SFR Picks: March 26-April 1
By SFR Staff
Published: March 26, 2008
THURSDAY
Go for Green
Like a growing number of people in the 21st century, print journalist and National Public Radio contributor Doug Fine wanted to reduce his carbon footprint and embrace a sustainable lifestyle. At the same time, he wanted to try to do so in such a way that he could retain his love affair with everything
Western civ has to offer: Netflix, wireless e-mail, iPods. So he did what any urbanite with no practical skills would do: He bought a ranch in New Mexico and committed to a home-grown existence (and to writing a book about it, of course). Living a solar-powered life in New Mexico is one thing, actually installing those solar panels was another. Not to mention wresting enough nutrition from local food, raising baby goats and running a truck on vegetable oil. Fine acknowledges, in an opening chapter, “…if I had stopped to look at my overall survival ability when I embarked on this experiment…it would look like I had a death wish.” In for a penny, in for a pound, Fine pushes himself more steadfastly into his oft-Quixotian quest to live off the land. While much of Farewell My Subaru is comic in nature, it confronts the serious eco-tension of our culture. (Julia Goldberg)
FRIDAY
Street Diplomacy
Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t the only bloody wars in which America is actively engaged; inner city neighborhoods serve daily as battlefields for endemic gang violence that claims far more American lives each year than all overseas deployments combined. Yet the approach to domestic warfare is astonishingly crude and one-dimensional. Unlike the handling of foreign wars, on the streets of America diplomacy is seldom considered as an alternative to the
force of incarceration. But Alex Sanchez and his organization, Homies Unidos, challenge that paradigm and promote peace on the streets by working with, rather than against, the victims and victimizers of gang violence—who, statistically and demographically, are largely one and the same. Sanchez, a former gang member himself, is intimately familiar with gang life and brings this experience to bear on his peace-treaty negotiations between violent south Los Angeles gangs. Although Sanchez’ peacemaking has been internationally recognized and applauded in recent years, establishment authorities have not always appreciated it. In fact, the LAPD accused Homies Unidos of being a front for gang activity. Appeals from community activists prevailed and the work has continued. Sanchez is joined by local community organizers in a discussion of gang violence and possible solutions. (Daniel McNichol)
SATURDAY
Alan Pogue, “Haitian Rebels,” 2004 |
Photographer for Peace
Sometimes it’s easy to get an amazing photograph. Point a camera toward the mountains of Yosemite and you could be the next Ansel Adams. But even these easy photographs, in the right hands, have an impossibly difficult, heart-wrenching side. Alan Pogue’s travels have taken him to the far corners
of the globe, from his native Texas to the war-torn streets of Iraq, and his camera has gone with him. He has the documentary photographer’s knack of framing a shot just right: a young Iraqi girl with strikingly beautiful eyes, an older woman’s hand resting lovingly on her shoulder. Then the viewer’s gaze is drawn to the girl’s arm, which is a stump, cut off above the elbow. A group of Haitian rebels take a break from their murderous overthrow of Jean Bertrand Aristide to pose for the camera at their camp. They are positioned in an orderly arc; the soldier at center wears dark sunglasses and the man next to him wears a Chicago Bulls beanie. These scenes are collected in Witness for Justice, a book of images that aims to make the world aware of humanitarian crises. (Charlotte Jusinski)
SATURDAY
Bring the Noise
The punk rock enthusiasm that embodies the popular Albuquerque-based bands The Dirty Novels, Pan!c and Volume Volume is as intense as a live Iggy and the Stooges performance. For a trio, The Dirty Novels manages to
produce volumes of sound and execute energetic ’80s glam rock that drips with authenticity. Formerly Romeo Goes to Hell, Volume Volume turns it up a notch with a post-punk- and rock-inspired blend. Memorable riffs, inventive rhythms and explosive lyrics catapult Volume Volume to the forefront of the local rock scene. Similarly, Pan!c emphasizes the seriousness of its rowdy nature by an aptly placed exclamation point. The pop-punk aficionados evoke memories of the old-school punk days and sprinkle them with a well-structured and innovative twist. Appropriately a little rough around the edges, each band offers a unique version of a classic genre loaded with raw, untapped primal fury ready to be unleashed upon unsuspecting audiences. (Kyle Eustice)
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