April 2009
“How do you go without meat?” was a typical question I heard growing up as a vegetarian. Since I have never eaten meat (other than fish), I suppose I don’t know what I’m missing. But I’ve never seen meat as food, and it’s a choice my parents and (eventually) I made for various ethical reasons. For me, being vegetarian has never felt like “going without.” When I became vegan, my vegetarian friends asked, “How do you go without cheese?” I’ll admit that the first couple of weeks had scattered moments of cheese nostalgia, but I was over that sooner than I thought I’d be. I found new things to eat (hurray for soy ice cream and fake cream cheese), and my vegan diet hasn’t felt like “going without” in quite some time. Similarly, as I’ve ridden my bicycle or electric scooter almost everywhere I’ve gone by myself for the past four years, people have asked, “How do you go without a car?” The simple response is that you find good enough alternatives so that it doesn’t feel like you’re going without. If I need a car, I borrow a friend’s or rent a car. However, when I considered taking a job I was very interested in that would have required me to get a car, I realized that “going without a car” felt like part of who I was, and I ended up turning the job down. These experiences are part of why I’m intrigued by the concept of “going without,” our Featured Topic for this issue. Going without can be a choice or it can be inflicted on us. Going without can be a positive experience or a dreadful one (I know I’ve experi2
enced both sides of this). The times in our lives when we “go without” can stand out in our memories. People who go without may seem somehow “otherly” to us. Rarely do we link these people and experiences together, though. In some situations, going without can be seen as an enlightening or religious experience. By coincidence, actually, we ended up taking on this featured topic during Lent, a time of year when many of the Christian persuasion choose to give up something in preparation for Easter (though “going without” as a spiritual practice certainly isn’t limited to Christianity). For some, giving up something for Lent is an exercise in self control, for others an act of penance. Some may use it as an opportunity to identify with suffering, and others still use it as an opportunity for permanent conversion. Many years ago I gave up coffee for Lent, and it certainly didn’t become a launch point for permanent conversion for me... I suppose even my “going without” has limits. In this issue, our contributors reflect on the many sides and versions of going without, including going without a job, going without television, going without health insurance, going without a car, and more. How can you resist seeing how “going without” surfaces in the Lost Socratic Dialogues? We won’t have you go without our usual features, so be sure to check out this month’s Palestine Report, Cultivating Consciousness, Afterwords, and our Labor and Economics section. In our Local section, Patricia Zermeño
discusses the Brown Berets’ return to Fresno. And we also have plugs for some great local events this month, including the annual Fresno Filmworks Film Festival and the River Rock Poetry & Music Festival at the San Joaquin River Parkway. Nick Nocketback brings us a review of the new book, Riverbig, as well as another installment of “Dear Nocketback.” This issue also includes “The View Looks Good from Here, Fresno,” “Bored? Games!,” food reviews, and more. As The Undercurrent approaches its third birthday, it’s tough to imagine going without the Undercurrent. This is even true for those of us for whom The Undercurrent ends up being a lot of work (though we’re looking forward to our month off when our May-June issue will give us a little break), but it has been great to hear from readers that they don’t want to go without an issue or without one of our featured columns. And as is our tradition, we won’t go without a celebration for The Undercurrent’s upcoming birthday, so look for more information on our third birthday party soon! Look for information on our myspace page, our facebook page, our webpage, or even on Twitter (we’re “FresUndrcurrent”). I tried to go without Twitter for as long as I could… Until next year (well, for my yearly Letter from the Editor; I’m sure there will be other stuff before next year), Jessi
Volume 3
Issue 10
Editorial Board Carlos Fierro Editor editor@fresnoundercurrent.net Jessi Hafer Associate Editor jessi@fresnoundercurrent.net
Matt Espinoza Watson Associate Editor mattw@fresnoundercurrent.net Abid Yahya Associate Editor abid@fresnoundercurrent.net Staff Writers Vahram Antonian
Contributors: Joe Aguayo Michael Aguilar Gary Arcemont Jefferson Beavers Vince Corsaro Victor Hernández Cruz Eatcho Rigoberto Garcia Jason Gonzales Steven J Ingeman Chuck McNally Tracy Newel Nicholas Nocketback Rory O’Connor Noah Russell Patricia Wells Solórzano H Peter Steeves PhD Ed Stewart Sylvia Villalobos Adam Wall Georgia Williams Patricia Zermeño
For advertising inquiries, please email ads@fresnoundercurrent.net For letters to the editor, please email letters@fresnoundercurrent.net For submission information, please email editor@fresnoundercurrent.net For subscription information: FresnoUndercurrent.net or send check for $35 to “The Undercurrent” P.O. Box 4857, Fresno, CA 93744
©2009 Out of respect for our contributors, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of the Editor-in-Chief.
B ORED? G AMES!
Saboteur by Joe Aguayo & Jessi Hafer
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Riverbig by Nicholas Nocketback
B O O K REVIEW 28 Why You Can’t Trust Brands by Rory O’Connor
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Cultivating Consciousness: Always Talk to Strangers by Jason Gonzales
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O N T HE M EDIA 4
SCIENCE,H EALTH,& ENVIRONMENT 5
The Brown Berets Return to Fresno by Patricia Zermeño Prison Workshop by Georgia Williams
LOCAL N E W S 6 7 7
Esperanza Y Luz: A Tale of Two Immigrant Women by Patricia Wells Solórzano
STATE,N ATIONAL,INTERNATIONAL The Palestine Report 8 by Abid Yahya & Chuck McNally 9
AfterWords by Carlos Fierro, Jessi Hafer, & Abid Yahya Fresno County Homecare Workers Move to Dump SEIU by Abid Yahya
LA B O R & ECONOMICS 10
Going without stuff as environmental consciousness by Jessi Hafer
FEATURED T OPIC: G OING W 11 11 11
Going Without Television by Gary Arcemont
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I believe people can do what they want by Rigoberto Garcia From The Lost Socratic Dialogues: “The Askesos” Discovered by Ingeman & Steeves
C ALENDAR 1 6 UnderCurrentEvents Calendar 18
The Undercurrent’s indie PREVIEW
Filmworks enters its eighth year with bigname films at festival by Jefferson Beavers
PLUGS & PROFILES 19 21
River Rock Poetry & Music Festival by Matt Espinoza Watson
M USIC REVIEWS 22 23
DB & The Struggle by Abid Yahya
hi castle by Matt Espinoza Watson “Angela 11” by Noah Russell
About the Cover
ITHOUT
Life Without Insurance, or Learning to Fend for Yourself by Carlos Fierro
Vroom Vroom by Sylvia Villalobos Going Withoutin by Michael Aguilar
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Local Eats Hunan Chinese Restaurant 2 5 by Jessi Hafer 25
Taste—Epicurean Adventures in Fresno: Peas, Glorious Peas! by Tracy Newel
C OLUMNS 29
The View Looks Good From Here, Fresno by Adam & Ed
29 POETRY 30
Dear Nocketback by Nicholas Nocketback
Three Poems by Victor Hernández Cruz The Dictionary Game by Carlos Fierro
PUZZLE PAGE 31 31 31 31
Misfortune Cookies by Nicholas Nocketback
Undercurrent Sudoku by Jessi Hafer Did You Know? by Carlos Fierro
The Undercurrent is Turning 3! Help Us Celebrate. Details To Come...
On the Media
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
Why Brands Can’t Be Trusted When Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently called the Internet a “cesspool” of false information, he also claimed that corporate brands such as his own are necessary filters needed to help us sort through the muck. “Brands are the solution, not the problem,” Schmidt said. “Brands are how you sort out the cesspool.” Leading online credibility researchers such as Eszter Hargittai, associate professor at the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, are now examining the filtering role that brands are playing, and have come to some surprising—and in some cases downright scary—conclusions about their effect. The Internet, as Hargittai notes, “is a source of unprecedented amounts of content… both lauded for its breadth and critiqued for its sometimes freefor-all ethos.” In this information-rich environment, “where traditional gatekeepers such as editors no longer evaluate material before it has the potential to reach large audiences,” Hargittai believes “the ability to find trustworthy content online is an essential skill.” In their attempts to do so, her research shows, “users put considerable trust in the online equivalent of traditional gatekeepers: search engines.” This would seem to buttress Eric Schmidt’s contention that we should put our trust in Google. After all, as Hargittai and her associates note in one study, “search engine use is one of the most popular online activities second only to email.” According to the report, called “Trusting the Web: How Young Adults Evaluate Online Content,” nearly half of all Americans using the Internet “turn to a search engine on a typical day”—the figure is even higher among the young adults
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she surveyed—and two thirds believe that “using search engines provides them with ‘a fair and unbiased source of information.’” Search engines, and Google’s is obviously pre-eminent, are a “crucial part of the puzzle of online credibility assessment… They have become the most prevalent tool for information seeking online with the potential to garner large influence… on what material users deem trustworthy.” While Hargittai’s research showed that “brands were a ubiquitous element throughout our respondents’ information-gathering process,” it also revealed a frightening lack of knowledge as to how brands such as Google actually operate in the information sphere. The study noted, for example, that only 38 percent of Internet users were aware that sponsors pay for their links to appear first on Google’s search engine results page. “Our findings suggest that students rely greatly on search engine brands to guide them to what they then perceive as credible material simply due to the fact that the destination page rose to the top of the results listings of their beloved search engine.” Google’s branding is so powerful, in fact, that more than a third of the study’s participants used its brand name as a verb, regularly responding “I’ll google it” when asked how they would complete an information-seeking task - despite the fact that the company admittedly performs no credibility verification whatsoever of the information
by Rory O’Connor
choice is so high that they do not feel the need to verify for themselves who authored the pages they view or what their qualifications might be.” Despite the claims of Google’s chief executive, and other leading media executives, such as Richard Stengel of Time and Paul Slavin of ABC News, corporate branding alone is clearly not enough to solve the credibility dilemma. Moreover, while reliance on trusted brands may have provided a partial answer in the past, the power and reach of news media brands in particular is now diminishing. The world now “has many, many places to turn for information, misinformation, analysis, rants, etc,” as New York Times editor Bill Keller sample wrote, decrying this trend in mentioned a name brand at September 2008. “We—The some point. Google (85 perTimes, The Washington Post, cent) and Yahoo! (51 percent) Politico, the news outlets that were mentioned most freaim to be aggressive, serious quently, followed by several and impartial—don’t domiothers leading brands, includ- nate the conversation the way ing Facebook and the online we once did, and that’s fine, encyclopedia Wikipedia. except it means some excel“Known brands were essential lent hard work gets a little signifiers of quality for muffled… I’ve been repeatedrespondents, and seem to ly surprised at the rich, imporserve as an important part of tant stories that fail to resusers’ daily information-gath- onate the way they deserve.” ering routines,” the study Keller noted, “On notes. “Mentions of corporate one level, more people read brands dominated students’ the Times, albeit in digital reported habits, with 63 perform, than ever.” Important cent of all respondents menTimes articles about the recent tioning a corporate brand as presidential campaign, he part of their routine search added, “did a brisk business behavior.” as an e-mail forward. But so These findings sug- did everything else anyone gest to Hargittai’s team that, had to say that day about the “while users may feel conficampaign—whether it was dent in their ability to find true or false, reported or simaccurate and credible inforply asserted, fact or opinmation online, that confidence ion….” Everything is equal, may not be translating into an everything is a tie and nothincreased skill level in credi- ing, it seems, is important bility assessment.” Perhaps anymore. worse, “students’ level of “Nobody has felt faith in their search engine of this more acutely than the links it offers, and features paid sponsored links more prominently than others. The effect of branding is so powerful, especially among the young, that almost all (98 percent) participants in the study
Newspapers and Magazines of Record in the United States,” Keller concluded. “The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time: all over the world of ‘quality’ journalism, there is a feeling of decline.” Keller is right—the old, self-defined world of “quality” journalism is in deep decline. Yet at the same time, engaged citizens continue to seek out true “quality” and credibility in a world that now “has many, many places to turn” for information and misinformation. It is unsurprising then that the use of social media for the delivery of news and information, although most quickly and widely adopted by the young, is rapidly increasing in all demographic groups. Ongoing studies by a New Breed of new media researchers provide ample evidence that people continue to rely on those in their networks when seeking various types of information, and that the emerging online social media can and do play a role in helping us access reliable, credible and trustworthy news we can use. Ultimately, however, the question remains: Given the plethora of information now widely and readily available, are average citizens really interested enough and capable enough to decode that which is useful, credible, “quality information”—and that which is not? Even if interested and capable, will they take the time necessary to do so? Most careful observers agree that some filter or “shortcut” is needed to assist us in sifting through the overload of information. As Miriam Metzger, associate professor at the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says, “People know they ‘should’ critically analyze the information they obtain online, yet rarely have
the time or energy to do it. Most current research shows people want to use shortcuts in determining trust and credibility. This is something known as known as ‘credibility heuristics’—a kind of information Verisign, if you will.” Metzger concludes that, “Only the truly motivated will actually do the work required… The rest of us need and want filters. Can social networks play this role? If so, will filtering best take place in already trusted environments like Facebook? It certainly makes good sense to me—in terms of credibility at least.” “People are always looking for trust shortcuts,” agrees Kelly Garrett, assistant professor at the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. “It’s either brands, some sort of credential, or some sort of social network—but they are making up their own ways of trust assessment.” BJ Fogg, director of research and design at Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Lab, adds, “Brands can be shortcuts,” but points out that they are losing prominence. “The mainstream media had a sort of trusted brand—but they’ve given up a lot of trust of late,” Fogg notes. “The issue around brands is that different friends trust different brands. The challenge now is that there are no destination sites - so that undercuts the value of news brands. And lost trust equals a lost brand.” Fogg believes that the legacy media “deserves what has happened to them—and once you lose credibility, it’s very, very hard to regain. It’s hard to change people’s habits—especially the young—once that trust and that brand is damaged.” _____
Rory O’Connor’s popular blog Media Is A Plural can be accessed at www.roryoconnor.org.
Science, Health, & Environment
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
Always talk to strangers! Greetings, and welcome again to Fresno’s guide to having a less screwed up family! I have decided this month to cover another fairly broad subject: The Village. You hear it said all the time, “it takes a village to raise a child,” but is it just another boring cliché, or does this statement actually have some depth to it? It is my opinion that there are few known sentences with more importance or meaning than this one. It is hard to find anything more true or accurate. Related to the idea of finding or having a village is this other well-known verse, “never talk to strangers.” I would like right now to call bullshit on anyone who has ever said this to their kids. What exactly do folks think will happen when their kid talks to a stranger? Are they afraid that person may hurt their child by saying something randomly vulgar? That wouldn’t make much sense; if that person wanted to say something mean to a child, wouldn’t they just say it anyways? Are they afraid that strangers are trying to hurt their baby?
That fear may be a little unfounded, since most cases of child abuse are committed by people who know the child, as high as 70% in some studies, and higher in others. In instances of rape, those rates are consistently at 80%-90%. It seems to me that people are honestly just being a little anti-social when they believe its bad to talk to strangers, and that is why this is such an important part of this discussion. If kids are afraid to talk to people, it makes it very hard for people without children in their lives to get used to other kids. A lot of people are just downright scared of children because they haven’t gotten used to being around them and think they are hard to talk with. So without getting further into this subject, I ask you this; please talk to random children, if they give you an opportunity. Engage them in conversation, though it may seem like gibberish with the little ones. If they engage you, respond enthusiastically, and know that this child is curious about the world, and you will help make them more comfortable exploring life.
