12th Edition
Naked stripping away
the layers of LPC
2018
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Instagram 8 Were You Born to be a Graphic Designer? 10 Q&A: Inside the Design Mind of Peter Kuo 12 Makeup vs No Makeup 16 Self-Fulfeelment 22 Introduction to Pole Fitness 24 Drag Spotlight: Charity Kase 27
Contents Fashion 30 Boxing to MMA 32 Michelle Gonzales 36 “Ghosting” 40 10 Reasons You Should Stop Eating Meat 42 Meat is not the Mooove 43
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Naked Staff Morgan Brizee Editor in Chief
Devi Dixit Photo Editor
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Christina Vargas PR and Marketing and Social Media Editor
Shawna Currie Managing Editor
Kristine Kerner Graphic Designer and Staff Writer
Svetlana Igouchkine Graphic Designer and Staff Writer
Devin Bradshow Staff Writer
Jennifer Snook Production Staff
Chris Romero Staff Photographer nakedmag.org
Melissa Korber Naked Adviser
Marcus Thompson Naked Adviser
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Letter from the Editor Dear Reader, The climates we live in are constantly changing, whether they be in sports, beauty, food, the media or education. That’s a big part of why I love being a journalist and writing. There is always something new and exciting to explore. In issue 12 of Naked magazine, we dove head first into exploring the new exciting changes in the world. Climates. That are changing. With that said, everyday life is getting busier and more hectic with social media and our cell phones being a big part of our lives. It’s nice to be able to relax, put your feet up and jump into a good magazine or book to get away from the craziness. Like the different climates explored in this magazine, the members of Naked staff have also changed. They have worked tremendously hard with digging deep into their stories, and I am so lucky to have had them working alongside of me. A magazine cannot be done by one person. It takes a team effort of research, writing, editing, rewriting and designing to end up with the finished product. I hope that you enjoy reading our stories and maybe learning a thing or two from some.
Photo by Morgan Brizee
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The Most Instagramable Places in the Bay
By Christina Vargas
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JUST A QUICKIE
Uh huh Honey
O’Honey
Take a break from studying and take a quick run to O’Honey just one exit away from Las Positas. This Asian-inspired ice cream shop, which focuses on creating naturally sourced ingredients, has the most unique soft serve creations and drinks for that perfect snap.
Dublin, Ca
Night at the Museum
Who says you can’t go out on Thursdays? Night Life at the Cal Academy of Sciences hosts an after hours 21+ event which combines “creatures and cocktails” and a new theme every week. Stargaze on the living rooftop and explore the intensity of the ocean while sipping your favorite cocktail and listening to live music.
Night L ife
San Francisco, Ca
Hustle Juice Inklings
Inklings is the perfect stop to grab a coffee and meet up with your study group. What sets this coffee house a side from the rest is its Victorian/Sherlock Holmes Library vibe. Offering coffee from Stumptown, Compassion Tea, and Kombucha on tap.
Pleasanton, Ca
You had me at brunch The aesthetically pleasing ambiance, lighting and stunning food sets the stage to snap that picturesque food post. As pictured above, the savory french toast is one of many headturning dishes to come out of the Grand Lake Kitchen. *pro-tip: the wait time is usually lengthy, but on Saturdays you could spend your wait time across the street at The Grand Lake Farmers Market.
Grand Lake Kitchen Oakland, Ca
Photos by Brandon Class, Mariel Chiong and Christina Vargas.
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Look around you. Notice all of the advertisements, the signage, the logos. The trendy graphic t-shirt. The exquisite business card. The cool candy wrapper. Magazines and book covers, commercials and billboards, food packaging and storefronts. Take out your phone. Notice the design of the web pages you visit, the look of the apps you use. Pay attention to all that is designed to catch your eye, to draw you in. It all begins with the appearance. That means the real key to the puzzle of media, business and entertainment is the person who creates the first impression. This person is called a graphic designer. And that’s why being a graphic designer is so great. These visual artists have their hands in almost everything we see around us. From the postage stamp to a museum display. From websites to motion graphics. From fonts and numbers to illustrations. Graphic design is one of the most creative and influential careers in the world. Were you born to be a graphic designer? Let’s see the answers. What qualities are required to be a graphic designer? Graphic designers create their product combining art and technology, so you’d need to have an artistic eye and be good with computers. Attention to detail is also very important. Spelling errors, wrong shades of color or ill-suited fonts may ruin the whole project. The ability to learn is another requirement for designers. New software and new drawing tools appear every year, and you have to be current with the latest technology. Your clients will come from various industries, and in order to create a design for them, you will have to understand their business needs. You have to be good at communication because you will be working with different clients or be a member of the team. Juggling multiple projects with different deadlines
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requires good time-management skills. And, of course, flect their vision in the graphics. you have to be creative because the essence of this job is “My dream job would be creating visual design and be to create unique designs. working at a big company such as Apple, Microsoft and Facebook,” Kampirapang said. How can you become a graphic designer? In the Bay Area there are several universities and art What is the compensation? schools that offer graphic design programs. The most well California is considered to be a great place to be a known is the California College of the Arts (CCA) with graphic designer. It is one of the five top paying states campuses in San Francisco and Oakland. The others are for this occupation. According to the Bureau of Labor San Jose State University, San Francisco State University Statistics, in 2016 the annual mean wage for graphic deand California State University East Bay in Hayward. signers in California was $59,210, compared to $52,290 Las Positas College has a Visual Communication nationwide. And in the San Francisco metropolitan area program, which will be called Graphic Design & it was even higher reaching $71,260. Digital Media starting in fall 2018. This proSince the profession of graphic design is perfect gram prepares you to transfer to a univerfor freelancing, many designers have several sources of sity or to get a certificate and work as a income. From finding your own clients, to selling your graphic designer. work on the sites like Creative Market or Envato, from It is possible to become a selfprinting your designs on the t-shirts, mugs and other taught graphic designer. There are promotional merchandise to showing your work in gala lot of online courses and tutorileries, there is always a way for a business-minded als on the web. Two of the most designer to earn some extra money. popular design programs you Where would you work? Graphic should master are Adobe PhoYou will probably work in a design, also known as toshop and Adobe Illustrator. specialized design agency. Or in an But graphic design is not only advertising and public relations communication design, is the art about learning software. If you firm. Or in the publishing serand practice of planning and proare going to be a self-taught devices designing books, magajecting ideas and experiences with signer, you need to learn how to zines or newspapers. Or maybe visual and textual content.” draw, read about design princiyou would prefer to work for ples, design processes and histointernet and software developJuliette Cezzar, New York City ry and find ways to get critiques ment companies. You can even designer/educator/author and feedback on your work. work for the television studio or How old do you have to be? video production company. One of the advantages of being Or you can work as a freelance a graphic designer is that it doesn’t graphic designer. While a majority matter what gender or age you are or of the designers work for companies, where you are from. Many students in the according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, Las Positas Visual Communication department about 1 in 5 graphic designers was self-employed come into the program right after high school, while othin 2014. This path requires spending time looking for ers have already worked in different industries. new projects and clients, but it can be very rewarding to Peangjai Kampirapang, a 33- year-old exchange be your own boss. student from Thailand, already has a bachelor’s degree Look around you more carefully. Do you want to be a in marketing. She has been a Visual Communications part of creating the visual messages you see around? And student for almost three years. She likes graphic design if the answer is “yes," then you are meant to be a graphic because she can use her creativity to help clients to redesigner.
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Q&A
Inside the Design Mind of
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Peter Kuo By Kristine Kerner Much like graphic design itself, the classroom that once housed rows of Mac computers atop long tables, is currently in the midst of change. The old Visual Communications classroom with the artsy green door has been demolished and is now a construction zone. While I visited the current classroom, a shadow of its former glory, there was a man with long black hair tied back into a ponytail sitting at his desk cross-legged, his sneakers off. He is the head professor of the Visual Communications program at Las Positas College, Peter Kuo. You may have seen him whizzing around campus on his Hoverboard, Pikachu-cased phone in hand. We sat down with Kuo, who is a veteran in the design industry, to get the dirt on how and why graphic design is changing and what it was like in the past. If you are curious about this creative industry, tune in. We are here to pick Kuo’s brain.
