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ISSUE
VINCENT CHAVEZ
editorinchief@lbunion.com
COLLEEN BROWN
colleen.union@gmail.com
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
GABE FERREIRA
gabe.union@gmail.com
Managing Editor
MARCO BELTRAN
marcob.union@gmail.com
Senior Editor
MELISSA CASAS
opinions@lbunion.com
Opinions Editor
BRIANNE SCHAER
news@lbunion.com
JOHN VILLANUEVA
music@lbunion.com
News Director Music Editor
NATHAN CRUZ
Entertainment Editor
entertainment@lbunion.com
WES VERNER Literature Editor
COLLEEN BROWN Culture Editor
ROSE FEDUK Comics Editor
DUCHESS OF SPAIN Grunion Editor
GABE FERREIRA Art Director/Cover
literature@lbunion.com culture@lbunion.com comic@lbunion.com grunion@lbunion.com art@lbunion.com
NICHOLE DANIELS
nichole.union@gmail.com
CONNOR O’BRIEN
connor.union@gmail.com
Illustration Editor
Photo Editor/Cover Photo
LEO PORTUGAL Web Manager
NATHAN CRUZ
Advertising Executive
web@lbunion.com advertising@lbunion.com
Contributors: JON BOLIN, JOSEPH PHILLIPS, CHRISTINA CHEN, KEVIN NG, CAMILLE HOVE, SIERRA PATHEAL, WES YOUNG, TYLER DEAN, JOVANNA MADRIGAL, ANTONIO MENDOZA, LILI DOVE, BEN NOVOTNY, ALEX, SALOMON, AMY PATTON, BEN KIM, KRISTEN DESMOND, ALLEN TOLKOFF, ASHLIE BONSER, JOHNNY OSKAM, FELICITY LANDA, ADAM LEVINE, KRISTIN CONNELLY, MIKE CLELAND, JOSEPH FLORES, IRENE THAISS Disclaimer and Publication Information
The Union Weekly is published using ad money and partial funding provided by the Associated Students, Inc. All Editorials are the opinions of the Union Weekly, not ASI, or CSULB. All students are welcome and encouraged to be a part of the Union Weekly staff. All letters to the editor will be considered for publication. However, CSULB students will have precedence. Please include name, major, class standing, and phone number for all submissions. They are subject to editing and will not be returned. Letters may or may not be edited for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and length. The Union Weekly will publish anonymous letters, articles, editorials and illustrations, but must have your name and information attached for our records. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 500 words. The Union Weekly assumes no responsibility, nor is it liable, for claims of its advertisers. Grievance procedures are available in the Associated Students business office.
Questions? Comments? Candy Cornholes?! Mail: 1212 Bellflower Blvd., Suite 116, Long Beach,CA 90815 Phone: 562.985.4867 E-mail: info@lbunion.com Web: www.lbunion.com
VINCENT CHAVEZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Hey Crypt Creepers, I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t felt this excited about Halloween since I was a tyke dressed in my homemade Megazord costume, watching Halloween, Stephen King’s It, and The Exorcist through the cracks of my sticky hands. Perhaps it’s all the solid Halloween themed television I’ve been watching lately, but I am freakishly into this year’s Halloween spirit. Or maybe it’s all the spooky things that have been happening to me lately. For example, I just recently started seeing this wolfboyman. You know, it’s like that thing where a twenty-something
guy is caught between adolescence and adulthood and is also a werewolf. He’s sweet, considerate, and makes the most thoughtful homemade gifts. The other day he made me the cutest cage for when he has his monthly wolf fits. But I really don’t see this relationship going anywhere. I mean his mom still shops for his under-were. If only his emotions were as developed as his sense of smell. If you thought my life was ghoulish, the Union office has been absolutely ghastly this week. Flip through this week’s issue and you will find a short history of Halloween (page 4), a trio
of non-fiction horror stories (page 13), and in the feature (page 7), our Music Editor, John Villanueva, conducts one hell of an interview with the High Priest of L.A.’s Satanic Chapel. The gentleman we questioned, lovingly nicknamed “Knife,” offered an in-depth look into Satanism, as well as the different strains that exist within the religion. I urge you, nay, politely demand you give it a look, as it will surely dismantle some of the stereotypes and misconceptions you might have about Satanism. And from the bottom of my haunted butt, Happy Halloween!
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WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE HERE’S HOW:
1. Read the Union. You’re already doing this. So far so good.
2. Come to a Meeting. Every Tuesday at 7pm in the NEW Union Office. Now with fewer rats. (Next to the pool tables in the USU)
