Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Transplant to New Zealand
Things have been really hectic for me as of late. Most importantly, I have successfully moved to New Zealand and am currently living in Queenstown, Otago, just loving life.
Although things have been going great here and there is always something to do, I have found myself really itching to get back on the horse and back into journalism.
You know what they say, "it's not a career, it's a lifestyle!"
I will be doing my best to get back in the game, and if you know someone or a way to help me do so, please email me and let me know.
I'll be posting links and articles again once things settle down and I return to my career.
Hope you're having a great day!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Looking back
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Hip-hop in Tucson
Hip-hop breaks out
Friday, April 25, 2008
Travel, travel, travel
Wildcat Road Trip: Albuquerque, N.M
By: Kelly Lewis
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Built similar to Tucson on a grid that extends into Downtown, Albuquerque's main road, Central Avenue, has just about everything you need.
Trying to find the University of New Mexico? Try Central Avenue. A hip and trendy clothing shop? Central Avenue. A little diner called Lindy's where the manager will scratch your itchy back and tell you horror stories about the way the police act toward Downtown drunkards on a Saturday night? Well … you get the idea.
In many ways, Albuquerque is still a town that's trying to figure out just what it is.
The people are either very friendly or kind of scary, and although the houses are nice in certain areas, you can tell that crime is a big issue there.
For example, a friend of mine from Albuquerque was blown away when he visited Tucson and saw that some of our parks kept their basketball nets on throughout the night.
But if you look past the feeling that you might get robbed if you wander into the wrong neighborhood, Albuquerque is a town filled with culture and pride.
Almost all of the poetry that I heard while attending an annual spoken word event called the Southwest Shootout Regional Poetry Slam centered on either the use of Spanish in poetry or the theme of reclaiming the land and identity that was temporarily taken after the Mexican-American War and the acquisition that followed in 1848.
And, boy, do they like their food hot. And I mean HOT. In a town known to some as the "chile capital of the world," you'd be hard-pressed to find a plate of food that doesn't make your mouth tingle. Or burn.
If you're looking for a giant plate of authentic Mexican food at a bargain, check out Los Cuates, 4901 Lomas Blvd. Careful, portions are typical of food in Albuquerque: large and slightly overwhelming.
If you're in the mood for something different, I recommend Central Park Deli, 918 Central Ave. Its French toast is to die for, and its breakfast burritos, complete with red or green chile, are only 99 cents.
There are a million different things that make Albuquerque awesome, but I most enjoyed hearing stories from the locals who have lived there their entire lives. Almost everyone I met had a memory they were anxious to share with me, and with so much history packed into one place, I found myself wishing I had a few extra days to absorb it all.
But, with only a seven-hour drive from Tucson, I guess there's always next weekend.
Art festival offers best, not so good, of green living
By: Kelly Lewis
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Either way, Burning Man, an art festival held in Black Rock City, Nev., turns a few heads.
For one, there are masses of people, about 45,000, decked to the fullest in costumes that consist of chaps, tutus, glow paint and full-frontal nudity.
And yes, there are a few individuals who party too hard and end up sunburned in the extreme heat of the desert, passed out in the dirt or whisked off via helicopter to the nearest hospital because they fell upside down from a multiple-story art sculpture and broke an arm.
After spending Labor Day weekend at my first-ever Burning Man and witnessing all that the event has to offer, I can tell you firsthand that it is not for the faint of heart.
To make it through Burning Man, you must be prepared to deal with extreme temperatures and powerful dust storms that reduce your line of vision to about one foot in front of your face. Not so fun.
Likewise, there are days when you have to be a trooper, enduring the joys of porta-potties and the smell of body odor.
The event is set up circularly, like a clock, housing most of the art sculptures in the center, which can make for a long bike ride or walk from the surrounding campsites. The event is a mecca for extreme art, including 30-foot art sculptures of welded semi-trucks stacked together to form an arced "S" and a crawl space for admirers, and intricate light installations digitally programmed to form different patterns in neon light.
During one week out of the year, Black Rock City transforms from a desert into a sustainable habitat for "burners," with a large emphasis on picking up after yourself as you leave.