{Naked: How did you start in graphic design?} Kuo: My first job in graphic design was a part-time contract for a digital photography studio back when commercial digital photography was still pretty new and very expensive. My responsibilities were pretty straightforward. Primarily, it was to color correct, retouch and otherwise clean up images for websites, catalogues and product packaging. Matching exact colors was a big part of the job because it had to match the product otherwise the clients would be unhappy. In addition to that, I would also assist the photographers with whatever they needed, setting up lights, cameras and software. Being organized is very important because we worked with a large number of photos and clients.
{Naked: How was graphic design different from when
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you started to how it is now?
{Naked: How do you think it will change in the future?} Kuo: I think a lot of what will happen to the future of graphic design depends on what the needs of businesses are. One thing that has been happening is that designers are no longer called upon for traditional marketing and advertising, but have become more involved in helping develop the product. Businesses started paying a lot more attention to the end user when creating a product, therefore user experience designers and user interface designers have become more in demand. Many positions still require strong foundations in basic design strategies, so as long as you have a good foundation you will be able to adapt yourself to the new market. I think it’s important for designers to remain flexible and be knowledgeable of what’s going on in order to constantly update their skill sets.
{Naked: Which famous graphic designers inspire you?} Kuo: I’m a fan of Massimo Vignelli and Milton Glaser. I use their works as examples in class quite often. Glaser has a few videos online where he talks about drawing, designing, not being afraid to experiment, which I think are quite inspiring.
{Naked: What is your creative process?} Kuo: As for creative process, I like to joke that my
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Kuo: Styles, trends sensibilities, client needs, and technologies may change, but the principles of what makes good design doesn’t. When I first started, graphic design had already made a dramatic move to using computers, versus the very manual process that came before it. In fact, when I started in the industry, ‘desktop publishing’ as a term had already become passé. Computers were already the norm, but there was still a mix of the old analog process involved. For printing and publishing, most printers still produced film, and we still checked bluelines as part of the proofing process. Shortly after I started it started to move to an all-digital workflow, which was exciting to be a part of. Websites were becoming really important for businesses of all sizes, and it became important to know how to code and create websites on top of graphics. Now, we see a lot of need for user interface designers and designers for mobile apps.
secrets. It’s exciting to get a peek into other people’s area of expertise and see them work. For instance, I worked on a Macy’s Christmas catalog once and I learned about all the different types of spoons, forks, knives and plates that go into a full place setting.
{Naked: What is your favorite thing about graphic design?} Kuo: My favorite thing about graphic design is being able to learn and discover new things. Not just the latest features in Photoshop, but being about to learn about other industries as well. As a designer, I’ve had the opportunity to work with lots of different types of businesses learning their needs, practices and industry
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process is to complain loudly about outrageous client requests while trying to figure out how to make it happen. A lot of people are intimidated by design challenges because they think they have to be creative, but sometimes a better approach is to think of it as troubleshooting a particular problem and trying to find the best solution.
{Naked: What is the future of the VCOM program, will it change?}
Kuo: As of Fall 2018, VCOM will be renamed “Graphic Design & Digital Media”. The change better reflects the courses we are teaching and the direction of the program. We’ve been working hard to update our courses and to create new courses and will be offering a WordPress and digital painting class in Spring 2018. These are brand new classes to our program and I’m really excited to see them be offered. We are also updating the degrees and certificates, and plan to offer new certificates of achievement in the future.
{Naked: What would be your advice for the beginning student?} Kuo: I would encourage beginning students to follow their curiosity. Design is not just about being creative and making things, it’s a lot of problem solving and finding the best way to communicate a message. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try different things. One of the best things about design is that there are multiple ways of solving a problem, so it’s important to try different approaches. Look for GDDM in the schedule of classes and sign up!
{Naked: Where do our former students work/study now?} Kuo: Many of our students transfer to a 4-year university. Others are working in the industry as graphic artists, designers, and freelancers.
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Special Thanks To Our Sponsors – Hershel Currie Matthew and Natalia Faria Marguite Gaulden Dr. Barry Russell
To Our Supporters – Mariel Chiong Brandon Class Sam Danis Keynan DePillo Chris Foo Taylor Lobb Yasmine Parks Erica Torres Haley Traynor Ellie Uribe Arianna Wenzl
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makeup vs no makeup Words by Christina Vargas Photos by Hayley Traynor
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he sunspots were obvious. The acne on her forehead resembled freckles. Gone was the shimmer that always made it seemed as if she was glowing. Her eyes, without any enhancements, gave the impression she was high. They didn’t pop like they have in her professional photos and videos. The Alicia Keys on display at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards looked drastically different than the one many have come to love. Yet, she is still beautiful. Not the dazzling gorgeousness that, along with her musical talent, made her a global star. Not the packaged glamour fitting for a CoverGirl and network television star. But it was still beauty. Natural. Simple. Real. That kind of beauty took courage. Keys, as pretty as they come, still had to find this beauty. The 15-time Grammy winner said so in her 2016 song “When a Girl Can’t Be Herself ”: In the morning from the minute that I wake up What if I don’t want to put on all that makeup Who says I must conceal what I’m made of Maybe all this Maybelline is covering my self-esteem Makeup was once believed to be a way to hide blemishes. But for many it has become a cover for self esteem issues. It can serve as a mask that projects confidence in the
place of doubt. It is also a boost to the self-assured, lifting glam to new levels. The exploding popularity of makeup begs examination. For some it is an extension of fashion and art. Yet, it is also evidence of the pressures of beauty standards in society. Young girls are bombarded with images and perceptions confining beauty in often impossible parameters. Older women are forced to adopt traditions and maintain appearances so much that they lose the confidence in the beauty behind the makeup. Makeup has become the pathway to pretty. It is the evidence of professionalism and the magic trick to achieve biological features even if you weren’t born with them. It is the bold statement of feminism and the bar for seriousness. It is the paint of dreaming little girls. Somewhere along the lines, the end result became women who can’t leave the house without a face full of makeup. Young girls are believing makeup is the foundation to their day, the most important part of their presentation to the world. And if Alicia Keys is feeling the heat, imagine the difficulty regular women must feel. “This was the harsh, judgmental world of entertainment and my biggest test yet,” Keys explained her embrace of #nomakeup in a May 2016 Lenny Letter, a weekly newsletter by Lena Dunham and Jennifer Konner covering feminism, style, health and politics. Keys said, “I started, more than ever, to become a chameleon.
