Summer Concert Review - Pink Martini at the Arvada Center of the Arts

Pink Martini Concert Review

by Addie Callahan

The Arvada Center for the Arts left nothing to be desired from their concert headlining Pink Martini on Sunday, July 7th. The concert was part of an ongoing outdoor summer concert series at the Center. Thus, the concert-goers came out with their picnic baskets, blankets and fold up chairs for a wonderful evening of instrumental music.

Pink Martini w/ Storm Large

This orchestral group started off with a Spanish/Latin vibe playing music that transported you to the sunny beaches of Latin America. After a few songs of this style, the head of the ensemble introduced the vocalist Storm Large, who had only recently debuted at Carnegie Hall. She kicked things up a notch when she started to improvise dance moves along with the music.

This group works together like a well oiled machine, playing off of each other’s energy and remaining constantly on point and in time with the music. One of the most surprising treats of Pink Martini’s performance is that almost all of the musicians are as equally vocally talented as they are instrumentally. I found this to be a refreshing surprise after seeing many orchestral groups who only have one or two vocalists in their group. 

Before each song, Pink Martini would elaborate on how the next part of the set came to be created. The band explained how some songs were inspired by a famous musician of the past, and other songs pulled inspiration from an old ‘Life’ magazine advertisement for Hunts Ketchup. Having background information on how the songs were devised really added a unique level of connect between the audience and the music itself. 

Pink Martini

Pink Martini also has a wide variety of languages in which it’s songs were composed: Spanish, Japanese and Creole to name only a few. Having a diverse number of languages kept the set list brimming with variety and surprises that captivated the audience. It was clear to the audience, if not simply by the way musicians introduced each other, that the members of Pink Martini weren't just band-mates, but also dear and long time friends. They applauded their colleagues after their respective solos and some songs featured specific band members.

Above all, Pink Martini was personable and loved to interact with the audience. During two songs they invited the crowd to join them on stage and dance along to the numbers. In addition, they also did a meet and greet after the show, at which point you could talk to the musicians as well as get a piece of their work signed.

This was one of the best organized and executed concerts that I have ever attended. I have tremendous appreciation for the Arvada Center for the Arts, who kept a very clean and beautiful venue. The venue staff which consisted primarily of volunteers was welcoming, helpful and courteous. I would highly recommend attending one of their remaining concerts in this series.

Click here to visit the Arvada Center of the Arts website for ticketing and event information.

Strike Press Release, May 20th

Strike Press Release, May 20th - 2013

NEWS: Strike Magazine is ecstatic to announce that it will be returning this September, with some changes. Strike Magazine will be printing a monthly newspaper publication.
The quality and magic behind Strike will now be available on a monthly basis, on a schedule. Partnering with local businesses, Strike will be available at dozens of local hotspots, and of course, it will be free!

Needless to say, Strike has had to expand operations to manage a monthly publication. So, if you are a writer who is interested in submitting to be published in Strike, please refer to this application.

In 2012, Strike was praised for becoming a high quality publication entirely under students. In 2013, Strike will continue to offer the same content and quality, every month.

Over this summer, Strike will be announcing our business partners where Strike distribution will be available. As of this update, we will also be accepting new staff applications and content submissions.

We are thrilled to be returning on a more regular basis, and we hope our readers are as excited as we are.

Strike is back! 

Meet Tenzing, Our Official Red Panda

Hello!

As of this week, Strike Magazine is a proud supporter of the Red Panda Network to aid in the effort in conserving the rapidly fleeting territory of the majestic red panda in India.
Thus, we have chosen to adopt Tenzing, an adorable creature under the protection of the Red Panda Network. For more information regarding adopting your own red panda, visit www.redpandanetwork.com.

Together, we can help save the red panda!

A Goodbye To 'The Office'

A Farewell To The Office
by Brett Stewart

This evening, the series finale of the NBC show 'The Office' aired. After 9 years on the air, the show came to a close with a return of Michael Scott, the marriage of Dwight and Angela and the resolution of each character's story-line. This short post is designed to be a reflection of the show as a whole -

Whenever I wear my Dunder Mifflin Paper Company shirt, I always get the comments, "You still watch that show?" and, "It started to suck after Steve Carrell left." I whole heartily disagree with the latter.

