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Entertainment
Submit Today: A Guide to the Acorn Review
by Ruby Walton
If you have ever had the opportunity to take a creative writing
class here at Grossmont College, chances are that you’ve had an item called "The
Acorn Review" show up on your required textbook list for the semester – but how
much do you really know about the origins of your student-run publication? How
did the literary journal first get its start? What kinds of work does it accept?
Can I submit my own work, and, if so, is it easy to submit? Whether you’re new
to the campus or a seasoned student here at Grossmont, here are the answers to
some of your most burning questions!
To this day, "The Acorn Re view"
remains the premier literary journal of Grossmont College; it is a long-running
anthology of student works that both illustrate and celebrate a range of
different methods of creative written and artistic expression. Going back to the
very dawn of the publication, the magazine’s original title was "Firstdraft" at
the start of its annual run in 1978. Verena Anderson was the original faculty
advisor until her retirement in 1995; our current advisor Juliana Cardenas took
on the position and has been an important advocate for the journal ever since. "Firstdraft"
continued under that name until it was deemed to be contradictory to the
magazine’s philosophy. A decision was made in the late nineties to hold a
campus-wide contest to decide the new title for the magazine.
The winning name, "The
Acorn Review," was
submitted by one of Grossmont’s own English professors, Stephanie Mood, to both
honor the Kumeeyay Native Americans, who had originally lived in this area, as
well as provide as a metaphor for our writers. As the Acorn eventually becomes a
great and flourishing oak tree,
so does it
serve as an iconic and tangible symbol of the gradual growth and progression of
our student writers. However, regardless of its name, the same philosophy and
mission of the magazine has continued on from its inception until today: to
provide a showcase of the talent of Grossmont College writers and artists and to
provide an outlet for them to have their work published.
Now that a foundation has been laid
concerning the magazine’s history, who is it that is now currently in charge of
deciding on submissions and designing the current issues?
"The Acorn Review"
editorial staff consists of Grossmont college students who are currently
enrolled in the course English 145 - and who also share a common love of the
writing and artistic fields! "The Acorn Review:
Editing and Production" is a course that can be taken four times for credit, and
it is open to all interested students in both the Fall and Spring semesters. All
works we receive are numbered by our faculty advisor before they are submitted
anonymously to the editorial staff for consideration – allowing the writer or
artist’s identity to remain completely private during the selection process. All
staff members will read and vote on the work they receive, and the majority
decision rules. If the piece is accepted, the writer or artist will be credited
by receiving a byline in the published magazine.
In addition to poetry and prose works of
short stories,
plays, works of
creative nonfiction, and novel excerpts, "The Acorn Review" enthusiastically
encourages submissions from an array of other mediums as well. We’re looking for
talented individuals to submit their creativity in various artistic fields,
including: original black and white line drawings, charcoal drawings, digital
media, and photography. Additionally, color artwork and photography submissions
will be considered for the front or back covers. As you can see, the submission
of any form of art that can be reproduced on the page is strongly encouraged!
Any current or former students of Grossmont or Cuyamaca College are invited to
submit, regardless of whether or not they are currently attending the "Acorn
Review" class or other Creative
Writing
courses on campus.
Finally, if you have an abundance of great
work you could submit to us, we strongly encourage you to send it our way! For
prose works, we will
accept up to five
short stories, plays, pieces of creative nonfiction, or novel excerpts with a
maximum word length of 4000 words from one student per semester. For poetry, we
allow up to ten poems with a maximum length of 60 lines a student per semester;
for artwork and photography, we permit fifteen
submissions per semester.
In regards to the submission process
itself, it couldn’t be easier! All written manuscripts, except for poetry, are
typed, include the word count, and are double-spaced on one side of the paper.
