Arts & Entertainment

A voice from Shoreline

Heather Mupita
Editor in Chief

Lettitia Page is a budding opera singer. At 33 years old, she has now mapped out her career. She moved from San Francisco two years ago and has made her life here in Seattle. She won a scholarship to study music at Shoreline Community College, which is quite an achievement.

The mother of a 4-year-old girl, Lettitia is mature and exudes a confident air. I felt like she knew exactly where she was going and how she planned to get there.
Q: Is music your major?
A: Yes.
Q: When did your interest in music begin?
A: Music is my major and my interest in music began when I was a kid. My dad was an opera singer and he also did private tutoring as well as tutoring music at community centers. My mom is more of an actress but she also directs music works and does performances herself. I guess I can say that I grew up in this field. My brother is a hockey player and coach and my sister is also an artistic person.
Q: What type of music do you play?
A: I prefer to sing classical music and opera and now I enjoy singing French music, this is my current favorite. But I like to sing anything; anything that anyone will let me sing.
Q: What do you hope to do in the future?
A: I want to finish school and get my degree. I want to have a career in music either in opera or doing performances. Someday I have the idea that I might teach people to sing. I will also be auditioning soon for the Seattle Opera Chorus.
Q: Do you believe that singing is about talent or is it achieved through hard work?
A: I believe that it is both about talent and hard work. You have to work and have a strong work ethic and you have to give of yourself.
Q: Do you find Shoreline Community College supportive in promoting you and how about other students?
A: SCC is supportive; the music faculty is also very supportive. They really go out of their way to assist. I used to go to a university where I was anonymous. SCC is also far less expensive and the unique thing is that it gives opportunities for students to excel. The recital in the PUB on the Oct. 22 was a gift to me. At this recital the reaction from the audience was great and I received a lot of support from fellow music students.
Q: Who is your favorite musician?
A: This week, it has to be Renee Fleming — she is an opera singer.
Q: What inspires you to be who you are?
A: The music itself is an inspiration. I always prefer to sing on things that touch me, like a good musical piece. I also have a very good accompanying pianist, Charles Enlow, who played with me in the recent recital. Last but not least I am inspired by Susan Dolacky, who is my voice teacher. She is supportive and she works harder than anybody I know.
Q: Do you have any other interests or hobbies and what do you do in your spare time?
A: Music and my daughter are main interests and they take up quite a lot of my time.
Q: Will you be performing in the near future and where?
A: Yes, I will be going to San Francisco at Thanksgiving and I will be doing a performance at Goat Hall. http://www.goathall.org/ This will also be like a family reunion as I will be going home to visit my family. I am looking forward to this, I haven’t been home in the last two years; recitals are great to have in case you are called upon to perform.

El Centro de la Raza Offers El Dia de los Muertos Here

Chaim Eliyah
A&E Editor

In addition to Halloween one of the more interesting cultural holidays happening around Seattle is El Día de los Muertos, which is rendered from Spanish into English as the Day of the Dead. El Día de los Muertos occurs around the same time that Halloween is celebrated and continues on until Nov. 2.

On Monday members and guests of El Centro De La Raza gathered to commemorate this spectacular day by holding a community dinner and observance. In addition to traditional and familial ofrendas, or altars, there were also shrines to honor those who had died in battle in Iraq, of AIDS, and in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The latter display was created by former SCC part-time instructor Marcia Tate-Arunga.

Festivities included a complimentary dinner of chicken, rice, beans, tortillas, and vegetables. Drinks including horchata, apple juice, and coffee were also provided free of charge, as well as traditional cultural desserts. The hosts were extremely compassionate and polite, true to the spirit of the Center.

After dinner, guests were invited to observe the ofrendas on the top floor of the Center. These small and eloquent monuments were adorned with beautiful candles, a plethora of color, and various artifacts necessary for the dead to make their journey through the underworld – a distinctly Aztec perspective, according to one participant. For most, water and food were placed upon the altars. Others placed less conventional items such as playing cards and other items that the spirits might have enjoyed in this world. One altar even included a bar of soap and a washrag.

El Centro de la Raza is holding a 22-day exhibit to expand the scope of the holiday and allow multiple cultures to participate. The exhibit includes ethnic and cultural highlights such as “alters, workshops, music and live art exhibits,” according to a press release by the Center.