The show has always been wonderful. For 9 years, it was more than entertaining, and it was certainly more than a TV comedy. It was a commentary on life. The love-longing Michael Scott, the socially awkward, but good hearted Dwight, the blissfully ignorant Andy, even the depressive Toby. Almost everyone can relate to someone on this show, because the characters always faced real problems. Marital and relationship troubles, troubles at work with an incompetent boss, conflicts between coworkers, and life getting in the way. Having kids, buying homes, moving on to new horizons, hell, even Oscar being sexually harassed by Michael Scott in the workplace after coming out gay was a social commentary on the average American workplace.

The finale tonight was wonderful, and it's only appropriate that the Office left on the note of resolving each character's issues. I sincerely hope that our generation comes to realize that 'The Office' was our Seinfeld. Twenty years from now, TBS and NBC will still be running re-runs of the show every week night, because it made a permanent mark on TV history.

'The Dylan Songbook' Project

The Dylan Songbook

Bob Dylan has written 458 officially released songs on record. The greatest American songwriter has a massive catalog, to say the least. When such a large catalog exists, it makes it difficult for fans and fellow musicians to find accurate chords and music for the songs. Most versions of the music that exist online aren't official, and vary from website to website as a result of fan interpretation of songs.
Yes, finding the correct version of "Blowing in the Wind" is probably pretty easy. But what about the correct version of "Most of the Time" from Bob's 1989 album "Oh Mercy"?

This is why I am creating the Dylan Songbook. In the near future I will be releasing a free e-book (PDF Download) of my Dylan songbook. The songbook will contain roughly 200 of (in my opinion) Dylan's most enjoyable, meaningful and most importantly, playable songs. Every song will have the (most) correct music interpretation  to date. And of course, the catalog will be organized neatly by year and/or album for ease of use.

My catalog is aimed primarily at guitarists, so many of the songs will just be the guitar chords. But, using sources and publications at my disposal, I will be doing my best to provide full sheet music for at least half of the songs. This way, pianists and other instrumentalists can enjoy the catalog as well.

The catalog is primarily for myself, as I will print it out and create a binder for myself. Nevertheless, I hope that digitalizing the project and making it available to you all may prove helpful in not only finding the correct Dylan sheet music to his songs, but also finding it easy. This is for all of you who are sick of sifting through 10 versions of the same song on different chord websites to find the version that sounds right.

Please let me know if there are any songs you'd like to request I include.


Best Regards,

Brett Stewart (Editor & Publisher of Strike)

Chad's Tech Dungeon-3D Printing

The ESA's proposed 3D printed Moon base

Still think 2D Wireless Printing is cutting edge? Well...you’re just a bit behind, maybe about 3 or 4 years at this point. Either way, something new has started to become mainstream in printed home media. That something is; 3D printing. And oh how it has developed over the past couple of years! But before I move on, I will explain the idea behind 3D printing. Imagine you want to replicate a model Nicolas Cage head that you happen to have on your desk with; the lack of hair, a huge nose, and those great looking eyebrows. Well, all you would need to do with today’s modern 3D printers is get your laser scanner out, and place your object in the 360 degree field view of the scanner, and simply press “scan.” The laser scanner would take a few minutes to scan all of the details of your Nicolas Cage head, and would then show you the 3D model on your computer screen. Then, simply load your choice of colored ABS plastic 

(I would choose green), and proceed to print your marvelous creation. Presto chango! You now have a plastic copy of your favorite Nicolas Cage head!  And that’s the basic idea of 3D printing, bringing copies of any object you want, right through your home printer.

Since all of you have that wonderful image of a green 3D printed Nicolas Cage head in your minds now, let me tell you that 3D printers aren’t just for seemingly pointless things like my main example. No, 3D printing might just be one of the biggest technological revolutions of the 2010’s. Why do I say this you might ask? It’s simple. 3D printing is about to change the world of mass production, building structures, medicine, and even art. Imagine if you will for a second, a world in-which almost everything around you has been 3D printed. Your clothes, certain parts of your car, your shoes, the painting on your wall, and even certain aspects of your house! With advancements in the different materials that can be interchanged with 3D printers, this future that I’m proposing could only be a couple of decades or less away. In any case, a lot of things that you would normally shop for could instead be printed directly at home. Now that’s got to be a game changer considering that production has usually been central to corporations, not the consumer for over 200 years now.