I look at things this way: there is your larger community (the strangers), people you see in daily life that you don’t consider part of your village, your closer community of people you know well and associate with frequently, and your close community of good friends and family who you know well and mingle with more intimately. In this article, I want to focus more on the latter two categories of this village and what they can do for families, and finally I will briefly get into what families can do to invite the village to participate and expand the number of people in their closer village. The problem of villages not contributing as much to the raising of children seems especially prevalent in the more radical villages of our societies. People should be happy to know that this is currently a big topic of discussion in those more radical communities and folks are trying to be more aware of it. Larger scale demonstrations and events are more frequently being reminded that we have children and we need them
to be welcomed into our life, and that families and children have different needs in a lot of situations. I am happy to see that “family spaces” are being provided at radical venues like the San Francisco Anarchist Bookfair and large political demonstrations. In some situations, it can be as simple as a safe place in a permitted march that families congregate, so the children are more visible, and therefore more safe. It can be as much as a place where parents can drop off children with caretakers who provide things to do while mama and papa get some time to browse books. This is a great step in helping smaller niches in these communities realize that parents have a special set of circumstances, and they need to recognize it. So what should you do to welcome kids and families into your life or community? Ask them! Maybe they aren’t bringing the kids around because your place has a bunch of valuable objects they are worried about, and since they’re broke and can’t afford a babysitter, they don’t get to hang out as much as they would like, and the child isn’t getting to participate in regular village activities. Or it could be that they need more help than their friends and family have realized. Ask if you can help some way; childcare isn’t always easy, but its usually fun. If you are offering to help someone with childcare, make sure your offerings are sincere. We parents have a tendency to forget about people who have offered to help because honestly people usually don’t follow through with those offers, or we are worried about being a burden. Make sure you are being taken seriously and that the parent knows you would genuinely like to help. And please, don’t ever think that you should be paid for helping. This is
something that really gets to me: say there is a group of 20 people that know each other well, do things together, have similar ideals and interests, and 1 or 2 of those people have kids. It seems insane to me that the parent(s) would pay a stranger to watch the kids so they could go out and relax one night, while half their friends and family are sitting around watching the news or reading a book. The other big thing to do is to make things you do more child friendly! This goes more for groups or people who have a lot of events in their lives. Maybe you and your village have regular movie nights, or game nights or potlucks. Ask yourself if you would bring a 2 year old or a 6 year old (whatever may apply) to that gathering. Better yet, ask your parent friends what you can do so they will bring their children, and be encouraging. Remember, most of us fear being too much of a burden. There is a lot you can do, but the most important thing is to be aware and considerate. If you have kids somewhere in your life, think about them more, and do something with them. If you don’t have kids in your life consider making friends with some. Having families around more will have a positive effect on you. Now for those of you with kids, talk to each other already, will ya! The first step is certainly getting out more; so many parents keep so busy (mostly because of a lack of support from their village) that they don’t get out much. This can be especially difficult in Fresno. Where are you going to go anyway? Half the year the park (if you can find one) is so hot that the kids are burning their asses on the slide, and the other half, there’s no one else there. But it isn’t all about the park. What about your morning, noon or night trip
to the coffee shop? Bring the kids. It’s fun, and when you get there, tell them they should talk to all the strangers. While you’re out, talk to strangers too, especially strangers with other kids. I didn’t realize until I was out of Fresno just how “normal” it is for parents to talk to each other, and become friends, just because they have kids. Honestly, it’s reason enough. Find a reason to get out into the community more, and if you are finding places aren’t being all that welcoming to your little ones, ask yourself and the establishment why? Why does my table at a restaurant need to be so quiet? I have to listen to the people sitting a few tables over have a conversation, so why can’t they listen to my 2-year-old sing songs? Why can’t the 4-yearold wander around the café and bug your customers? What harm is it really causing? Why is it that the families of the community are expected to cater to everyone else, instead of everyone seeking some balance? These are important questions to be explored and applied to many situations. So there it is, Fresno, our little surface scratch on how you can help us (the kids and parents). But it is only a scratch, I hope sincerely that you will make an effort to be aware of the issues far beyond these and continue to read this column whether you have kids or not. This all does or will soon affect you as well. _____ Jason Gonzales is a full time papa to 2 who recently moved from Fresno to Eugene, Oregon because it rains too much in Fresno. He can be reached at fresnoalamo@hotmail.com.
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Local News
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The Brown Berets return to Fresno A BRIEF HISTORY
The Brown Berets was formed by a group of Chicanos/as in the 1960s during the height of the civil rights movement and the Chicano movement. It was modeled in many ways after the Black Panther Party, though the Berets drew inspiration from the American Indian Movement, Cesar Chavez and the farm workers movement, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez and his epic poem “I am Joaquin,” the idea of an ancestral Chicano homeland called Aztlan, and the various revolutionary movements in Latin America. In 1966, at the annual LA Chicano student conference, a group of high school students, among them Vickie Castro, Jorge Licón, John Ortiz, David Sanchez, Rachel Ochoa, and Moctezuma Esparza, had a discussion about the issues that negatively affected the Mexican and Chicano/a communities. It was this that pushed them to form the Young Citizens for Community Action as a way to create change in their communities. However, after becoming more politicized and being active in the Social Action Training Center in the Church of the Epiphany in Lincoln Heights, the group decided to change their name to the Young Chicanos for Community Action (YCCA). In 1967, this group founded the Piranya Coffee House. At the beginning the group focused on the demand for better education and participated in the massive 1968 student walkouts (known as “blowouts”) demanding equality in education. As the group began to tire of harassment from the police and being used by government officials, YCCA evolved into the Brown Berets. They
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by Patricia Zermeño
attained this moniker because that’s what the East LA sheriffs called them, as they wore brown berets (informally at first but as a uniform later on) as a sign of resistance and unity against discrimination from the cops. Though they worked a lot on equality in education, the Brown Berets’ main focus was on community organizing. They worked on issues of police harassment and brutality, health care, job opportunities, political representation, and the Vietnam War. They also worked on the publication, La Causa, with Eliezer Risco. Gloria Arellanos and Andrea Sanchez were two Berets that were particularly involved in the publication and distribution of La Causa. The Berets also created free medical clinics and free breakfast programs in their communities. At the time, the Berets were considered a radical group due to their use of direct action. This included protests, takeovers, community organizing, and alliances with movements such as the farm workers movement and the Rainbow Coalition, which was part of the Poor People’s Campaign. One of the main criticisms (and perhaps a chief downfall as well) of the Brown Berets was their treatment toward women. Women played a crucial part in the organization—an example being Gloria Arellanes, who served as the minister of finance and communication— but did not gain recognition
for their work. Oftentimes, women were given secretarial or desk jobs that the men considered adequate for women. The feminist movement was considered a white women’s movement, though
They also discourage military involvement and believe instead that youth should practice education and liberation. They do not believe in using violence to achieve their goal but, reserve the
area so the groups can advise illegal immigrants.” The Modesto group was denied their requests by several levels of Another prominent chapter in the Central Valley the city governance but conis the Modesto Brown Berets. tinue to fight for it. They were established after Fresno the May The Fresno Brown st 1 2006 Berets, of which I am a memimmigrant ber, was started by Ruben rights Lucero and Ernesto Saavedra. uprising. “In collab- Like the Modesto Berets, Lucero and Saavedra were oration inspired by their brothers and with sisters in Watsonville. Once Aztlan the idea got started, they Rising, The Nation began to network with other groups and people, and the of Islam, first meeting was set for Modesto January 23, 2009. There, we Anarcho discussed other groups in and Wingnuts existence, how to form a Liberation chapter here and what was Project, to needed. We also went over the various social issues in name a Fresno (which includes issues few, we of equality in education, plan to police brutality, community promote spaces, racism and discrimicommunity nation) what can be done organization and awareness.” about them, what’s already Their code of conduct is being done in the community modeled after the Watsonville code, though each chapter is concerning these issues, and considered autonomous. They what’s missing. We’ve been meeting since then and have have certain membership started supporting a few projrequirements to gain condiects. Some of the projects we tional membership status, are supporting include the after which there are several fight for an IPA, immigration other steps required in order issues, and issues with to become a full-fledged harassment and discriminamember. tion by the police and ICE. An example of the We’re also getting started on community organizing that plans for a community garden the Modesto Berets have done is the 2007 proposal for and a Chicana/o park. Our code of conduct Modesto to become an immiwas also modeled after grant sanctuary. The Berets Watsonville’s, but with a few “asked City Council members differences, including more to pass an ordinance that would stop county staff from sensitivity on sexual harassment and sexual orientation. working with Immigration If you’re interested in joining and Customs Enforcement [ICE], stop law enforcement or getting involved, we meet every Friday at 7pm at 1055 from asking about people’s legal status, and require coun- N. Van Ness, Suite D. Our ty staff or law enforcement to meetings are open to all. own autonomous chapters.
right to defend themselves. Drugs and alcohol are not permitted at any organizational event. An example of the community organizing that the Watsonville Brown Berets do is the Annual Peace and RECENT CHAPTERS Unity march, promoting unity in barrios. (“We utilize the Watsonville medicines and ceremonies of our indigenous roots to help One of the most in this healing process as well active recent chapters in California is the Watsonville as the message of social justice and liberation.”) The Brown Berets, created in 1994. They adhere to a code march is organized by the of conduct that lays out vari- Peace and Unity Coalition, ous guidelines. Their primary which involves various organizations along with the purpose is to serve the community. A main duty of mem- Berets, and is part of the even wider, cross-cultural, ongoing bers is to educate others effort to stop the destruction about the purpose and goals of the group. Members must of youth and our communities by violence and to create a keep a level of respect and consciousness and encourage professionalism outside and the community to become inside the group. They involved. Thinking ahead, the believe in absolute equality Watsonville Brown Berets and respect and care for the notify the Brown Berets and earth. Recruitment and mem- also created guidelines for other community groups those wanting to start their bership is open to anyone. when federal agents are in the as the Brown Berets developed, a Chicana feminist movement also developed. Women constantly fought for recognition and insisted that la causa had to include both Chicanos and Chicanas.
Continued next page...
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Brown Berets Continued...
Prison Workshop by Georgia Williams
by Patricia Wells Solo´rzano
We have also come up with a list of immediate demands, which include the following:
•We demand the right to be treated with dignity and respect. •We demand the right to decent food, clothing and shelter. •We demand the right to equal and quality education. •We demand that military and immigration enforcement (ICE, la migra) recruiters stay out of our barrios, public schools and recreational centers. •We demand an end to racist and draconian laws that target youth of color. •We demand the right to live in peace and free of police harassment and intimidation. •We demand the immediate release of all political prisoners. •We demand the immediate dismantlement of the prison and military industrial complex and that the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) halt its terrorism and sequestration of families from our communities and barrios. •We demand the right to free expression, assembly, and access to public media. •We demand the end of environmental destruction and the deliberate pollution of our air, food, and water. •We demand access to equal and just political representation. •We uphold the right to defend ourselves from any vigilantes, militia, racists, or any governmental organizations that threaten our well-being and our communities. ______ Patricia Zermeño is an organizer for the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and a member of the Fresno Brown Berets. She can be reached at patriciamzm@gmail.com.
Esperanza Y Luz: A Tale of Two Immigrant Women
The Prison Committee of the Greater Fresno Chapter of the ACLU-NC will present a Prison Workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, at Pearlygrove Baptist Church in West Fresno. The workshop will provide information and education for those in the community who have family members or loved ones in prison. The workshop will address two primary areas. One area is visiting protocol or how to get the most out of the visit. This area will focus on visiting protocol, what to expect when visiting, what a person can and cannot do when visiting, how to communicate with guards, and more. The other is dealing with the emotional toll of having a friend or family member in prison. Discussion will include how to talk to children about a parent in prison, how to talk to a prisoner, the needs of an inmate, and how to take care of yourself while a family member is in prison. Childcare will be provided for children ages 2 to 12. Anticipated activities include face painting, storytelling, ballooning, and more. Lunch will be provided for all workshop participants. “We want to educate people on who to call and what to say when there’s a problem,” says Rev. Floyd Harris, who is helping organize the event. “Too many people have folks in prison and don’t know what to do when they see something going wrong,” according to Harris. “There’s an urgent need to break down the wall between prisoners and the community,” says Laura Wass, who is also helping organize the event. “We hope this workshop will begin the process of doing so.” The workshop is cosponsored by the National Network In Action (NNIA), a civil & human rights organization. Those organizations or individuals who would like to cosponsor the event or provide assistance in the form of volunteer time or financial support should contact Rev. Floyd Harris at 559-803-0286 or xyfloyd@aol.com, or Georgia Williams, chair of the Prison Committee, at (559) 439-5268 or georgiam@csufresno.edu.
Teatro Inmigrante (Immigrant Theater) proudly revives the play; Esperanza Y Luz: A Tale of Two Immigrant Women, written by Agustin Lira ( Cofounder of El Teatro Campesino and 2007 NEA National Heritage Fellow) and produced by Patricia Wells Solórzano. Teatro Inmigrante was formed in response to the immigrant bashing that had begun in such dead earnest across the nation in 2001. Founded by Lira and Wells, Immigrant Theater uses satire, slap-stick, comedy, pantomime and mime in its original plays to dramatize the life and death issues confronting undocumented immigrants. Its plays highlight the contributions and accomplishments of Latina women, demonstrating that immigrant energy builds and nourishes this nation, vitalizing rather than draining it. First premiered at the Tower Theater during the Tamejavi Festival in 2001, Esperanza (played by Merlinda Espinoza) and Luz (played by Patricia Benavides) tells the story of a Mexican ex-nun turned labor organizer and a refugee from El Salvador who meet in an Assembly
plant on the Matamoros border and are fired for attempting to unionize. Out of time and money, they cross the border with a ruthless trafficker and parttime labor contractor named Coyota (played by Wells Solorzano), who capitalizes on their inexperience and leaves them to die in the desert. Discovered by U.S. Immigration, they are purposely deported to the wrong city where they know not a soul, but opportunity literally falls from the sky in the form of a U.S. guest worker program—“Operation Fruitful Hands”—brought to Mexico by President George Bush. Whisked across the Mexican border in a ‘legal’ government labor bus and into the promised land, Esperanza and Luz expect to work peacefully in the fertile fields of the U.S. But their hopes and dreams slowly fade, and they realize that all the promises made by Presidents Bush and Calderon will never materi-
alize.
Forced to live out in the open without adequate housing, cut off from society with no one to turn to, overworked, receiving no compensation for their hard labor, at the mercy of morally bankrupt government agents, growers and labor contractors, Esperanza and Luz realize they have become ‘legal’ slaves without a voice, without a future. Desperate to free themselves, they reach out to the most unlikely hero of all—a racist reporter form back East, Ana Smith. By winning unexpected supporters, fostering alliances, through perseverance and a powerful belief in justice, Esperanza and Luz defeat Bush and Calderon’s exploitive guest worker program. Their actions end the suffering of thousands of workers across the country, for the first time in history, providing the opportunity to 12 million undocumented immigrants to become U.S. citizens.
