Manifesto I

I hereby proclaim an alarming call to action for anyone who holds the ripped hemp pieces of the constitution in their hands. We are in danger of extinction through the same characteristics that make us thrive. A call to arms sounding high with just principles resonating in the ears of the young and pass through them with steadfast motion. To reciprocate their actions we must hold our tongues and raise our hands. It is through our sheer numbers do we speak. In our shadows we see plain the history in our decent, that we are the children of something inherent and original. Our disdain can be found in the pages of history, but not the one that is being given to our children. It is hidden because the original ideas of truth, reason, and patriotism have been contorted in such a way that the entire system of modern economics and government ignore their properties. Through the words and lives of those once lived can we raise their meanings from the dead. For I did not know what curiosity I could describe other then the one that lay dormant inside all of us. I joyfully hold my brothers and sisters hands to symbolize equality, unity, and love. And through these principles do I ask them to rise to their feet. We are not the children of the flower, nor are we the children of the modern man. We are stuck in equilibrium at our present state while the governing systems above us continue to represent themselves and not the people.

This is no grand epiphany nor is it hard to see, one merely needs to study history for a very short period of time to realize that governing systems in our country usually tend to mend and devastate democracy. In its true nature, a democracy implies a certain intellectual responsibility on its citizens. It is the responsibility of those citizens to make informed and reasonable decisions based off of factual evidence and the common stages of decision making. The Electoral College was implemented because it was noticed that the country as a whole did not have the means or technology to fully educate the entire population on matters of presidential elections or federal legislation. So the real power of the individual was handed over immediately to the ephemeral machine of government. Have we forgotten our own history as a revolutionary state? Have we been so broken by the opposition that we have not the muscle to rise above it? Like a traumatized Vietnam War veteran, it is better to forget that which is problematic to your way of life. I can only read about democracies victory in fiction because I have not seen what a democracy means; I have only seen in action the efforts to restore it. Like an orphan, abandoned by his mother, I ramble to find knowledge of my origins. Because the world as it stands today is ambiguously detrimental to the freedom of the individual. If it is us that make the decision, and instead of maintaining the grain, couldn’t we use the drive of democracy to create a better world for our children? If I were to wake from a horrid dream and look upon my world with eyes unclouded then I would desperately shut them again and hope I never see such disaster again.


Liquid Thoughts


Andy Valenzuela for Skinnie Magazine

Celebs Going Broke?

Thanks to websites like PerezHilton.com and TMZ, it’s easy for fans to keep tabs on their fave celebs’ personal lives, ranging anywhere from their relationships to their routine rehab visits, to their… financial issues? Some recent reports prove that even celebrities aren’t immune to the effects of the country’s economic crisis. Between lawsuits, owing millions in taxes, and even filing bankruptcy, some of our beloved stars are getting a rude awakening to reality, as we (commoners) know it.

The women of America’s guiltiest pleasure, The Real Housewives, never cease to amaze us with their lavish spending and oh-so-luxurious lifestyles. From real estate purchases, top of the line cars, throwing ridiculously expensive events and parties, to the typical thousand-dollar shop stop, it seems that these women’s pockets never falter. Unfortunately, for New Jersey housewife Teresa Giudice, her pockets hit rock bottom in October of last year when she and her husband had to file for bankruptcy. Since then, they have announced that the greater portion of the furnishings from their “humble abode” in Jersey is going to be sold in a bankruptcy auction to aid in their 11, yes, 11 million dollar debt in credit. Looks like it’s time to pull the reigns on your gold encrusted chariot, Mrs. Giudice.

Lucky for Teresa, she’s not the only one suffering from public humiliation due to her financial downfall. Just to name a few, Rob Lowe, Chris Tucker, and Wesley Snipes are dealing with their own monetary turmoil. Tucker allegedly owes a whopping $11 million in federal taxes and another 3 to the state of California. Lowe is also facing a hefty fine because of tax evasion and by now, most of us know that Wesley Snipes is set to go to prison for his own set of IRS indiscretions.

So let’s be honest, hearing about these plunders make us feel a little better when watching the current season of Real Housewives as Teresa states, “People make fun of Jersey girls but I think they’re just jealous” in the opening credits of the show. Really, Teresa, we’re not so jealous of your multi million-dollar problem, but thanks for showing us what not to do in case we come across a little fortune of our own. And as for the aforementioned Hollywood vets, you should know better by now... [insert motherly disappointment].