This year's theme of the "Green Man" placed heavy importance on "leaving no trace" and living as environmentally friendly as possible.
Many individuals whom I spoke with traveled in vans that ran on vegetable oil, while others worked to reduce waste as much as possible by handing out trash bags or forming compost heaps.
Perhaps one of the most shocking things about Burning Man is the risk of injury.
In past years, individuals have been run over and killed by "art cars," or double- or triple-decker buses that roam around the desert blasting music and instigating dance parties.
This year a suicide by hanging, which was originally mistaken as an art project and went unnoticed for nearly two hours, pointed towards the dangers apparent at the festival.
Although many have pointed toward the number of participants and the number of injuries as proving the safeness of Burning Man, there are dangerous activities to beware.
I did not witness any injuries in my time at the festival, nor did I hear talk of the suicide among other participants. For the most part, Black Rock City and all of the "burners" who converge there once a year present a picture of members of a community helping one another out.
See someone who looks thirsty? Give them water.
Need a ride home from the event? Just ask around.
And while the dust storms have left me creased in desert powder that will not rinse out, the event left me stimulated by a community of individuals who seem to be more or less proactive about the kind of world they would like to live in.
Burners seem to show no fear of who they are or the ways in which they express themselves. That, in itself, was worth the money and time it took to make it to Black Rock City.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
All about oddity
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The Commodores!
Commodores dock for local fundraiser
Kelly Lewis
JAG Entertainment
By KELLY LEWIS
calendarplus@tucsoncitizen.com They've been together for more than 30 years, but in a concert that touts dancing, pyrotechnics and nonstop energy, The Commodores will show that they're just as funky as they were in the days of "Brick House." "It's been a while since we've been to Tucson, but we are really looking forward to coming back," said J.D. Nicholas, 55, a member of the The Commodores since 1983. Having weathered years of tour buses, fast-paced performances and a rotating set of band members, Nicholas says it's love of their fans that keeps the group touring. "We just love being in front of an audience," Nicholas said in a recent phone interview from his home in Las Vegas. "It doesn't matter if there are five people in the audience or 5,000. As long as there is someone listening, we will keep playing." With songs as legendary as "Three Times a Lady" and "Too Hot Ta Trot," The Commodores have no problem drawing an ever-changing crowd. "Over the last few years we have seen a lot of young parents bringing their kids," Nicholas says. "We see a lot of young kids dancing up front, having a great time and it prompts us to continue what we're doing." With the youth in the crowd and dance moves that never get old, The Commodores easily stay hip with the times. The group has even ventured online, creating a myspace blog, at myspace.com/thecommodoresnow, on which they frequently give advice to up-and-coming musicians. "I was just on our MySpace page and the most messages that we get are from younger audiences or artists," Nicholas says. "Some are giving up props, and some are wanting the same longevity that we have had and ask us how they should go about getting it." With a complete package of new songs that make you dance and older ballads that moisten the eyes, Nicholas describes a Commodores performance as an endless roller coaster. "There is a time to sit down and listen, and then there is a time to get up and dance," he says, laughing. As for that most famous former Commodore, Nicholas says that original member Lionel Richie often makes appearances at the band's concerts. "You never know when he will show up at one of our shows or when we will go to one of his," he added. The band dealt with the death of founding member Milan Williams in 2006. But it has built upon its struggles to emerge as strong as ever. "There is so much going on in the world and there are so many reasons for people to be unhappy," Nicholas says. "But, for the time that we are on the stage, we just like to take people's minds off of that and instill another emotion that they can take with them and hopefully make the world a better place." IF YOU GO What: The 11th annual Laughter on the Sunnyside. Dinner and silent auction preceding performance by The Commodores. Proceeds benefit the Sunnyside Unified School District. When: Saturday - silent auction and dinner at 5:30 p.m., show at 8:30 Where: Desert Diamond Casino, Interstate 19 and Pima Mine Road Price: $150 for dinner, auction, and concert; $35 from Ticketmaster in advance for Commodores concert only; $40 at the door Info: ticketmaster.com or desertdiamond casino.com; dinner tickets can be purchased by calling 327-1121 |