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State, National, International
Palestinians when a congregation of activists from USA or Germany or Japan are among them—and what a sad and sick statement that makes about the integrity of the IDF. ISM activists regu21 March 2009 coordinated with the larly do these things. Walk Palestinian community at children to school. Assist the MEET THE MOVEMENT large by an amorphous core injured and disabled to medgroup of activists on the by Abid Yahya ground (Palestinian and other- ical care. Accompany medics and doctors on emergencies wise), open to anyone who In previous reports, I’ve menthat require them to violate wants to get involved and is tioned the International willing to take on the respon- Israeli-imposed curfews. Solidarity Movement (ISM), Deliver food, water, and medsibilities thereof. To cover but in light of recent events, icine to Palestinians homethe expense of communicathe topic deserves revisiting. bound by a curfew or an tions, legal fees, transportaThe ISM, founded in Israeli-imposed house arrest. tion, and basically nothing 2001, is classified as a nonTear down roadblocks (made else, ISM accepts private governmental organization of concrete or earth or both, donations from individuals, (NGO), but its structure and put up by Israeli soldiers but never from any associamethods make it quite a difand/or settlers) that block tion, government or governferent thing than most other Palestinian access to schools, ment advocate. Folks who NGOs. It has no centralized jobs, and loved ones, and that want to join ISM cover their authority, decisions are made often isolate entire villages. own travel to Palestine and by consensus, and its memStand tall and firm, unarmed, their own expenses while bers and volunteers are against advancing tanks and there. It’s a wonderful sysincredibly brave and wildly bulldozers to stop IDF incurtem. You get nothing out of clever. The ISM is so much sions and home demolitions. it. If you go to Palestine to more than an NGO—it’s one Participate in nonviolent help, you do it only because of the most innovative and protests. Film and photoyou care. effective activist organizations The chief weapon of graph Israeli violations of on the planet. international ISM activists is international law and human The Movement’s rights and show these to the simply their presence within stated goal is “freedom for the world. (Their website is the Palestinian population. Palestinian people” and it By just being there, they deter great— employs “only nonviolent, www.palsolidarity.com.) Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) direct-action methods, strateISM activists also soldiers by advertising to gies and principles” in workaccompany Palestinians on them the fact that, among the ing toward this goal. the annual olive harvests, Palestinians on which their Thousands of caring folks where Palestinians are often sights are set, there are truthfrom all over the globe live in harassed—often violently— speaking good-hearted folks Palestine and participate by Israeli settlers and/or solfrom other lands who will alongside Palestinians in the diers. And, in April 2002, as bear witness and tell what running of the ISM’s busy the second intifada was in the they have seen. IDF soldiers schedule of inventive and throes of its final flare of are less likely to attack good-hearted activism, all madness, ISM activists were able to get into both Arafat’s presidential compound in Ramallah and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, both of which were under siege by the IDF, to help those trapped inside. The ISM’s website proudly refers to these actions as an outmaneuvering of the IDF. Cheers. Most tragically, despite the bad PR it generates, IDF soldiers sometimes harm, and sometimes kill, ISM activists— and sometimes not acciFrom www.tales-of-iraq-war.blogspot.com. dentally. At least two
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www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
ISM activists have been killed by the IDF—the American Rachel Corrie, who was intentionally run over by an Israeli bulldozer driver in 2003, and the Briton Tom Hurndall, who was shot in the head less than a month later by an Israeli sniper with a telescopic rifle who claimed it was an accident. Additionally, countless ISM activists have been injured, some very seriously, including Tristan Anderson, who is from Oakland, who was critically injured when he was struck in the head by a high-velocity tear gas canister eight days ago in the West Bank village of Ni’lin, who is a friend of my friend, Chuck. He can speak on this better than I… THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING
by Chuck McNally
the type of person who is always somehow involved in various local and global struggles for social, economic, and environmental justice. He has traveled to warzones in Iraq in 2004 and Oaxaca in 2006, then wrote reports on the San Francisco Bay Area Indymedia website (www.indybay.org). He was also very involved in various anti-war, pro-environment, and anti-police brutality groups, as well as other struggles in the Bay Area…when he wasn’t doing something internationally. We first became close friends in the streets of Seattle protesting the World Trade Organization’s infamous conference held there in 1999, and we’ve stuck close over the years. Just this January, I ran into him at a Gaza solidarity demonstration in San Francisco, and he talked to
About a week and a half ago, I was reminded of the power of video, especially in spreading news almost immediately around the world. As someone who has done my share of picture taking and independent media making (for Indybay and The Undercurrent), you would think that I’d be familiar with the power of the lens. We have seen this power most recently in the video taped killing of Oscar Grant by police Tristan Anderson in Oakland, and in the recent video of Fresno police me about how he would be officers ruthlessly beating going to the West Bank to Glen Beaty. Sometimes we work with the International can’t really understand how Solidarity Movement (ISM) bad things are unless we’re and the Israeli group, able to literally see something Anarchists Against the Wall. that helps to explain things He said he was scared of and open us up to reality of going, but felt like it was the situations people face. important to go to witness On Friday the 13th, I found a what was going on. video online of my good On Friday the 13th, friend Tristan Anderson being Tristan was taking pictures shot in the head with a high and bearing witness to a velocity tear gas grenade by demonstration against the the Israeli Defense Forces in Israeli wall being built the Palestinian community of through the West Bank comNi’lin. munity of Ni’lin. The weekly Tristan Anderson is
demonstrations have been going on for four years now, but the IDF has been escalating its use of force lately, with the recent introduction of live ammunition—and the curiously unnecessary “high velocity tear gas canister.” Four Palestinians were injured the Friday before Tristan was shot in the head, but fortunately they have all survived. The latest reports I have gotten about Tristan’s condition is that he will survive, but he may have lost all his eyesight in his right eye. He has lost part of his frontal lobe to damage from the brute impact of the canister. His girlfriend, Gabrielle Silverman, reported on Democracy Now! a few days ago that Tristan was even able to hold up two fingers—the peace sign—when the doctor asked him to. Gabrielle has also said that things are much worse than
she thought in the West Bank and issued a powerful call to action to stop Israel’s war on Palestine. For more info on Tristan, including his reportbacks from Palestine, go to www.indybay.org. _____ Chuck McNally believes that an injury to one is an injury to all and dreams of the day that the wall will fall. He can be reached at mothernight@rocketmail.com.
AfterWords
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
ronmentalhealthnews.org). In fact, according to the study, better diagnostics can account for less than half of the increase. Fears that childhood vaccines might have been an underlybyCarlosFierro, JessiHafer, & AbidYahya ing cause to the occurrence of Autism led to a mini In January of this year, enough, there is only one “Kellogg’s had no rebellion among parents. toward the end or just after sentence in the entire CBS problem signing up Phelps The attention raised by these report that places blame on when he had a conviction (the reports are sketchy) of parents led to most pharmaIsrael. It reads, “CBS News for drunk driving, an illegal Israel’s Gaza offensive, a ceutical companies removnational security correspon- act that could actually have mysterious airstrike took ing thimerosal, a mercury place in the desert of south- dent David Martin has been killed someone,” points out compound, from vaccines. ern Sudan. Though various told that Israeli aircraft car- Rob So even though ried out the Sudanese Kampia, vaccines may have governexecutive become safer with the ment offidirector of removal of the neucials have the rodevelopmental claimed a much Marijuana toxin thimerosal, higher death toll, Policy other neurodevelopthe number that the Project. “To mental toxins are still mainstream media outlets drop him for poured into our enviseem to have settled on is 39 attack.” That’s it. No choosing to ronment. The greatdetails at all. Funny that dead. In the attack, a conrelax with a est exposure comes such a painfully vague state- substance voy of 17 trucks carrying from Mercury, polyment (and one that actually that’s safer “arms” (I can find nothing chlorinated biphenyls, more specific than that) was raises more questions than it than beer is lead, PCBs found in answers) has created such a an outrage, obliterated. flame retardants and Initially, some and it sends a dangerous hullabaloo. ~AY continue to rise, reptiles and pyrethroid insecticides Sudanese officials blamed message to young people.” insects of the desert and [pyrethroids are synthetic Kellogg Company (makers USA, but both Israel and In response to the tropical regions will begin to chemicals that mimic comUSA denied it. However, on of Corn Flakes, Cheez-Its, snub, four groups [The overheat and starve. Rather pounds produced by plants Wednesday 25 March (more and Eggos) had, until Marijuana Policy Project, than eat, these animals will as defense mechanism February of this year, been a the National Organization than two months after the have to spend the majority against pests]. Read the attack), CBS News reported happy partner to Olympic for the Reform of Marijuana of their time hiding out in complete study at swimmer Michael Phelps in Laws (NORML), Students that Israel, and not USA, cool spots when they would http://alturl.com/9pv. ~CF an endorsement contract. was behind the attack. for Sensible Drug Policy, otherwise forage for food. Immediately, Israel issued a Already, Kellogg’s has fea- and the Drug Policy Read the complete study at It turns out that eating statement, Alliance] have called http://alturl.com/jes. ~CF processed foods may be saying “Israel for a nationwide worse for us than we may does not comboycott of Kellogg Since 1990, the rates of have thought. Italian ment on these Company products Autism in California have researchers have found that and are asking folks skyrocketed some 600 to kind [sic] of some of the 3,000+ additives publications,” to contact Kellogg’s 700%. In 1990, 6.2 in every found in processed foods are but then outto complain about 10,000 children born were estrogenic, or estrogen mimgoing Israeli their hypocrisy. diagnosed with Autism by icking compounds. The prime minister (They can be found age five. By 2001, that rate study tested 1,500 food Ehud Olmert, at had increased to 42.5 per additives for their estrogenic during a www.kelloggs.com.) 10,000 children born. While qualities. Currently the speech on 26 March, tured Phelps’ image on So, folks, give up better diagnostics can FDA does not require any of reminded the world, “There boxes of Corn Flakes and your Corn Pops and Raisin account for some of that the 3,000 food additives to is no place that the state of Frosted Flakes. However, Bran and Pop Tarts. Have a increase, Dr. Irva Hertzundergo testing for estroIsrael will not act, nearby after the infamous photojoint for breakfast instead. Picciotto, of the University genic properties. and not that close,” a sengraph of Phelps hitting a Or, for those more commit- of California, Davis, who To make matters tence that many commenta- bong at a party was pubted to their irony, fill your led the study, suggests that worse, only 2,000 of these tors are seeing as a clear lished by News of the World bong with milk. Take that, there’s another culprit, “It’s additives have any detailed hint that the CBS report may (a British newspaper) in Kellogg’s. ~AY time to start looking for the toxicological information have something to it, and a early February, Kellogg’s environmental culprits available. Unfortunately sentence that I see as creepi- chose not to renew the con- It turns out that cold responsible for the remark- this is not all that surprising ly fascist sounding. weather animals (like polar able increase in the rate of tract, a very public snub of when one considers that the Interestingly bear, penguins, and seals) the champion swimmer. Autism in California” (envi- global market for food addiaren’t the only ones under severe threat from global warming. True, the habitats of such animals are severely threatened by global warming, to the point that their habitat may be completely lost, but cold-blooded animals may be just as severely affected as well. Reptiles and insects may also find a warming world very inhospitable; habitable spaces for reptiles and insects may be shrinking. As temperatures
tives is a tens of billions of dollars industry. Read the complete study at http://alturl.com/s3q. ~CF
According to the January 2009 issue of EM (Environmental Managers), discarded electronics is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation’s waste stream, and 75% of old electronics are stuck in storage, in part because consumers don’t know what to do with them. Electronics can contain several toxins, including lead from cathode ray tubes and solder; mercury from bulbs and flat-panel computer monitors and notebooks; cadmium from rechargeable batteries in computers and other portables; and brominated flame retardants in plastic casing and cables. Proper disposable can keep toxins from being released into the environment and keep old electronics from being shipped to developing nations where workers and communities are put at risk due to a lack of proper equipment and infrastructure (see the Basel Action Network: www.ban.org). NEVER put electronics in your garbage can. City of Fresno residents can place small electronic items (such as toasters and small printers; NOT computers or televisions) in the blue recycling bins, but they must be small enough to easily drop out of the bin on collection day. There are many ewaste collectors in Fresno, but some charge fees and details can change, so always call first to confirm. The county organizes free, semi-annual household hazardous waste (HHW) dropoff events, with the next one scheduled on May 9 (for households), but reservations are required and space is limited. See http://alturl.com/s2k. ~ JH
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Labor & Economics
FRESNO COUNTY HOMECARE WORKERS MOVE TO DUMP SEIU by Abid Yahya 24 March 2009
BACKGROUND
SEIU is the Service Employees International Union. When folks refer to SEIU (or sometimes “The International”), they are referring to the centralized Washington DC-based “leadership” of the various SEIU local unions scattered around North America. Each local is autonomous, with its own elected leadership, its own constitution, its own bank account, etc., and each local, because of its affiliation with SEIU, pays dues to SEIU, and must operate under the restrictions of not only its own constitution and by-laws, but also those of SEIU’s overarching constitution and bylaws. Now, on the rare occasion that the leadership of an SEIU local becomes corrupt and commits some grievous violation of member democracy or skims some money off the top, the International has at its disposal the weapon known as trusteeship, whereby the International can simply fire the allegedly corrupt leaders of the local and send in a small army of hand-picked “trustees” to run the affairs of the local union, until members of the local union elect new leaders. However, trusteeship becomes a means of tyranny when the leadership of the International itself is corrupt, as it is now, under the administration of president Andy Stern. And when a local union speaks out against this corruption, as the members and leaders of the California SEIU local United Healthcare Workers West (UHW) have done over the last few years, then trusteeship may be used by the International to silence a dissenting voice, as it was on 27 January, when UHW’s bank accounts were frozen, its communications networks
10
hijacked, its offices taken over, its staff put on administrative leave, and its elected leaders fired or removed. Within weeks, hundreds of UHW staff quit or were fired, while hundreds of SEIU staff from around the country were brought in to run the mutineered union. UHW’s 18 full-time staffers in Fresno, for example, were quickly reduced to a mere five, while the rest were replaced by staffers from as far away as the East Coast. Simultaneous to this, though, a new union was born. The proud members of UHW (150,000 strong) weren’t about to let their union go down without a fight. So they, along with the fired leaders they had elected and the now-out-of-work staffers they had hired and worked alongside with for years, immediately founded the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and began collecting signatures at various UHW-represented worksites (hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, etc.) throughout California, where UHW members flocked to sign the petition to dump the SEIU-controlled UHW as their union and join NUHW. This way, they figure, they can continue building on what they achieved in UHW, but in a free, independent, and democratic union, out of the reach of SEIU’s wily tentacles. In the less than two months since the trusteeship, workers currently represented by UHW at over 360 different worksites have filed petitions to leave their hijacked union and join NUHW. These filings represent about 91,000 workers, nearly two-thirds of the entire membership of UHW. The 47,000 UHW members who work at Kaiser Permanente facilities throughout California (32 hospitals and over 200 clinics) filed their petition on 26 March. They collected over 25,000 signatures (over 55% of the entire union workforce at
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
Kaiser) in a mere four weeks. To say the least, UHW members are over SEIU; a break-up appears imminent. Labor law holds that, once enough signatures are gathered and filed, the workers at each worksite are entitled to an election. If 50%+1 vote for NUHW at each worksite, as seems likely to happen all over the state, then SEIU-UHW will, bit by bit as the elections are held, hemorrhage its membership statewide, and wither away into irrelevance.
THE FRESNO COUNTY HOMECARE FIGHT
“SEIU GO AWAY! NUHW IS HERE TO STAY!”) gathered outside of the UHW office on Wishon in the Tower District for a lunchtime demonstration and spent about an hour marching outside of the office and chanting
attempts to silence UHW members who want to dump SEIU and join NUHW. In various cases, SEIU organizers have openly colluded with employers to have proNUHW healthcare workers fired or disciplined. And all
Members of the NUHW Fresno County Homecare Organizing Committee, outside of the Hall of Records in downtown Fresno
In Fresno County, there are over 10,000 homecare workers, who provide inhome healthcare to those who would otherwise need convalescent care. Presently, they are members of UHW; however, right after the trusteeship, they also began moving a petition to join NUHW. Now, homecare workers, of course, work in homes scattered throughout the county, so the job of collecting signatures is much more difficult than it is in a hospital or clinic, where everyone works in the same place. Nevertheless, over 2,500 signed the petition in less than four weeks, and these signatures were filed with the County on 2 March 2009. And this impressive feat was all coordinated through a group of committed local homecare workers, who call themselves the NUHW Fresno County Homecare Organizing Committee, and who spent countless hours knocking on doors and making phonecalls to their union sisters and brothers. After the filing, they decided to pay the occupied Fresno UHW office a visit. On 12 March, around 50 homecare workers (all wearing red—the color of NUHW’s logo—and carrying signs that read things like
over the place—too many cases to even count—SEIU organizers have removed shop stewards and members of bargaining committees (despite that they were elected by their co-workers to these posts) simply because they are proNUHW. These sorts of tactics are eerily similar to the tactics used by employers to silence PURPLE HAZE pro-union employees, and it’s sad to see that representatives Ever since the signatures for of UHW are so openly and NUHW started rolling in, shamelessly violating the SEIU’s army of out-of-state principle of democracy upon staffers (many wearing purple which the labor movement T-shirts) have descended upon was built, and even sadder hospitals and clinics through- given that the salaries of these out the state, committing all organizers are paid by dues manner of well-documented collected from the very workviolations of labor law in their ers whose rights they are slogans of solidarity. SEIU staffers locked the doors and peered out through the blinds as the demonstration unfolded. Even though the workers are members of UHW, and even though their dues dollars help pay for that office and the salaries of those who work within, they were locked out.
trampling. A union belongs to its members, not its staff, and the purple-clad organizers all over California would do well to remember this. Dozens of SEIU organizers have already arrived in Fresno for the homecare fight. According to the testimony of numerous Fresno County homecare workers, SEIU staff have been visiting them at home and calling them repeatedly with a consistent message of intimidation and confusion. Various workers claim that they were told, either by someone from SEIU on the phone or at their front door, that signing a pro-NUHW petition could cost them their healthcare benefits, their contract, or even their jobs— bald-faced lies, shameless fear tactics. Many have said that they felt intimidated and threatened, and many claim to now be confused to the point of not knowing what to believe, which is exactly what SEIU wants. Nevertheless, the NUHW signatures have been filed and it looks as if the union election will soon be scheduled. Homecare workers throughout the county will receive a ballot in the mail with three choices: (1) NUHW, (2) SEIU-UHW, or (3) no union at all. We’ll see what happens, but one thing’s for certain: We’re used to the fog here in Fresno. Folks can see right through the haze.