Never fully being who I was, but constantly changing so all the theys would accept me.” Chameleons use camouflage strategies to avoid detection by predators. They alter how they appear by manipulating the light surrounding them. These creatures are capable of customizing their color palette to the visual capacity of various predators. It is a survival technique. Just like the chameleon, women are exposed to the predator of perfection. Women strategize to manipulate their faces to the influencing light of beauty standards. It is a survival technique. And it is big business. According to a June 2015 report by Research and Market, the world’s largest market research store, the global cosmetic market raked in a striking $460 billion in 2014. The same report estimated the industry would reach $675 billion by 2020. In a sign, though, of how the climate of beauty and makeup has changed, the largest chunk of the industry belongs to skin care. There has been a shift, highlighted by Keys’ stance, to modify the focus of cosmetics to something more holistic. A grassroots climate of feminism and self-empowerment has called traditional beauty standards into questioning and even challenged some of the premiere companies on their messaging. The growth in the cosmetic industry, and the popularity of makeup, has coincided with a growth of women investing in the care of their
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natural beauty. Las Positas College student, Sam Danis, is a makeup artist at Sephora and self-proclaimed skin care enthusiast. She believes skin care is the most important aspect of a makeup routine and should be practiced as early as possible. The emphasis on skin care has led to the emerging of organic products in the cosmetics scene. The growing concerns of long-term effects caused by using chemically infused cosmetics daily, in addition to the carbon footprint, has many women being particular about what they use. Companies that specialize in organic and vegan products are becoming more popular due to the benefits of eliminating parabens, which are chemical preservatives, and other synthetic ingredients. Many drugstore and luxury brands use drying agents in the ingredients including as sulfates and alcohols. Using natural products free of sulfates and dying agents are believed to make the skin more glowing and luminous before the makeup. With that said, what’s wrong with makeup as a cover up? Should women who like makeup be made to feel bad? “I think people who wear makeup to hide their insecurities have just as much a purpose to wear it as a person who uses it to create,” Danis said. “Makeup is whatever people want it to be. That’s the real beauty of it. The fact that you don’t have to perceive it as art, and instead just as a way to feel good about yourself when you don’t feel your best, is so cool. Sometimes all it takes to get through your day is just a good lipstick or a poppin’ highlight.” Social media has changed the way makeup is marketed. The appeal of makeup tutorials, in a market
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crowded with brands and products, is that they allow customers a sort of test drive. Watching how it works in real life, how to apply and how it could look, has proven to be a fruitful way to pitch to makeup lovers. And followers of the connoisseurs on YouTube end up developing a sisterly loyalty. Beauty tutorials are taking Instagram by storm. The sped up how-to videos show its audience an instant transformation within IG’s one-minute parameters, which match with the consumer’s short attention spans. Once you watch one video, you are sucked in. On Instagram, #makeuptutorial has well over five million posts filled with all the best products and fully loaded faces one could ask for. Prime examples of the social media revolution in makeup are companies NYX and Becca, which have turned into multi-million dollar brands from the power of Instagram and YouTube. Per a May 2017 article in Forbes, Los Angeles-based NYX was ranked third among cosmetic companies and has grown to this place by unpaid social media influencers. The company saw its social media engagement grow 97 percent in a year. By the end of 2017, NYX had more than 12 million followers on Instagram -- a following they bolstered by sending talented beauty gurus new products to use in their tutorial videos. Australian-based Becca latched onto popular YouTuber Jaclyn Hill, who happened to love the company and its products. Hill endorsed Becca’s Champaign Pop highlighter and, when the product launched at Sephora, it sold 25,000 units in the first 20 minutes. Hill wound up creating an entire line of products with Becca.
“I think people who wear makeup to hide their insecurities have just as much a purpose to wear it as a person who uses it to create. Makeup is whatever people want it to be. That’s the real beauty of it.” - Sam Danis
The makeup culture on social media is relevant and growing. And the leaders are coming from among the people and not the corporations. “I’m dating myself right now,” said Heike Gecox, a psychology counselor and instructor at LPC. “Pre-Facebook and all this other stuff, you’d used to go to the newsstand or to the supermarket and you’d buy your fashion magazine, and it was fine. But now, you are connected to this thing 24-7. There is no time to shut off and retreat (to) where you can ‘recover’ from some stressors, You are constantly bombarded with that.” The marriage of makeup and social media, and thus ensuing boom in the cosmetics industry, arguably began with Kim Kardashian. There had always been a mystery surrounding how she achieved her flawless makeup. Her face looked so symmetrical. What product does she use? How are her cheek bones so defined? In September 2012, Kim K spilled her secret on Twitter and the makeup tip changed the game. Although contouring dates back to the 1500’s -- according to a November 2015 article on the beauty website Byrdie -this style muse put this trend on the map for the modern generation. Shortly after she revealed the craft of how to achieve the perfect face, the demand for contouring kits soared. Kardashian didn’t create her own contouring makeup line, KKW Beauty, until 2017. She released her creme contour kit on June 21, and it sold out the same day. Her powder contour kit dropped on Aug. 22 and was gone
that night. That’s a byproduct of her having 160.8 million followers on Twitter and Instagram combined -- and that is in addition to her virtual reality game app, her for-purchase lifestyle app and her Kimoji app. “In every generation there’s a situation where we have someone who takes the spotlight of what glamour is,” celebrity makeup artist Sir John, who counts Kardashian and Beyonce as clients, told the fashion and beauty website Stylecaster in 2015. “In the early ’90s, actors and actresses wanted to be seen as serious, like Sigourney Weaver or Jodie Foster – they didn’t want to be glamazons. So that’s how supermodels came to fame because they were what we could look at as pretty, shiny figures of the time. But these ladies—like Kim Kardashian— they’re a throwback to a Sophia Loren or some kind of vixen, not burlesque in a sense, but women who take so much pride in their appearance and who are self-obsessed. So as people, we can identify, or we want to identify with people who are totally obsessed with themselves. And they represent that in a major way. They’re our guilty pleasure”, Sir John said. While Alicia Keys decided to go au naturel, and reclaim her unrefined beauty, Kardashian has a makeup artist with her at all times, ensuring her appearance is always pristine. Which is right? Neither? Both? Who knows. Though they both approach makeup and beauty differently, one conclusion can be reasonably made about both radiant superstars. Neither gets their self-esteem from makeup.
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Self -Fulfeelment Millennials’ addiction to selfies might be leading to deeper issues Photos and Words by Shawna Currie
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anny Bowman, a teenager from England, lost 28 pounds to improve his appearance. He started skipping class and eventually stopped going to school. He refused to leave his house for six months, raging at his parents when they tried to help him. Before long, he began popping pills, trying to end his existence. His pursuit of great selfies became unbearable. “I was constantly in search of taking the perfect selfie,” Bowman said, according to a 2014 article in “The Daily Mirror,” a British tabloid newspaper. “And when I realized I couldn’t, I wanted to die. I lost my friends, my education, my health and almost my life.” Bowman is now a mental health advocate. He was suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. His case was extreme, but selfie obsession is a sign of issues beneath the surface.
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Today, psychologists are linking the obsession of taking excessive selfies to narcissism and mental illness. Cultural analysts are identifying the prevalence of selfies as symbolic of a self-absorbed and superficial generation. Wow. Who knew it was that deep? It’s hard to argue after an objective exploration through Instagram, where filters, creative angles and cropping techniques present people in a much more favorable light. The sheer amount of selfies, plus the effort put into editing them, does seem to point to some psychological markers. When you consider the teens and adults who are in the millennial generation and the most frequent selfie takers, the connection of selfies to mental health is especially alarming. “Selfies when used in excess show lack of depth and a shallow personality,” says clinical psychologist Bart Rossi in a LiveHealth Online article. ”If someone is obsessed with taking selfies, it is most likely because the individual is self-absorbed and narcissistic,” said Rossi. AOL news writer Maria Galuppo concluded in one Science and Tech article that the average lifespan is 27,375 days, the equivalent to 74 years. Galuppo also stated that the average millennial is expected to take 25,700 selfies during their lifetime. That’s close to one selfie daily. Wow. Now that is pretty deep. A 2015 survey of 1,000 young adults in framesdirect. com showed that millennials spend more than an hour a week taking selfies. That’s counting the average selfie taking seven minutes to compose and an average of nine selfies a week.
