The Spaces Issue... and a video we like

The December issue is out and scattered around campus and downtown. Check it out and let us know what you think. In the meantime, we came across a video by Annie Leonard, which sums up some of the points raised in the Spaces issue. The Story of Stuff is a collaborative visual effort of two decades worth of research put together by Leonard and funded through Sustainability Funders (The Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption) and Tides Foundation. A 20-minute, digitalized film that highlights the cause-and-effect of our crazy, consumer-based global market, The Story of Stuff will not only have you rethinking the means in which you dispose of your garbage, but also rationalizing whether it's necessity or habit that leads you to yearn to purchase the newest gadget on the market.

War, TV and Hip-Hop: A Buzzsaw Spectacular at the Lost Dog

UPDATE: Canceled due to snow. Will be reschedule for spring semester.

Thursday, Dec. 13, Buzzsaw presents perhaps our greatest event ever. Screenings, live music, free food, and give-a-ways - all in one glorious, pre-finals evening at the Lost Dog Café.

War, TV, and Hip-Hop is a mixed media party taking a second look at three pillars of contemporary American life.

First, “The War Tapes” brings us a perspective on the war in Iraq that is free from embedded anchors, commercial sponsors, and motion graphics. A long-form documentary shot by three soldiers working in collaboration with award-winning documentarians.

Second, a screening aimed spreading awareness about two new media initiatives that want to expand their pool of active producers, not boost ratings by recruiting passive viewers. On the national level, Current TV integrates viewer created content into roughly one-third of its cable broadcasts and is looking for more. At the local level, Buzzsaw Haircut is launching a new digital video component called Buzzsaw TV. Buzzsaw TV will function both as a production unit and as an outlet for locally produced video work to be featured in a video blog, screening events, and an annual DVD release.

Finally, Kidz in the Hall bring us their acclaimed brand of politically conscious hip-hop with an aim to make us rethink the formula for the catchy rap music we’ve grown used to. Co-signed by Just Blaze, 3H (50 cent, Kanye West), and Matty C (Originator of Unsigned Hype) the Kidz debut album, “School Was My Hustle” was rated 3.5 by Scratch Magazine.

Here's the schedule:

5:30 PM: The War Tapes (Sponsored by Campus Progress)

7:00 PM Megg Farrell (Folk Rock / Hawaiian / Blues)

7:30 PM The Tundra Toes (Indie / Country / Tropical)

8:00 PM Current TV Screening

9:00 PM Buzzsaw TV Launch Party

10:00 PM Kidz in the Hall (Sponsored by Buzzsaw Haircut and Imprint Magazine. Free give-a-ways from Homegrown Skateshop.)

Lost Dog Café, downtown Ithaca. Doors open at 5:30 PM. 18 to enter, 21 to drink. No cover until 10pm.

The Iowa Derby for Donkeys

The presidential candidate field tends to start off overly saturated. Luckily, America has the Iowa caucuses to narrow down the field for the rest of the country. In many cases, a poor outcome in Iowa can mean the end of a campaign for a candidate. In the 2004 caucuses, Democratic front-runner Howard Dean finished in a dismal third place and then went on to give his infamous "I Have A Scream" speech. Nearly a month later, he dropped out of the race and endorsed John Kerry.

The 2008 Iowa Caucuses are almost a month away, and there is still a great amount of uncertainty regarding the results. If Obama doesn't win Iowa, he really won't have much of a shot winning the nomination. But despite Clinton doing very well in the polls, I think Obama may have a very good shot at winning Iowa.

Here is a brief rundown of how the Democratic Iowa Caucuses work:

Voters have to select their candidate in the first round of voting. If their candidate gets less than 15 percent of the vote then they are not considered a viable candidate and those voters must select someone who is viable.

Several weeks ago, The New York Times released poll results. In Iowa, Clinton was ahead of Obama 25 percent to 22 percent. However, when voters were asked who their second choice was, Obama beat Clinton 24 percent to 16 percent. This could put Obama ahead of Clinton in the second and final round of voting and make him the winner in Iowa.

However, both Obama and Clinton should be looking out for John Edwards. He has a lot of support in Iowa and is pretty much neck and neck with the other two front-runners in Iowa. Edwards is also popular as a second-choice candidate. But if he wins Iowa, he still has a long battle ahead of him. He has spent a lot of time and money in that state and there have been questions regarding his ability to campaign in the following primaries. Yet a win there could also bring in the money that he needs.

Generally speaking, the winner of Iowa wins the nomination. Of course, this isn't always the case. For instance, Bill Clinton lost the Iowa caucus in 1992 to Tom Harkin and he went on to win the presidency. This upcoming caucus could also fall under that category. An Obama or Edwards victory in Iowa with a Clinton nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August. It could be 1992 all over again.