Iraq Casualty Counter total US soldiers killed
US soldiers killed in March 09
4,261
7
total US soldiers wounded
31,102
US soldiers wounded in Feb 09
93
1,033,000+ Iraqis Dead
(May 2003 - August 2007) Iraq report is e in Ma d dead r 09
252
(Sources: icasualties.org, Opinion Research Business)
Featured Topic: Going Without
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
Going without stuff as environmental consciousness by Jessi Hafer the fuel efficient car can’t compete with choosing to live, work, and play in a small enough radius to make “alternative transportation” feel less “alternative-ish.” Organic dairy products might be more From environmentally the friendly than their environconventional counmentallyterparts, but those friendly cows still contribute to air motto, “Reduce, Reuse, pollution. And my organic Recycle,” the one we seem to veggies aren’t doing anyone use the least is the “reduce” any good if I let them rot in part. We can my refrigerrecycle in the ator. blue bins we Recycling a wheel to the When you imagine plastic water curb on trash bottle is still what people can do to wasteful day, filled with the plastic water to be environmentally compared bottles we recynot buying cle, and we can friendly, what do you bottled water reuse with the (which takes visualize? Does it all a lot more cloth bags we buy in grocery to involve some act of energy store check produce and outs. And when purchasing something? transport we do get than does around to filtered tap ‘reducing,” water in a maybe we do so by buying a reusable container). more fuel efficient car to How much good reduce our gas usage. does an Energy Star television (or any other electronic) do if But how often do we make a conscious effort to I have to dispose of one that help the environment by actu- still worked? I may save a ally reducing, i.e., going with- little energy, but electronics out stuff? Because really, disposal is a serious and often more stuff is rarely good for overlooked problem. I could the environment, though some save a little energy by watchstuff is less bad than other ing less television, for that stuff. matter… As great as a fuel I think there are two efficient car is when you’re main reasons why we don’t surrounded by SUVs and hear “going without” as a watching the numbers scroll form of environmentalism by at the gas pump, that fuel more often. One reason is efficient car can’t compete that it doesn’t have an icon, with walking, or biking, or and thus it’s not as martaking a bus in terms of envi- ketable. A commercial that ronmental friendliness. And advocates not buying any-
thing doesn’t make any sense. An iconic symbol of, well, “nothing” doesn’t work either. Going without can’t compete with the visual image of a Prius, a blue recycle bin, the Energy Star symbol, a compact fluorescent light bulb, or those fashionable cloth grocery bags in the marketplace of ideas and consumer goods. I think the other main reason why we don’t promote going without as environmentalism more often is because it becomes an uncomfortable, slippery slope to extremism. No one wants to boycott all electricity as a way to save energy. And no one wants to not go anywhere to save fuel. And I’m not saying we should. But you can’t say to someone, “Do you really need to buy that particular thing?” without the reaction being, “Well, can I really buy nothing?” (Then again, I personally think we would be better off without dairy products all together, and I know that seems extreme to many people. So it might be healthy to examine our notions of extremism and where those notions come from now and then.) But really, presenting the choice as buying something and buying nothing is a false dichotomy. Sure, the aforementioned environmental icons all have their place. And you may think you have found flaws in my argument: “Hey, you have to buy a bike if you’re going to bike around.” But the going without angle doesn’t have to be an all or nothing kind of thing. Occasionally and conscientiously going without can be cleansing for ourselves as well as the environment.
Going Without a Television [Editor’s note: I used to work with Gary. I remember talking with another coworker one time about some TV show everyone was watching. When I asked Gary if he had seen the show, he politely but unapologetically said that he didn’t have a television set. I was amazed; even though I don’t watch a lot of TV, I still have one. I said, “What about watching movies?” Gary just looked unconcerned and… free. It was clear to me that he didn’t think he was missing much. As I got to know Gary more over the years, what impressed me more about him wasn’t what he didn’t do (watch TV), but what he did do. I noticed that Gary was really into being out and about in the community. Not only would I see him at all kinds of events, but he would tell me about other events he had been to that I didn’t know about or didn’t have time for. Gary became my real life example of Robert Putnam’s research in his book, Bowling Alone. Putnam’s arguments aren’t perfect, but he demonstrates that, as people spend more time watching television, they spend less time interacting with their communities. It seems fairly common sense, yet strangely impractical— until you meet someone like
by Gary Arcemont
Gary. I asked Gary to comment on when he got rid of his television set and any interesting situations that have arisen due to his going without a television. —Jessi Hafer]
I can’t remember when the TV was a regular part of the furniture in my place. Dumping the TV was not a conscious decision. I’m guessing it disappeared in a move about 20 years ago, and I never got another one. Other activities were always more interesting than watching TV, like surfing or doing things with friends. Not having a TV has led to some interesting situations, though, like not recognizing someone on a well known TV show. Once, we were busking at a farmers market in Santa Barbara, someone came up to us and asked whether we would like to play music at her house later that afternoon. We did. As we were leaving her house
later, one of my friends said she looked familiar. I had never seen her before, but my friend figured out that she was on the cast of the Seinfeld TV show, which I had not seen. People offer me a TV from time to time, and I always turn them down.
Sometimes I would like to watch a football or basketball game or presidential debate, but I can go to a sports bar to check out the game, and that is more fun than watching at home. And a lot of things are archived on YouTube, which is a great alternative, too. [Editor’s note: Gary doesn’t have a computer at home either, though…]
Life Without Insurance, or Learning to Fend for Yourself by Carlos Fierro
It’s been thirteen years since I’ve seen a doctor, and I’ve been without insurance since 2003. Luckily I haven’t had any catastrophic illnesses in that time, though I have had my share of illnesses that would most likely have sent the insured to waiting rooms
the city over. I’ve had the flu several times, I battle a yearly sinus infection, hellacious allergies and a bevy of other aches and pains. I certainly haven’t made a conscious decision to
go without insurance. As a TA in grad school, I lost my insurance due to a clerical error. Insurance companies coupled with the bureaucracy of a university system assured that the clerical error would
Insurance continued next page... 11
Featured Topic: Going Without
Insurance continued... go unremedied. I became part of the legions of uninsured—myself and nearly 45million others living in the US without health insurance. Oddly enough, living without insurance hasn’t caused
much strife in my life. This is largely due to my not having any serious—at least none that I know of— health conditions. Of course, if I did, this would be a different article. As it is, I mostly have no need for doctors, prescriptions, & hospitals. I am not industrious enough to score prescriptions extralegally, not sick enough to go to a free clinic, nor rich enough to purchase private insurance. Unless asked to think about it, or as the case may be, to write about it, my uninsured status seems to have little affect on my life. But this is only partially true. In truth, it has had a great affect on my life, indirect as it may be. It has caused me to be more mindful of myself. I cannot pass the care of my health to someone else; in this way, I’m the same as billions of people the world over, and also painfully aware how woefully ignorant I am concerning basic health and care issues. And this is what I find most interesting.
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Medicine, such that it is, has created a populace that can barely care for itself. We tend to rush to a doctor at the first sign of illness and, almost without fail, leave with a prescription for some drug that will treat the symptom of whatever it is that ails us. We medicate our selves at the first signs of a sniffle or cough. We vaccinate ourselves against the flu, and flood our system with antihistamines (which prevent our bodies from responding to allergens) when we feel a sneeze coming on. We pop a pill to lower our cholesterol, but keep eating that greasy piece of meat, and supplement our lack of vitamin intake in pill form instead of eating more vegetables. Undoubtedly it is better to be insured than otherwise, and I don’t mean to lessen the importance of good medical care, especially for those who have serious illnesses. However, for myself, there has been some benefit in not having medical insurance. I tend not to take many over the counter medication, and no prescription drugs. I tend to look to other means (food based and herbal) for my general health, and have learned to be more reliant on my own perception and experiences in assessing my own health.
Vroom, Vroom
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
by Sylvia Villalobos
Vroom, Vroom. I hear the choose the car over the cars pass by as I sit in the bike. With excuses ranging front yard recalling how a little over a year ago I, too, was a driver. I once had a car, had to pay car insurance, gas, upkeep, and found myself constantly in a rush even if I didn’t necessarily have to be. Just last week I pondered buying one again, making the ohso-comfortable argument: “It’s convenient.” I still recall the mixed emotions of dread and guilty excite- from waking up too late to it being a tad bit windy, I ment of “having” to buy my first car. At 19, I had found myself stuck in the familiar no real cycle of desire for a vehicle, knowing what to do, seeing having the how wars resources to had begun do it, and yet for oil and cleverly justhe thought of —Transportation Department tifying my actions. unnecessarily Looking back, the using it tore me up inside. Though I saw no point for extent of how it had changed me hadn’t even one, my tia insisted that I needed to buy one since dawned on me. I went she couldn’t take me to from being someone who school. So I bought a bike, thought that oil was somebut being a girl in my fami- thing that was destroying ly, I could not ride it when our mother earth to being a it got dark. contributor to the waste and So it goes, I got waving it off as not that big my first car against my of a deal. It just became a will, though I was ironical- lot easier to not think of ly excited about the indethese things while at the pendence and “freedom” it pump. Each day, driving entailed. In reality, being seemed to make me more within this little moving and more impatient and I box wasn’t much freedom found myself being in a at all. At first, I used my constant rush from light to bike a lot, but it didn’t take light even when I didn’t much for me to easily have to be. I looked for-
In 2008, Americans drove nearly 2.5 trillion miles.
ward, stopped, and went according to the demands
of city lights, never looking to my surroundings, or only when crossing intersections. Driving, in my mind, had somehow become something that I almost felt I could not do without, a necessity of sorts. Though it did take me a while to see the impact of these psychological and ideological changes that possessing a vehicle and constantly driving it had caused, I did eventually come around. I decided to give up the car. I remember having to go downtown from the Tower District, which really isn’t that far, and dreading having to bike there. Instantly, the thought of how much easier it would be with a car popped into my head. Eventually, with a few joy rides on my bike, some bike upgrades, and some walking, I began to appreciate life so much more. The need to rush from here to there left, and my eyes caught sights that I
never bothered to see while driving. Life seemed to slow down and it simply felt good to move my legs and feel the wind. “Going without,” for me, was voluntary, but since then I’ve encountered a sub-culture of bicyclists who have gone without cars with reasons varying from political ideals to necessity, and even trend. There’ve been quiet a few who had to because of DUIs; we do live in Fresno after all, where cops brag about their number one status in California for DUIs. Regardless of the reason behind their going without cars, most who do go without seem to regain a certain appreciation for life, rather than feeling so isolated, viewing the world through the tunnel vision of the little metal box. As for me, sitting here watching the cars pass by stuck in their world, I can’t say I regret going without a car. It’s probably been one of the better things I’ve done. It was a therapeutic necessity. ______ Sylvia Villalobos is a member of the Fresno Brown Berets. She can be reached at mellamosylvia@gmail.com.
Going Withoutin www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
When you think of going without, there comes with it also the connotation of an uncomfortable, undesirable, sacrificial situation, whether brought on by self or out of one’s control. Not having food, or shelter from the elements and water, are, at the least, the basic grounds for going without. But how about a more mainstream, almost spoiled point of view? What about going without cable, a cellular phone, a computer, internet access, or any of the man-made stimulants that have gone beyond “advancing man,” but have to a point pacified and numbed society to the real touch of humankind...? That brings me to another case of going without. Going without sex. Even further, going without it purposefully in spite of all the play a single, charismatic, thirtysomething artist/musician (who totally embraces sensuality as part of the beauty in life and his craft) gets. Now, going without sex is something that many who fit this profile wouldn’t ever give a thought to. So why, then, would I choose to go without? Now, just to be clear, I’m not talking here about a “dry spell.” In fact, quite the opposite. The last time I decided to sign up for selfprescribed abstinence, there were a couple beautiful and special people around, with whom I had some strong chemistry that I would normally have acted upon. However, it also happened that these two women (who I met at separate times) were both coming off of their own sexual fasts, which in part inspired my renewed desire to go without. So at that point, I had been considering a fast, but meeting these women & having those experiences & those conversations with them
at that time really drove me to want to do the same in my own life. I had done this before, under different circumstances (but still selfimposed) some years ago, and knew that it could be difficult. And not even really for the obvious reasons. It can lead to your manhood being questioned...by your friends...or by a woman who you really like, which can be rough, to say the least. And it can be really confusing for someone else who doesn’t understand it or isn’t open to ‘spiritual’ discussion. This last time, however, I decided to also go without self-gratification. This shocked some people, including many friends and my bandmates, who started betting on how long it would take before I went crazy. But there’s something about rechanneling that energy... ...which brings me back to the question of “why?” Society has different values placed on sex, many that are obviously extremely unhealthy. For me, sex and sensuality are intimately related to spirituality. Not in the sense that I think sex before marriage is wrong, or that I attach some strong moral sense to the act. Rather, I find it something that goes far beyond physical pleasure or momentary caresses. Something I subscribe to is the idea that whoever you share this with, you share a deep spiritual connection with, and that there’s a transference of energy that takes
place. In part, I choose to go without because I have experienced the re-channeling of that sexual energy being super powerful, whether in music or art or life in general.
For me, it’s also about discipline. I’ve been clean & sober for 14 years, but one weakness I still carry around is my weakness for is beautiful women. It has been a challenge to be in relationships & continue the growth of my spiritual life....And so I’ve also had to navigate & sift through guilt-based teachings, & have worked through some of that, but also have come to a point where I realize I do need some discipline in my life in this regard. And mostly, for me, it comes down to the fact that sexual interaction & union, whether you’re married or not, whether you care about the person or not, is a very profound bond. It’s a melding of people. It’s you mixing yourself and your spirit with someone else. Many different religious teachings around the world reflect that, & while I may reject some of the other proscriptions coming from reli-
Featured Topic: Going Without by Michael Aguilar
gion, I’ve seen the result of that transference...that bond...seen it and felt it for myself…and it makes sense. You hear about it in the Bible; Paul talked about it, addressing those who do the work of God, saying that it’s better to be single, that if you can’t, you should get married. But know this: to mediate your spiritual life with a partner and a family is going to be tough. But I see it in Native American circles & ceremony also. With married couples struggling to maintain their relationships & their spirituality as well... And so even stuff that doesn’t work out, people who you’ve been with in the past, are with you. I’m carrying them, & they’re carrying part of me. So, if you’re very promiscuous, it’s literally like having pieces of yourself all over the place. And so by doing this, by abstaining, it’s kind of a renewing, a pulling back, that allows you space to meditate upon it, make amends, and really let go of the past. And so I feel that I free up the space to really mend those past relationships, allowing myself and the other person to release one another’s energy. I literally feel as though I am pulling my spirit back in...patching it up. In the way that some traditional people still don’t want their photos taken, thinking it captures a piece of them or their essence, I feel like I can relate this to that idea... By choosing to go without, I feel like I am put-
ting the purest organic fertilizer into my life... I feel like I am literally glowing...you know, the way people describe a pregnant woman. It’s almost as if that same charge was in me. And talk about being propositioned, or getting the ladies’ attention...but that’s one of the funny parts about the whole thing. When you are searching, your goal eludes you, but stop & focus your mind elsewhere, and, well... I started looking at nature and the world around me in this really sensual way. When I have fasted, it has not been a total withdrawal from all physical contact, but some boundaries have been set. Also, I choose not to set a limit. Not for a month, or for six months. It’s not a contest, & is better that way, so that I don’t feel pressured into doing something that no longer makes sense. I abstain it for as long as it feels like it’s what I need to be doing. But I have to emphasize that I didn’t really see it as going without, because I was gaining so much... I felt like I began to understand teachings from elders that hadn’t made sense before, especially teachings tied in with spirituality and fasting. Denying yourself food, water, etc., but numerous religions traditions recognize fasting of all sorts as a powerful form of prayer. Part of wanting to write this comes from the fact that a lot of times, folks who talk about abstinence do it with guilt attached. And even though I have a foundation in Christianity and in traditional Native American beliefs, I feel like this comes more from my own experience. I don’t do it with the mindset of having to redeem myself for something dirty or bad, or as punishment. It’s really more like a gift to myself.
I’m not telling anybody else “you should do this.” I think if you can, and have the opportunity to, go for it. I’m definitely not trying to say, “do this and good things will come to you.” That s not my train of thought. The creator works in mysterious ways...if you’re expecting a ribbon or prize or something, I would suggest you look elsewhere. The motive must simply come from the desire for self-exploration and self-knowledge. Coming off of the fast, I don’t regret ending it (or doing it to begin with), but I definitely see all the positive that comes of it. As for now, I’m back in the mix...but feel that I can now see more clearly the challenges that arise when sex is part of a relationship. Sometimes when I don’t have something, I try to change the way I perceive it. So that consequently, sometimes, when I have the opportunity, I choose to go without. It transforms it from a painful sacrifice into something I want to happen. It’s done a lot for my discipline. It’s allowed me to be with myself and get to know myself in a different way as well. And I’m also able to shift that energy into everything else; it really seemed like the whole world brightened up because of choosing to go without... ______ Michael Aguilar is a sculptor, painter, and musician who is currently playing & recording with Nino Moschella and Darondo in the Bay Area. He occasionally resides in Hanford, Fresno, Oakland, Phoenix, and…well, is basically a nomad. He can be contacted at michaelaguilar.natural@ gmail.com.
