I’m not gonna lie, when I heard the title Ghetto Physics I was skeptical. The title and the aesthetic had me questioning if I really wanted to spend a couple hours taking this movie in. However, upon our invitation to the premiere this past week, I was astonished by the tact and poignancy of this film. Highlighting the role of politics in our daily lives, Ghetto Physics uses the relational dynamics of the pimp and the ho to create a framework to analyze some of the more manipulative power dynamics in American culture. From healthcare, to religion, to marriage, the film covers a variety of topics that provoked many conversations after the final credits. Ghetto Physics is one of those movies that makes you think differently after you watch it. And that’s powerful. In addition to L.A., Ghetto Physics will be premiering in select cities across the nation, including Oakland. So stay tuned.
Having come of age in the midst of one of the most senseless wars in recent history, it’s hard for me not to be biased about our government’s foreign policy. I’d say I was “skeptical” about the claims that oil played no role in our decision to go to war with Iraq, if I wasn’t actually certain beyond a doubt that it was one of the primary issues at stake. If you haven’t seen Blood & Oil, I’d highly recommend checking it out. If not, I’d recommend taking a look at the article below from Foreign Policy.
The main point Peter Maass raises is that the amount of military spending that goes towards obtaining and protecting oil exceeds our wildest dreams. Not to mention, despite the drop in media coverage, we’re still there, spending billions monthly. How we go about changing a century-old tradition in American politics is a tough thing to figure out. Lifestyle changes on the part of the consumer? Political action, or protesting against our tax dollars funding the war machine and big business? At the very least, I figure it’s better not to keep our heads in the sand, so to speak.
Challenging the notion that humans are motivated by monetary rewards, Dan Pink presents a variety of studies that have tested this question to find out what truly motivates humans. I know, 10 minutes is kind of crucial, but this is one of those, “and after that I never thought the same again” videos. A paradigm shift according to Ruud. Even better the entire discussion is illustrated, which is dope on so many levels, and it makes it a lot easier for the visual folks.
Amanda said, “science never ceases to amaze me.” And quite frankly I couldn’t agree more. Shit’s just hella fascinating. I think in our busy busy lives we (or at least I) don’t give science/the world/people the amount of time they deserve to really be understood. Recently, oceanic reef fossils were discovered in Australia, “proving” that life existed 650 million years ago. 650 million years ago! Think about that! I always say we gotta give love to the first humans who were out here, because they were fighting sabertooth tigers, giant insects and all kinds of crazy shit to bring us to where we are now. While today, all we have to fight is the media… But in all seriousness, this is a tremendous discovery that you can learn more about below.
Once we’ve gotten our priorities straight regarding reducing the massive amount of oil we use in transportation – largely because we’ve built our communities into places where most people need to drive rather than walk, bike or take public transit -there’s another conceptually big issue that needs to tackled: What to do with plastic?
Now, plastics alone don’t amount to much out of a single barrel of oil compared to liquid fuels, but their utter ubiquity in our lives combined with the resultant massive waste management and water pollution issues means we’ve got some serious contemplation to do.
Step 1. Get hub. Step 2. Embark. Step 3. Fight for Yours. Step 4. Fuck 5. Flop her
This shit’s hilarious. Animals will forever amaze me. Meet the Darwin Beetle. After climbing a tree and dueling with other suitors the Beetle climbs his way into “bed” with his female counterpart, only to flop her after it’s all said and done. But imagine. What if it was like this for humans. What if you had to spend like 15 years getting hub in the gym, all to one day, go to the club where you had to fight hella bruhs in one-on-one battle royals, only to beat everyone, find the girl of your dreams, get her number, take her home, get in bed, and as you’re about to lay your first kiss, she tells you she’s not in the mood… I’d be a little salty too.
I was kinda on the fence about this one. Lightweight made my stomach churn, but hella interesting at the same time. It’s crazy to me how the different stages of food welcome different life forms to it. When they’re ripe, we can fuck with it. And when they “go bad” they “go good,” for bugs and bacteria. It’s also hella interesting to see what foods go first. While the strawberries are the first to go, it seems like that squash put up the best fight. That is a squash right? And why did the apple on the left go before the apple on the right? And at the end of it all, the onions were out there acting like nothing happened. Pops could probably tell you what’s going on here better than I can, but an interesting sight nonetheless. Stay ripe.