Being that I’m on the topic of the future, I might as well say that 3D printing won’t just be stuck on planet Earth, no, but rather the final frontier. The European Space agency has proposed the idea of packing a light amount of equipment on future trips to the moon. And their solution to this problem. 3D printing. The ESA has proposed that the Moon bases and tools should be 3D printed in order to achieve this goal. A couple of structures with the use of a D-Shape printer from the company Monolite, would allow this to be achieved in around 1 week, which is truly amazing! It goes to show the true impact that 3D printing could have in the future.

But Extrapolating aside, I should mention what great things 3D printing is being used for right now. As of a month ago, Cornell scientists have managed to 3D print lifelike ears from Rat tails, and Cow ears. And with the great potential for 3D printing in the medical industry right now, organ transplants could become rather easily achieved in the near-future due to a Scottish universities research in the field of embryonic stem-cell printing. With this being said, doctor’s could simply print out a new organ for the patient in a matter of hours, and then proceed to transplant it without having a risk of biological incompatibility.To really wrap things up, we’ll have to keep extrapolating about the future of 3D printing, but it’ll be worth it. Because 3D printing has a vast amount of potential applications out there, it’s just all in what people think of as possible uses. Like with any other technological development.

- Chad Earnest - Tech Dungeon Columnist

The Game

          Sunlight warms my already sweating skin evaporating the droplets that attempt to cool me even as they come to the surface. The cool grass beneath my head provides some welcome comfort against the beating sun. Birdsong trilled from the trees, interrupted only by the excited squeals, yelps, and laughter of children on the play set, only a few feet away. Delighted cries of “You’re it!” come ringing from every direction, followed swiftly by bright and unrestrained laughter. I lift my head to see children scramble for cover whenever out of the sight of the tagger and scatter once more like startled pigeons whenever another comes near.

            I let my head fall back to its pillow of grass and through squinted eyes I look towards the sky. Songbirds playfully flitting from tree to tree are the only obstruction of my view of the pure azure sky. Closing my eyes once more, I breathe deep, welcoming the warm summer air to rush past my lips and fill my lungs with its heat. Suddenly, I am lightly pelted with wood chips. I sit up and see that one of the children is calling me to play a new game. We all split into two teams and rush to either side of the playground. The rallying cry goes off, and both sides charge. I dive behind a seesaw and keep my head down while the others dash up the stairs toward one of the slides and taunt the other team, giggling all the way. As one of the other team’s members flies past me I peek my head out, point my finger towards him, and yell “BANG!” He laughs hysterically as he falls to the ground. I sprint from my hiding spot to join my comrades on the play set, electing to take the unexpected route of the monkey bars. My small arms reach up towards them, but cannot reach. I jump and feel the rewarding head of sun baked metal under my fingers, but all too swiftly as they loosen and I tumble toward the ground.

            Searing pain rushed from the back of my head to my eyes and they are forced to close. Loud sobs emanate from me, but no parent comes to my aid. I slowly open my eyes and through the blurry haze of unfocused eyes I see a sky far more ashen and grey than blue. The birdsong is far louder in my ears as I look toward the playground where my allies are bravely holding the other team back. A brief flash now accompanies the “bangs” from the finger guns. The boy who invited me to play yells to me, telling me to get up and give him some cover. As I stand, blood rushes to my head, bringing with it a new wave of pain while reality fluctuates before my eyes. There is no more bright laughter, only screams, and the calls of birds have been replaced by a sharp whistle, a sound I know all too well. The birds themselves now screech and rain heavy fire upon each other far above the earth. The man I had shot was garbed in all grey, and shrieked for help in some foreign tongue as his blood, too, abandoned him.

I rush to join my commander as a bomber roars overhead, causing the earth below us to shudder in fear, or perhaps it was I. A flash of light ahead blinded me as I felt a swift heat pass enter my chest and just as quickly exit. I grasped for it, felt a strange gap where none should be, and then felt nothing at all.