3. Write an Article. This step is pretty important, so don’t forget to do it. Seriously, write yourself a note.
SEND ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO EDITORINCHIEF@LBUNION.COM UNION WEEKLY
29 OCTOBER 2012
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OPINIONS
GAME ON
VIDEO GAMES HAVEN’T GOTTEN WORSE, JUST MORE INCLUSIVE
ADAM LEVINE CONTRIBUTOR
T
hey just don’t make games like they used to. I’m sure many of my fellow gamers have uttered this phrase at some time or another; hell, even I have. The fact of the matter is, the reason video games were “better” in our collective nostalgia driven mind is because they were catering exclusively to us. Let’s go for a little trip into the annals of gaming history. A widely renowned name in the gaming community is, of course, Super Mario. For many life long gamers, this name brings memories of stage after stage of leaping, trouncing, and castle climbing only to find that the princess isn’t in this castle. This also brings memories of sitting alone in your room with maybe one friend sitting next to you either watching you or rooting for you to die so they could get their turn. As the medium grew so too did Mario: Mario Kart 64, Mario Party, New Super Mario Brothers Wii. Suddenly, Mario was a game based around playing simultaneously with multiple friends. Now, Mario may not be the best example of a game that has gotten “worse,” but it is a perfect example of a game that became more inclusive as its target audience expanded. The prime example of a game that has
gotten “worse” is a little game called World of Warcraft (WoW). For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past 10 years, or maybe just have a life, WoW is the game that popularized massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). With billions upon billions of people playing WoW all across the world, WoW serves as the perfect game for my thesis. Anyone who has been playing WoW since the beginning will tell you it wasn’t a game for the casuals. Everything was harder, no mounts until level 40, and even then you probably didn’t have enough money to afford it until level 45 or 50. Raids required 40 people to simultaneously be online, in the same area, and very delicately coordinated. If you wanted to run a dungeon with a pick-up group (PUG), you had to sit in the zone the dungeon was in and spam in general chat for a minimum of 30 minutes. Even just getting to level 60, the original max level, took weeks of play time. It was truly a game built for the hardcore nerd gamers. As of the writing of this article, WoW is in its fourth expansion, The Mists of Pandaria. The level cap is 90 and between the guild 20 percent bonus to experience,
various heirloom armors that are really easy to attain, and a couple of experience buffs, it is extremely reasonable for one to be able to go from level 1 to level 90 in under a week. Not only do you get your first 60 percent speed mount at level 20 for four gold, you can also fly anywhere in the world on your flying mount at level 60 for about 300 gold. Raids can be done easily with 10 or 25 people, and if you want to do a dungeon, just queue in the dungeon finder and go quest for 10 to 15 minutes. The game will not only find you a full group, but transport you to the entrance of the dungeon and right back to where you started once you’re done. The point is, World of Warcraft now caters to everyone from the hardcore nerd gamers, to the six-year-old who is playing with their parents for an hour a day after they finish their homework, to the elderly retired person who doesn’t even fully understand how these newfangled computator machines work. They have to make the game simple and easy so that everyone can have fun, whether that’s playing for 30 minutes a week in between class, work, and the gym, or playing for 8-12 hours a day instead of studying or working, or, hell, even while
studying or working. With the ever-growing popularity of the video game medium also comes a bevy of upstart game companies and aspiring game creators. Video games, like just about any form of entertainment, are very hit or miss as far as quality is concerned. The more people take shots, the more games are produced. For arguments sake, let’s say that one in every 10 games is an instant classic, three in every 10 games is good or decent, and six in every 10 games is complete horseshit. If only 10 games come out in a given year that means there’s only six shitty games, and in the advent of the gaming culture (when every idea was a new one, I might add), it wasn’t uncommon for less than 30 games to be released in a year’s period. Now that we have millions of game companies producing billions of games a year, that same ratio shifts drastically to an overwhelming amount of gobshite games. As the medium grows in audience we can expect to see a flow of everything from amazing games like Borderlands, Halo, and Saints Row: The Third to vehement piles of bantha poodoo like NeverDead, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Duke Nukem Forever.
living, but let’s just hope we don’t piss off the friendly ghosts. I still get a little giddy when it comes to Halloween time; of course, the feeling recedes with each year I get older. But if I flip through the channels and see a good old slasher film like Nightmare on Elm Street, or drive by a house festooned with spider webs, jack-o’-lanterns, and ghouls, I get that rare nostalgic feeling of a Halloween childhood memory—to run up houses eager to fill up my pillow case with candy, to yell trick or treat, to count and devour all the candy with friends, and to stuff it in my lunch pail for the next day at school—made Halloween my favorite holiday. I made my own trouble on Halloween when I was kid and not yet diagnosed with ADHD. I recall one Halloween I hiked up my roof and picked off some three dozen oranges from an orange tree that curved over it, and fired the oranges off in all directions. I’d crouch down and listen for that resonant ka-thunk on a roof or car, and then wait a moment or two before firing off again. That night my neighbors had the triple task of
passing out candy, worrying about their trick or treating kids being struck by an orange (one poor kid was), and wondering seriously if a ghost had been haunting their house. Soon a cop car arrived and circled the neighborhood a few times, searching for the phantom terrorist for a few hours before calling it quits—all to come back when I had decided to sneak out of my room and start up again at midnight. I slept soundly that night, very proud of what I had gotten away with. Until the next day angry neighbors trailed the oranges back to my house, and I was swatted so hard on my ass I couldn’t walk without limping for a week. The trick or treating days are over for college students, but we can still look forward to dressing up and partying with friends. For guys, seeing scantily clad girls is especially a delight, this being the one day out of the year they are permitted by some mysterious rule to dress slutty in their bunny, maid, and nurse costumes.
