Saturday, April 01, 2006

Cover, APR 06



by AMY CHOU, cover artist.

Exclusives, APR 06

FASHION WEEK - The Culture of Beauty
In the world of high fashion, has ethnicity become an accessory?
by JENNIFER CHANG, creator

A specific culture surrounds the realm of high-end fashion, and it is one that, by necessity, must appear light years ahead of what exists in the present.

Fashion designers seeking to push the envelope must be able to identify beauty that is not readily observable, and not universally understood.

Designers who have created clothes out of things like trash bags, or deflated Mylar balloons will tell you that they can’t afford to be bound or blinded by societal standards of what is beautiful and what must be dismissed as ugly. The fashion world has long-since shucked off the lines of color and gender.


OLYMPICS - TORINO 2006
Looking Back: The Political Side of the Olympics
by ROXY VARZA, assistant editor


Sports have a political system all their own. Athletes live in a world where they become candidates aiming for election. They abide by sport laws and function under sport government officials. An athlete’s life is extremely political. But add a global element, where athletes no longer represent themselves or their teams, but rather their nations and their governments -- a whole new political element comes into play.

In this light, one can see how the twentieth Olympic Games, which took place in Torino, Italy, were anything but fair play.


POETRY - word & violin
Memories, Myths, and Migrations
by KATHERINE PARADERO, editor-in-chief

With the stage at the level of the floor, and with painted-over windows behind them, the performance that evening had its focus on themes of migration and on the myths that surround it.

The story of Lot’s wife, who becomes a pillar of salt when she turns back to witness the burning of Sodom and Gomorra in the Old Testament, is the inspiration for the parallel that Sundaralingam draws to the refugees who are the witnesses of their own burning cities.

For refugee women like herself, who have had to leave their countries and their homes to burn, there is a part of them that remains, like Lot's wife, forever frozen there. It is to these women that the poem, “Lot’s Wives” is dedicated.

Reviews, APR 06

CD REVIEW - "Bridge Across The Blue"
Connecting historical parallels among the very personal
and the ethno-cultural
by KATHERINE PARADERO, editor-in-chief

“Bridge Across The Blue” lifts the lid of the American ‘melting-pot’ and presents to you a selection of narratives – often delivered in the very same voices by which they were composed.

Only this time, producers Colm O’Riain and Pireeni Sundaralingam have done the courageous thing and stirred it up a bit before giving you a taste.

Voted by the editors of
About.com as among the seven best spoken word / poetry anthologies to add to your collection, “Bridge Across the Blue” explores ideas of migration, and musical parallels, by drawing together many unexpected links across history, ethnicities, and personal journeys.

Features, APR 06

ISRAEL - Finding Self
Finding Self, Family, and Identity in the Middle East
by GILAD CHUDLER, staff writer

That day in Petach Tikvah represented everything I hold to be true and beautiful about Israel. It is a land where people from all different backgrounds can come together and celebrate each other’s faiths and cultures, and grow from it. It is a tragedy that the political conflicts receive the most attention.

Although war is an unfortunate reality in the Middle East, it is far from a constant war-zone. Israel remains a safe country to travel to, and still stands as one of the most incredible and unique countries to visit in the world. Regardless of what’s in store for its future, Israel will forever be remembered as country where East and West lived side by side for centuries, and a country that continues to inspire people of all backgrounds even today.


ICELAND - There's Always A Way
semester@sea.wldly
by ALEX BUDAK, staff columnist

Tevye, of “Fiddler on the Roof,” measured his life in sunrises and sunsets. It’s a good thing he didn’t live in Iceland, or his internal clock would have been way off. While in Iceland I saw both the most spectacular sunrise, and the most spectacular sunset of my life – all within a matter of 30 minutes.


Since Iceland is so far north -- right outside of the Arctic Circle – and we were visiting right at the summer solstice, the sun dipped below the horizon for just a fleeting second, only to reappear seconds later, now performing a midnight sunrise. Luckily for me, the 24 hours of sunlight gave me the time I needed to explore all that Iceland had to offer.


FRANCE - Villepin, Si Tu Savais
The CPE and Me
by ROXY VARZA, assistant editor

When the first big protest in Bordeaux took place on February 7th, I had no idea it would grow to be so big. The CPE gave employers the right to fire employees under the age of 26 without being obliged to communicate a motive.

Bordeaux was ranked consistently the third or fourth city in France with the most abundant turnout at protests, numbers generally between 20,000 and 40,000. Large protests took place in the center of town, without fail, every Tuesday at 11:30 am, coordinated with the rest of the nation through various different forms of organizational networking.


AMERICA - Free Kittens!
New Orleans, Louisiana
by RYAN JOE, staff columnist


First: Does anyone need a kitten? We found five kittens on our property that are about the size of guinea pigs. They are all simply adorable and they currently subsist off a liquid diet, fed through a bottle, just like old fogies in a nursing home.

If you would like a kitten and live reasonably close to me, then let me know as we cannot keep all five. Otherwise, we will have to put them in a little baggy weighted with rocks and toss them into the pool.