The American Dream - A Poem

THE AMERICAN DREAM 

by Brett Stewart

So, like many students in my class this week, I had to give a speech. My speech's prompt was essentially the impact of modernity and technology on the philosophical idea of the American Dream. Does modern technology and an interconnected world help or hurt reaching the American Dream? When thinking about answering the question, the following poem spewed onto my paper within minutes. I've posted it here for more to enjoy, and many of my classmates asked me to post it. I hope you enjoy it -



What to you is the American Dream? 
It's moved from the light into darkness, or so it may seem.
What fuels the endless pursuit?
Is it justified by coveting bounty and loot?

Has modernity assaulted the American race?
Or do you just start at the finish, making slower pace?
Aren't we supposed to be the dream-makers?
With god on our side we built cathedrals and cars and massive skyscrapers.

We once were a nation who stood up for what was right.
Now, money and power have made us lose our train of site.
Maybe the modern beast hasn't sent the Dream to it's tomb;
Maybe everything else has just filled up the room.

Is the Dream always something new and nifty?
I'm sure it's never been getting gas for $3.50.
Maybe the Dream was to finally succeed;
Now it must assuage our ever-growing need.

The dream sure isn't what it was 50 years ago;
It's gotten much harder to reap what you sow. 

So has modernity weakened or strengthened our path?
It's nearly impossible to stand back and do the math.
The numbers say your rate of success is much slimmer;
But your environment builds you up, praising you a winner.

What of technology, in this pursuit? Has it been very kind?
Has it pushed you steps back, or enlightened your mind?
You can argue both, I honestly don't care,
Life has never been fair, and in the end your subject to the demons of your own lair.

So let's not point fingers at the LCD's.
We're the only ones that hold the keys.
The race will be harder with more runners in place;
That's just plain logic, it's always been the case.

Maybe modernity is unraveling us by the seam,
But, what of it? 
Don't let it stop the pursuit of the American Dream.


- The world is growing into a much more competitive place. Your American Dream is the Dream of hundreds of other people your age. But, that doesn't mean modernity or technology is hurting the American Dream. It's just harder to achieve.

Those who reach for the stars, and miss time and time again, will achieve the American Dream. Because one day, they grab hold of one, or become one.

Mermaid Tears

by Kristina Hagman

A stranger came up to me today

With the most peculiar thing

He held a vial in one hand

And in the other, a ring.

He handed me the bottle,

with a smile on his face.

He gave me also the ring

in a gesture full of grace

“These are important for you,

You’ll need them sometime soon.

Drink the liquid and wear the ring,

Be ready for the moon.”

I took the gifts and message too

With questions in my head

But he only winked and turned away,

Leaving me full of dread.

I uncorked the bottle

and took a deep breath.

It was salty as the sea;

smelling just like death.

I hung the ring around my neck

it was a noose of lead.

I prayed that when the moon arrived,

I would not be left for dead.

A week had passed

since the stranger’s warning.

The air was frigid

And filled with mourning

The moon would come tonight, I knew.

It was time to face my fate.

Whatever Destiny had in store,

I wished she would be late.

But as the moon lit up the sky

I knew that it was time

I uncorked the vial of mermaid tears

And in the distance heard a chime

With shaking hands and beating heart,

Upon my finger I placed the ring

I closed my eyes and parted my lips

And with that, began to sing.

A beautiful song erupted

Vibrant, and full of life.

But then the melody quieted

And I could feel the strife.

Cold water drenched my body

And I knew that I was she

who had left the water for the land

who had become, well, me

I had cried these salty tears,

A long, long time ago

And where the ring would lead me now

I most certainly did not know.

But one thing I knew with certainty:

I needed to find the man

Who had given me the ring and vial

Who had lent a helping hand.

He had returned to me my identity

And for that I owed my thanks

There were so many lacking memories

From when I had left my ranks.

The memories flowed back to me,

the life under the ocean.

I remembered crying those mermaid tears

That were used to make this potion.

A tear slipped down my cheek just then

Salty as the sea

It had no magical properties,

because I was still me.

Did I wish for the waves?

The life I had back then?

That person was different from me;

Did I wish for her again?

The answers to these I did not know

I was quite sure of this.

But a little voice had told me:

“It’s alright to reminisce.”

I realized I did not miss my life

Down there under the waves

This life on land was good enough

For one, like me, who behaves

Although I had once been someone else

This was who I was, now

I was content with these memories

And with that, I made a vow

I would be happy with this life

Since I had chosen it

I would live each day completely

And I promised to never quit.

