economy.
David Sedaris' "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" is largely a collection of short stories based on Sedaris' real life and family. His humor is mostly self-deprecating and pokes fun at his middle class, dysfunctional family.
Hosted by Irvine Queers on Thursday, Feb. 12, the UC Irvine Kiss-In featured a photo booth for boyfriends, girlfriends or best friends to get their polaroids taken just in time for Valentine's Day.
Most people desire only two things: security and attention. The two continually war over our hearts; on one end, there is the peaceful calm of security, bound by time and routine, by a lover reliable and devoted. On the other, there is the attention, that spatial leap, the risky rendezvous, the late-night reveries, always craving something less patient than the ticking clock.
Highly acclaimed Japanese violinist and composer Mari Kimura performed at Winifred Smith Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Kimura's performance, "Reinventing Tradition: Violin and Computer Plays the East and Beyond," was presented by the Gassmann Electronic Music Series. Kimura's compositions combine elements of classical violin, Japanese and Eastern music and electronics.