And if that wasn’t enough selfie obsession, the selfie pioneering queen herself, Kim Kardashian West, put out her own book full of 455 pages of selfies, titled, fittingly, “Selfish.” “I took pictures of myself with digital cameras when I was in junior high and high school, and I just got hooked,” Kardashian West told TMZ. “I was always obsessed with selfies.” Who would have ever thought that selfies would have such an affect let alone play a role in boosting sales in both cosmetics and cosmetic surgery? The selfie craze has increased sales of make-up by more than $1million dollars a week. In 2015 women spent an extra $60 million on lipstick, mascara and eyebrow pencils, bringing cosmetics sales to $800 million, according to an online DailyMail.com article. In 2014 The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery conducted a survey reported on its website, showing the increase in cosmetic procedures. The study uncovered that one out of every three facial plastic surgeons saw an increase in patients’ wanting to get facial surgery because they had become more aware of their looks due to social media. A group of surveyed surgeons reported a 58 percent climb in cosmetic surgery performed in patients under the age of 30. That is the age range of most millennials during that time, according to the website newswire.net. Selfies cannot be considered 100 percent accurate because of the angles that people are using, according to plastic surgeon Dr. Sam Risk in a 2016 CBS New York article. Dr. Risk reported a 10 percent increase in rhinoplasty procedures. In an interview in with “USA Today,” Dr. Rizk stated that as the selfie has become more popular, he has had more patients wanting eyelid lifts and nose jobs to help them look better. Eyelid lifts? Now that is pretty extreme. Why do people aim so hard to capture the right selfie? Kardashian may have exposed it in her book. The concern is that selfies are detrimental to the way people perceive themselves. The obsession to portray the perfect self image has exposed a greater and more deeply-rooted issue.
“The reason for the narcissism, depression, obsession or other mental health issues are not really the selfies themselves, but rather the selfies are the trigger for underlying issues,” said licensed therapist Kellie E. BranchDirks in a LiveHealth Online article. Selfie obsessors like Kardashian, who’s not afraid to talk about how much she loves herself, can-be viewed as narcissistic. But maybe they point to a different truth: Is there a lack of self love? Is the real drive what others say? As declared by the Queen B, Beyoncé, all have imperfections yet are human. “It’s important to concentrate on other qualities besides outer beauty,” she told ABC News. Yet, the selfie seems to only focus on the outer beauty. “The perfect angle, the perfect light the perfect outfit,” BranchDirks told LiveHealth Online. “They hope to fill a void within that can never be filled from outside sources, therefore never achieving a sense of satisfaction that they strive for.” Voids can’t be filled through outside sources. Only from within. Listen to Salma Hayek: “People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves.” Wow. That’s deep.
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Introduction
to Pole Fitness Photos and Words By Shawna Currie
If you’re looking for a way to have fun, be empowered and feel sexy while getting a full body workout, then you may consider giving pole fitness a whirl. That’s right, pole fitness. Although most would initially link pole dancing with strippers, a new trend has come to town, here at a local pole fitness studio called “Twirly Girls” located in Pleasanton, Calif. Twirly Girls provides a wide selection of classes such as beginner classes, Total Twirl, Graceful Moves and Aerial Silks. Lyra, which is more of Circus Soleil theme, includes pole combos that are strength-based pole drills to help get you to the next level.
Bel Jeremiah, owner of Twirly Girls, has been teaching classes for 11 years now. While taking pole classes one-day, the former personal trainer and competitive body builder found that,“ There were a lot of instructors out there who weren’t real knowledgeable in the fitness world,” she said. Based on her strength and expertise in lifting, she believed she could pull herself up on a pole with no worries at all. Instead she found that it wasn’t as easy as she thought and that it involved a lot of technique.
“The next day, my biceps hurt, and my abs were sore, and I didn’t feel like I was working out,” said Jeremiah. “I thought, ‘There’s something to this, for me personally.’ I saw the fitness aspect of it, but I also saw something that women needand all ages.” Jeremiah’s students have made some great accomplishments. One of the students had just returned from the world competition in Amsterdam. The studio was laced with several different trophies and
banners of different trainers who have competed in several different competitions worldwide. “There are big competitions,They’re trying to get into the Olympics,” said Jeremiah. While sitting in the middle of a dance studio surrounded by poles, I became intrigued to see just how much of a workout this could be. LPC student and “Naked” photographer Chris Romero gave us a demonstration of basic invert, which primarily works the core. First you get acquainted with the pole, finding your comfort, getting an idea of how the pole feels and also how your legs and body weight feel while on the pole. With one hand placed above the other favoring one side of the body, you pull yourself up onto the pole, legs raised your body completely lifted from the floor, while gripping the pole
between the legs in an upside down position, working your way back down the pole onto the ground. I decided this couldn’t be that hard, so I gave it a try. Let’s just say I won’t be climbing up any poles anytime soon. Pole dancing definitely requires a great amount of strength and endurance. It may look easy and may even be fun, but you are sure to get a workout, especially in the arms and upper body. For the more adventurous and entertaining side of pole fitness there is Burlesque. Romero moved from the basic invert to burlesque, putting on a show to “A Guy What Takes His Time” from the hit movie “Burlesque.” Romero is not shy, so when the camera came out, he had no hesitation and put on a dazzling show.
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big stars
small space
great night!
distinctive contemporary dance
Photo: tomasz Rossa
bODY traFFic Saturday
maY 19 8pm
students $17 2400 First st., Livermore • 925.373.6800 • www.Lvpac.org
California Writers Club Tri-Valley Branch
WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF WRITERS promoting the craft of writing and the business of getting published.
We welcome writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry vvv all ages and skill levels vvv who are published or seeking to publish. General membership $45/yr (plus first year $20 processing fee) Student (age 14-22) membership $10/yr (no processing fee) Critique Groups! Open
Join us!
www.trivalleywriters.org www.trivalleywriters.org/membership 26
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Mic!
rs Membe Only gies Antholo
Guest Speakers!
Tri-Valley Writers Scholarship for Las Positas Writing Student (Apply Through LPC Scholarship Website)
DRAG BEFORE & AFTER
Patrick Loranger started doing drag four years ago when his husband and close friends begged him to perform for a charity event. For his first year of doing drag he only was booked for charity related events. After Patrick had started performing and finding his persona more, he then changed his drag name to Charity Kase. This photo essay is about the transformation that Patrick Loranger undergoes to transfer into Charity Kase.