THIS IS HALLOWEEN! A BRIEF HISTORY AND PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS MIKE CLELAND UNION STAFFER
The Halloween tradition dates all the way back to B.C. starting with Celtic, Welsh, and Scottish pagan culture. During the Festival of Sahmin, a festival held to honor the Celtic Lord of the Dead, fear drove the Celtics to dress up in grotesque costumes. They believed if they didn’t, demons would be sure to spot and torment them relentlessly until the night was over. The Romans eventually conquered the British Isles, the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh converted to Christianity, and the names changed to either All Saint’s Eve, Eve of All Saints, or All Hallows Eve. Adopting the former Pagan tradition with a more pleasant twist, the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh believed the souls of loved ones rather than demons had permission to roam the earth on this particular night. It became tradition for Roman Catholic families to gather at cemeteries to pay tribute to deceased relatives and saints, pray for the lost souls in purgatory, and receive mass the first and second of November. In Europe, scary costumes (ghosts, ghouls, witches, warlocks, etc.) were worn by Christian
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evangelists to scare non-believers away from their pagan gods in hopes of a conversion. Halloween, known as Día de los Muertos, was perhaps Mexico’s most beloved tradition, and the first culture to mesh death with humor. History reveals sugar candies had been molded into skeletons and skulls. Roman Catholic Mexicans practiced the ritualized begging and solicitation of food, similar to our trick or treat tradition for Halloween today. As the U.S. became a huge melting pot, integrating Europeans and Mexicans, it’s no surprise America borrowed this fun holiday our neighboring countries invented. So where does that leave Halloween’s significance for U.S. culture? Halloween in the U.S. is a fun night of entertainment rather than a religious tradition. It feeds American’s curiosity of the supernatural. Horror fiction and horror films have glamorized Halloween and we visit haunted houses in amusement parks to fuel the thrill of being vicariously scared. For such a grand celebration of death, Halloween today seems to be just a great night of fun for the
OPINIONS
VOTING FOR THE RIGHT TO KNOW DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE HITTING THE POLLS LILI DOVE
UNION STAFFER
I confess; I don’t like either guy running for President. One guy seems better than the other, but then again he has a history of droning and eradicating constitutional rights with the swipe of an oval office pen. A few months back I told a friend that I planned to vote for an independent and the friend told me that a vote for an independent was a vote for Romney. I don’t agree with that sentiment, per se. I think voting for an independent is a way of using my vote to avoid voting for the lesser of two evils; as the popular sentiment states, a choice between two evils still produces evil. However, as the election draws closer and I learn more about the neocon advisors surrounding Romney, I have decided that perhaps the lesser of two evils is better than the worst of two evils after all and I will not be voting for an independent. Recently, I listened to a fellow student explain the reason she doesn’t vote is that she doesn’t think her vote matters, and that she doesn’t want to have to serve jury duty. Granted, few of us want to serve jury duty, but the comment really brought home the point that liberty is easily taken for granted by those who have it. The conversation took place in the presence of a few foreign students from Iran, a country
where the right to vote is sometimes seen as meaningless because the controlling regime is known to prevent dissenters from being able to influence modern society. That our country has a history of going to war to help create democracy is rather ironic if our own citizens feel that democracy and freedom from oppression is a great reason to go to war, but not enough of a reason to participate in the obligations that make democracy work in our own country, such as voting or jury duty. It is necessary to participate in a free society if we want to guarantee a democratic future for ourselves as well as the rest of the world. Furthermore, it doesn’t just mean whether to serve on a jury, or which candidates to choose from. It also means keeping yourself informed on the issues being decided upon in your community, and being willing to form and voice your opinion on those issues. It is important to get involved in the debates that shape our culture beyond names and faces to understand the ways that money is used to influence public opinion. Political contributions are not necessarily from our own country, our own state, or even our own community. The tendency to write a bill so that it sounds like it means one thing
while it supports a contrary belief is common. This bait and switch practice is deceptive and dilutes our freedom as well, by giving power to those who seek to exploit our communities for their personal pocket. An outside developer might want to build in a local community, but they aren’t stuck in the local traffic. That’s why it is so important to know who the players are, with respect to an issue, and know what they have to gain or lose. Take Prop 37, the one to require GMO labeling. Recent studies in France linked consumption of GMO corn by rats to tumors, and speculation is that France will soon call on Europe to ban GMO corn. If you actually eat an apple, or ear of corn, a day, this is important to you. On Facebook via Youtube, my two favorite news sources, I learned that $2-3 billion of Whole Foods profits comes from products that contain unlabeled GMO foods. That a grocer whose name and reputation implies wholesome and organic gains a large volume of its profits by selling us the opposite kind of products they are associated with is par for the course where labeling standards do not require that logos reflect reality. Big name food companies are interested in defeating Prop 37, because they fear that
if we knew what was in their products, we might not want to buy them. They have spent something like $32 million already to make you think it is a bad idea to demand the right to be informed. Isn’t that the reason we have food labeling to begin with, to inform the consumer? What is the point of a label that hides the information most important to our health? The most common ads show these nice old school farmers talking about how it would hurt them the most if Prop 37 were passed. If Prop 37 passes, it wouldn’t hurt farmers the most but it would hurt all of us the most, by allowing the truth which collectively hurts our health to be hidden. Please vote. California leads the way in setting the standard. It isn’t true that we need to lower our standards to remain competitive. It is true that to remain competitive others are forced to raise their own standards. In economic circles, this idea of influencing standards is called “the California effect” (Vogel 1996). Do your research, add a little homework to your homework, and stand up for a healthier tomorrow by making your vote count. Don’t let all those corporations who like to hijack good ideas use them to falsely align popular opinion with false flags and ideas.
BILLS, BILLS, BILLS PROP 31 AND WHY IT MATTERS KRISTIN CONNELLY CONTRIBUTOR
Not every student works a side job while taking classes, but every student has to stick to a personal budget. But while regular students can balance their books responsibly, the state government can’t. All we hear about the state budget is scandal after scandal after scandal— including, most recently, the “discovery” of hundreds of millions of dollars of undisclosed (if not hidden) special funds. And while the state parks department sits on excess cash that the government had no idea it had, we’re the ones paying the price for budget mismanagement: we’ve had year after year of cut classes, higher tuition, and more student debt. If the state can’t even tell us where and what public money is spent on, how can we, as students, believe that these cuts are justified? If there’s any silver lining, it’s that this debacle sheds light on what California really needs: a more transparent state government with greater oversight and accountability. Sacramento is clearly broken. In November, we have a chance to fix California’s flawed budget process by voting Yes on Proposition 31. Prop 31, or the Government Accountability Act, will prevent future budget disasters from happening again by requiring state and