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Featured Topic: Going Without
I believe that people can do what they want In my life I have held many jobs, but none more inspiring than being a barista; I worked at that popular coffee chain, the one that managed to capitalize on and synthesize the local coffee shop feel and which I called the bucks. Working in coffee sales I quickly realized that I was actively supporting an institution that was a catalyst for consumerism. We helped people get to work, be productive workers, shop, study, take care of their kids, metabolize and exchange pop-
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ular ideas; we did it all and it soon became terrifying. I wanted out and began to device an escape plan. I found an out in education. Besides my job I was receiving student financial aid which amounted to about four hundred dollars a month and which, according to my calculations, was just enough for food and rent. Giving up my job would mean a cut of about six hundred to one thousand dollars
which equated to the cut of my immediate comforts: the cell phone and the car. The cell phone was easy to counter because instant communication in my perspective was debilitating my interpersonal communications, in that meeting new people had to compete with connecting to people I already knew. I came to the conclusion that cell phones were making strangers stranger and so I could do without. At the time I didn’t have a car
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
but was saving up for one. I got a bicycle instead. This was an easy choice after realizing the role of petroleum in the environment and in global politics. And so I was ready. Six months ago I decided to go jobless and so I quit my job at that popular coffee chain. No longer would I have to work the average job, the kind of jobs that George W. Bush used to promote, “Americans can have confidence that we will prevail because thousands of smart, dedicated military and civilian personnel are risking their
Askesos: You there! With the upturned nose! Socrates: Hmm? A: You’re Socrates, right? The wisest man in Athens? S: Oh, stop! You’re embarrassing me! In truth, I actually know very little— A: Good, that should keep your billing rate down. S: My what? A: No talking. I am a very wealthy and important
by Rigoberto Garcia
lives and are working around the clock to ensure our success.’’ I felt like I took one big step away from American consumerism. Being poor and struggling to participate in materialism was horrible, being poorer and content was the best thing that has ever happened to me. The time that I once sold to my employer for eight dollars an hour I now spend supplementing personal goals. Things like painting, reading, social activism, education, music, spirituality, meeting people and writing articles like these.
person, and hence my time is more valuable than yours. So you just listen. S: Underst— A: Stop! You’re talking again. You poor people are always talking talking talking. I can’t imagine what it is you talk about—certainly nothing important. Well I don’t have all day, so listen carefully. I’m looking for an efficiency expert. And one look at you tells me you have
I have gotten more things done in the last six months than the three years I spent working. Being jobless isn’t for everyone, I understand that there is a certain level of adaptation we must undergo in order to survive this system. We must also, however, be critical about the jobs we do and where they fit in the bigger picture. ______ Rigoberto Garcia is a poet and a student at Fresno City College.
lived your entire life very efficiently. Is this not so? S: … A: Speak up! You may talk now. Are you an efficient man? S: Sure, why not? A: Good. Then I think you’ll find that I can pay you a competitive rate. S: You want to pay me? Oh, I couldn’t accept— A: Agreed! No pay, then. Step two: teaching me how to live without. Begin! S: Without…what? A: You know, “without.” In these tough economic times I need to downsize, they tell me. So I’m going to “do without.” Come on, Socrates, I don’t have all day. S: Oh, of course. “Without.” Yes, well…it’s quite simple, really. For instance, you are presently conversing with me, are you not? A: What—you’re asking me? You’re supposed to know. You’re supposed to be teaching me. That’s what I’m not paying you for. S: It’s how I teach, though. It’s basically just a lot of questions. A: And people give you money for this?
Continued next page...
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Socratic Dialogue continued... S: Okay, let me put it this way, then. You are presently conversing with me. That much we can agree on. But are you at the same time talking with Pausanius? Or Agathon? Or Aegistheus? A: [taps foot impatiently] S: Rhetorical questions, of course. What I mean to say is: of course not! You’re not talking with any of them, which is to say that you are talking without them. Indeed, at any given moment the number of people that you are talking without is quite large, especially in comparison to the number of people you are talking with. And so, too, in all other cases. Thus you live at all times without much more than you live with. A: … S: That’s it. A: That’s it? That can’t be it. I want my money back. I’ll have one of my thugs come around and collect later. S: Wait! I mean, of course that isn’t it. That’s just the beginning of the training process. For the next step we will have very, very specific recommendations which will be extremely useful to you. I just need to get some information from you first. A: Fair enough. S: So, what is it exactly that you did with before that you now want to do without? Can you give me an example? A: Employees. S: I beg your pardon? A: I want to do without employees. I have to pay them so much, it’s a real drag on my profits. S: And these employees…do they manufacture something, such as kylixes or amphorai? Or are they in the service sector? Do they, for instance, rub down old men with oil at the gymnasium?
A: They manage stock portfolios. S: I…don’t even know what that means. But consider this: as an employee they are doing some amount of work for you, are they not? A: I suppose so. If I keep on them about it. S: And would you say that the clients who pay you are paying you for the work these employees are doing, or not? A: The former, I would think. S: And would you say, also, that less work would get done if you had fewer employees? A: I could lash the remaining ones harder. That’s what I’ve done in the past. S: Ah, yes. Well. I’m going to suggest that you may start running into a little problem that I like to call “The Platonic Form of Diminishing Return.” A: What does “Platonic” mean? S: It’s just a word I made up. But basically it means that you can only lash your employees so much before you start actually getting less work out of them. For instance, eventually they will lose consciousness, or even stop breathing altogether. A: I see your point. S: And if they die this can actually end up costing you money—burial expenses and that sort of thing. A: I know! It’s really annoying. S: So, maybe not initially, but certainly eventually, fewer employees will equal less work. Less work will mean less money coming in. And if there is less money coming in, your profits will decline anyway, perhaps even farther than before. Therefore, there is a point at which you are no longer saving money by doing without employees. Does that make
sense?
A: But how can I cut my expenses, then? Show me how, poor person. S: I’m going to assume that you have minimized overhead expenses as much as conceivably possible before you ever contemplated eliminating even a single employee? A: Riiiiiiight. S: Well, then, we need to save you money somewhere else. It’s time for extreme measures. We’re going to strip you down to the bare essentials. Let’s start with transportation. A: I’m way ahead of you. I have delayed my purchase of a new solid silver chariot. S: Yeah… Well, we all have to do our part. But tell me, my friend, have you considered walking every once in a while? A: Absolutely! It’s great exercise for my slaves. On a sunny day it’s nice to get in my palanquin and go for a joy-walk around the city. S: Dare I ask—a tastefully unpretentious palanquin? A: Some of them are. But you should see the one that’s completely covered in peacock feathers! Let me tell you, you think gold is expensive? S: All right, all right. How about living accommodations, then? I often find that people are more concerned with the size and outside appearance of their domiciles, rather than with their living comfort inside it or the ease with which they can afford it. A: All of mine are very comfortable, I assure you. Well, the one on the Akropolis gets a little drafty, but otherwise… S: You have more than one? Well, then, have you considered selling some of them? I imagine that their upkeep alone costs you dearly each month. A: It’s true, but I get bored if I have to live in the
Featured Topic: Going Without
same place for more than a day or two. Look, Socrates, this isn’t going well. I haven’t heard a single good idea out of you yet. S: Sustenance! We haven’t yet considered what food products you can do without, and I imagine that we might be able to save you quite a bit of money in this arena. A: Why do you say that? S: Well, while we’ve been talking you have been eating an ostrich shank. That can’t be cheap. A: You’re not kidding. Though it is a bit less expensive than the hippopotamus omelet I had for breakfast. S: Good gods! A: The key is to have one’s slave-chef add the snout meat only at the very end as the eggs are congealing. It’s really the only delectable part of those hideous beasts. The rest can be tossed. S: It occurs to me, friend, that we might have to look at this from a broader perspective. A: Don’t go bringing women into this! S: … A: Get it? A broad’s perspective?! S: That joke is incredibly outdated and sexist—and it doesn’t even make sense in Ancient Greek. A: I see you are doing fine without a sense of humor. Perhaps you could tell me how you accomplish that? S: [mumbling] (Perhaps your wife could instruct us on how she’s done without satisfaction in the bedroom all of these years….) A: What’s that? S: I said that…uh… the Demiurge attempts to impress the Forms on the Realm of Becoming but the Receptacle is recalcitrant. A: Interesting. So let me get this straight. What you’re getting at is that here in the world of particulars, we are separated from the True and Eternal Forms, and thus
the very act of living is, in some sense, a learning to live without. Geometry proceeds without us having direct physical experience of a Triangle. The carpenter proceeds without access to the Formal, and thus the most real, Chair. And the city-state proceeds without the possibility of achieving true Justice yet with a commitment to try to attain it nonetheless. I see. Consequently, you are arguing that to be-in-time is to learn to live without, for this is our nature as finite creatures? S: Uh…exactly. A: Fascinating. Although it suggests that human being is a kind of being that brings not-being into the world, which is absurd. S: I was just saying, is all. A: But tell me: how can any of this have any practical application in my real life? So I live without the true Forms in this Realm of Becoming. How does this give me a leg up in this economy? S: Well, it can’t really. I mean, it’s philosophy. The only way to make a living at it is to teach it to other people so that they can become teachers of it. Sort of like a pyramid scam. A: Those are my favorite scams! S: They are fun. At any rate, I hope I have pleased you. A: For a poor person, you didn’t do so bad. Now I know that the key is to beat my remaining employees, but beat them just enough— enough to get them to work more, but not enough so that their eternal souls slip out of their bodies and return to the Realm of the Forms. S: Sort of. Of course, we could have avoided all of these problems if we just didn’t overdo our consumerism to start with. I mean, learning to do without something is really just part of an overall obsession with procuring things, like when you try to
diet by thinking carefully about everything you’re eating—you end up hungry all the time. It’s all part of an overarching ideology of consumption. The recent downturn in housing prices is a prime example. People wanted more house than they could afford, and they let someone talk them into buying beyond their means, and then they couldn’t pay for it, so they ended up having to do without everything else. But when they do without everything then people who would have sold those things to them also suffer, and in the end the whole economy suffers. “Doing without” is therefore not so much a solution to anything as it is a symptom of our already inappropriate and bourgeois relationship to material goods and capital. A: Hmm. I see. Well, I’m off to the whip store. S: A whip store! Really? Do you know a good one? A: Oh, Socrates, you naughty old man. Perhaps I should teach you a lesson, by withholding the whip and making you do without. S: Why, friend, I did not realize you were such a tease! May I accompany you, then? A: The pleasure will be all mine. S: Don’t count on it…. ______ H. Peter Steeves, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University and can be reached at psteeves@depaul.edu. Steven J. Ingeman, MLIS, is an independent scholar and Circulation Supervisor at Mary Riley Styles Library in Falls Church, VA and can be reached at ingeman@fallschurch.lib.va.us.
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Sunday
Where:
2ST: 2ND Space Theatre, 928 E
Olive CRS: Crossroads, 3315 N Cedar Ave CYT: Chinatown Youth Center EXT: The Exit, 1533 E Belmont FAM: Fres Art Mus, 2233 N 1st St IFS: InfoShop, 935 F St
Monday
ITZ: Studio Itz, 370 N Fresno St JAV: Javawava, 1940 N Echo KPJ: Kuppajoe, 3673 N First St LMK: The Landmark RL: The Red Lantern RR: Roger Rocka’s, 1226 N Wishon SEV: Severance, Floradora & Wishon SL: The Starline, 831 E Fern SMH: Smokehouse Bar, 1231 Van Ness
Tuesday
TKG: Tokyo Garden TT: Tower Theatre, 815 Olive Ave WST: William Saroyan Theatre WWPL: Woodward Park Library VVV: Veni Vedi Vici, 1116 N Fulton ZP: Zapp's Park, 1105 N Blackstone
5 6 Audie's w SIN w/DJ Evil G., 7 Olympic/Club w Brian Kenney Fresno (5p); Outlaw Country w w w w
w/DJ Audie5000 (9p), Audie's Olympic/Club Fred Jazz Jam Session (Craig Von Berg), TKG, 6p Dazed and Confused, CRS No Fear Energy Music Tour: Lamb of God, Suicidal Tendencies, Crest Theater The Freeshow, VVV
Fred, 10p w Confide, Oceana, Therefore I Am, To Speak of Wolves, EXT, 5:30p w Café Scientifique: Science and conservation in Montane forests, India (Robin Vijayan), Lucy's Lair, 6:30p w Fat Jerry, VVV
w Open Mic/Open Jam w/ Aesop and The Olympians, Audie's
Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Kingdom, Call to Preserve, Horizons, $5, CYC, 5p w The Licorice Pimps (Jeff Logan), VVV
Wednesday
1 w L’80z Nite w/ DJ Audie 5000 80’s Dance
2
Party, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Hoods, Beg for Life, Give Em Hell, Ares, $10, CYC (901 F St), 5p w Cadillac Cowboys, $5, CRS, 8:30p w The Hump Band, VVV w Fresno State Poetry Jam Club: Blue Light Stroll Off & Words of Rhyme through Diverse Minds, Poverello House Benefit, $5 w/can food dona tion, $10 w/o, Satellite Stu Union CSUF, 7-11p
w w w w w w
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9
w L'80z Nite w/DJ Audie5000, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Golden Age Film: The Caine Mutiny, FAM, 2p w Cadillac Cowboys, $5, CRS, 8:30p w Soul Freedom Lounge, Mr Leonard, VVV
Art H
Bike Hop, m Super Lucky Cosmic Hay Fres Poets' A Ron Thomps Reggae Nigh
w Ron Thomps w Nativeburn, w Reggae Nigh
12 13 w Outlaw Country w/DJ Audie500, Audie's
14 w Open Mic/Open Jam w/ Aesop
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16
19City Slang, w The Vibrators(UK), Final Threat, 20 Benny and The Vetts, Audie's
21
22
23 w 104.1fm Hot
26Audie'swOlympic/Club $1 DOLLAR PUNK NITE, Fred, 9p
28 w Open Mic/Open Jam w/ Aesop
Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Blues Jam w/Ripper, CRS, 2-6p w The Freeshow, VVV
Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Fres Phil w/Corey Cerovsek (violin), $24+, WST, 2p w WSF Bard's Birthday Bash Fundraiser w Earth Day Workshop, MET, 11a - 4p w Fifth Annual Fresno Filmworks Festival, TT w Jazz Jam Session (Mike Dana), TKG, 6p w Last performance: Artists Repertory Theatre: The Fantasticks, $15 adv/$20 door (+10 for premium), SEV, 2p w The Freeshow, VVV w Valley Authors Bookfest, Veteran's Center w Fres Grand Opera: Faust, $15+, WST, 2:30p w Pulling Teeth, Lewd Acts, Empty Eyes, $8, CYC, 5p w Performance: Esperanza Y Luz: A Tale of Two Immigrant Women, $10, AAM, 3p w Jazz Jam Session (Andre Bush), TKG, 6p w Blues Jam w/Ripper, CRS, 2-6p w The Freeshow, VVV
w SIN w/DJ Evil G., Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 10p w Eighty Five, VVV
w SIN w/DJ Evil G., Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 10p w Loom, Burning a Marvelous Life, $7, CYC, 6:30p w Eighty Five, VVV
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w SIN w/DJ Evil G., Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 10p w Eighty Five, VVV
and
The Olympians, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w JazzFresno: Rebecca Kilgore, Fres HS w The Licorice Pimps (Jeff Logan), VVV
w Open Mic/Open Jam w/ Aesop and The Olympians, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w WSF Staged Reading: Cymbeline, WWP Library w Alex Kogan, CRS w The Licorice Pimps (Jeff Logan), VVV and The Olympians, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Prize Country, Fay Wrays, Kingdom of Magic, $7, CYC, 6:30p w Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, $25+, WST, 7:30p w The Licorice Pimps (Jeff Logan), VVV
w L'80z Nite w/DJ Audie5000, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w SJV Town Hall Lectures: Jeff Greenfield, $20, WST, 10:30a w Cadillac Cowboys, $5, CRS, 8:30p w The Hump Band, VVV
w L'80z Nite w/DJ Audie5000, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Cadillac Cowboys, $5, CRS, 8:30p w Soul Freedom Lounge, Mr Leonard, VVV
29 w HUMP! International House Party, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Cadillac Cowboys, $5, CRS, 8:30p w The Hump Band, VVV
Art
w 104.1fm Hot and Attack Olympic/C w Nevermind ( w Cosmic Hay w Reggae Nigh w Inner Ear Po
w/ Sugar H Olympic/C w Fres Folklor door, FAM, 7:30 w Ron Thomps w Reggae Nigh
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w Roger Perry Olympic/C w Ron Thomps w Reggae Nigh
Thursday
Hop (Tower / Downtown)
meet at Tower Velo, 5:30 y Catz, Heroes Sports Bar, 7p yride, Studio Itz, 7p Assoc: Peter Everwine, $5, FAM, 7:30p son and the Resistors, CRS ht: Reality Sound International, VVV
son and the Resistors, CRS Savage Machine, ZPK, 9p ht: Reality Sound International, VVV
Hop (Metro/Outlying)
t Bods, Hot Rods Calendar Girl Contest k Disarm Takeover, Audie's Club Fred, 8p (Nirvana Tribute), CRS yride, ZPK, 9p ht: Reality Sound International, VVV oetry Jam, FCB, 8p
t Bods, Hot Rods Calendar Girl Contest Hill and 6oz. Gloves, Audie's Club Fred, 8p re Society: Bill Tapia, $15 adv, $20
0p son and the Resistors, CRS ht: Reality Sound International, VVV
and The Funereal Dirge Band, Audie's Club Fred, 8p son and the Resistors, CRS ht: Reality Sound International, VVV
Friday
Saturday
3
4 w Funeral Pyre, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Creatures, Downpresser, Anxiety Attack, Strike to Survive, $6,
10 w Bean Dip, the Aircrash, Buffalo Guns, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p
11 w Tony’s B-day Bash w/ The Good Vibes Crew Dj Rascue, Prof.