The Center is located on Beacon Hill at 2524 16th Ave. S. in Seattle. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for those who wish to support the Center in its efforts “to use social, cultural, educational and civic activities as vehicles to bring together people of all races.” The holiday, a celebration of the continuous cycle of life and death, takes its roots from Mesoamerican cultural practices prior to the arrival of Spanish colonialists. The festival today is celebrated surrounding the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Festivities typically involve building individualized Ofrendas or altars for each family member, upon which are placed items that will please the wandering soul upon its return. Small orange flowers called zempazúchitl are scattered from the location of the alters to the cemeteries where family members await the return of their loved ones; the small bushy flowers act as a guide for the spirits while they are visiting this world.

The fabulous display will continue until Nov. 23. For directions or more information please contact Estela Ortega, director of the Center, at (206) 957-4605 or visit the website of El Centro De La Raza at www.elcentrodelaraza.com.

Super-sized change

April Kotjan
Ebbtide Correspondent

The documentary film, Super Size Me, recently came out on video and DVD. Watching the movie will change your eating habits. It will open your eyes to the fast food industry and just how dangerous it is to our health. Not only is this film changing the way people are eating, it is also causing fast food restaurants to change their image and much of their menu.

In the movie, Morgan Spurlock decided to eat three McDonald’s meals a day for 30 days in a row. He also was not going to do any form of exercising. He wanted to see what health effects this would have on the human body. To thoroughly see the results, he had three doctors working with him during this process. Each doctor gave him a full medical physical. They tested him for things such as his cholesterol, fat content, blood pressure, and so on. He went around America interviewing students, citizens on the street, nutritionists, lawyers, professors, doctors and representatives for the fast food industry. (The source for all of the information and facts are from studies that Morgan Spurlock did and reported in the film, Super Size Me).

He began this diet by only eating anything that McDonald’s sells. Even the water had to be from there. He averaged around 5,000 calories a day in food! If the cashier asked him if he wanted his meal super sized, he did it. At first, his body was not used to high amounts of fast food. He even threw up after eating a meal a couple of days into it. He definitely felt the effects on his body. He found it became harder and harder to walk up stairs, his chest began to hurt, he had headaches more often, and his body often ached. He gained almost 10 pounds in one week. After 12 days, his total weight gained was up to 17 pounds. The doctors did physicals weekly, and by this point, they said he was becoming very unhealthy. By week three, his cholesterol had gone from 165 to 225. He had difficulty breathing. He was in danger of damaging his liver significantly. The doctors said that this fast food diet was so bad that he should probably stop then and go no further. One even thought he would die if he didn’t stop. He kept going. He noticed that he was becoming addicted to eating McDonald’s food. He was starting to crave it.

At 30 days, the end of his experiment, he weighed 210 pounds. He had gone from 185.5 pounds to 210 pounds in just 30 days! All together, he had eaten 30 pounds of sugar! His body fat went from 11 to 18 percent. In just 30 days, he had eaten as much fast food as most nutritionist say you should eat in eight years. He also doubled his risk of coronary heart disease. He also realized that he and his girlfriend could not have a sex life because the greater his size got, the harder sex physically became. His poor nutrition may have also been affecting his libido.

The film was filled with lots of interviews and facts about our food system in America. The information was fascinating. Here are some of the facts: One out of every four Americans is obese; the US is the fattest nation in the whole world! McDonalds is on every continent. In Spurlock’s own Manhattan, there are four McDonalds for every square mile. There are over 80 in a 22 square mile radius! They are everywhere from shopping malls to street corners, airports and anywhere else imaginable. Some McDonalds deliver. Most ketchup McDonald’s uses is made of sugar, not tomatoes. McDonald’s calls their customers that come once a week “heavy users” and those that come two times a week or more “super heavy users.” Spurlock called 100 nutritionists, and of those only two said you should eat fast food three to five times weekly. Most said rarely to never.

He visited school cafeterias. Many schools considered french fries a vegetable because they are potatoes. They served lots of snacks, pizzas and sugar filled items. Many lunch meals were over 1,000 calories each! The cooks at the school cafeterias said that they only really cooked 6 out of 36 meals a month. The rest were made from processed frozen meals.