Maybe someone should reiterate the whole “money doesn’t grow on trees” concept to these dumbfounded celebs.

Fiorella Bergandi for Skinnie Magazine

Specialized Business

Are the ways we act and run in a society based off human thought and interaction or the natural drive to survive? We have built a new earth on the concrete. We eroded the forests down to plains and we set up shop. One of the interesting aspects of the human spirit is that it is flexible and malleable. Our minds problem solve, and instead of simple “hit or miss” techniques we work them out. Implement and invent mathematics to make the time between finding out the answer and solving it shorter. But these inventions of our thoughts like mathematics are in fact our confliction with nature. It is an example of how we think up ways of cutting through the preexisting way of doing things. Remember, Organisms progress and adapt faster and more efficiently in groups or societies. It gives the species a greater chance at survival. Sometimes they change their surroundings, build intricate cities out of the earth itself, its own brand of brick and mortar. They fabricate intricate architectural marvels and the complexity alone would make one freeze in wonder. We as a collective organism (life) share unmistakable characteristics with each other. It almost could be said to be the law of life, the collective acknowledgment of real consequences for needs in a un hospitable world.

But could the drive of reproduction explain what we buy and choose to look like? Could the drive of our whole economy be caused by a very simple aspect of the law of life? There is a type of bird called a “bowerbird” that is indigenous to New Guinea, and Australia. The way that most animals attract mates in nature are how many of us attempt to attract our mates. Some rely on their physical size or strength; others rely on their physical features and attractiveness. But the bowerbirds are mostly a plain bird with no real extravagant colors on its feather to attract mates. So in the absence of any real physical trait to attract, the bowerbird builds a house. They first clear away the ground of any rocks or anything the bird chooses it doesn’t like, and creates a house like structure out of ferns, grass, moss, or leaves. Then painstakingly retrieves berries, flowers, fungi, pieces of colorful décor for their lawns. But they all display different ideas of what the female would like so each is completely different. When the female walks by the house it evaluates the male with careful scrutiny and sass, and reluctantly proceeds into his man cave.

Given this example we can reflect on our own way of life. What we do to attract mates or even to succeed in the workplace. Could the overwhelming quality in our society, like the need to buy and consume, be a natural path or a perversion upon that natural path. We hurry around our streets bombarded constantly with the images of products. In a sense the theme behind our economy is extreme adoration. An attempt to increase status or lineage to decrease the harshness of his environment and it is this system that creates the value on money. Remember, this is merely what we as a people create and do in our world. It is not so correct to feel like we are powerless to create a different future for ourselves. We intricately engrained ourselves so deep into other people that we can’t change unless everyone does. But perhaps that rises up other questions. It is our world that we create; it is not that I think that I am better, but merely that I believe that our species could do better. The consistent and regular patterns of life and our reasons for them cannot mean that it is the best way of thinking. We should learn from our experience to nature and come to a better system of balanced equilibrium to match our ingenuity and mind for invention.

Liquid Thoughts

Andy Valenzuela

Twitter.com/rewvalenz

By now, most people have heard of the infamous “Mel Gibson tapes.” With a name reminiscent of some eerie science fiction conspiracy theory, or a straight-up sex tape, one’s assumptions wouldn’t be too far off. These audio tapes are almost a mix of both. What they really are, however, is a reported phone conversation between Mel Gibson and his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, in which Gibson rages on a victimized Grigorieva, shouting expletives, death threats, and racial slurs.

Thing is, no one is entirely sure of the source of the leaked tapes, nor is anyone positive of the authenticity of them. Many have argued that they sound dubbed, or that Grigorieva is unduly underwhelmed, her voice sugary sweet, collected, and clear enough to be studio-produced. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that the enraged man isn’t even Gibson himself. Therein is the questionable aspect of the whole thing: no one has confirmed the legitimacy of these tapes and rather just assume their genuineness.

Suppose the man in the tapes actually was Mel Gibson. What then? Half of the people argue that he’s completely out of line, especially after confessing in the tapes that he was physically abusive to Grigorieva. These people say that his career is over entirely and will boycott any of his films from this point on. The other half suggest that he needs professional help, and that Grigorieva knows just how to press his buttons, toying with his emotions. Overall, the general consensus is that no “real man” should say things such as these to his girlfriend, and that he was in the wrong, regardless of whether he was “set up” or that the tapes were edited or what have you.