w Glen Delpit and the Subterraineans (5p); Boom Jinx, Zenith: Nadir, Pistol Killer (9p), Audie's Olympic/Club Fred w Cosmic Hayride, the Lucky 13, 9p w Meatmall Magic, RL, 10p - 2a w PushPushPull, Hello, Astronaut, See you Soon, The Union, $6, KPJ w Cineculture: Women of Tibet: A Quiet Revolution, free, CSUF McLane 121, 5:15p w Elevate Music, Scientifixxx & Guests, ZPK, 9p w Soul Good, DJs Matt & Manny Carr, VVV w Roger Perry/Terril Cross/Trailer Park Tornados/The Dawny Reb & Jon Mahaffey Band , FCB, 8p
w w w w w w w w
Run with the Haunted, $6, CYC, 6:30p Woodward Shakespeare/Big Read: Tom, Huck, and Mark Jazz Jam and Musicians Collective, FCB, 6p Tower Classic Rock Weekend, TT, 8p Breaker, $5, CRS, 9p I am Empire, From Indian Lakes, Lovespeed, Jeffrey Conway, $6, KPJ Worlds Most Entertainment, ZPK, 9p DJ Prof Stone, VVV
CYC, 5p w Oh Spear Me! Asparagus Celebration, $5, Vineyard Farmer's Market (Shaw and Blackstone), 10a - noon w Woodward Shakespeare Shapely Language Workshop Lecture: Major Language Groups of Native America, AAM, 11am w The Same Shape, VVV, 10p w MS Walk, WWP w Dirty Sanchez, Kinship, $5, CRS, 9p w Trill Promo, ZPK, 9p w The Tony and the Ripper’s All Night Open Mic Blues Jam and Pot Luck, FCB, 8p w 3 Bags Full, LMK
Stone, DogPlasma, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p w Woodward Shakespeare/Big Read: Tom, Huck, and Mark w Respite by the River: National Poetry Month workshops and per formances, $5, 9a - 4p w Tower Classic Car Show, 10a - 5p w Tower Classic Rock Weekend, TT, 8p w The Doug Livesay Band w/Trey Tosh, $5, CRS, 9p w The Rhythm Do-Gooders, VVV w Roger Perry/Bret Neilson, FCB, 8p w 3 Bags Full, LMK
17Hellbound w Eleven Hundred Springs, The Mike Stinson Band w/ Dave Gleason, 18 w Eleven Hundred Springs, The Mike Stinson Band w/ Dave Gleason, The B-Stars, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p Glory, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p
Earth Day Run for the Reef & Water Planet Adventure Day Fres Phil w/Corey Cerovsek (violin), $24+, WST, 8p Esperanza Y Luz: A Tale of Two Immigrant Women, $10, AAM, 7p Fifth Annual Fresno Filmworks Festival, TT Patrick Contreras, Fres HS, 8p 40 Watt Hype, SL Khyral, IQ Zero, Better Left Unsaid, $5, CRS, 9p Order 66 Promotions, ZPK, 9p Body Rock, DJs Don D & F Plus, VVV Report Back on La Digna Rabia, Forum Hall (Fres City College), 3p Uni and Her Ukelele, FCB, 8p Fresno Solar Tour, 10a - 3p 3 Bags Full, LMK
w Soup Stock, Smoke my Pipe (CAFÉ Infoshop Benefit), CYC w Performance: Esperanza Y Luz: Tale of Two Immigrant Women, $10, AAM, 7p w Fifth Annual Fresno Filmworks Festival, TT w Cadillac Cowboys, $5, CRS, 8:30p w La Circa, The Subtle Way, EXT, 6p w Sleepover Disaster, KPJ, 8p w DJ Fuze & Jacob T, ZPK, 9p w Fisky DJ P-Rez, VVV w Evo Bluestein, FCB, 8p w Meatmall Magic, RL, 10p - 2a
w w w w w w w w w w w w w
24Rites ofw Retribution, Mistress of Reality(All Female Black Sabbath), Dead Garden, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p
25 w The Double Doors, Audie's Olympic/Club Fred, 9p
w w w w w w w w w w
Critical Mass Bike Ride, meet at Fres HS, 5:30p Fresno Grand Opera: Faust, $15+, WST, 7:30p Slingshot Dakota, The Escorts, Pinky Swear, $5, CYC, 5p Esperanza Y Luz: A Tale of Two Immigrant Women, $10, AAM, 7p Opening Night: Theatre Ventoux: Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women, $15, SEV, 8p Flashback, $5, CRS, 9p Cineculture: Watermarks, free, CSUF McLane 121, 5:15p Slump 9000 Productions, ZPK, 9p Cloud 99, VVV Beginnings, FCB, 8p
Got An Event
w w w w w w w w w
Yoshi Now! Spring Flea Market, 10a - 4p Shinzen Run, WWP, 6a Downtown Community Arts Collective Fundraiser, 7p Dragon Lord, Last 2 Die, IQ Zero, $5, CRS, 9p Elevate Music, Scientifixxx & Guests, ZPK, 9p Word of Mouth, DJ Rusty, VVV Plump Loco, FCB, 8p Earth Day Event, $5, Unitarian Church, 2p - 5p 3 Bags Full, LMK
Ongoing Events: w 2nd Space Theatre: The Man Who Came to Dinner, Feb 26-April 19 w 2nd Space Theatre: Educating Rita, Apr 23 - Jun 14
w Roger Rocka's: Little Women, Mar 19 - May 17 you want included on the UnderCurrentEvents Calendar? Email w Theatre Ventoux: Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women, $15, SEV, April 24 - May 10, Fri at 8 and Sun at 2 us with the what, who, where, when, and w Artists Repertory Theatre: The Fantasticks, $15 adv/$20 door (+$10 for premium), SEV, Fri & Sat 8p how much $: Calendar@ through April 18; Sun Apr 5 and 19 at 2p FresnoUndercurrent.net
w
Calendar current as of printing
ACEYALONE
far left
11 HUNDRED SPRINGS r
g
h
t
GO WEST YOUNG MAN l
GO WEST YOUNG MAN • LOVE POLLUTION • BY SUNLIGHT • + SPECIAL GUESTS
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PINBACK • RAFTER
One look at the instrumentation for LA’s Go West Young Man, and you’ll be intrigued: 4 guitars, trumpet, sax, keyboards, plus the usual rock band accoutrements. I’m not sure whether the band tours with this entire line-up, but, with any sort of luck, the strong melodies and vocal harmonies on their recordings translate well to their live show. Fresno’s Love Pollution is back at it and playing on this bill. By Sunlight (Seattle) will round out this post-Art Hop show nicely with their lighter take T H U A P R 0 2 on Sunny Day Real Estate-esque indie 9 3 0 p m • 2 1 + • rock.
A Sound’N’Vision promotion. This is one of the many great shows at The Cellar Door in April, but this writer has only so much space and time. This show, however, is worth special mention, since it marks the return to the Central Valley of San Diego indie legends-in-their-own-time, Pinback. After time in seminal indie bands Three Mile Pilot, Thingy, and Heavy Vegetable, among others, these guys put together this band, arguably far-and-away their best. A decade and several records later, Pinback are at the top of their game. San Diego’s talented Rafter A P R 0 5 returns to The Cellar Door making this S U N 9 3 0 p m • 21+ • a tremendously entertaining bill.
Having retooled their line-up, image, and sound hasn’t slowed The Valley Arena at all. They still tour a ton, and the press loves them, as does their considerable fanbase. Their live show is energetic, just intense enough to keep your attention without blowing your head off. Certainly one of Fresno’s favorite non-local bands, these three guys from Long Beach, CA, always manage to rock the house as well as pack the house. If that’s not enough, look at the rest of the line-up for the night, A P R 0 9 which includes three of Fresno’s most T H U happening bands. 9 3 0 p m • 2 1 + •
A match made in heaven, that’s Vetiver touring with Richard Swift. Both bands represent the best of current indie/electroacoustic/Americana music. Both are press darlings; open any music magazine, and you’re sure to see some interview or write-up of them. Both tour a lot, and both have great independent labels backing them. If you’re into Iron & Wine and Devendra Banhart, Vetiver is for you. Take that sound and juice it up with some piano and upbeat tempos, and you’ll know what Richard Swift is all about. With all of that said, this could be best T U E A P R 1 4 described as a “co-headlining” tour 9 3 0 p m • 2 1 + • and without a doubt a great show.
TOKYO GARDEN
THE VALLEY ARENA • FAY WRAYS • CIRCLES AND CIRCLES •
CELLAR DOOR
VETIVER • RICHARD SWIFT
AUDIE’S OLYMPIC C E L L A R D O O R
ELEVEN HUNDRED SPRINGS • THE MIKE STINSON BAND w/ DAVE
For those of you who thought that real country music died in about 1972, go check out Eleven Hundred Springs as they return to Fresno with some genuine Texas honky-tonk. All of the requisite elements are there, from the sweet pedal steel guitar to the twangy voice delivering those depressing lyrics. These guys are the real deal. Support act Mike Stinson Band will take you back to the likes of Ray Price via the vocal stylings and George Jones via the lyrical content, with a little bit of A P R 1 7 & 1 8 Steve Earle added to rock it up some. 930pm • 21+ • And this night, be ready to cut a rug.
AUDIE’S OLYMPIC
THE VIBRATORS (UK) • FINAL THREAT • CITY SLANG • BENNY
Yes, that Vibrators. The ones from London, England, who were contemporaries of The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, UK Subs, and all of the other seminal 70s punk bands. Unlike most others, however, these guys have remained active, releasing a huge catalog of records through the 80s and 90s, and they’re (obviously) still active today. This is a rare opportunity to hear some real punk rock from guys who were there when punk really happened. Look no further than Fresno for three strong A P R 1 9 support acts, including the always S U N 930pm • 21+ • entertaining Benny and The Vetts.
ACEYALONE • DESTRUCTOBUNNY • J. FEVE
Yours truly is admittedly “challenged” regarding knowledge of hip-hop music, but fear not if you’re in the same boat. Prolific progressive hip-hop artist Aceyalone has appeal beyond the genre. Positive lyrics and great samples from the best of soul and jazz make for great music whatever one chooses to call it, but this guy is just really a great listen. Word has it that Aceyalone can lay it down live, too, and that’s what he’ll do on this night at a great venue, The Partisan in Merced. Talented freestyler Destructobunny and equally talented Bay-area hipA P R 1 8 hop artist J. Feve (partners in hip-hop S A T 9 3 0 p m • 2 1 + • group Atlantis Rising) fill the bill.
THE PARTISAN
JOE LALLY (FUGAZI) • NIILO SMEDS • FAY WRAYS • TED NUNES
It’s a Love, The Captive promotion at Tokyo featuring Joe Lally of Fugazi (!), plus a wild assortment of local talent, and by the way, the likes of Joe Lally of Fugazi fame. Wait, did I mention Joe Lally’s playing at Tokyo Garden? Fugazi has quite possibly spawned more imitators and inspired the inception of more bands than perhaps any other single band in the history of indie and underground music, and Joe Lally was there throughout, rocking the bass guitar. Here, you’ll get some of that Fugazi feel: interesting arrangements and sounds, but with the edges softT H U A P R 2 3 ened up just a bit, and certainly with 9 3 0 p m • 2 1 + • no less intensity than you’d expect.
AUDIE’S OLYMPIC T O K Y O G A R D E N
page THE VENUES / Cellar Door = 101 W Main St, Visalia • The Exit = 1533 E Belmont, Fresno • Audie’s Olympic Club Fred= 1426 N Van Ness, Fresno • Howie
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& Sons Pizza = 2430 S Mooney, Visalia • The Starline = 831 E Fern, Fresno • The Partisan = 432 W Main St, Merced • Tokyo Garden = 1711 Fulton, Fresno • Veni Vidi Vici = 1116 N Fulton, Fresno • Babylon = 1064 N Fulton, Fresno • The Venue = 1148 7th St, Sanger • Chinatown Youth Center = 901 F
Plugs & Profiles
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
Filmworks enters its eighth year with big-name films at festival by Jefferson Beavers
FRESNO, Calif. (March 16, American political documen- Garden, the controversial doc2009)—Cultures and attitudes tary The Garden—all enjoyed umentary about a powerful Academy Award nominations developer in South Central clash in an inner-city classbut didn’t room, a microcosm of conplay in temporary France. An Israeli soldier, recalling the first war Fresno, until now. in Lebanon, struggles to “I remember what he had chosen to forget. Working-class urban can never fathom farmers fight to save their what goes community garden in South into the Central Los Angeles. And a booking Japanese American family from Fresno recalls its painful decisions relocation to Colorado during for this area,” said World War II. Moses, the The 2009 Fresno Film Festival will explore just longtime president some of these themes in its April 17-19 run at the historic of the allWaltz With Bashir Tower Theatre. The festival is volunteer board. presented by Fresno L.A. trying to kick workingFilmworks, a nonprofit dedi- “We’ve been fielding lots of class families out of their questions from people at our cated to bringing first-run community farm, that Moses [recent] monthly programs independent, experimental, is particularly proud of bringabout films that people had and international movies to ing to Fresno. been hoping would come to the central San Joaquin “It’s an important Fresno and now we have Valley. story to tell, even if it focuses The fifth annual fes- them.” on South Central L.A.,” said Critic Michael tival, which will feature 23 Moses, who also teaches films from 10 different coun- Phillips of The Chicago classes in film studies at tries, marks Filmworks’ entry Tribune calls Entre les Murs Fresno City into its eighth College. “It’s year of proan engaging gramming. story that more Filmworks people need to continues to know about, offer a multieven without cultural, our own cominternational munity’s confilm experitroversy.” ence that The most FresnoCity of Fresno area moviein late 2008 goers cannot decided to regularly get force local at commerHmong farmers cial theaters. Entre Les Murs (The Class) to relocate their The community group’s presigarden at Belmont and Dewitt dent, John Moses, said (The Class) “one of the avenues in southeast Fresno. screen’s most rewarding Filmworks quickly scooped After several months of heatexplorations of the up several big-name, awardwinning films this year for the teacher/student relationship in ed debate, the City Council festival, after local chains sur- any language.” Critic Andrew voted in October to clear out the farmers in order to make prisingly failed to book them. O’Hehir of Salon.com calls Three of the films—the Waltz With Bashir “the year’s way for a new police substaFrench drama Entre Les Murs most singular visionary expe- tion building. rience available at the Moses said the local (The Class), the animated movies.” debate over the Hmong garIsraeli documentary Waltz den relocation has overlapped But it is The With Bashir, and the
into multiple and unlikely segments of the community. The screening of The Garden, he hopes, will bring together those groups to talk about the similar struggles faced elsewhere. “We expect the film to have a lot of local interest and support,” he said. Other feature films at the festival include the American independent comedy Skills Like This, an Audience Award winner from the South By Southwest festival about an unlikely 20something bank robber; the classic Buster Keaton comedy The General, a The Garden family-oriented revival film centered on the Civil War; the small Russian independent Mermaid, a drama with comedic touches about an introverted girl born by the sea; and Che: The Argentine, part one of the epic Stephen Soderberg biopic of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, starring Benicio del Toro. In addition to the high-profile features, Filmworks will continue its support of smaller films as well. Of the festival’s 23 scheduled films, 16 will be shorts. Filmworks will screen two full programs of the short films, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, in addition to sprinkling the rest throughout
the festival, as introductions to the features. The two full shorts programs will feature Q&A sessions with more than a dozen visiting filmmakers from all over the world. The most prominent local connection in the shorts is the 30-minute documentary Colorado Experience. The film tells the story of a Fresno family that escaped the internment experience in World War II by instead relocating to Colorado and joining other Japanese Americans living there instead of going to the camps. Moses said, though, that the relocation still led to a very hard life. “Colorado gives them more
freedom than at the camps,” Moses said, “but it’s still not a rosy picture. They still suffer from the racism during World War II toward Japanese Americans.” Other short films with local connections include Wig, written and produced by L.A.-based filmmaker Scotch Ellis Loring, an alumnus of Washington Union High; The Crooked Eye, based on a short story by Coarsegold writer Betty Malicoat; and One Minute More, a series of sketches that include Fresno jazz musician and Rogue Festival favorite Benjamin Boone. Moses said he hopes that the Fresno audience will
still turn out strong for the festival, despite the difficulties of the current economy. The group’s mission of consistently providing Fresno with an alternative film source that truly speaks to diverse, multicultural audiences has been difficult to maintain, he said. But the support of Filmworks loyalists and the curiosity of newbies keeps Filmworks coming back to the Tower every month. “In a lot of respects, it is a difficult time for people to have the financial resources for entertainment,” Moses said. “A lot of [arts] venues that we’re competing with are struggling, in terms of audiences. Our audiences continue to regard us with a great deal of affection.” Moses noted that 24 sponsors— including The Undercurrent— stepped up to support Filmworks and the festival this year, a high number that the group is thankful for. He concluded: “This is very important and rewarding to us, especially in these tough times.” ______ Jefferson Beavers is a freelance writer based in Fresno. He teaches in the Mass Communication and Journalism department at Fresno State and is a Fresno Filmworks board member. He can be reached at jbeavers43@comcast.net. ______ Visit FresnoFilmworks.org for more information about Fresno Filmworks or for more details on the 2009 Fresno Film Festival.