Please don’t put your name on your manuscript, but do attach a 3x5 card to your
piece that includes your name, the title of the piece (if the piece is an
untitled poem, please write
the first line of
the poem on the card), and your phone number, home address, and email address in
case we need to contact you about your work. To turn in your submissions, they
can either be given to Julie, our faculty advisor, at her office
#568A or be
placed in her mailbox in the faculty mailroom.
As you can see, the possibility of seeing
your work in print is just a submission away! For greater details on the
submission guidelines, for information on the editorial staff’s decision, or for
a chance to ask further questions, contact Juliana Cardenas by calling 644-7486,
or by
visiting her office at room #568A today! Our Fall 2007 deadline for submissions
is quickly approaching - Monday, November 19th, 2007! If your submissions are
received by this date, there is a high probability that the editorial staff will
be able to vote on and give a response to your work before the end of the
semester. Any works collected after this date might not be considered until a
new staff convenes during the Spring Semester, so don’t delay!
Zombie Prom Proves You Can’t Keep A Good Ghoul Down
by Lizi
West
Everyone has gone through high school drama at some point in
their lives, but none beats the drama in the musical "Zombie Prom."
The San Diego State Theatre program recently performed the
musical through the month of October just up until this past week. The show was
a spoof off of "Grease" and other high school dramas done in the 1960’s. Sweet
teenage girl Toffee and her rebel boyfriend Jonny (aka Jon without an H) fall in
love one day in the lunchroom singing "This love is destined to be" to each
other. But when the evil principal Mrs. Strict and Toffee’s parents think Jonny
is a bad influence on her she is forced to break up with him. Jonny becomes so
heartbroken that he drives his motorcycle to the nearby nuclear plant and drives
himself into the cooling tower.
Toffee feeling so guilty and alone, mourns Jonny continuously
until one day Jonny returns on his motorcycle as a nuclear zombie. Jonny, being
a decomposing green teenager still in his leather jacket tells Toffee about how
her love for him brought him back. His plan is to clean himself up and get his
diploma and if she’ll have him back, take Toffee to the prom. While Toffee still
loves Jonny, she is threatened by Mrs. Strict to have the prom and all school
activities cancelled due to her wanting to be with the "satanic walking dead."
The play was very fun and energetic, keeping the audience on the edge of
their seats. With a cast of only fifteen, the SDSU students did an extremely
good job with the musical numbers and getting the characters’ personalities just
right. The next show they will be doing will be "By the Bog of Cats" which will
run from Nov. 16 through Dec. 2.
American Gangster Is As American As Apple Pie, Heroin in the Ghetto, and
Crooked Cops on the Take
by C.R. Haworth
International flights to Vietnam. Chinchilla fur coats. A
multi-million dollar mansion. Not a bad life for Frank Lucas – one of the most
powerful drug lords in the history of America.
The crime-drama epic "American Gangster" is the true story of
Frank Lucas, a self-made drug kingpin of New York in the 70’s, and the cop who
brought him down, Richie Roberts. For those of you who are savvy to the history
of the mafia in America, you might be interested to know that Frank Lucas did
business right along side Nicky Barnes, and was the driver of another powerful
African American kingpin, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. This Renaissance Man of
Harlem has been portrayed regularly by actor Laurence Fishburne in "The Cotton
Club" (1984) and "Hoodlum" (1997).
The opening scene lays groundwork for what the audience
should expect for the remainder of the movie – Bumpy Johnson (played briefly by
Clarence Williams III) and Frank Lucas (masterfully portrayed by Denzel
Washington) stand in front of a man, who happens to be tied to a chair, and
listen to his pleas for mercy. Without so much as a twitch, they light the man
on fire and watch as he slowly, and loudly, burns to death.
From there, it only gets better as both the careers of Frank
(Denzel) and Richie (Russell Crowe) comparably unfold like two ships passing
through the night. While Frank finds it easy to control Harlem from the get-go,
Richie struggles to gain respect as one of the only cops in New York not on a
take. However, it isn’t until the final scenes that the audience is shown just
how similar these two men really are in life.