local governments to focus on results and performance. Outcomes have to be publicly reported, so that people like you and me will know if money is being spent efficiently. It also shifts decision-making from state bureaucrats in Sacramento to our local community governments, which, as Governor Brown says, are “closer to the people” and more responsive to their needs. Over the last 20 years, the state has invested more and more in a failing prison system and less and less in higher education. California now has one of the most expensive and least effective prison systems in the nation and students have had to pay more and more in tuition. Prop 31 puts the spotlight on these sort of decisions, requiring lawmakers to confront poor performing programs and consider the long-term implications of the choices they make to satisfy the special interests who fund their campaigns. By implementing performancebased budgeting, increased government transparency, and more local, community problem solving, Prop 31 will help prevent the messes we’ve seen with state finances, and will give us the effective, efficient government we deserve. UNION WEEKLY
29 OCTOBER 2012
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NEWS
I AM MALALA
A YOUNG WOMAN’S COURAGE MAKES HER A TARGET FOR THE TALIBAN JOSEPH FLORES CONTRIBUTOR
I
magine you are 15 years of age in a world that is polluted with death, torture, and injustice. In this world, you are killed for speaking your mind and voicing your dreams. Imagine being Malala Yousafzai, a brave child from Pakistan that lives in the war torn region of Swat Valley. Here, her people are decapitated and displayed around town for wanting peace and challenging the authority of the terrorist group called the Taliban. Here, in this world, the Taliban rule and the Pakistani government seem to do little for its own people. This young, brave girl Yousafzai has become the voice for a free Pakistan. Since the age of 11, she has been speaking up against this terrorist group and demanding that she, and others like her, have a right to an education. But imagine before all this suffering began you lived in a world where pristine rivers rushed through your land, women and children laughed without any ache in their hearts, and you were free to improve your life through an education. Yousafzai remembers this world, and
she will not let go of the hope of bringing it back to peace. In 2009, Yousafzai decided to begin a blog for the BBC so they could record her struggle and her life in Swat Valley at the age of 11. This helped the world see what this young girl was fighting against and the world began to take notice. In the summer of the same year, the New York Times made a documentary on Yousafzai’s life and the war between the Pakistani military and the Taliban. In this documentary, one can see the emotions and the thoughts of Yousafzai overwhelm her as she tries to make sense of the death, torture and injustice at such an innocent age. On Oct. 9, Taliban gunmen shot Yousafzai in the head and neck in an assassination attempt while she was in her school bus. Two other girls were shot as well, but Yousafzai suffered the most devastating injuries. The Taliban gunmen were said to have asked for Yousafzai. One of her schoolmates pointed her out and that is when the Taliban gunmen opened fire on Yousafzai. She was rushed to the hospital were she received treatment but was later
flown to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Great Britain where she is now receiving advanced medical treatment. Her condition is improving as she can write, stand and move her entire body. But she has not made a full recovery; she still needs to undergo multiple surgeries to remove pieces of her skull that were lodged in her brain and she will need reconstructive surgery followed by extreme physical trauma therapy. Yousafzai should be on the minds of every single person because she represents every human being’s desire for freedom. Yousafzai is me, she is you, your mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son, grandmother, and grandfather. She is all of us because Yousafzai is more than just an activist for woman’s rights. Yousafzai is an idea—an idea that everyone is entitled to an education and life of freedom. I am sure that at least one of your family members have had this idea and instilled it in you and now you carry this same idea that Yousafzai fights for. This is why your mother and father, sister and brother, you and everyone else
with this dream and idea lie in the hospital bed with Yousafzai fighting to keep this big idea alive. To donate to my campaign fundraiser, visit indiegogo.com and type Yousafzai in the search box. Make sure to click on the link attributed to Joseph Flores.
SNOWBOARDING TEAM BRINGS THE SNOW THE PYRAMID TRANSFORMED INTO A WINTER WONDERLAND LAST THURSDAY Words & Photo
CAMILLE HOVE ASSISTANT EDITOR
Snowboarders showed off their best tricks last Thursday on the North side of the Pyramid on a course covered with 20 tons of snow. Our very own Snow Team put on the 2nd Annual Pyramid Rail Jam. The event included giveaways from sponsors like Mt. High, food trucks (including snow cones), and, of course, the snow! From noon to 4 p.m., skiers and snowboarders shredded powder on a sunny 74 degree day during the team competition. The snow was brought in as ice and laid out along the stairs in between the red railing. A steep drop to slide down and then you were in the air, trying to land on the box and glide across. Many did tricks as they jumped onto the box and quite a few fell, landing in the white slush. The scent of pineapple flavored snow cones enthralled my senses as I hid beneath the shelter of a tent intended for viewers. “We want to get our name out there to
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let people know that Cal State Long Beach has a snow team,” Renee Chin, a chemical engineering major, said about the event. As team secretary, she competed in the competition and cheered on her friends in her rainbow-colored socks. Dashing off for a quick but quirky team photo on top of the jump, she came back to explain the dynamics of the team. The team boards and skis in Mammoth, which is where their team house is located. Only $450 to spend a weekend away with friends? Sounds like a nice deal. Since anyone is welcome to join, the team often finds Alumni friends coming out to share the weekend with them. Chin was enthusiastic about the family feel the group had and the support system. Nick Lotz, a Chinese major, who just joined the team after competing, said he wanted to make new friends to ski with because the only other person he knows who skis is his dad.
He shared his best wipeout moment from that day: “I was trying to hit the box and fell, hitting my tail bone, but it was worth it.” Looking battered and tired, he still smiled as he lugged his skis out of the snow zone. As I continued to watch the festivities wrap up, one last run was made down the makeshift mountain. One of the two skiers on the team, Kathryn Alexander, an economics major, slid down the hill, made it up onto the box and stuck the landing, grinning brightly as she unclipped from her skis. A picture of enthusiasm and skill, she was more than happy to share her Rail Jam experience: “This has been amazing; skiing in October in Long Beach has been great.” CSULB’s ski and snowboard team is comprised of members of all levels, from first-timers to seasoned veterans. No matter the skill level, members improve their skill throghout the season and compete in the
Southern California Collegeiate Snowsport Conference. But, just for today, a rare moment of sunshine and snow in October was shared for the CSULB team.