When he was interviewing Americans many interesting facts came up. All the citizens off the streets that Spurlock interviewed didn’t even know what a calorie was. Spurlock talked with different elementary aged children. He held up photos of famous historical figures, such as Abraham Lincoln and George Bush, and famous fast food icons, such as Ronald McDonald and the Wendy’s girl, to see which ones the children would know. The children were in deep thought trying to figure out who the historical figures were, but right away they recognized and knew the fast food icons. This shows how much Americans are absorbed with fast food and the media that is used to get to all age groups. He asked several people if they could recite the pledge of allegiance. Surprisingly, most people couldn’t recite the whole thing. However, those same people could recite the whole McDonald’s Big Mac slogan without even thinking about it! McDonald’s nutrition information was not even available at most locations when Spurlock asked a manager to see it. He was told that he could find it online, though there are signs at each location saying nutrition information is available.

Change is evident. Some schools are starting to realize that kids need more education on health and exercise. Most PE classes in elementary schools only meet once a week for 40 minutes, which is not efficient enough to teach kids. Some PE teachers now teach students how to use cardio workout machines and properly lift weights to stay in shape, instead of just playing games of kickball or basketball. The message to eat healthy is starting to get out; one school he visited got rid of soda and snack machines.

After Spurlock’s documentary, McDonald’s stopped promoting and pushing for the super-size option. It took him 14 months to lose the weight! America is changing their point of view on diets.

McDonald’s changed their image after the release of this documentary. They have their new “Salads and More” menu. They also partnered up with 24 Hour Fitness. On the McDonald’s bags, there are forms to sign up for a free month long trial membership at the gym. When I went to 24 Hour Fitness last week they offered me a coupon for a free menu item from McDonald’s “Salad and More” menu if I gave them a list of a couple names of people I thought they could call to offer a trial membership to. Wendy’s is even offering a cup of fruit now in the kid’s meals instead of french fries. America is now seeing a fast food restaurant teamed up with a fitness center. Fast food places are trying to change their overall images because they know that Americans are becoming aware of how dangerous fast food is. If you haven’t seen Super Size Me, then be prepared to want to

Lucifer Rising Soundtrack by Bobby BeauSoleil

Zak Bisacky
Layout Editor

I thought it was the new Slayer. Flames brandish the words “Lucifer Rising” adjacent to a pharoah and the planet Saturn; a death metal rager, for sure. The photo inside, however, belied my initial perception: a band of straggly-looking vintage hippies looking tripped out of their minds on…drugs.

Upon further investigation, it turned out that this was a recent reissue of a long-forgotten psychedelic soundtrack masterpiece. The music is completely, 100 percent insane.

In the late 1960s, director Kenneth Anger (so-called godfather of MTV) stumbled upon this band, then known as “The Magic Powerhouse of Oz,” playing a blend of spacey jazz with Krautrock leanings and asked founding member and guitarist Bobby BeauSoleil if he would score the music for his Aleister Crowley-inspired underground film, “Lucifer Rising.”

Considering Bobby’s band was based on Crowley’s teachings of occult magic, he didn’t need persuading and began making extensive recordings. After dialing in the band, they decided to perform live. Unfortunately, BeauSoleil had a falling out with Anger the night of the show. Apparently Anger was out of his head on LSD and inadvertently broke a cane on one of the audience members, resulting in bad press.

Disillusioned with Anger’s antics, Bobby left Frisco for L.A., leaving the tapes behind in a box for a friend to hold until he got back. As it turns out, he never got back because he was sent to prison for killing a drug dealer who sold him a botched batch of meth that he was procuring for the Hell’s Angels.

While sitting around in jail, Bobby contacted Anger and said, “Hey Ken, I got time for that album now. Still into it?” Anger, despite thinking Bobby stole the original master tapes of Lucifer Rising, told him he was still open to the idea (Jimmy Page was solicited, but could only come up with a half hour of tunes). Against some pretty stiff odds, Bobby formed a band in jail calling it ”The Freedom Orchestra” and blazed out the soundtrack in two years with hand-made instruments and some jail buddies without ever seeing the final cut of the movie.

As it turns out, there is reportedly an amazing intuitiveness in the orchestration of the mix because it mirrors the flow of the movie. Kenneth eagerly used the recordings and released the movie 13 years after it’s conception in 1980 to minor acclaim.

If that’s not amazing enough, when they decided to re-release this epic on CD, they discovered where the lost original demos were. Thus, both albums are included on this double disc reissue and both, especially the demos, are killer spaced-out psych chamber orchestrations. There are elements of experimental ambient rock with some free jazz elements thrown in. There is nothing overtly aggressive like I assumed. In fact I listen to this as I’m going to bed at night, despite the feeling that I may be attacked by demons. I think it cured my hangover, too.