“In order to become a member of the Original Scraper Bike Team, you must:
Be a resident of Oakland, CA. Be at least 7 years or older. Retain A 3.0 Grade Point Average, Create your own Scraper Bike…(It Has To Be Amazing, Or Else You Can’t Ride.) A single-file line when riding. After 10 rides The Scraper Bike King and his Captains will decide if your bike is up to standards and if you can follow simple guidelines. After your evaluation we will consider you a member and honor you with an Original Scraper Bike Team Shirt. Only worn when Mobbin…”
This is one of the more promising pieces of news I’ve heard in a long time. A few months ago, we featured an article from Fortune about Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s $600 Billion Challenge (now called The Giving Pledge), an initiative with an incredibly ambitious goal: to convince the world’s wealthiest figures to give away half of their existing fortunes to philanthropic causes. Well, for the time being, I guess the skeptics are going to have to fall back.
Earlier this week, The Giving Pledge‘s website revealed the first 40 billionaires to volunteer, including Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, Larry Ellison and George Lucas, just to name a few. Of course, how the funds will be allocated, and money is by no means a direct solution to the problems we face as a global society. But when you’re talking hundreds of billions, it’s a major part of the equation. Hats off to Bill and Warren. This is impressive, to say the least.
Damn, there really are folks that can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Known to the world as Parkour, the discipline stands for the art of movement, and specifically relates to one’s ability to adapt to their present environment. Originating in France, the non-competitive “sport” challenges its participants to get from one place to another using only their body and their surrounding environment. Pretty impressive if you ask me. Humans are hella clean.
What do vinyl records, 8-tracks, cassette tapes, the VCR, and the CD have in common? In a few years they will all be antiques, destined for private showings at museums. They will be replaced by the thumb drive, the iPod, the Android, the Blackberry, and all other types of media holding devices. Alas, it is now time to move on to an age where an Android phone is a boom box, where Pandora and Grooveshark.com are radio, where iTunes is Virgin Records, and where laptops are recording studios.
For the most part, I think we can all agree that providing affordable, quality education should be a priority for the state government. So why is it that every time we need to trim the budget, school funds seem to be the first ones to get the ax? In looking at the effects of the budget cuts, The Oakland Tribune’s Katy Murphy brings up an interesting point. California’s teachers are the highest paid in the nation, and yet per-pupil spending in California is more than $2,000 below the national average, and class sizes continue to grow, particularly in the poorest districts. If the theory is that teacher salaries are cutting into spending on students, I think we’re faced with a tough question. If education is indeed so important, why should we have to choose between paying our teachers a decent salary, and giving our kids the resources to succeed? As always, read more below, and let us know how you see it.
I think it was Twill that first introduced me to the Ted Conferences. We’ve showed you a few of them before, but in short, (very, very short) Ted Conferences consist of smart people discussing interesting shit. But please don’t let my generalization fool you. These folks will school you.
In this presentation, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray Love, speaks on societies ever changing perception of the creative process. Answering the question, “Does creativity come from the individual, or are we merely vessels that creativity occupies?” Gilbert pin points our somewhat flawed beliefs about the creative process. Highlighting historic beliefs regarding creativity, Gilbert provides us with a contemporary understanding of the creativity process to help us harness it to succeed in our own lives.
Although a lot of times we like to celebrate the beauty of life here on Wine & Bowties, I think it’s equally important to expose the horrors of life, if for nothing else than to relate the multitude of experiences that humans endure, ultimately to provide clarity and perspective to help us appreciate our own lives. Sometimes it’s important to let our imagination run wild, to do our best to empathize with the experiences of others. I recommend you do your best to place yourself in the shoes of Long Pross, to try to imagine the horrors she’s lived through. What’s sad is that Long’s not the only one, as there are girls who are going through these horrors as I type, and as you read. Please just take a moment to take it all in. Thanks for reading Wine & Bowties.