Intro
JOHN VILLANUEVA MUSIC EDITOR
MUSIC
SOUTHERN INHOSPITALITY AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE BLUES
JOHNNY OSKAM CONTRIBUTOR
L
ong Beach has a long history of blues music, and hopefully, a long future with it. The blues is a powerful music with a long history of violence, hardship, and poverty. It originated in the southern states in an area known as the Delta, which consisted of plantations owned by rich, conservative, white men. Prior to 1870, these plantations were worked by African slaves who toiled the land every year without ever reaching freedom. They were ripped from their homes in Africa, torn from their families, and often saw their loved ones raped and killed in front of them. They were forced to pick cotton, the South’s most desired cash crop, making their fingers bleed without ever seeing a dime of that cash. All they had with them was their African folklore, their singing voices, and their tears. Fast forward 60 years; the Delta in the 1920’s was a little bit different, though the echoes of slavery still rang strong. Jim Crow laws still held sway, and the descendants of the slaves were now
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indentured servants. They were given the opportunity of renting a small plot of land to harvest crops, yet didn’t have any money, so the plantation owner would take the majority of their harvest. They couldn’t afford tools either, so they would have to borrow tools or money from the local general store, which was owned by none other than the plantation owner. Indentured servitude was nothing more than de facto slavery. These servants were to work five days a week. Saturday night is when they escaped the reality of their situations, when they went to the juke joint, drank whiskey, listened to the blues, and danced all night long. Guitar players like Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Johnny Shines, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and harmonica players such as Sonny Boy Williamson and Rice Miller were among the most popular musicians in the day. They sang tunes of heartache, depression, alcohol addiction, loneliness, disenfranchisement, and the devil. They sang what was on their hearts, they sang what was in their past, they sang
the echoes of their ancestors, they sang the blues. Many of them had nothing and could go nowhere. But something happened in 1926 that would change their lives, music, and the world forever: the boll weevil. The boll weevil was an insect that fed on crops and destroyed thousands of acres of plantation land in the Delta. The plantation owners were forced to fire their indentured servants and kick them off the land. This gave opportunity to these workers to travel north by means of famous Highway 61 to Chicago, the modern, urban, and electric city in Illinois. African Americans also traveled west to Texas, and some even all the way to Long Beach, CA. For the next 20 or so years, a mass exodus from the south occurred, and these African American workers took everything they had with them: their suitcase, their family, and their music. Blues juke joints became blues bars. Acoustic guitars became electric guitars, harmonicas were played through amplifiers, and drum sets and
pianos were added to the mix. The music was evolving, and the African Americans had their freedom. The main audience of blues music was still African Americans, and remained that way through the ‘50s. Something else was happening at this time, though. The blues in its current incarnation, being acoustic blues from the Delta and early electric blues from Chicago, grew in popularity in England of all places. Teenage kids in London were going to their local record stores and finding race records. They learned of the African American struggle and felt a deep connection with their music. It pulled at their heart strings, since blues music comes straight from a place where the heart has no choice but to speak. These British musicians, such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Jimmy Page, formed bands and began to play the blues in their own interpretation. It caught on like wildfire in England, and it soon traveled overseas to America. At this point, the blues in America was still “colored” music.
MUSIC
Johnny Oskam shreds on his ES-335
But as soon as the heartthrob singers and virtuosic British blues players came to America, the white audience erupted. Blues grew in popularity all over the United States, including Long Beach. African American artists from Long Beach also grew in popularity, and they attracted a new, younger white audience. After a while, blues became the major focal point of music in the Long Beach area. Through the ‘70s, new white blues artists began to spring up as well, being influenced by older African American artists. Artists like George “Harmonica” Smith took on white protégés like Rod Piazza. White artists such as William Clarke and Doug MacCloud were very popular blues names through the ‘80s and ‘90s. Blues was the center of attention in Long Beach at this time. There were blues clubs downtown, including Ash Grove’s, The Blue Café and Harvelle’s, which featured blues acts such as Albert Collins and Buddy Guy. Blues Magazines were founded as well, including Blues
Review, Living Blues, and Blues Access. There was even a world renowned blues festival in Long Beach, The KLON Long Beach Blues Festival. Starting in 1980 with 18 acts on the beds of trucks, the Long Beach Blues Festival grew into a 3- day event and attracted artists such as Robert Cray, Taj Mahal, Albert Collins, Little Milton, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, The Blasters, Charlie Musselwhite, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Chuck Berry, John Mayall, and Buddy Guy. Buddy Guy actually played the festival a total of 7 times. The Long Beach Blues festival continued to grow through the ‘90s but began to lose steam by the early 2000s and eventually died in 2009 after issues within the Radio Station. Through the ‘90s, blues was the most happening music genre in Long Beach, attracting thousands of listeners and drawing huge crowds at concerts and festivals, but this phenomenon seems to be slowly disappearing. By the early 2000’s, blues began to die in Long Beach. Places
like the Blue Café and Ash Grove’s began to shut down. The African American blues artists from the ‘60s began to die off, and the new generation did not cling to the tradition as the previous one did. Blues publications began to disappear, and even the Long Beach Blues Festival died. The questions remain as to why the blues are dying in Long Beach. Is it a problem with supply and demand? Are there not enough modern blues artists to carry the torch to new, younger audiences? Or have the audiences themselves moved on from the blues? I think it’s probably a little bit of both. There are many though, who believe the blues is ready for a comeback. A new generation of blues artists such as Whiteboy James and the Blues Express, Gino Matteo, as well as my band are growing in size and reaching more people. The popular blues club, Harvelle’s, is still booking many blues artists. Places like Bliss are having Thursday night blues jams. The record label Rip Cat Records, who have signed artists such as Whiteboy James, The Blasters, Johnny Mastro, Lisa Cee, The “44’s”, The Mercy 4, and The Mighty Mojo Prophets, to name a few, is growing and producing more albums and artists. Blue magazines like Big City Rhythm and Blues are still widely read. Even KJAZZ plays blues all day on Sundays. The blues may not be as strong as it once was in the Long Beach area, but it still holds a good presence. Many believe it’s due for a resurgence in the popular Long Beach music scene, and with a new generation of young blues artists, this is surely possible. This deep blues heritage in our city needs to be recognized and celebrated, not thrown
away and forgotten. But in order for that to happen, the younger generation of listeners needs to be exposed to the blues, and it needs to happen through a new generation of artists. This can be done in a number of ways, perhaps the most important is just getting the word out to young people of the rich blues history, and the current Long Beach blues events. Harvelle’s, one of the original blues venues in Long Beach, features Whiteboy James and the Blues Express with I as the opener every Wednesday night at 9 pm. You can also check out Harvelle’s sexy Blues and Burlesque show, “American Monster,” every Saturday night. Other venues such as Lucille’s BBQ also offer extraordinary blues acts from the Long Beach area. The blues is a deep part of Long Beach history, and though it has seen a decline in popularity over the last few years, some are sure it will once again be the most happening music in the Long Beach area. Please, share this article with a friend, come out to one of the blues shows in the area, and educate yourself about one of the most important genres of music not only in Long Beach, but in the world.