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Charity Kase By Chris Romero
Chris Romero, LPC student and Naked Magazine Photographer, took photos of Patrick Loranger while he turned himself into his drag persona Charity Kase. The process took a little over an hour and a half in the LPC photo studio. 2
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atrick starts out clean-shaven and his hair gelled back. The first thing that he does is glue his eyebrows down with an Elmer’s glue stick and translucent powder. This is so he can later create an eyebrow shape of his choosing. Next is to apply full coverage stick foundation, as well as a highlight and contour color and blend them into the skin to create a more feminine facial structure. Following the foundation, powder is aapplied under the eyes, on the cheekbones, on the bottom of the jawline, and on the chin to “bake” as well as set the foundation in place. Next is to apply eyes, on the cheekbones, on the bottom of the jawline, and on the chin to “bake” as well as set the foundation in place. Next is to apply a winged liner as well as set is with black eyeshadow. Now that the winged liner is done, he applies a white shadow on top to create the illusion of a bigger eye, as well as freehand some eyebrows. The final parts of the face come together with blue eyeshadow, large false lashes, and a blue overdrawn lip. Finally, once the face is done, Patrick jumps into a dress, adds jewelry, and pops on a wig and has now become Charity Kase. a winged liner as well as set is with black eyeshadow. Now that the winged liner is done, he applies a white shadow on top to create the illusion of a bigger eye, as well as freehand some eyebrows. The final parts of the face come together with blue eyeshadow, large false lashes, and a blue overdrawn lip. Finally, once the face is done, Patrick jumps into a dress, adds jewelry, and pops on a wig and has now become Charity Kase.Next is to apply full coverage stick foundation, as well as a highlight and contour color and blend them into the skin to create a more feminine facial structure. Following the foundation, powder is applied under the
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YEAR OF LAYERS
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“If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better” — Anna Wintour Layers are not going anywhere this 2018 fashion season. This foolproof fashion technique will provide you with chic styles throughout all four seasons of 2018. By Christina Vargas, Photogrjaphy by Haley Traynor Clothes provided by Prim Boutique and Buckle
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BOXING TO MMA By Devin Bradshaw
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t was the fight of 2017, but it was roundly regarded as a gimmick. Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. The undefeated king of boxing against the biggest star from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, known as UFC. It was all hype. McGregor didn’t belong in a boxing ring with Mayweather, a boxing purist who has mastered his craft. McGregor had some boxing in his past, but this was like LeBron James playing one-on-one against an intramural star. This was spectacle at its peak. It was a joke aimed at raking in piles of cash. But it was also a sign of a major transition happening. The truth is boxing couldn’t deliver Mayweather a colossal fight. He is the biggest name in the sport but he didn’t have a foe. He was Muhammad
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Ali with no Joe Frazier. Marvin Hagler without Tommy “Hitman” Hearns to create a classic with. There was no fighter there to send him into retirement like Evander Holyfield did Mike Tyson. So Mayweather had to turn to the hot new sport, mixed martial arts (MMA). He had to turn to a burgeoning audience to get his one last payday, more than $300 million, and captivate the masses. Without a doubt, McGregor needed Mayweather to get in front of a larger audience. McGregor’s largest payday was $3 million in MMA. He pulled in $100 million by stepping into Mayweather’s ring. But boxing has never needed another sport. And by moving to grab the biggest name in another sport, boxing signaled its declining influence. It also pulled MMA into the mainstream and just might have expedited the takeover. Mixed martial arts is thriving, consuming some of the void left by boxing’s declining magnitude in America. It is doing so by catering to millennials. With web-friendly content, and a format that meshes with how young people consume entertainment, the sport has soared into the mainstream with no noticeable limit in sight. In several areas where boxing fails — sensationalism, marketing, structure and integrity to name a few — mixed martial arts is executing. As a result, one of the country’s favorite pastimes is quickly becoming past its time. Boxing has become sports’ version of a grandfather fighting a life-threatening disease, and even those who love him most have to start preparing for life after he’s gone. Boxing is the sport that helped the U.S. get through the Great Depression, grapple with racism, see the Vietnam War through a different lens and even helped turn Las Vegas into a metropolis. Having it demoted in the American psyche, like horse racing was, will undoubtedly have some kind of cost. As modern as it is, no one knows if mixed martial arts can have the impact boxing did. In other areas where the modern and sensational has replaced the traditional, something was lost even if the gains were worth the sacrifice. But this is happening anyway. Save for something epic coming to revive boxing, it is losing to the newest combat sport. Follow the views, follow the dollars, follow the momentum — it all points to a massive climate change in the fight world. Photos courtesy of Getty Images
“Boxing is a very limited form of fighting,” UFC analyst Joe Rogan said in an October 2015 ESPN article. “It’s kind of a silly agreement, to say we hate each other, we’re going to fight and duke it out man-to-man, but we’re only going to use our hands. That’s it. What ultimate fighting is, is the actual sport of fighting. It encompasses all aspects of fighting — ground game, kicking, punching, elbows, submissions, all the above. That’s why it’s much more exciting. That’s why it’s a much more dynamic sport. What boxing is, is one aspect of mixed martial arts.” Mixed martial arts is exactly what it sounds like. It is the combining of many different forms of martial arts with fighting. Showcasing disciplines such as boxing, kick-boxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling, it’s a sport where two men or two women step inside a cage and pit their knowledge of various styles and competitive will against the other to see who is more dominant. In 2001, the UFC was purchased by Zuffa — a company consisting of Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta and Dana White — for $2 million, according to Forbes. Zuffa’s purchase of the UFC began a domination of the MMA industry. It legitimized the UFC, making it more a sport than a barbaric clash many then assumed it to be. With Dana White serving as president and face of the UFC the entire time, the change created steady viewership and generated constant revenue for the company. On the flip side, boxing is more likely to generate most of its massive viewership and revenue in a year from a fight or two. What also contributes to the ever-growing crowd of the UFC is the availability of its fighters. They have taken advantage of the brand-building opportunities on social media and interact with the MMA community frequently. It created a much more approachable and authentic vibe with the stars — unlike boxing’s biggest names, who are largely untouchable and so obviously controlled by promoters. The end result: In July 2017, Zuffa sold the UFC for $4 billion. WME-IMG’s purchase of the promotion was the most expensive transaction for an organization in sports history. According to reports, WME-IMG expects the company to be worth $7 billion by 2019 with its television deal coming up. Contrary to popular belief, boxing’s numbers haven’t been so great in the last decade. Boxing became top heavy with very few all-around stars. Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have been its top draws. These two mega stars carried the sport on their backs, averaging over 900,000 pay-per-view (ppv) buys per fight. But boxing is struggling to find draws to take their place. Mayweather said he was retiring after the McGregor fight, and Pacquiao’s last few fights have revealed he isn’t