In all, this whole situation seems like a slowly unraveling freak-show, involving the likes of names such as Whoopi Goldberg, standing up for Gibson and subsequently having hell rained over her because of it. The question must always remain – why do people really care so much about the personal lives of celebrities? It’s always unclear as to how or why these occurrences become national headlines, yet they continue to engulf the minds of the average American with nothing better to learn about.

The tapes can be listened to on this website: http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/07/exclusive-new-audio-mel-gibson-admits-hitting-oksana-threatens-kill-her-listen-it

Intern Katie Evans

Skinnie Magazine

Liquid Thoughts

Info Babies

Technology and the advancement of our minds create paradoxes and innovative perspectives in ethics and cultural structure. What if an invention created out of our own minds was so influential it changed the very minds that created it? The internet and the technological breakthroughs that preceded it created a rupture in standardized culture and exchanged the traditional means of acquiring knowledge and experience for a digital and instantaneous activity of leisure. This in the mirror of our children can be seen in a very drastic way, and the implications of which whirl around our brains just out of reach of its intuition. They, the ones birthed into the newest cultural assimilation, peered through the maternity ward windows and into the shining crystal screens that await them.

Children as young as five years old were reported in being more then literate when it comes to navigating and exploring internet search engines and even troubleshooting. This implies something very curious and groundbreaking when you reflect on what it means to grow up, learn, and socialize not only in America, but as a global community connected through this technology now. The parenting situation and obligations change under this new assimilation, because the amount of information and interactive activity that children love are all found in one medium. But the question that is unraveling itself does not necessarily imply the destruction of our way of life or the corruption of our youth, but does highlight a social phenomenon that will dictate future economic possibilities, technological advancement, and the future of ethics and morals. As a world community connected through the webbing of information on the internet a super culture is created.

It is now in our age that identity can be traced to a world identity, where there are far more doors of development in exposure to different cultures and ideas. This all comes back to the children that are clicking away at the keyboard and what they see and read about the world as a whole. Instead of getting their moral ideas from family traditions they integrate collected and acquired knowledge to gather a more realistic and fuller view of the world. Another aspect of this is purely historical and the consequences of which speak something a little bit more to the future of our species as a whole. It is now in action we can see the consumption of old culture and the recreated bi products of its entrails. We are experiencing a change so drastic to our society that the ones that are reluctant to change will be left in the Dark Age. It is necessary to recognize social changes like this because it is in a constant flux in which we all are participants in. The futures of ethics, technology, and social progress in general have been put on a different fluid plane that has never been seen in human history. The future is not predisposed and we the creators of our world can change it for the better or for the worse, but the conceptual recreation of the world community is at the frail finger tips of the worlds info babies.

Andy Valenzuela

Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

Twitter.com/rewvalenz

Paul the Octopus Say Whaaatt?

After Spain's Andres Iniesta scored the first and only goal of the game in the second overtime of Sunday's World Cup Final and guaranteed the win for his team, Paul the Octopus's prediction was once again proven accurate. So, if you're like me, you're thinking, "What's the deal with this octopus??"

Apparently, Paul, an octopus kept in captivity in a German aquarium, had been delivering flawless predictions about the results of Germany's soccer matches in the 2010 World Cup. In order to get these "predictions," caretakers would set two boxes with food side by side, one with a German flag, and the other with the opponent's. Paul chose the winning flag every time, including Spain's win against Germany. The eight-legged oracle was so accurate for Germany, that for the final between Spain and Netherlands, he was once again put to the test, and successfully chose the box with the Spanish flag.

So is this really the work of some natural phenomenon, or just another hoax? Skeptics, myself included, have said that perhaps the octopus is in someway persuaded to go to a certain box, weather it is by the type of food placed inside, the position the winning box is set in, the color and brightness of the flags, or even the smell of the water surrounding each box. In this case, though, someone still had to make the correct predictions. Perhaps a sports expert teamed up with Paul's caretakers? Or, maybe the octopus was just lucky? I'll leave that for you all to figure out.

Turns out for now though, we won't have to worry any more about Paul's predictions, since the aquarium announced his official retirement from the fortunetelling business. Thanks for the fun, Paul.



Intern Fiorella Bergandi for Skinnie Magazine

Twitter/FiBergandi

The Decision?