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Plugs & Profiles
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
RIVER ROCK POETRY & MUSIC FESTIVAL by Matt Espinoza Watson Tim Z. Hernandez is the has invited literary journals, Community Programs blogs, and other publications Director at the San Joaquin to set up booths at the event River Parkway and (The Undercurrent & its ediConservation Trust. He’s also tors will be setting up shop) in an American Book Award-winning poet (for his 2004 publication Skin Tax), an incredible live performer, and a really cool guy. That aside, I sat & spoke with Tim recently about this exciting upcoming event that he’s planned out at the River Parkway’s Headquarters. In celebration of National Poetry Month, Tim is hosting the River Rock Poetry & Music Festival on Saturday, April 11 Tim Z. Hernandez (11am-3pm). The event will be outorder to network valley writdoors at the River Center (a really incredible venue for any ers with venues to get their work published. In the mornevent), and will feature performances by several different ing, there will also be a writer’s workshop and a presbands & poets. The main event, so to speak, will be the entation from Heyday Books performance of poet Victor on what they look for when Hernandez Cruz, who is mak- selecting writers to publish. If you are interested in the ing his way to the Central Valley all the way from Puerto morning events, contact Tim Rico. VHC is a poet of inter- ASAP to pre-register (see national renown, a recipient of below). It seems appropriate an NEA and a Latin American Guggenheim Fellowship, and that part of the event is dedicated to cultivating/nurturing a recently-named Chancellor young & emerging writers, as of the Academy of American Poets. (We have published a Victor Hernandez Cruz is bio & two of his poems in this someone who influenced and issue, on p. 30) Tim describes inspired Tim at an early stage Cruz’s reading style as being in his writing; Tim shared the influenced by the music of story of the first time he heard Latin America and as “very Victor read in 1996. He rhythmic.” Other acts sched- described himself as a young uled to perform include writer & performance artist Pachango (a Latin rock band who hadn’t been exposed to from Visalia) and The Hmong much outside of the city limits Council (also from Visalia; of Visalia, when he saw Juan described by Tim as “hmong- Felipe Herrera (former CSU reggae-funk”), and poets Fresno Professor and recent David Campos and Gftd1. National Book Critics Circle The event will also Award winner for Half of the be a literary fair of sorts; Tim World in Light: New and
Selected Poems) performing on Valley Public Television. “I had never heard anybody read poetry like that,” said Tim. A week after seeing the performance on TV, Tim met Juan Felipe, who invited him to attend the CSU Summer Arts program in Long Beach. Within a matter of weeks after being exposed to Juan Felipe’s verbal wizardry, the young Tim was in Long Beach, hanging out and learning from June Jordan (incredible poet & creator of “Poetry for the People” at UC Berkeley), Victor Hernandez Cruz, Guillermo Gomez-Peña (MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, author, & performance artist) and Juan Felipe Herrera; quite an impressive array of talent for an aspiring writer to be exposed to. Since moving back to the valley a year ago from Boulder, Colorado, Tim has been working at the River Parkway trying to create more programs & events to draw different sectors of the community out to the beautiful environs of the river (& the River Parkway Center in particular). The mission of the Parkway Trust is to “preserve and restore San Joaquin River lands having ecological, scenic or historic significance, to educate the public on the need for stewardship, to research issues affecting the river, and to promote educational, recreational and agricultural uses consistent with the protection of the river’s resources.” The Parkway just recently hosted a Grand
Opening/Open House for the River Parkway Center, where they unveiled a stunning mural by local artist Ramiro Martinez, and has for some time been connected to the local arts community. Tim expressed that he’s been very impressed by the support he’s received from the Board of Directors, who are incredibly open to suggestions and are initiating dialogue regarding how to “help the River Parkway look like the rest of Fresno.” The Festival on the 11th is one aspect of
Tim’s work to broaden access to the programs, create more culturally relevant programs, & begin creating programs in other languages to better serve the population of the valley. Other upcoming projects Tim is working on include educational/informational/entertaining theater skits along the river this summer to further reach out to the communities who use the river. So come out & enjoy a day by the river with us already… Saturday April 11 @ 11605 Old Friant Road; music & poetry start at 11am & go until 3pm. $5/carload (meaning if you bike, walk, or use public transportation to get there, it’s free… To get there: travel Friant Road past Woodward Park, turn onto Old Friant Road, wind down the hill to the River Center (approx. 3miles north of Woodward Park).
If you need more info, or want to pre-register for the morning writer’s workshop, contact Tim Z. Hernandez at THernandez@riverparkway. org, or at 559-248-8480 ext. 154.
21
Music Reviews
DB & The Struggle Street Scars (EP)
Independent (2009)
Carlos DB Montaño is a character around town, a jovial fellow who’s always passing out flyers and CDs, chatting folks up. He sings and plays guitar. He has a band called the Struggle. The Struggle are Kyle Oakes (on bass and didgeridoo), Sam Polanco (on drums), Greg Rodriguez (on sax), Leo “Loki” Esparza (on the trombone), and Sean Detweiler (taking care of percussion). Their new EP is called Street Scars. Full of guitar solos and horns and chunky wah wah, the EP is bluesy funky stuff, saucy and laden with lament. Think Stevie Ray Vaughan, if he were a homey of yours from Fresno who’s a
22
bit down on his luck. The EP contains four tracks. “Street Scars” opens up slow and smooth, but quickly cuts into a lively jam with an edgy Brand New Heavies vibe. “Feel It Comin On” is a rocking blues piece with a wild modified guitar
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
b y A b i d Y ah y a solo that, rather than participating in the song, seems to weave its way around the song. On “A Prophet’s Song,” Carlos wails like a funky Lionel Richie; it’s wonderful. And closing out the EP is “Crime Don’t Pay,” a delightful traditional blues jam with a local twist.
Unfortunately, with only four tracks, the EP satisfies, but not for long. Let’s hope they’ll be giving us a full-length album soon. For now, though, the EP can be purchased at Spinners Records (639 E Olive),
Sacred Heart Clothing (101 W Olive), and Yoshi Now! (648 Broadway). It must also be mentioned that DB&TS are great live performers. On stage, their songs morph into more unrestrained jam sessions than is evident in their studio recordings. They’ve been getting folks off their feet for a few years now at venues all over the Valley, and the crowds are always pleased, to say the least. So don’t miss the Downtown Funkshun (4 April at Milano, 1243 Fulton Mall, 7pm, $5 cover, 21+), featuring performances by DB & The Struggle along with the Mofo Party Band, King Sugar, the Ecliptics, and Hayesfield (out of Bakersfield). Also, there’s another version of the EP floating around with four bonus live tracks. Try to find one at www.myspace.com/dbandthes truggle.
hi castle
Music Reviews
www.FresnoUndercurrent.net
DonÕt Look Now (EP)
Hot Mess Magic Records (2008) Ok, so this EP was actually released by Succulent, but Succulent has since changed his name to hi castle. He is well known to many in the Fresno indie scene (as Succulent, but all that changes from this day forth…) and has performed more than a few times at Tokyo Garden, for Arthop at Studio Itz, and at many other venues in and around town. His music is tender, yet simultaneously primal and seemingly pre-verbal (even though he uses words)…like lullabies, but the kind you’d want to hear now, as opposed to when you were a kid. But probably, when you were a kid, you’d have liked his music too. Maybe you should play his music for some kids & test out the hypothesis. Either way, & regardless of whether the kids like it, I think you will. That is, if you’re into haunting jumbled harmonies and echoes, mystical mysterious calliope sounds, sometimes hard to decipher lyrics, (though when you can understand them, they’re great), muffled underwater tones combined with a hollow-bodied electric guitar (& its accompanying warm tone), and delicate, whispered vocals. Delicate in a way that reminds me of
by Matt Espinoza Watson Thom Yorke or Bjork (rhyme unintended). Dreamy in a way that reminds me of The
of you?
Science of Sleep, or maybe just dreams. Warm & comforting like a sweater knit by your grandmother….or your lover. I know, that’s a weird sequence of thoughts, but the point is…either of them would put a lot of love into it, & you’d end up happy and warm and feeling better than before. The EP starts with an insistent, jolly bassline ambling along its way as the melody swings to and fro, and softly sung vocals: ”Don’t look, / don’t look in the mirr-or / or if you do, / don’t look through the surface. / What’s what’s coming owww-out at you? Don’t doubt, / don’t doubt where you should go to find yourself or someone else / to make you feel the need you need to guard yourself. / Oh what’s that coming out at you? / What’s that coming aaahfter you? / What’s been broken iiin-side of you? / What’s that coming o-ut
“Please Feel Free” has a more melancholy feel; “Flee” has these great reverb-y underwater-y vocals and a bunch of warbling horn-like sounds…Ultimately, the music is like beautiful intricately crafted little puzzles that you want to sit & spend some time with. hi castle is currently working on a full length album that he expects to be out this year (& which will be pressed onto vinyl & available at your local record shop). He will be playing Art Hop on April 2 (along with sometime collaborators & excellent musicians Niilo Smeds, Greer McGettrick, and others) at the new downtown Teazer… To check out hi castle’s music, or to buy a digital copy of the EP, go to www.myspace.com/succulentghoul.
“Laugh it Off” has a really soothing quality to it, while
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About the Cover
Noah Russell
“Angela 11”
istic goal, but it is my goal. How long have you been creating art here in Fresno? I was born in Fresno, I went to elementary and high school here, and I studied art at FCC for a decade. I had my first showing in 1999 at a coffee shop here in town, and since then, I have had more than fifteen showings in Fresno at venues such as coffee shops, breweries, restaurants, galleries, and even the Fresno Art Museum. And I’ve painted at live shows to the music of local talent like the Super Lucky Cats, the Same Shape, and Planet Asia. Has Fresno or the Fresno art scene had any influence or effect “dissemination” on your work? Fresno is a cruel teacher for aspir- everywhere I go and use this ing artists. This town has taught medium to plan my ideas, or to me to remember why we make art map out images of future projects. in the first place, and it is not for Also, in the last few years I have success. Not for fame, not for been using the computer to make money. And there are some incredible artists here in town Tell us about this particular I don’t know that there was a who continue to impress and cover image. beginning to my tendency towards inspire me. Of course I love “Angela11,” the image displayed creativity. In elementary school, I the work of Josh Wigger; his on this months cover is one of my was one of the kids in the class work makes me want to quit photoshopped creations. The first that could draw. By the time I got painting forever, or go paint step is a “photo session” with the to high school, all I did was draw right now. Mostly though, I subject. I might take anywhere (at the expense of my grades) and think that what Fresno from two to two has taught me about art hundred pictures in is to do it for me, not for a ten minute sitsomething that I expect ting. Thank goodto get out of it. ness for the digital How would you age, and for digital describe your style? cameras. Next, I I feel like I have many load those photos styles, but if I were to into the computer select a “signature style” and browse it would probably be my through them, airbrush work. The airpicking a few brush is unparalleled in favorites by the its ability to simulate the “Faces” shapes and values depth and volume of created in the real objects. This allows one artwork as well. image. After that, to create hazy and incomIf someone wanted to see more the best stills go plete dreamlike images that of your work, how would they go into Photoshop are “finished” in the mind’s about that? where the backeye of the viewer. My airI’m online at ground is drawn in brushed images are also www.my.fresnoarts.net/profile/noa and the contrast “Pre-mature” some of the most relaxing hrussell, and and saturation levfor me to produce. www.myspace.com/artbynoah, but when I went to FCC, I took all the els are adjusted. In this work, I My most common style I currently have no exhibitions up then applied a gradient map to the art classes they had to offer. All of artwork is sketching on regular or even planned in the near future. my life people have told me to photo. paper with regular black ballpoint I expect to have a simple website What got you started in your find something to fall back on pens. I carry a sketchbook with me up and running within two months. artistic endeavors? instead of art, that art is not a real-
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When the website is up, trust me, you’ll hear about it. What if someone wanted to give you money for your work, how would one go about that?
A potential client could contact me at either of the two web pages mentioned above, or they could email me at noahrussellartist@yahoo.com.
Local Eats
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Hunan Chinese Restaurant
6716 N Cedar #104 (CedarTree Village, Cedar & Herndon)
559.297.0336 Closed Mondays
until almost June. Every week I buy $2 bunches It’s spring again. Little nubs of from the lady who sells exclusively asparagus, growth have popped up on the fingerling ends of tree branches. making creamed Irises taunt us with their mangy soups, adding into carbonara pasta, beards. Birds prance and sing and act-a-fool over thoughts of sautéing with peas passionate nest making. And at and mint, grilling, the farmers market, delicate fla- and even blanching vors of early spring come peek- elegant little loging out between the masked fla- cabin stacks next to eggs for brunch. vors of winter. The flagship for these Alas! Nature is troops is asparagus. Sometime perfectly timed, in March they pop their closed- so that just as I am sick-and-tired of these green fist tips out of firm frosted soil and we are blessed with a grassy green ancient veggie
Peas, Glorious Peas!
b y J es si Ha fe r
Hunan Chinese was recommended to me. I heard the phrases “famous chef” and “fried tofu” and figured it was worth a shot. While I tend to enjoy the Chinese restaurants that have the fake meat dishes (which Hunan Chinese does not have), I enjoy a good vegetable or tofu dish as well. Hunan Chinese was a little tough to find, tucked into a little courtyard area in a strip mall at Cedar and Herndon, but after trying some of the food, it was clear that the brief search was certainly worth the effort. As I think about what to say about their food, I find I have a onetrack mind—the vegetable chow mein is wonderful. Previously, I had given up on chow mein in general. It’s not that I don’t like it, because I like it quite a bit. However, chow mein hasn’t ever really impressed me. Hunan Chinese’s vegetable chow mein was quite impressive. The pan fried noodles were crispy, but not
to the point where you couldn’t chew them. There were a lot of vegetables, and they were cooked just right (I really hate over-cooked vegetables in Chinese food). The sauce made it perfect. There was just something about the sauce that gave the dish a distinctive presence, the slight presence of ginger brings it to life, but it still had a laid-back chow mein vibe. I’d go back to Hunan Chinese just for the chow mein. Of course, I’m sure I won’t just get chow mein when I go back. The tofu was pretty good too, though due to a miscommunication, I ordered the wrong one. We ordered a Family Style Tofu, but I had intended to order the Kung Pao Bean Curd or the Hot Bean Curd. I think something spicier would have suited me more. They use the Japanese-style silken tofu. I usually prefer the lesssmooth tofu, but Hunan Chinese’s tofu was fried just the right amount (definitely fried, but not too
dry or tough), so that helped. I’m looking forward to trying one of the spicier tofu dishes next time. We also tried a green bean dish (great) and another vegetable dish (good, but aside from the mushrooms, I liked the vegetables in the vegetable chow mein better). Their menu is extensive, with several vegetarian options and the usual nonvegetarian offerings. The staff was friendly, helpful, and very clear on what could be made vegetarian, and the décor transports you away from the strip mall mentality you may have before you walk in. The prices are reasonable, too, with the vegetable dishes costing under $8. I wish I could say I’m proud of myself for overcoming a onetrack mind, but I can’t. Because I’m still thinking about their vegetable chow mein. (I guess that’s why I shouldn’t write these reviews before lunchtime.)
spears and I can pee stinky no longer, the warmer weather smacks them down and they disappear for another 6 months. My second omen are the sugar snap peas, dressed in plastic green baskets with little bucket hat foliage tips. I eat these by the dozen as a mid-morning snack, crunchy and raw, amazed at the balance between the saccharine pod and the bitter green babies tucked inside. Where there are peas, there are pea tendrils (great sautéed) and sweet pea blossoms ($5 will buy you a heap in fuchsia, soft pink, and white that will perfume your pad for days).
Continued page 28...