News and shows regarding Johnny Oskam can be found at www.johnnyoskam.com News and shows regarding Whiteboy James can be found at www.whiteboyjames.com You can follow Johnny Oskam on Twitter at @JohnnyOskam
UNION WEEKLY
29 OCTOBER 2012
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ENTERTAINMENT
TOKE
OF THE TOWN A REVIEW OF THE POT DOC LEGALIZE IT!
ALLEN TOLKOFF CONTRIBUTOR
T
he screening of the documentary began with an introduction from a guest speaker : “Raise your hand if you’ve never smoked pot!” At first, a forest of hands sprang up inside the theater, but then audience members realized they wouldn’t be judged for what they may or may not have inhaled in the past. A few hands remained standing and the owners of those hands slowly began to laugh as they realized that they were, in fact, the minority. It was the perfect opening to Legalize It!, a documentary about the campaign for the famous (or infamous) Proposition 19. The “it” is of course weed, grass, green, marijuana, call it what you like. And in case you’ve been smoking under a rock for the past two years, Prop 19 was a 2010 statewide ballot initiative that would have legalized the sale and possession of marijuana in
Illustration
ROSE FEDUK COMICS EDITOR
California. A myriad of reasons have garnered a vast amount of support for this cause, including the potential revenue from taxing such sales, our nation’s increasingly massive prison population, and the victimless nature of marijuana, this support has actually reached beyond our state and has gained national recognition. Legalize It! is more than just a stoner propaganda film. Though most people see Prop 19 as a political and historical event, the documentary also reveals a personal story as well. Prop 19 appeared on the ballot because of one man, Richard Lee, a medical marijuana businessman, who has been an activist for the cause since he was 28 years old. Richard, along with his friends and fellow proponents, Dale Jones and Jeff Jones, introduced and publicized Prop 19, and spent $1.5 million of his own savings
into the campaign. Their tireless work and incredible optimism—even in the face of Prop 19’s narrow defeat—is a lesson to all about the widespread change one can effect in America, even without political influence. With an election less than two weeks away, it’s particularly interesting to see where the divide falls between those in favor of legalization and those against it—and how little that has to do with party affiliation. For instance, Prop 19 found an unlikely ally in Gary Johnson, former Republican Governor of New Mexico. Though it’s common to think of liberals as those who favor legalization and conservatives as those against legalization, members of both parties have actually demonstrated their support for the proposition. The main focus of Legalize It! is the decision to, well, legalize marijuana, as well as other important issues facing our
country. These issues are not just divided between liberals and conservatives, but between the government and the citizens. How much power should government leaders have in our lives? Do they have the right to tell us what we can and can’t indulge within the privacy of our own homes? Ultimately Legalize It! provides a greater understanding about background of the legalization of marijuana and also highlights the meaningful story about the small, but determined group behind the movement. Whether you are for the legalization of marijuana or against it, this documentary will challenge your perspective. Besides, we’re all college students here and whatever your personal indulgences are, our generation isn’t exactly known for restraint when it comes to marijuana. Just as Legalize It! argues, why should we be?
CALLING ALL ASPIRING FILM MAKERS CAMPUS MOVIEFEST ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO MAKE THEIR OWN FILMS MELISSA CASAS OPINIONS EDITOR
On October 15, student filmmakers around campus began their weeklong journey as participants in Campus MovieFest. Campus MovieFest is the world’s largest film festival and was founded by four friends at Emory University ten years ago, originally under the moniker of iMovieFest. After beginning in Atlanta, Georgia, they eventually expanded to include campuses across the country and around the world. They now bring their filmmaking extravaganza to 75 college campuses across the world. The purpose of their program is to challenge students to create five-minute films within a week’s time, providing participants with Panasonic cameras, Macbook Pros, shotgun microphones, and tripods. To outsiders, it may be hard to understand why anyone would choose to
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take on a task that seems nearly impossible. College students are usually busy. It’s hard enough to manage school, yet alone attempt to cobble a cast and crew together, plan, shoot, and finish a film within a week. Prizes for those hearty enough to attempt the feat include a year-long membership to Adobe Creative Cloud, t-shirts, cash money, an invitation to attend and screen at Cannes Film Festival in their Short Film Corner, and their films being screened at CMF Hollywood, which has included speakers such as Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Danny Pudi (Community) and Horatio Sanz (Saturday Night Live). Additionally, Virgin Atlantic screens student films on their flights. This year, 52 teams of students from our school created and submitted their work to CMF. On the evening of October 25, CMF
held their finale in the Beach Auditorium to showcase 16 of the best. Members of the CMF team, Jodie Shurtleff and Joseph Rolon, hosted the event. Besides the opportunity to be included amongst the finalists in the finale, special awards include best comedy, best drama, best picture, and the Silver Tripod Awards, which recognizes the best editing, actors, and actresses, and more. Even for those that don’t make it into the group of finalists, after the finale a Wild Card Challenge takes place where the film with the most YouTube views makes it to the next round and receives an invitation to CMF Hollywood. This year, a special social justice category sponsored by Elfenworks was included in the awards ceremony. Films varied and included tales of luck, love, loss, freedom, and more. In the end,
the winners of the night were Selling Out for best editing, Pillow D’amour for best story, Hacker for best crime drama, Thomas Trinity in Before It’s Too Late for best actor, Shanea Woods in Lot 2 for best actress, A Light Within Us for best drama, and Lot 2 for best comedy. The Cart, a documentary surrounding homeless folk on the streets of Los Angeles, came out on top as best picture. During the finale, a Halloween costume contest was held for attendees. Little Red Riding Hood and her tuxedo’d Big Bad Wolf took the prize. Runner-up in the costume contest was sophomore Jamie Perez as Katniss Everdeen, who concisely summed up the experience: “Campus MovieFest is a great opportunity and experience, but don’t go into it thinking it’s a walk in the park. Participate and have fun, but know it’s a challenge.”