So if you were like me and countless of other basketball fans, you were no doubt held hostage by ESPN’s coverage of the circus surrounding LeBron James’ “Decision”. For those of you who might have been living under a rock for the past three months or so, let me get you caught up to date: Cleveland Cavalier, LeBron James, was a pending free agent at the end of the 2010 NBA season. His services were being courted by the likes of the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and Miami Heat just to name a few.

Much speculation was being made by fans, media and every kind of pundit this side of the Milky Way. Free agency is a way of life in all professional sports. I can live with that. It is, after all, a business; A very lucrative business at that. What gets me most about this whole “decision” is the fact that it was fabricated to bring unnecessary attention to all parties involved: ESPN, LRMR, and of course, LeBron James. It became a circus that a lot of people saw right through. I don’t understand how ESPN can justify an hour of prime-time television for a five second statement.

To make matters worse, James chose pretty much everything about the event to even who would conduct the interview. I say interview loosely because watching James give calculated, almost seemingly scripted answers was as tedious as watching a slug die from salt poisoning. Of all the people he could have chosen to conduct the interview, he chose Jim Grey. Jim Grey. I’ll give pause as you ponder…

Everything about the events of last night screams egomaniac. I know a lot of you will cry about the egos of such NBA stars as Kobe, Shaq, D-Wade and KG. Sure, you need some ego to be great at your craft. Lord, don’t get me started on the diva personalities of NFL wide-outs Terrell Owens, Chad Ocho Cinco or Randy Moss. Again, you need a certain amount of ego to be good at your given profession. Here is where LeBron loses me: His need for attention outweighs his need for a championship.

LeBron is without a doubt, the single most physically gifted athlete in the NBA. His size, strength and skill are hardly matched. What separates him from say, Kobe, is that thing between his ears and the organ in the center of his chest. His mind is too much on himself and his longing to be a “global icon” or whatever that means. He hardly has the heart of a leader, much less a champion. If you need proof, you only need look at the playoff series he had against the Boston Celtics in which he basically gave up.

People watching the decision debacle will agree that too much is given to the man who anointed himself king. Ask people from Akron, where James is from, to the twelfth guy on the bench and you’ll see that everything Cavalier owner, Dan Gilbert, did was to cater to every want and whim of his prized player. How will this all work in Miami where you basically have three alpha-males in Dwayne Wade, Chirs Bosh and now, LeBron?

On paper, the new “Big Three” looks like a championship contender. I, however, disagree. For one, Bosh hasn’t won anything outside of tallest dude in Toronto contest. He is prone to injury and worst of all; he’s a big man who doesn’t like to bang in the paint. Teams with big front lines, like Orlando and Boston will kill Miami in the post and on the boards. Also, when the time comes for a big shot in the final seconds of the game, who is going to take that shot? Will LeBron concede to Wade or vice versa? I don’t know but I doubt LeBron or his ego can handle being Robin to D-Wade’s Batman.

Here’s a suggestion to LeBron and his ego. Make a conscious decision to be a complete professional basketball player. Don’t worry about becoming a global icon or promoting your brand. Championships will help solidify all that. How about instead of surrounding yourself with “yes men” surround yourself with people who can tell you how it is and show you how to be a true professional; Guys like Grant Hill, Derek Fisher and even as much as I hate to say, Ray Allen. These are guys who spend not only tireless hours in the gym but draw the respect and admiration from their peers because of not only how they play the game but how they RESPECT the game.

Even for all those people who criticize Kobe, as I have been known to do, you got to respect how he has matured as a player and continue to evolve as a player and student of the game. Does he have an ego? Of course but he respects the game too much to try and brand himself as an icon or endorsement conglomerate.

Take a cue from the captain of your favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees. Derek Jeter is the quintessential leader and champion. I don’t like the Yankees but I sure as hell admire Derek Jeter for the way he plays and respects the game of baseball. John Wooden, RIP, yes THE John Wooden, had stated that baseball was his favorite sport and that Jeter was his favorite player. Why…because he appreciated the way he played the game. The greatest coach in American sports history admired the captain of the baseball team LeBron supposedly backs. Two of the greatest champions at their craft are actually considered global icons without as much a word of “I” or “me” but always about “team”. Check into it LeBron.

Victor Ramireze for Skinnie Magazine