Something strange happened that day,

The most peculiar thing.

A stranger had given me a gift,

And I saw what life could bring. 

Sink

I wasn't sailing alone for long. But I was.
I remember thick, salty wind blowing in my face rather than supporting my hollowed back. 
I heard my struggling, tight gasping as I lost the reasons I kept my head under the wind.
So I ripped my throat wide open with the courage you handed me so long ago, so I could inhale, but what I breathed burned like peroxide. 
I saw nothing, as I grabbed for gauze and band-aids but I realized I had ran out many battles ago.
My life jacket had deflated when I popped a hole in it trying to swim as far away as I could.
I sat there, saying farewell to ragged hands, and they held my shaking voice together, because I was too out of breath for "hellos" anymore.
I worried if I hand drifted to an island, if the blood of my guilt would follow in trails of ribbon behind my shattered lifeboat. 
If I would be turned away.

If I was to far gone to be fixed.
That I couldn't have a paradise.
I thought I was going to drown. And I did.
But I want change.
I am a surgeon for the broken-hearted.
I think it's my obligation to bring that silky-soft fire-proof blanket over the shoulders of others who don't have the strength to blow out the flames anymore.
I needed a way to see.
I cut bifocals out of sea glass so I could imagine what it would be like to live with greened greed. Greed of self.
I feel saved because of my endless eternity of perceiving daisies now when all I saw was rows of thorns.
I forgive myself.
Now I can change.
I will build a world of strange things that bring me dire need. I wanted to make a bed golden daises and cry aloud for how far I've come.
I choose to accept that I won't always get the joy ride. I'll float along in most storm, keeping my face above the iced water. I refuse to sink.
I dream for warmth.
I hope I wash up on someone's loving shore. Sparkling with sand of new time.
I predict nothing.
I know I will drift on.

Dear John Mayer , - A Rant

Dear John Mayer,

Like a disapproving parent, always with the belief that their child can reach their potential (But secretly knowing this is an unachievable feat) if they actually put forward effort… I write this rant to you.

Let’s be honest here. Let’s be really honest. Every single one of your albums does have its hidden gem, its diamond it the rough, so to speak. Do you know why? I do. It’s because you are a legitimately very talented guitarist, you are well versed in the blues, and tracks like “Bold as Love” let that shine. Your excellent skills revive well aged songs like “Crossroads” and “Free Falling” in a wonderful fashion that make them appeal to both the musically inept teenage fan-girl, and the older, more matured ear.

But then you go and screw it all up. You listen to your executives, the people who threw you a bone with “Room for Squares” and you've been at their feet ever since. They groom you for stadium sized fan-girl deafening “Your Baaaaa—ddyy is a Wonderlanndd” crap.

They told me this was stylish! 

The recurring problem is this – you are appealing to the mass, which causes you to throw away a lot of your potential.

Then, you run away from your manly-tears, hugs and kisses roots, and go in the other completely opposite direction. You wake up one morning and decide to grow your hair out like you want to look like Johnny Depp with a sense of fashion, but the end result is just a Neil Young who got lost in Urban Outfitters.

You have potential. (See video above) Let’s be honest, do you want your legacy to be breakup songs about Jennifer Aniston, or do you want to go down in history with some of the greatest blues guitarists to have ever graced the stage? You can get there, you are there in many ways, tap into that.

Cautiously Optimistic,

Brett Stewart

Also, please refrain from obnoxious dialogues in the presence of greatness, especially if they are annoying said greatness. (See Video) Nevertheless, that's still some damn good guitar playing. 

One and Only

by Kristina Hagman

A tribute to Madi Flink

We may not know your story, 

The inner workings of your mind

But we know what people called you,

And that was one word: kind.

Your smile, your laugh, your eyes

Your personality so true

How is it you're gone?

The one and only you.

Many tears have been shed

As we lay your soul to rest.

But we send you the best wishes

For eternity and all the rest. 

Interns

Interns for Culver University Bruce Banner (Hulk) and Betty Ross meet.

Doodle

Radioactive

Pierced

"Pierced"

Kristina Hagman

Graphite; 45 minutes

Rust

Peppererrrewrr

Tony Stark

Drawn in 1 hour with a number 2 pencil

Marilyn in progress

My art project :)

Sloths!