Jazz Reggae Fest Tops Extravaganza
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending UCLA’s Jazz Reggae Festival, the featured annual music event of our southbound University of California neighbor. Much like our very own Extravaganza, the performance was an entirely student-body organized event that drew in large crowds made up of both university population and the surrounding community. Unlike our own Extravaganza, however, the event was an enjoyable collective of legitimate music and peaceful concert goers alike. Allow me to shed light on this contrast.
TV Star Gets DUI, House Arrest
Actor and television-regular Gary Collins is currently serving a 120-day sentence at home for a DUI he received in Summerland earlier this year.
Festival Offers Up TwoUnique Theatrical Works
In a continuation of world premiere presentations by the UCSB Dept. of Theater & Dance, the 2009 UCSB New Plays Festival showcased two extraordinary new works by UCSB theater students. The New Plays Festival presents selected UCSB playwrights, featuring Coming In, a comedy written by fourth-year dramatic arts major, Stephen Ravet, and Rebel Moon, a modern drama written by doctoral student Brian Granger. Both plays address certain issues of contemporary life and, in incredibly original ways, bridge the gap between the audience and the actors. In both stories, the characters speak directly to viewers by breaking the fourth wall of the intimate performing arts theater space, and opening the door for us to experience the playwrights’ art in a unique form.
Films To Honor Ellison
Before the Film & Media Studies Dept. packs its bags and moves to a new building, students and faculty will say goodbye to Ellison Hall with a film screening.
Guess Who’s Back… Back Again? ****
It has been almost five years since phenomenal rap artist Eminem has graced the public with any new music. But now he’s back: His latest album, Relapse, is his most raw, intense and overall in-depth look into his usually chaotic life. Eminem has been known not only for creating controversy, but also for pissing people off… fans and celebrities alike. This album does just that and more. Relapse gives the audience a real account of what has been going on in Em’s life since he vacated the spotlight, and the only common element is drugs.
Council Asserts A.S. Represents Students
Last night, the newly seated 2009-10 Associated Students Legislative Council members started their term with a five-hour meeting.
On the Menu Goes South of the Border
So the ongoing drug war in Mexico has found you a little less than excited to cross the border. Even so, who’s to say that you have to lose out on the many flavorful dishes and cocktails that find their home south of the border? Santa Barbara offers one of the most diverse ranges of Mexican cuisine, from upscale and chic restaurants turned nightclubs to the most humble, cheap and authentic taquerias this side of Mexico City. From flautas to margaritas, and from mole to tamales, On the Menu has got the best dish on a sample of Santa Barbara’s best Mexican restaurants.
Campus Commemorates Veterans
Honoring Memorial Day one day past, the Student Veterans at UCSB organized thousands of crosses and set them along the strips of lawn on campus Tuesday. The crosses commemorate the sacrifice of members of the armed services at a time when the gravity of war is overshadowed by the economy.
California Upholds Gay Marriage Ban
The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 Tuesday, ending months of legal debate concerning the constitutionality of banning gay marriage.
SB Nukes Nationals
Maybe you were unaware that Santa Barbara has not just one, but two of the best ultimate frisbee teams in the nation. If so, this weekend should have been a solid reminder. The men’s team, known as the Black Tide, took a hard loss to Michigan to take them out of the tournament as a 17th seed, while the Burning Skirts women’s squad managed to take out Washington in a 15-11 victory in the finals to earn an Ultimate Players Association National Championship.