Strike A Pose, Vogue, History of Ball Room Scene

  With this new fad of GAY lingo being thrown around here and there, I took the time to dig a little deeper. Find out where does all this come from and explore the subculture within the LGBT community. We also get to see how one subculture has influenced others.I’m going to get into the Ballroom scene and I feel everyone should experience this kind of event at least once in their life, you will see how many pop artist take from the icons of the ballroom scene. To name a few, Madonna, Brittany Spears, Lady Gaga, Beyonce etc. Down to the way a runway models walks down a runway in a fashion show derives from the Ballroom. Here's a clip from Legendary Leiomy Mizrahi who have inspired artist in the music scene.

When we hear the word Ballroom we often think about dancing with the stars because of course they’re doing traditional ballroom dancing but in the LGBT community, this is like a competitive fashion show featuring all types of pageantry. This is giving you runway and its also giving you sex, yes I said it! This is no new phenomenon, Balls has a history and has a tradition that dates back to the 19th century and going strong into the 21st century.The Ballroom scene was born out of queer culture in New York City. It began as drag pageants, which expanded to include categories for realness, performance (vogue), sex siren, runway, bizarre and a host of others.The scene is organized into Houses. These houses are like crews or even like real family and often members rely on each other outside the scene for support and love in times of need. They become “children” and the house has a “mother” and “father”, they have rules to follow like any household and they take on a family name. Usually the name derives from a fashion designer, for example, they have the House of Mizrahi which is named after Issac Mizrahi or maybe after a ballroom icon like Willie Ninja, it would be called the House of Ninja,etc.  So I'm Camille but my new name would be Camille Mizrahi. Hope you get the drift. So the ballroom scene is all about houses competing with each other in different categories and winning prizes. Check out this famous clip of Crystal Labeiga from the movie "The Queen" in 1968, there is also a documentary on the Ball room scene called "Paris is Burning"

Now let's get into the categories that are within the Ballroom scene. Performance, this is the category is the one that gave birth to the vogue form of dance. It is broken up into 5 components that can be used as their own categories in a ball. The 5 components are Duckwalk,Catwalk,Hands,Floor work, Spins and Dips. You find a lot of theatrics in the performance category, a lot of shady gestures against their opponent. Runway, this category is exactly what it sounds like. It is walking on the runway like a high fashion model. There are two types of runway walking and they are All-American Runway and European Runway. This is where you see how this scene has major influence on our fashion runways. A lot of the top models today and in the past have been trained to walk by Icons like Willie Ninja. Then we have Realness, this category comes from a time when blending in with heterosexuals was a key component of gay life.  The challenge of this category is to present yourself as heterosexual as you can project, you have Thug, Executive, and Schoolboy.The face category is about who has a classically beautiful face.  Judges examine the eyes, the nose, the teeth, the lips and the structure of the face, they will only look at the face of a competitor which should not have much makeup and should appear flawless. The category Body is about health.  A competitor will have hit the gym quite a lot, and are willing to show off.  The judges will be looking for someone who looks attractive, and healthy. Last but not least Sex Siren, this category is all about sex.  Who can seduce the judges?  Participants will do their best to tease and seduce the judges. Some may strip all their clothes off, others might do erotic dancing, and some may do both just to snatch a trophy. In this category you'll mostly see transexual women that gives sexiness but keep in mind real women compete as well, there more in the realness category. This entire production is a MUST see!!

One of the most popular balls to date is the Latex Ball, it’s an event that is held every year and it’s purpose is to shed awareness on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how its affecting the LGBT community. You will find people getting free std testing as well as receiving goody bags with all you can possibly need to enjoy safe sex. You will also find a slew of celebrities who come to this affair, it is that huge of an event and everyone is welcomed to attend. So guess where I will be next year?  You got it, having my very first Latex Ball experience!! To my right is a clip of 2013 Latex Ball, enjoy.

Hope, Home and the American Dream

  Their are various reasons why people come to the U.S. some seek safety and freedom  from oppressive governments while others come in hope of economic opportunity. Once here, many newly immigrated people encounter a whole new set of problems. No matter what their reasons for coming to the land of opportunity one thing remains the same, the hope for a new life in a country that offers freedom and work.

Documentaries: Don't Judge a Film by its Genre

Documentaries: Don't Judge a Film by its Genre

Just as the age old expression says, "you should not judge a book by its cover," I've learned that this case can be applied to film as well. Before Micah Fink's visit to our class I always thought the worst of Documentaries. I used to think they were uninteresting and that it didn't matter whether I learned about how bad people in Somalia have it or how deforestation is destroying millions of habitats for the Earth's wildlife, but after seeing a bit of The Abominable Crime I completely changed my thinking. Documentaries are made for a reason: they want to inform. Essentially it's up to the audience to decide whether they care or not but if you took the time to think about how much hard work goes into actually making one of these you'd probably change your thinking like I did. Micah Fink and Common Good Productions put in months of networking, traveling, filming, editing, and producing into their documentaries. The Abominable Crime is truly moving and it hits very hard no matter which sexual orientation you prefer. They traveled to five countries to see how each saw their homosexual communities. This film is just an example of how capturing a documentary can be. Please watch the trailer at their website.