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nearly the fighter he once was. PPV sales drop tremendously when they haven’t fought. The next biggest star in boxing is Canelo Alvarez. According to Golden Boy Promotions, Alvarez averages 600,000 ppv buys when he has headlined events. In 2016, when Pacquiao fought once and Mayweather was notably absent, boxing averaged 235,000 viewers for six events with only one reaching the 600,000 ppv buys. That was the lowest year of numbers in the sport’s history. For the UFC, 2016 was its greatest year ever with 12 major events averaging 600,000 ppv buys and five events reaching the coveted million buys level. UFC’s viewership is trending upwards. Boxing? Not so much. One of the main advantages MMA has over boxing is organizational. The UFC is the dominant league and face of the sport, in the same way the NBA is for basketball. There are other leagues. Bellator MMA and ONE Fighting Championship are the two largest organizations outside of the UFC, and they house some of the best and most-talented fighters in the world. Invicta Fighting Championship is an all women’s organization and promotes a lot of the top women in the world. But the best of MMA is found in the UFC. This is the promotion to which everyone aspires. There are 11 weight divisions in the UFC: eight for the men and three for the women. Being the UFC champion means more than any other promotion; fighters are viewed as kings of the world in their weight class. Boxing is made up of more than 20 organizations worldwide. No single one is dominant. The four major organizations in boxing are the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC), the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF). All of these organizations have 17 weight divisions, meaning 17 champions. Some have more than one champion in the same division. In boxing, you’re never exactly sure who the best fighter is in a given division. Because of various tactics by promoters, and the multiple organizations, the best fighters rarely face each other. In many ways, UFC has modeled a lot of aspects after boxing. Weight classes. Televised weigh-ins. Choreographed, and contentious, promotions. Relying on the pay-per-view model for revenue instead of selling television rights as other professional sports. But while copying the proven successful tactics of boxing, UFC president Dana White, a self-professed lover of boxing, has managed to capitalize on boxing’s shortcomings and failures. And boxing’s refusal, or inability, to evolve, because it is handcuffed to its rich tradition, gives White a seemingly endless window to 34
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take advantage. On top of that, boxing continues to shoot itself in the foot. Everything in the sport now is money driven, and not in a positive way. Fights are routinely put off for way too long. It took Mayweather and Pacquiao years to finally fight each other. Both were past their prime when they did. Even though the event was still a massive success monetarily, it didn’t produce the epic fight many hoped for and was a bad look for boxing. Bogus decisions in top-level fights have also led to the purity and credibility of the sport being tarnished. It is hard not to presume corruption is rampant based on some of the fight outcomes. It has gotten so bad, boxing purists are angry. In 2017, boxing’s answer to the Mayweather-McGregor spectacle, Canelo Alvarez faced Gennady Golovkin. It was a high-profile championship fight, one of the best matchups in years. Yet, it was tarnished by the judges. It was clear to most who watched the fight that Golovkin won. But it was ruled a draw. The worst part: One judge concluded Alvarez had won the fight handily, which by all accounts is a gross betrayal of how the fight went down. “The landscape of the sport is set up to be corrupted. There's no separation of church and state,” Teddy Atlas, a former boxer and trainer turned famous boxing commentator and respected voice, said in a 2017 ESPN interview with Stephen A. Smith. “There is no separation. When you have that kind of closeness between people making money and the people administrating the sport, there’s a landscape for corruption.” Even without all that, MMA has a competitive advantage because it was born of modern times. Boxing, dubbed the sweet science and a sport embraced by intellectuals for its strategy, has had a rough time transitioning into modernity. The UFC, on the other hand, is the offspring of the millennial age. White has tailored the whole business to capitalizing on the next generation. It has successfully grabbed the attention of the most targeted demographic by catering to its behaviors. MMA is more sensational. Something in the makeup attracts humans to violence. Fighting is in us, which is why it has been around as long as humans have. One of the UFCs themes is gladiators fighting. They used to use a gladiator in the intro video to shows. Although it’s not a fight to the death, it can be pretty close. The fact that somebody is beating somebody into submission, or unconsciousness, caters to that carnal spirit. While boxing gravitates towards the beauty of fighting, the UFC successfully taps into the savagery. Also, in MMA there are a variety of ways to win a
fight: knockout, submission or decision. In boxing, there is you always get the best possible fights. There are no easy only by knockout or by decision — and the latter is often fights. Politics doesn’t get in the way of what the fans unfulfilling. The gloves in UFC are smaller (four ounces want. in weight) while boxing has a variety of glove sizes. The MMA has taken boxing down, but boxing most likely smaller gloves lead to harder and more punishing punchwill never fall into obscurity because of how long it’s es. Add in the ability to use elbows, knees and kicks, the been around. For now, MMA is the new king in town, possibility of a knockout are much higher in MMA than and it’s here to stay. in boxing. And for millennials raised on video games and graphic movies, the tolerance for violence is increased. Fighters have to be at the top of their game or risk getting knocked out at any given moment. More unpredictability plus little room for error, plus the chance for a big finish, is proving to be an addictive formula. “Fighting takes courage. Toughness. Tenacity. It is an ancient, violent story. And in the end we get a triumph, and a human tragedy; only one fighter wins a fight,” said Joe O’Connor, in a 2015 article on the National Post. It’s a story humans crave — everyone loves a triumphant story. The purity of it makes the sport so beautiful. MMA is less complicated. For one, fights are shorter. As opposed to boxing matches, which are 12 three-minute rounds for their main events, the UFC implores five three-minute rounds for main events. This adds more meaning to each round, creates a faster pace that makes viewing more intense and accounts for the shorter attention spans of today’s viewers. MMA is more personable. Boxing has failed to develop top stars to generate viewers. With the retirement of Floyd Mayweather, the biggest draw in boxing, the sport could be in a world of trouble, as the sport needs a face and didn’t prepare one even though Mayweather is 40. Andre Ward, who has the characteristics and likability of a star, could have carried the sport if boxing played its cards right. But he retired without having a major fight to make him a household name. The UFC has shown an ability to create stars. One example is Jon Jones, a fighter people got to watch rise up the ranks one by one. The UFC gave him guys who were supposed to be tests, and he dominated them all until he finally became champion and a huge star. Conor McGregor is another perfect example; the UFC took a little known, brash talker and fed him the toughest challenges they had until he reached the top of the mountain. Ronda Rousey was promoted as the most unbeatable champion in the sport; inadvertently Holly Holm beat her, and another star was born. Getting to see these fighters rise up the ranks and deal with challenge after challenge has always been the UFC’s mantra, something that boxing chooses to shy away from, and that’s what puts them ahead and legitimizes them to fans. A huge part of that is because the UFC gives fans the fights they want to see when they want them. Boxing waited years for Mayweather-Pacquiao as the fighters dodged each other with hardline requests. They were past their prime by the time they met. In contrast, the UFC always pits the best against the best. Always making champions fight the number one contender, UFC makes sure that
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MICHELLE Gonzales
English Professor Brings Diversity to LPC By Morgan Brizee
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ight there in the aisle at Oakland’s famed Fox Theater, the skinny 14-year-old student dressed in formal wear bowed before the woman. To him, she was music royalty. This was May 2015. Atlix Catzin Pacheco was graduating from the eighth grade. That’s when he met the mother of his classmate, Luis Manuel Peralta, at Oakland School for the Arts and dropped to his knees. Pacheco had no idea his friend’s mom was the drummer of Spitboy, a punk band he listened to regularly. Not until he saw her at his graduation. He asked in wonderment, "Is it really you?" Michelle Gonzales was embarrassed. She didn’t expect to meet a fan at her son’s graduation. And it’s been a long time since she was that person Pacheco rocked out to. “I certainly wouldn’t have expected a teenager who
Gonzales can give students examples from her own life about going to community college and transferring to a four year, touring the world, avoiding drugs, tackling major projects, time management and financial planning, cultural perspectives and the heart of advocacy. All of that is in addition to her command of MLA style. This is one of the best elements of community college education: teachers with life experiences helping the students experiencing life. This is a strength of Las Positas. Gonzales is a shining example. “The work she did and is doing has changed people’s lives positively, including mine,” Lucas Sanchez, a former LPC student, said. “Her honesty, her perseverance, her diversity, intelligence, her music, the fact that she teaches on so many levels outside of the classroom.”
In November 2017, Michelle Gonzales speaks at Pegasus Bookstore in Berkeley about her book, “The Spitboy Rule.” In her free time, she teaches a spin class in Oakland. Photo by Christina Vargas wasn’t even born yet when Spitboy was a band to know anything about us and to like us in any sort of notable way,” Gonzales said. “Also, what are the chances that one of your kid’s friends is going to like your old punk band?” Gonzales is an English professor at Las Positas College. Behind the curtain, as her random encounter illustrates, there are so many more layers to her. Punk rocker. Documentary star. Mother. Wife. Activist. Also, now published author. All of this encapsulates the depth she brings to her classrooms and the holistic knowledge she can impart. The diversity of her experiences winds up being a resource for her students.