Directed by Ridley Scott (whose resume includes movies such
as "Alien," "Blade Runner," "Gladiator," and "Black Hawk Down"), "American
Gangster" has all the right elements of a blockbuster movie. In addition to
Crowe and Washington, big celebrity cameos such as the rappers T.I., Common, and
the Rza, and actors Cuba Gooding Jr. and Clarence Williams III, as well as the
beautiful newcomer, Lymari Nadal, round out the cast. There are literally too
many names to mention in one article.
The cinematography gorgeously paints the picture of the
gritty crime-laced streets of New York in the 1970’s. From the wardrobe to the
cars, Scott has done a great job making sure the audience believes they’re in
the disco era. Scott leaves no stone unturned as he makes sure every aspect of
the movie is authentic – the heroin house where Frank’s product is cut and
shipped houses 20 naked women as its workers. Why are they naked, you ask?
Because everyone knows that you can’t steal drugs when you’re wearing no
clothes.
Denzel Washington gives a command performance as Frank Lucas,
though, according to a recent interview with Dateline NBC, he made sure that he
wasn’t glorifying the things the real Frank has done. Still, from doing dirt in
the streets to handling business abroad, the audience member can’t help but feel
that Frank is the perfect anti-hero in the age of corruption and dishonesty.
Likewise, Russell Crowe plays Richie Roberts perfectly; not
coming across as straight-edged as Eliot Ness, but just as virtuous, overall.
Going through a rough divorce with his wife, Laurie (played by Carla Gugino from
HBO’s "Entourage"), it’s easy to see why Richie has a tough time in life. He’s
the only honest cop in the precinct, he’s dedicated to his job, and, oh yeah,
he’s with a new woman every other scene.
Other minor roles throughout the movie demand equal
attention. The rappers who appear in the movie are far removed from the typical
performance given by rap stars (i.e., DMX and Ja Rule), even garnishing them
praise from Internet critics alike. T.I. and Common portray believable
Southerners trying to catch up to their relative Frank. Meanwhile, the Rza
lights up the screen as one of the members of Richie’s street-savvy narcotics
team. But the shocker here is the brief but believable performance of Cuba
Gooding Jr. No longer smiling and light-hearted, Cuba’s portrayal of real life
drug dealer Nicky Barnes is as refreshingly different as Wayne Brady’s
appearance on "The Chappelle Show." Believe me – the audience is dealing with an
alternative side to an already great actor.
With recent letdowns in American cinema, "American Gangster" is a sure thing
in an age of digital effects and computer graphics. There’s just no substitute
for a well-written plot, great acting, and great directing. Pack it all in at 2
hours and 37 minutes and you have a film finally worth the $10 ticket price.
Get Your Fill of Vegetarian Tacos and the Urban Scene at Pokez Mexican
Restaurant
by Kamri Jackson
Pokez, pronounced "po-keys," located
downtown, is a must-go-see restaurant in San Diego. With vegetarian tacos too
big to finish, and vegan burritos that will leave you satisfied, it’s any health
conscious, and "veggie heads" dream come true.
The cooks have strict standards with
vegan cooking .
Beans, tortillas and chips are lard-free, and meat and tofu are never, ever
cooked in the same oil.
However, don’t be wary of inviting your carnivorous friends along, they have a
large variety of meat dishes in addition to their acclaimed vegetarian. Pokez is
known
for the eclectic crowd it brings, from local artists, urban
skate-borders, tourist, to the businessman.
The Scenery:
Urban art and
graffiti floods the walls, which brings a spirit of its own to the streets of
downtown.
Price range: Inexpensive $
Kamri’s must try’s:
(Pokez has more than 30 vegetarian entrees)
-
Vegetarian taco
-
Tofu and mushroom
Enchilada
Pokez Mexican Restau rant
947 E Street
San Diego, CA 92101
www.pokezsd.com
619.702.7160
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