LITERATURE
NON-FICTION FRIGHTFEST TRUE TALES TOO SCARY TO BE FAKE
IN THE DEAD OF FRIGHT
S
ome people say fear is irrational. Intellectuals proclaim to fear only fear itself. But I can’t help it if I still wake up crying from zombie nightmares. I think it’s the skin, hanging in colorless threads from the mouths aching for me, hands grasping. When I heard moans outside my window, I put down my well-loved copy of Harry Potter and stiffened. Maybe it was a cat, wounded after a battle. A red hand, thick with goo, slid down the glass causing me to shriek. An eye appeared next, bloodshot and encrusted with mascara. It peeled away in chunks, like chocolate cake. Before I could move, another pair of eyes shone against the light, the red mixing with green, and saliva coated teeth followed. Drooling across my window, this nightmarish pair banged their foreheads until it seemed their skulls would crack. Fear struck my legs, rendering them useless. My throat caught and my breath halted when the doorknob began twisting.
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CAMILLE HOVE ASSISTANT EDITOR
Slowly, it rotated until the audible click of the catch retreating echoed like a gunshot. window, and I was a frozen corpse. The door burst open. I screamed as three more zombies staggered into my room, dragging their feet and— Laughing? friends collapsed on the rug, jaws extended, arms clutching at bellies. I promptly burst into tears. My sister sobered, but a twinkle in the room, they continued laughing until we heard a deep moan from outside. My sister shrugged, and we all squished around the window, six faces with eyes wide as street, a stumble to his step and blood on his streetlight shone on his visage for one brief moment, and all I saw was a crazed hunger in his eyes.
ROSE FEDUK COMICS EDITOR
PAINS OF YOUTH THWACK THWACK THWACK! My mom looked up from the kitchen sink and my two siblings and I looked up from the dining room table when we heard the noise of something hitting the side of the house. It took seven seconds to make it to the sliding glass doors, and three more for us to shove our way outside. Shepherd Maddie sitting back on her paws, ears perked and head cocked, watching us. Then my brother emitted an exclamation of disgust as he and my mother bent over to look at something on the ground. “Oh Maddie, why would she do
EVERY SOUND It was well past the midnight hour and as chance would have it, I hadn’t yet lost my senses to sleep. I was wide awake in bed when there arose such a clatter from the patio. I looked up to see a shadowy silhouette against the pale blinds made it seem like some man-eating creature was just on the other side. Like Death, he forgot to knock. The situation now becomes urgent as he attempted to come for me. I rose and stared wrong directions. Do I go for pants or a weapon? As confused as I still was, I decided to not let it carry on any further. I threw open the blinds and pounded on the glass in front of him as if it were actually his face.
FELICITY LANDA CONTRIBUTOR
something like this?” My mom said. My sister and I pushed our way through until all four of us were bent over a bloody, broken squirrel laying on our back porch. I looked up at Maddie, who was watching us expectantly. I just shook my head at her as I suddenly had the image of her head swinging back and forth, the gray tail of a squirrel locked in her jaws, its tiny head and body hitting the wall three times before dropping to the ground. I looked back at the squirrel. It was tiny, and there was a pool of blood underneath its head. A thick red blood bubble oozed out of its nose.
“It’s dead,” my sister remarked sadly. My brother kicked its tail, and suddenly the squirrel squirmed its tiny paws, which were pulled into its chest, twitching slightly. “It’s not dead! It’s alive!” my brother screamed, and he immediately starting poking at its head with his foot. my sister said. “Stop! Kids… go inside,” my mom said solemnly. She was watching the squirrel intently as it continued to twitch and squirm on the ground. “No fun,” my brother grumbled, but he turned anyway to follow my sister into
the house. I waited a moment, staring at the squirrel and then at my mom, back and forth, still trying to process what was going on. My mom just turned to look at me and smoothed down my hair. “It’s in a lot of pain, Felicity.” I just nodded because I didn’t know what she meant, and turned to go into the house. The last thing I heard before I closed the glass door behind me was Maddie’s growl. She was back on her haunches, staring the squirrel down. I turned, my hand still on the door handle, and looked out through the glass just in time to see my mother raise a rock and quickly smash in the squirrel’s head.
WES YOUNG CONTRIBUTOR
We saw each other, and it was like being face to face with a ghost or some other disheveled horror. Even from behind the glass, I felt like I was at battle with the enemy. And so, the adrenaline found an outlet in the form of a bellowed roar from my very core. “Get the hell out of here!” It took him a second or two to realize he was thwarted; then he turned tail, running off into the darkness. The cops came by soon after telling me they caught him. They say he’s my neighbor from the other side of the apartments. Then they say they have to let him go because there was no entry. Very few nights pass where I don’t wake up to the sounds of my fears. Every sound I hear is caused by him. UNION WEEKLY
29 OCTOBER 2012
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CULTURE
COWABUNGA!!!
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TMNT COSTUME AMY PATTON UNION STAFFER
A
lright kids, All Hallows Eve is quickly upon us and if you are like me, you don’t have two dimes to rub together. And oh shit! You need a costume, stat! Well don’t you worry your silly little heads. I’ve got you covered. This is a stepby-step guide on how to morph yourself into Michelangelo (because I have an orange bandana), using ordinary things you can
What You Will Need: Turtle Shell: newspaper, glue and water or starch, a dome shaped mold (I used a chip Wardrobe: Green things. Green shirt, green tights, green pants if you have them. Anything turtle-esque really. A bandana if you want to embody one of the TMNT (and of course you do, you are most likely a ’90s kid).