Gonzales being recognized has become a thing. She has been stopped in public by people while doing book signings. She has also been noticed for her part in the movie “Turn it Around: The Story of East Bay Punk.” The movie originally focused on Green Day’s rise to global fame. The movie also dives into the punk scene in the East Bay, specifically Gilman Street in Berkeley in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and features two punk bands Gonzales was in: Spitboy and Kalama and the Karnivores. “Fame does kind of go to your head. I’m not famous. I am a pseudo punk celebrity,” Gonzales said. Gonzales is bringing the band back together, so to speak, by rejoining Kalama and the Karnivores. The band
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is recording 11 memoir published songs and someand is working on times plays small writing an upcomvenues for fun. ing novel. “It’s been really “The Spitboy funny that more Rule: Tales of a people like the band Xicana in a Female and that we sound Punk Band” was better than we did published in 2016 when I was desperas a biography of ately serious about her life on the road having a band,” Ivy — in an all-female Clift, a bandmate punk band dealing in Kamala and the with sexism, racism Karnivores, said. and abuse from Kamala and the fans. Karnivores songs The book also are about women speaks about being Gonzales (right) went to the women’s march January 2017 with Karin empowerment, part of something Spirn (center) and Anna Gold (left). Photo courtesy of Gonzales. feminism in a punk that was bigger rock way. The band than her. The band is still relevant because women empowerment is back showed her the world and the different kinds of people in it. and stronger with protests like the women’s marches “I was reminded of what I also fought as a young that happened in cities around the world in January. woman of color in the same scene — where racist cool The women in the band include an English professor, provided camouflage for the same-old discourse of white a mathematician and philosophy major. In the about supremacy in flimsy disguise,” Gonzales said in her book. section on the band’s Facebook page the all-female punk Gonzales’s unpublished memoir is different than rock group describes themselves as playing “angry pop “The Spitboy Rule.” The memoir focuses more on her punk love songs that will make you think twice about upbringing and where it all started for her in Tuolumne. breaking anyone’s heart.” She details women empowerShe had a tough upbringing while growing up with a ment being a part of her music in her book. mother who was young and single. “I was going to be in a punk band, an all-female punk Gonzales’s love for writing, from songs for her band band that stood for something, a band that would write to books about her own life, carried over to teaching about write songs like 'Twisted,' songs that spoke out students about great literature and learning to write like against mismeasure of women,” Gonzales said in her the authors they read. book, “The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female “She’s somebody that came up with an expectation Punk Band.” that creativity and artistry would always be part of her Gonzales’s experience in a punk band influences her life, so when she became a teacher, it was just natural teaching: She is not the average college teacher. She that that would still be part of her life,” Karin Spirn, is able to give students advice that ranges from how to LPC English professor and long-time friend and office respond to being pressured to do drugs to trying to find mate of Gonzales, said. where you fit in the world. This impacts her teaching— Gonzales also teaches her students about the pubshe’s been there and done that and can help students lishing world. She can show her students who want to more than just telling them it’ll be OK and sending do the same thing how to do it. She also shows students them on their way. that if you work hard, you can accomplish anything you “Growing up as a person of color in a small town put your mind to. in the 1980s taught me a lot about people, how to get “It’s not that they think I am cool, but that I can relate along, and how to appreciate people even if they had to students and make them feel comfortable pretty easily very different views or life experiences than me,” Gonzaeven though I’m going to be 50 in two years,” Gonzales les said. said. When Gonzales isn’t performing or teaching, she is In Oakland on Sept. 9, 2017, a warm sunny day, with working on her writing. Before “The Spitboy Rule: Tales an English assistant, Kristie Vanderhoof, Gonzales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band” was published, she marched for three hours protesting their support for wrote her memoir. She is still working on getting her DACA. Gonzales wore a black shirt with writing saying, 38
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“No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist U.S.A.” with the American flag shown upside down. People were holding signs saying “Deport Hate Not Dreams” and “Fight Ignorance Not Immigration." Gonzales had been a little hesitant, worrying if others in the crowd or even the police would get violent. People of different races and ages rallied together to get their voices heard. Activism is another thing Gonzales isn’t going to let go of any time soon, whether that means walking in peaceful protests or helping students through the Puente program. She is the co-coordinator of the Puente program and a member of UndocuAlly, both LPC programs that help vulnerable students. The Puente program helps students who are at a disadvantage educationally transfer to four-year colleges. Once graduated the students mentor others to do the same to make a better, stronger community. UndocuAlly is a task force that works with undocumented students to help students accomplish their aspirations. “I felt that LPC needed me, a Latina teaching English,” Gonzales said. “I also felt that students of color here could use an advocate.” Gonzales believes the work that she does with students on a daily basis is activism. She shares that activism with Spirn, who has joined her in protest marches. Gonzales first met Spirn when they were adjuncts at Diablo Valley College in 2003. Both were later hired together at LPC. Gonzales explained that she didn’t choose LPC but that LPC chose her. “Full-time tenure track positions are very difficult to come by — the market is very competitive,” Gonzales said. “People with master’s degrees in English are often willing to move anywhere for a job like this.” Gonzales started her full-time tenure in fall of 2005. She feels close to LPC because it reminds her of the area she grew up in. “Having grown up in a small town with rolling hills dotted with cows, I felt a great affinity for LPC right away,” Gonzales said. A large wall calendar at her home features cute photos of Chihuahuas for each month. Gonzales’s calendar has to be a Chihuahua calendar because she loves Chihuahuas and has three chi-mixes herself, all rescued. The notes for each day are scribbled in pen nestled into a tiny square. Each square has valuable white space that is filled with band practice times for both her and her son as well as book signing times and locations. Gonzales keeps up with her busy life schedule by writing notes on her numerous calendars. She has a couple at home, at work and on her phone. Gonzales said it’s fun to see your kid doing what she enjoys as well, but it’s work to keep everything in order. She may make it seem like it’s easy to do everything she does on a daily basis, but without her calendars it would be a mess.
“Things at home aren’t perfectly clean. They aren’t totally messy, but sometimes you just have to give up,” Gonzales said. “Throw the stuff in the closet and jam it in and shut the door real fast and hope no one comes over and opens it and have an avalanche fall on their head.” When it comes to teaching, Gonzales doesn’t take it lightly. She still is hard on students who don’t get their work in on time or take her class seriously, which would be hard to do. She knows what she is talking about when she is in front of a classroom teaching “The Handmaid’s Tale” or “1984.” Her teaching has made a lasting impression on many. “I don’t think that people know just how much she has accomplished,” Sanchez said. “There’s so much greatness she’s giving off and still pursuing. It is extremely impressive to everyone.”
Gonzales at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley with Kalama and the Karnivores on January 1, 2017. Photo courtesy of Gonzales.
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We
met on the app Bumble in August 2017. In two days, we were texting and snapping with each other. He checked every box. College graduate. Employed. Own place. He was hot, that didn’t hurt. Full dark beard. Milk chocolate hair, enough to run my fingers through. About 6-foot-2. Muscular. Tatted. Sleeves are my thing. Photo by Shawna Currie
JUST A QUICKIE
“Ghosting”
The New Millennial Get Out of Jail Free Card in Online Dating
In two weeks, we were meeting at Aniki, a sushi spot in Fremont, halfway between my home in the Tri-Valley and his in Morgan Hill. We talked all night. I didn’t realize it was 2 a.m. until I decided to glance at the clock in his car. We stopped making out, and I left. The next weekend, I was parking my car at a Safeway in Morgan Hill, nestling in his mundane sedan with my purse and overnight bag. He said his place didn’t have enough parking for my car. Yes, he invited me to stay at his house. Yes, I went. No, I don’t remember his name. I know. I know. We arrive at his home, which was the guesthouse of one of his hockey students. So he said. The tour was quick and immediately turned into another make-out session. Then sex. Then cuddling. Then his phone rang. I told him it was cool to answer, but he ignored it. But when the voicemail alert went off, he jumped off the bed to listen. It was his mother. His grandfather had a heart attack. She told him to hurry to the hospital. So he said. Some 10 minutes after my orgasm, I was hustling to grab my things so we could leave. We rushed out of his house. He dropped me off at my car. He didn’t get out to say goodbye. No hug. No kiss. I drove an hour and a half worried about him, hoping his grandfather was OK. The next morning, I checked my Snapchat to see if he’d seen any of my snaps. He hadn’t. Then I looked at my contacts, and he wasn’t there anymore. Then I realized he blocked me. I checked Instagram. Blocked there, too. It hit me. I had been ghosted. Fuck online dating. In this moment, I couldn’t help but miss my high school sweetheart, and I understood what was being lost in this world of internet romance. In search of the puppy love I remembered from my teenage years, I — like many others — entered into the digital world of superficiality and lust. No romance. No chemistry. No relationship development. The best parts of dating have been hijacked — love at first sight and talking in person have been replaced with swiping left and right. Being single requires sticking your toe into waters that are creepy and dangerous.
In this space, ghosting is common. It is a regular part of the millennial vernacular because doing such a thing has been normalized. Ghosting is when a person you have interacted with flat out disappears from your digital world. The texts, instant messages and DMs stop coming. It goes even deeper. They block your number. They block you on social media. It is a cowardly way of declaring you are done. Gone are the days when you broke up with someone in person. Or even a Dear John letter. Or even a text. While ghosting may seem new, it isn’t, but it has increased by approximately 60 percent since 2014. "A new survey released by the dating site Plenty of Fish finds that 78 percent of single millennials or people on the site between the ages of 18 and 33—have been ‘ghosted’ at least once,” according to a Fortune.com article by Valentina Zarya. Some might say that ghosting is not at the fault of online dating but millennials. Some people might think that it is millennials who can’t get the courage to turn someone down and turn to ghosting instead. In reality, online dating provides the resources for Houdini acts. Online dating has made it easy to ghost one another. There are a few factors according to a Bustle article in May 2016. One, the number of people we can meet — because of online dating, it is extensive. We aren’t limited to our schools and neighborhoods. Also, because of the convenience of hiding behind a device, there is a lower likelihood of running into the person after a break up. The wealth of options combined with the lack of accountability leaves people free to switch relationships like TV channels. Be careful out there. It’s a ghostly world.
