“Marijuana is going to be a part of American culture.”
– Steve Elliott
On November 2, Prop 19 will go to the ballot in California. The proposed law would take legalized marijuana consumption beyond the realm of medicinal use only. It would allow individuals aged 21 & over to grow and posses limited quantities of marijuana, and local governments to authorize and tax its sale. Supporters say the pragmatic measure would free up much needed jail space and police time, and help balance California’s budget. If you live in California, please consider voting YES on Prop 19.
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by Ryan Stewart
“The level of desperation was a lot higher than I’d thought…”
– J.W. Rinzler
Few films in history have been as meticulously pored over as the Star Wars trilogy, which is why the best compliment owed to The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is that it feels completely fresh. An exhaustive, official biography of one of the most beloved films of the past thirty years, Making Of runs a sprawling 350 pages, is replete with interviews and insights from George Lucas and dozens of other contributors, and contains over 1,200 rare photos, including conceptual art, storyboards, candid set photos and special effects designs. More importantly, it’s a smart and candid history that doesn’t shy away from the underlying sources of drama that fueled Empire’s production, from Lucas’s brush with financial ruin when the self-financed film went massively over budget, to on-set bickering between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, to creative tensions between the producers and their hand-picked director, Irvin Kershner.
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by Nicole Powers
“It’s like a really bad trip.”
– Camille Rose Garcia
Growing up in the shadow of Disneyland, artist and illustrator Camille Rose Garcia spent a lot of time contemplating the reality of fantasy and the fantasies that make reality palatable.
Just as the white paint flaked and the wood decayed in the once-perfect picket-fenced suburbs that surround Disney’s Orange County Fantasyland, on canvas and in print, Garcia’s brightly colored fairytale tableaus are juxtaposed with darker elements, as real world forces impinge on her perfect dream worlds.
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by Fred Topel
“I hope one day Poison will make another record.”
– Bret Michaels
Reality TV rarely represents anything viewers would recognize as actual reality. The Bachelor uses real people but puts them in a dating pageant that never seems to result in any actual marriages. Survivor drops them on an island where no one’s life is actually at risk, and it’s just a popularity contest in the end.
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by Ryan Stewart
“Are we the monsters?”
– Gareth Edwards
David Spade once had a stand-up bit about how audiences shouldn’t have to cut a movie slack for having a low budget, since ticket prices are all the same. Monsters, a new indie sci-fi film made for $15,000 – less than Kevin Smith’s Clerks – passes the high-expectations test with flying colors.
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by Nicole Powers
“I’m probably the most paranoid man in Los Angeles.”
– Anthony E. Zuiker
In his first novel, Dark Origins, CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker brought us a serial killer so extreme that he was the world’s first to be deemed worthy of Level 26 status. The spree of diabolical crimes perpetrated by the latex-attired – and therefore forensic-proof – Sqweegle, was ultimately halted by Steve Dark, a Special Circumstances investigator with demons of his own.
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by Nicole Powers
“I don’t like taking any cock out.”
– Johnny Knoxville
The new Jackass feature film is spectacularly shitty – in an awesomely gross kind of way. And because it’s shot in 3D, the excrement literally comes flying right at you, giving the MTV-rooted franchise the opportunity to connect with its audience in a whole new, and yet familiarly meaningless way.
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