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STEPS:
ASHLIE BONSER CONTRIBUTOR
1 To create your shell, get your dome. Cut or rip 2-inch strips of newspaper. Dredge a strip in either starch or a mixture of glue and water (ratio is roughly 1:3, respectively). Lay it smoothly across your dome. Cover the dome in a smooth layer. Repeat until your shell is 3-layers thick. Let dry over night.
4 Once dry, tie roughly 2 feet of string into a circle and staple onto the inside edge of the shell as a strap. Do the same for the other side. It should be reminiscent of backpack straps.
2 Twist 2-inch strips tightly and dredge in starch or glue mixture. Glue onto edge of turtle shell. Do around entire edge of shell. You are attempting to create a little turtle shell border. This step requires some patience and swearing. Let dry overnight.
3
5 Dress like a turtle. I, for example, bought a pair of green tights from Target for $2 and wore them under some black workout shorts with a green button-up shirt. To accessorize, I wore some old (possibly pilfered) bowling shoes because what turtle wouldn’t completed the ninja look with an orange bandana and glasses complements a la Chegg guy at Smorgasport.
Paint your shell green! If you don’t have paint, I’m sure a neighbor must. I used a can of spray paint from an old art project Drying paint smells extremely strong. It is not advised to let dry in an enclosed space (such as your dorm suite’s common room. Yes I tried this and everyone’s heads were spinning). I suggest letting your masterpiece dry outside overnight.
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And there you go! In 4 days you have successfully morphed into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for the mere price of $2. Caution, although you may feel
wearing this costume does not actually need to watch a few Jackie Chan movies to perfect your martial arts abilities if you intend to go all out with your persona.
UNION WEEKLY
29 OCTOBER 2012
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BOODOKU Daddy, what’d you do with mommy? CONTRIBUTOR
THIS MONTH’S WINNER: CAMILLE HOVE
IRENE THAISS
SAD BUMPKINS
FILL IN THE BUBBLE COMICS
DISCLAIMER: This isn’t spooky real. It’s spooky fake!!! Ghost the fuck out of my face. WE ARE NOT ASI OR THE CSULB CAMPUS. Email the ghoulchess for a ghoul kiss at grunion@lbunion.com.
Volume 71 Issue 10
Taylor Swift needs to just get AIDs
LBUNION.COM
Monday, October 29, 2012
THE GHOSTS AND THE SPOOKING BOOGIES
BASED GOD, HALLOWEEN BASED GOD FREESTYLE
Hello, this is Tomasa. I’m the Duchess’ personal assistant/house nurse. Because the Duchess was going to be out for the weekend visiting By THE DUCHESS a graveyard for a seance, trying to summon the spirits of her former lovers in order to have some kind of crazy ghost and corpse orgy or something, she asked me to review a spooky video she made with her husband for the Grunion. I haven’t watched it and really don’t want to do this, but if I do not do as she asks, the Duchess may became vengeful and pee in my work shoes.
[The Based God graces the pages of Grunion once again with a freestyle By LIL B, BASED GHOST rap about Halloween. I’m still waiting to be one of his “bitches” even though my maid told me it’s used as a derogatory term. I’d just love a piece of his chocolate swirl.]
this. She’s old and her eyes don’t work very well, so I’m actually the one that edits everything on the Grunion. I can pretty much write anything as long as I can dictate whatever she originally told me back to her. The only problem is that I’m forced to write for four hours everyday before I leave, which is why I waited till today to write this shitty about what it is that I am writing about right now with word and sentences involving the movie I am about to watch. dressed in the Black Widow costume from The Avengers servants dressed as ninjas. She can’t move very fast so the action is sped up a bit in order to make it seem like she’s moving
not like a robot. Suddenly, her current husband walks up behind her and stabs her minutes. The screen fades out and the title of the movie appears: Double Jeopardy. I don’t think she knows there is already a movie with that title and I’m not going to be the one to tell her. I don’t know if this was intended but it cuts to some personal home video footage of the Duchess sitting by a pool. She’s because her skin is wrinkly and stretchy so you can see things that you’re not supposed to, like the edges of her vagina or something Now she’s in a bedroom. Oh god. Please tell me she didn’t make me review Duchess standing naked in the doorway to her personal bathroom. Long strands of pubic hair sway across her legs. She limps towards the bed. I’m really glad I don’t have to hear anything she’s telling her husband. Oh Duchess, why? Did I not iron your satin undergarments to your liking? Did I give you razor-burn when I shaved your royal armpits? What have I done to deserve this? Now she’s arching her back like a cat about to hack up a big one. She’s about to blow! Her eyes are bulging, her neck skin is jiggling, and she’s making a sound comparable to stirring a pot of mac and cheese. She’s just given mouth-birth to a tiny Duchess with crab legs. I’m not prepared for this shit. Tomasa out.
Swag Swag Oh Based God Stuff my pussy with candy You can haunt my pussy Based God Yung Based God, and I love Halloween Eatin’ all the pussy like my name Paula Dean Eatin’ all the pussy like my name is Malcolm X Yung Based God, and I love Halloween Yung Based God, got hoes on my dick
Fuckin’ slutty nurses, got hoes on my dick Zombies give me brain, got ghosts on my dick Homeless people on my dick and dey all are homeless Carving out the pussy like a jack o’ lantern Pussy go green like my name is Green Lantern Girls on my lolli like an overzealous intern Fuck ‘em so hard they gonna get a splinter Oh Based god, fuck me on Friday the 13th Kill my pussy like Michael Myers Hell raise my pussy Based God Finger me like Freddy Krueger Based God Make yo head spin like the Excorcist bitch Get some undead pussy like Imma fuckin’ Lich Get some alien pussy like Lilo and Stitch Yung Based God, Happy Halloween, Bitch
INSIDE
DIVORCE STIPULATION FORCES DEVITO TO CHANGE NAME TO DANNY “LORAX” DEVORSO
LOCAL MOM FURBY CHILD
ADOPTS
FERAL
GRUNION ENDORSES ROMNEY/ LOAF 2016