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Reasons You Should Stop Eating Meat By Devi Dixit
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Meat is your uncle who still lives with your grandmother. It just won’t leave. Our bodies absorb the amino acids we eat, but meat takes longer for our bodies to burn off and digest. If you are trying to keep things clean and under control, you should be eating a lot more plants and fiber.
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Meat is Kim Kardashian. Plants are Kourtney Kardashian. A plantbased diet has all of the nutrients you need. Plants can supply protein, nutrients, fiber and vitamins — all things you need in order to have a well-balanced diet and healthful life. Meat is fake and unnecessary.
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Meat is culinary laziness. Vegans are more creative cooks. You will become more in tune with your kitchen, as well as your body and your environment, if you are forced to think outside of the meat box. Vegan options are not always available in public places. But cooking healthier meals at home is good for the soul. It improves your mastery of ingredients and your overall talent in the kitchen.
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Maybe you just love the taste of a bulky, juicy burger, with cheese dripping down the side. Maybe you can’t imagine life without biting into the salty bliss of bacon. Maybe you even fantasize about that succulent steak fresh from the grill, covered in mushrooms and drizzled in butter. But many all over the country are giving it up. According to the 2017 Top Trends in Prepared Foods report, published by research firm Global Data, there has been a 600 percent increase in Americans who have either stopped eating meat or become completely vegan since 2014. Why in the world would they give up the savory salaciousness? Here are 10 good reasons.
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Meat is Frank Gallagher. So dirty. Meats are dyed to make it look like they come from healthier and clean animals. DYES. In reality, meat is contaminated with feces and cancer-causing agents. It is also usually injected with hormones, antibiotics and salt water. Hamburger meat is often washed with ammonia.
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Meat is going to bed with your makeup on. Instead of making you beautiful, it harms your body and damages your appearance. The toxins it contains basically farts into your skin. Nasty, right? People have shared that their skin and bodies benefited greatly from switching to a plant-based diet.
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Meat makes you fat. A quicker way to lose weight is to cut out meat from your diet. If you switch to a whole food, plant-based diet, you will see the pounds shed far faster than only working out. The obesity epidemic in America has been directly connected to meat consumption.
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Meat is the cigarettes of food. Meat is a carcinogen, a cancer causing agent. Meat has high levels of saturated fat and can raise cholesterol. Red meat has been linked to heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Processed meat is filled with sodium that can raise blood pressure.
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Meat causes global warming. More than half of global greenhouse gases are emissions caused by animal agriculture. You can leave a smaller carbon footprint by eating local, whole foods.
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Meat is a serial killer. Vegans benefit animals, thereby protecting the ecosystem. Believe it or not, animals actually want to live. They feel pain and fear death, just like humans. Killing them is immoral. Meat brings death to animals. And humans.
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Meat causes droughts. One pound of beef uses 1,799 gallons of water. One pound of pork takes 576 gallons. Conversely, the water footprint of soybeans is 216 gallons and corn is 108 gallons.”
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Meat is not the Mooove by Devi Dixit Eleven cows. Twenty sheep. Eighty turkeys. Throw in 27 pigs, 2,400 chickens, 4,500 fish. That’s what USA Today reported, in a March 2015 article, the average American will eat in his or her lifetime. That’s a lot of animals. A lot of flesh. A lot of veins, tendons, muscles, skin. Perhaps worse: a lot of toxins. That’s why I am vegan and have been since the beginning of 2017. Veganism is a way of life. Yes, I’m one of those who believe everyone should be vegan. Your health, your conscience and our environment will be significantly better if we all stopped consuming animal products. If more people adopted a vegan diet, the world would have less pollution, less obesity, less cancer, less death. And here is the good part: You don’t have to become a vegan overnight. You can grow into it. Start slow. Begin by avoiding red meat. Then practice pescatarianism (no meat except fish) then graduate to vegetarian. Work your way up to vegan. It is not impossible, and you won’t be alone. “I choose not to make a graveyard of my body for the rotting corpses of dead animals,” Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said. Meat and dairy cause inflammation within hours inside the body. It can cause a number of damaging health effects, such as heart disease,
cancer and diabetes. Eating a plantbased diet can help reduce and even prevent these diseases. “Diets rich in animal foods have been linked in numerous studies to higher risk for heart disease and cancer mortality,” nutritionfacts.org said. I’m not saying cut it out immediately. It’s a process, trust me. I’m saying learn some more about it and feel it out. Eating a plant-based diet not only helps the inside of your body but also the outside. Eczema is an issue that I have been dealing with my entire life, and cutting out animal products has helped tremendously. I noticed huge, positive differences in my skin. My acne is not as bad as it used to be, my eczema is not as extreme and the bags under my eyes are lighter. The hormones that we digest in animal-based food affects our hormones and our skin. “Researchers studying indigenous populations in Papua New Guinea and Paraguay — people who eat traditional unprocessed, low-fat, plant-based diets — have discovered entire communities without a single pimple among them,” Meirav Devash wrote in an Allure article titled, “The Truth About Whether Going Vegan Gives You Better Skin.” You don’t need to eliminate it, just stop eating so much for it. Human teeth are meant for chewing on plants not so much on animals. The human
body takes longer to digest meat. “Vegetarian animals ranging from gorillas to water deer, … , have bigger, sharper canines than we do; our canines aren’t specially meant for processing meat,” Barbara J. King wrote in an NPR article titled “Humans Are ‘Meathooked’ But Not Designed For Meat-Eating” based on “Meathooked: The History and Science of Our 2.5-Million-Year Obsession with Meat” written by science writer Marta Zaraska. The rapper Yg shared with “The Breakfast Club” radio show the reason he decided to go vegan. “Where this cancer s--- coming from? Everything we eat – the processed food, and the stuff they put inside it.” As the climates are changing, researchers have shared that animal agriculture is worse for the environment than driving cars. If you care about leaving a smaller footprint as
Photo by Svetlana Igouchkine
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we all should, we should cut back on eating so many animals. More than half of global greenhouse gases are emissions caused by animal agriculture. “The environmental impact of the life cycle and supply chain of animals raised for food has been vastly underestimated, and in fact accounts for at least half of all human-caused greenhouse gases (GHGs),” Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang stated in an article titled “Livestock and Climate Change” on worldwatch.org. Another reason why a plantbased diet would be beneficial is the use of water. Most of the water that humans use goes towards the selling and production of meat. “If you were to eat four quarter-pound burgers, you have consumed around 1800 gallons of water,” Kai Olson-Sawyer, senior research and policy analyst at Grace Communications Foundation, said. Now think about how many
Both photos were taken at The Grand Lake Farmers Market in Oakland by Christina Vargas.
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burgers Americans are eating every month. The water foot print of soybeans is 216 gallons, and for corn it is 108 gallons. You already know it’s not good for you. What are you waiting for? The future of the planet would be better and brighter if there were not millions of animals being used as food. This is the sign you have been waiting for. It’s never too late to change your life. The actions and choices you make should make you proud and positively influence your world. I hope I have helped you learn and change your mind even a little about the things you are consuming. Take some time to cut animals out of your diet slowly but surely. Pay attention to the changes in your life, and see if you like it. Keep in mind it will not be easy but so far for me, it’s been worth it.
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