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by Joe
Saboteur Jessi: The wonderful thing about Saboteur is that the game really isn’t about the game itself, but about how you interact with the other players. The game mechanics are actually very simple and quick to learn. You and the other players (and the game takes 3 to 10 players) are a group of dwarfs digging a mine and searching for gold. Players have cards that represent parts of a tunnel, and there are three possible destinations, each represented by a face down card. Two of them are coal, and only one of them is the gold. Map cards allow a player to look at one of the destinations to try to figure out which destination is the right one. But before any of this starts, players draw cards telling them whether they are a saboteur or a gold digger. Gold diggers want to find the gold, and saboteurs want to send the gold diggers the wrong way... Joe: ... so they can keep the gold for themselves... Jessi: ... but we don’t play it that way. We do it for the sheer joy of messing with people’s heads. Anyway, no one knows who’s in which team at the
ers that they are indeed loyal. This is usually hilarious. Jessi: The various personalities involved are all exponentially expressed. Like we all become caricatures of ourselves. And everyone is grasping for signs from the other personalities. And everyone is trying to prove that they are Aguayo & Jessi Hafer not saboteurs. Joe: Like when beginning, and much of the Nikki said to Polly something game ends up being about like, “Polly, you know me. I yelling over who’s a saboteur would never lie to you.” But and who isn’t. And then she actually was a saboteur there’s the yelling from disthat round. Or when people agreeing over which card is bring up stuff from another the gold. I love it, especially day that has nothing to do with the game itself, just trying to justify the other person being a saboteur. Jessi: Or sometimes when Xavier plays, he tends to act like a saboteur no matter what. It’s always interesting, but it doesn’t seem to work very well when he’s not the saboteur because no one believes him. Ever. Joe: Information is limited in the game, and in most rounds, only a couple of players will know where the gold is. Basically, the game becomes the quickest way to since I’ve been a saboteur foster distrust among friends. about 90% of the time I’ve It’s fantastic. played. Jessi: And to take Joe: The way the that a step further, I’ve rules are written, the number noticed that, after I play the of saboteurs is unknown. game, I tend to feel distrust Our group has decided demo- about everything for, I don’t cratically (i.e., they yelled at know, a good fifteen minutes. me) that we would play with And suddenly I feel like the maximum number of lying about everything and saboteurs. I generally hate withholding information from playing games with house everyone. I could just see rules, but I make an excepmyself going to a restaurant tion for this one because, like after playing this game, and Jessi says, it’s more about the then not wanting to tell the player interaction that occurs wait staff what I want, just in above the game. Most of the case they are saboteurs. I time we forget to keep score could be lying about this, anyway. though; I did just play the In any particular game... round, the saboteurs do their best to convince others play-
Bored? Games!
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Book Review
Riverbig
Heyday Books (2009)
The Real Dope on the Valley’s Ag Business
With Riverbig, Janigian has succeeded in weaving a tale of Valley life so seamless, the geography and scope make Fresno and Armenia as close as Clovis and Sanger. To uproot an entire culture and transplant it thousands of miles away is par for the course for our hero Andy Demerjian, but it’s the corn and tomatoes that will either make or break him. After being forcefully removed from his family farm by the person closest to him, Andy is forced to make a way for his wife and kids. Through a series of tedious jobs, Andy stumbles across a chance to really make something blossom, but with his past and the history of his people to boot, it’ll be an uphill climb as steep as Ararat itself. Janigian’s prose is concise and deft and makes an impression, like an antique Corona typewriter would a piece of 8 and a half by 11. It is clear that his knowledge of the Central Valley and of farming in general run deep. The images in this piece are as familiar as the frost and fog in the winter. Like Steve Yarbrough has
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Aris Janigian
Taste continued...
by Nicholas Nocketback
done with Mississippi, Janigian has captured the rural agrarian lifestyle so vividly that one cannot help but feel the stresses and pains of laboring in the soil. The bad blood between neighbors and
family boils like that of the Turks and Armenians, leaving a clear diaspora that has no choice but to move on emotionally and physically. Janigian’s characters are true valley folk, pragmatic and hard working, concerned with family and quality of life more than intellect and politics. It is nearly impossible to not create a relationship with these characters; every decision Andy makes has one debating along with him, sharing his misgivings or triumphs. While truly an emotional experience, Riverbig is ripe with history and pathos. Cultures, like crops, are raised, razed
and then forgotten. Janigian highlights the parallel between his people and the Native Americans of this valley. This book reminds us that California’s history is as perilous and uncouth as any other. Nonetheless, we also see the resiliency and heart that have made this state, this valley and its people a bounty of sustenance, providing the world with the proceeds of our fertile land. This is not simply a novel about the struggles of farming and the risk involved, it is also a photograph of the past and where we came from. Anyone living in Fresno will see that. Riverbig is, as it claims, big as a river. Whether the story involves a little old lady and her farm, or an assassin’s target, or even an underground cash crop, it finds its target: our conscience. In one way or another it’s all about sacrifice, in the religious sense, and about the risks we take for our families, by any means. In a nation of immigrants and a city overflowing with such, this piece finds its home right here in the heart of the state, and questions the state of your heart.
If you really want to splurge, grab a bag of English peas that have been shelled. These, I suppose, are related to the guys you buy frozen, but bear no resemblance in flavor. They are a stunning addition to pasta, sidled up next to a piece of ham, or just steamed and buttered. If you’ve got time on your hand, grab a bag of fava beans and spend your Sunday like a Southern lady shucking, boiling, and shucking again for little thumbs of bitter beans that are truly the prize of the season. Other delights to be on the lookout for are faintly orange Meyer lemons, spearmint, delicate baby lettuces, new potatoes, purple-tipped scallions, green garlic shoots, chives, Bloomsdale spinach and of course, strawberries. Follow the calendar and use the seasons as a guide for how to cook! All these subtle flavors of spring meld together perfectly for almost any dish…the green garlic shoots never overpowering the rustic funk of peas or the bright bite of mint. And as the weather warms, bold flavors hum and intensify until, in August, we are sweating and delirious with the intoxicating bounty of red blushed peaches, potent red onions, eye-rolling tomatoes, sour plums, and sweet purple basil. Wait for it. Enjoy the journey that is spring. It’s worth it.
Columns
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compared to most, it’s a precarious luxury. Ed— Those are all great points, Adam. I think that it’s good to deny and discipline yourself at times by going without things, but beyond that it seems sort of forced and a bit greater potentials to life. Ed—This month frivolous. Our lifestyles The Undercurrent is focus- But in both of these exam- afford us many things, but ing on going without. I ples, I still realize that I they also cause us to go started to consider the topic have significant control in without other things. and realize that I hadn’t deciding whether I will go Neither of us are in a posigone without for some without something or what tion to say what it’s like to time. In fact, the more I I will go without. What do live without a consistent thought about the issue, the you think, Adam? What source of food, without more I realized that I live a does it mean for you to go shelter, without peace of life that often does not con- without? mind, or even without sider the word, “no.” If I Adam—I don’t health care, although I hear want it, I usually get it. know that I could speak to you don’t have the best I’m not trying to say that “going without” in any coverage in the world. I’m some sort of spoiled manner much differently Having said all that, I think brat, or that I’m living than your experience, Ed. that it is good to use this excessively, but I do live Granted, I understand that opportunity of thinking comfortably. I have a roof as a white male, I live a about what we’re going over my head, a vehicle, life of extreme privilege in without to evaluate what is health insurance, a dental the United States of going into your life and try plan, and a job. I’ve also America. I’m not subject- and think about its priority. got a lot of great relationed to sexism, or racism, or Are the things we are conships in life, and I would any of the other isms suming making us better? say that the majority of the (except for maybe a reliAre the jobs we have people I’m around live in a gious one) because I drew allowing us to enjoy life? similar fashion. So what the lucky straw with my Are the foods we eat the do I know about going birth. So, for the sake of most healthy and responsiwithout? As I thought exercise, I’ll draw the folble choices? I recently about it all, and a story a lowing comparison. read about two people tryfriend recently related to Without giving away the ing to live on a food budgme, I realized that we live numbers, my family of five et of $72 a week, which is comfortably and enjoy life (parents and two brothers) approximately what a famiwhile some of the worst lived, for a good chunk of ly of two in California can things in history are going the 80s and 90s, on about receive in foods stamps. on. But it hasn’t always the same income that I now $72 a week doesn’t sound been that way for me. At live on alone (plus my two that hard, but when you other points in life, I didn’t cats and goldfish). But, to factor in stops at Chik-fil-a have as much, and had to be forthright and honest, or drinks at the local bar make a lot more decisions “going without,” for me, that $72 disappears real on what to include in life means not having cable or quick. If you want to live and what I was willing to satellite TV, not being able that disciplined a life, you go without. Or, at other to afford a new car or the learn very quickly that points, I’ve taken part in requisite payments, not get- you’re going without fasting (going without) as a ting that last beer at the drinks out and fast food. spiritual discipline. And, it bar, or not buying a new Good for the body, bad for seems that, when I have music album. As well, I do the social life. Maybe we denied myself of things for understand and hold a pal- can both keep going with, periods of time, it has been pable fear that, at this point at least in healthy moderabeneficial and freeing. I in history, I could lose my tion. And again I’m back realize that the things I’ve job any day of the week, to not saying no. included in my life can be which means that, while I put aside and that I can see understand I live in luxury
The Undercurrent editors strongly suggest that under no circumstances, for no reasons imaginable, or in any possible worlds, should the advice given by Mr Nocketback be followed, contemplated, or considered. We completely absolve ourselves of any unfortunate consequences that may occur as a result of Nocketback’s advice, solicited or otherwise. That said, send your questions, problems, or concerns about money, love, or life to: Nocketback@FresnoUndercurrent.net.
and I wouldn’t want him doing that in there. I know it’s a weird question, but can you help me? —Mr. Bates
your computer into the room you’re most comfortable in and watch the nastiest, hard-core porn you can find. I mean, find something with three hot chicks, a couple hot guys, and maybe even an alternate mammal. If you can’t pound one out in your own home, I’m suggesting euthanasia, ‘cause, really, what’s the point? —Cheers, Nocketback
Dear Mr. B, If you’re a male between the ages of 13 and 78 and you cannot regularly milk your toolbag, there’s something seriously wrong with your wiring. You say you had a hard time before. Is it because you had a traumatic expeDear Nocketback, I have a hard enough rience when you were younger…an uncle pertime pleasuring myself alone. haps? Anyhow, that’s an But I just got a roommate a month ago and now I can’t do it entirely different area at all. I keep thinking he’ll hear that’d take way too much time. Here’s my suggesme or, god forbid, walk in. I tion: When your roomtried it in the shower but felt bad because he has to use it too mate’s not home, bring
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Poetry
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Three Poems by Victor Hernández Cruz California #2 (excerpt) In the hour of Fresno A strong blue Yellow god Valley of no rain
Afternoon walks Full of wind from the Tips of the hills…
Problems With Hurricanes
Latin & Soul
A campesino looked at the air And told me: With hurricanes it’s not the wind or the noise or the water. I’ll tell you he said: it’s the mangoes, avocados Green plantains and bananas flying into town like projectiles.
(1)
How would your family feel if they had to tell The generations that you got killed by a flying Banana.
Biography: Victor Herna´ndez Cruz Ah, California, mi segundo país —Victor Hernández Cruz
Victor Hernández Cruz was born in 1949 in the small mountain town of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico. He moved to the United States with his family in 1954 and attended high school in New York. Cruz began writing at the age of fifteen, as he explained, “to balance a lot of worlds together ... the culture of my parents and the new and modern culture of New York, its architecture, its art, and its fervent intellectual thought.” In 1966, he published the chapbook, Papo Got His Gun, followed by his first full-length collection of poetry, Snaps, published by Random House in 1969 when Cruz was twenty. About Snaps, Allen Ginsberg wrote: “Poesy news from space anxiety police age inner city, spontaneous urban American language as Williams wished, high school street consciousness transparent,
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original soul looking out intelligent Bronx windows.” In the 1970s, Cruz lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he emerged as a distinctive voice in the Nuyorican school of poets. Much of his work explores the relationship between the English language and his native Spanish, playing with grammatical and syntactical conventions within both languages to create his own bilingual idiom. Cruz is the author of numerous collections of poetry, most recently The Mountain in the Sea (Coffee House Press, 2006) and Maraca: New and Selected Poems 1965-2000 (2001), the latter of which which was selected for the shortlist of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize and the International Griffin Poetry Prize. His earlier works include Panaramas (1997), Red Beans (1991), and Tropicalization (1976). He is also the editor of the anthology, Paper Dance: 55 Latino Poets. In the citation for
Death by drowning has honor If the wind picked you up and slammed you Against a mountain boulder This would not carry shame But to suffer a mango smashing Your skull or a plantain hitting your Temple at 70 miles per hour is the ultimate disgrace. The campesino takes off his hat— As a sign of respect toward the fury of the wind And says: Don’t worry about the noise Don’t worry about the water Don’t worry about the wind— If you are going out beware of mangoes And all such beautiful sweet things.
For Joe Bataan some waves
a wave of now
a trombone speaking to you a piano is trying to break a molecule is trying to lift the stage into orbit around the red spotlights
a shadow the shadows of dancers dancers they are dancing falling out that space made for dancing they should dance on the tables they should dance inside of their drinks they should dance on the ceiling they should dance/dance thru universes leaning-moving
we are traveling
where are we going if we only knew
with this rhythm with this banging with fire with this all this O my god i wonder where are we going sink into a room full of laughter full of happiness full of life those dancers the dancers are clapping their hands stomping their feet
tal stories cooked uptown hold it for after
all those sentimenif you can
we are going away-away-away beyond these wooden tables beyond these red lights beyond these rugs & paper walls beyond way past i mean way past them clouds over the buildings over the rivers over towns over cities like on rails but faster like a train but smoother away past stars bursting with drums.
(2)
a sudden misunderstanding a cloud full of grayness a body thru a store window a hand reaching into the back pocket a scream a piano is talking to you thru all this why don’t you answer it.
hold back them tears the International Griffin Poetry Prize, the judges wrote, “Victor Hernández Cruz has long been the defining poet of that complex bridge between the Latino and mainland cultures of the U.S. Maraca: New and Selected Poems 1965-2000 proves the extraordinary range of this great, enduring poet, whose articulately persuasive
humor and intelligence bear persistent witness to a meld of peoples.” Cruz is a cofounder of both the East Harlem Gut Theatre in New York and the Before Columbus Foundation and a former editor of Umbra Magazine. He has taught at the University of California at Berkeley and San Diego, San Francisco State
College, and the University of Michigan. His honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He was elected as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2008. Cruz divides his time between Morocco and Puerto Rico.
______ Victor Hernández Cruz will be reading on Saturday 11 April at the San Joaquin River Parkway as part of the River Rock Poetry & Music Festival. The event runs from 11am to 3pm, and costs $5/carload or is free if you bike or walk. The River Parkway is at 11605 Old Friant Rd.
Puzzle Page
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Pick your misfortune...
UndercurrentbySudoku Jessi Hafer
The Dicltionlarly Game © TM
Instructions: With the 2 words given, guess the word that comes between them in the dictionary. No word derivations. 1. maclrolsruclture, n, overall organizational scheme _ _ _ l_ l_ _ _ _ adj. mad, n, an angry mood
2. pullmonlate, adj, having lungs _ _ _ _ ,n.
pullpit, n, platform from which these sermon is delivered
Misfortune Cookies
3. earthly, adj, realistic; practical _ _ _ _ _ _, n.
earlwig, v.t., to fill the mind with prejudice by insinuations
by Nick Nocketback
4 symlmeltry n, beauty based on excellence of proportion _ _ _l_ _l_ _ _ _l_ _, n.,
1
symlphonlic, adj, pertaining to harmony of sounds
With a person ality the si prospects ze of your in come, your
Undercurrent Sudoku
3. earwax, n, secretion of
on low quality paper
2. pulp, n, a magazine printed
stained
1. maclullate, adj, spotted or
Did you Know...
…that the word hysterical comes from the Greek hysterikos, Òof the womb.Ó As such, when we refer to someone as being hysterical, what we are actually saying is that he/she has a mental condition arising from his/her having a womb. And, did you know that the word ÒtestifyÓ comes from the Latin, testis, which means testicles, being that oneÕs testicles bear witness to oneÕs virility.
bid, v, to say as a greeting, wish
glands in the external auditory
once. arance for os pe ap re u’ e yo 5 t’s be real about ass make th ur yo d Le an r hipste You’re not a
5. bilcuslpid, adj, having two points, as certain teeth _ _l_ _l_ _ _ , n.
canal
Your moon is in its month; there’s no belower quadrant this tter time to sully yo ur
4. symlpalthetlic, adj, in har-
4
Dicltionlary Game Anlswers
mony with one's disposition
3 Find solace in the heart of another this weekend and be
5. bilcylcle, v, to ride a bicycle
2
April showers bring May flowers but even God cannot
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