Student Club Expenditures at SUNY WCC

I sat down with the Vice President of the W.E.B, Raisza Latif about the amount the WEB is being awarded. I also spoke with Tiago Machado, the Assistant Director of Student Involvement about the process through which clubs are awarded funds.

WCC's Take on the Welfare of the Environment

Five people are in this video project to discuss their stance on the environment's current being. For those that would like to know more about how the environment is doing generally and currently, refer to this link: 

Pulitzer Center "Pros" Visit College

Last Thursday, November 28, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and award-winning producers; Micah Fink and Steve Sapienza visited Westchester Community College for the second annual "Meet the Pros" event. Students gathered in room 13-D of the technology building with the opportunity of no only ask questions, but also to get a sneak peek at the film "An Abominable Crime", which was to be shown at the main event later that evening.
After the clip, students were asked for their opinions.





An Abominable Crime produced by director and producer Micah Fink, follows the story of Simone Edwards and Maurice Tomlinson as they struggle to survive in homophobic Jamaica.


To learn more about An Abominable Crime, and other works by Micah Fink, visit Common Good Productions.

Pulitzer Opens Up With WCC Students

Two Pulitzer Journalists shared with us their story of how they started their Journalism Career. Steve Sapienza and Micah Fink both started off like any other aspiring student trying to go big out in the world of journalism, taking classes such Photography their ideas expanded even more as they expanded their knowledge. They both eventually traveled to different parts of the world including, Dominican Republic and Jamaica where they worked on crisis reporting. One of the highlights of their presentation is when they shared with us the video that was created when Micah traveled to Jamaica and documented stories of people dealing with homosexuality insecurities due to the overwhelming fact that homosexuality is not prohibited in Kingston, Jamaica. "The Abominable Crime" The students at WCC who had the chance to watch their presentation felt an immediate emotional reaction, many students couldn't believe what they were watching and hearing, we got a chance to interview some students to get a a better understanding of what they felt. As the presentation ended, many of us felt the need to do something to help or even become experts like Micah and Steve, which we get the opportunity to to do so simply by applying to the Pulitzer website. Pulitzer

The Perks of Swimming: From education, safety, and a great workout

Why is it important to learn how to swim? Swimming is a great workout, with added health benefits as well. According to Discovery Health & Fit, there are other great benefits that come from swimming, like the prevention of diabetes, and an improved sense of flexibility, because the body works a lot of muscles at once. Swimming is also one of the best ways to help with weight control and loss, since it's the highest calorie burner. Bucknell University lists the social, psychological, and physical benefits of swimming, as well as some different ways that you can workout in the pool.
Aside from working out though, what's the big deal about swimming? It can save your life. The American Red Cross offers courses all over the country for lifeguards, lifeguard instructor, and water safety instruction (WSI certification), as well as swim lessons. There are also classes to take on how to be safe in a home pool. A reporter for the BBC UK talks about her experiences swimming and how it impacted her life, while including facts about swimming in English children, like how many can't swim 25 meters in a pool (200,000 by the age of 11, as of May 2012).
PBS Kids Go! encourages kids to get into a swimming habit, because of how good it is for the body. They have games, videos, celebrities who encourage it, and other methods to help get kids excited to swim. There is also an educational aspect with job opportunities that cane come from being able to swim. For one thing, there happens to be a whole specialization of archaeology that has to do with underwater ruins. Port Royal, a hub founded in 1518 for commerce, where pirates and privateers were able to reside safely, is one of these ruins, though it can be difficult to get permission to go diving near the site, as special permission is required from the Jamaican Government. Other interesting underwater ruins can be seen here or here.
As my friend Dominique likes to say about swimming, "It gives you the opportunity to be safe around the water, and the ability to help someone else be safe and enjoy the water as well."

This video was made and edited by me, and I asked friends, my lifeguard coworkers, and some family why they thought swimming was important. It's a great skill to have that, as one of my coworkers Sean says "I think swimming is important because it's a skill that can save your life one day."

Jalesa's conversion/Sleeping with Sirens Show

I recently had the privilege to interview Jalesa Tucker about attended her first rock show.  The bands that performed were Sleeping with Sirens, Memphis May Fire, Issues and Breathe Carolina.  She was very hesitant to attend at first due to the violent tendencies of the show.  She soon warmed up to the crowd and engaged in every aspect of the experience.  This is her story

-Here's a few links to find out more information on each band.
-http://blog.sleepingwithsirens.net/
-http://memphismayfire.merchnow.com/
-http://www.riserecords.com/
-http://www.breathecarolina.net/
-http://www.vanswarpedtour.com/

The Pulitzer Center Travels Around The World

Become a part of the Pulitzer Center and get the amazing opportunity to travel around the world! Here, Westchester Community College students get the opportunity to travel all over and report some underreported crisis situations across the globe. Devon Smith, a Westchester Community College student and Steve Sapienza, an established journalist, talk about their experiences working for this brilliant journalist organization.

Two award winning producers

Micah Fink and Steve Sapienza shared some of their years of working in journalism. The two didn't work together, preferably working alone. But the two work in the same field by spectating other parts of the world. Both of their work is known for the struggles people have to go through like violence, viruses, and poverty.

Listen to this morning zoo!

If you want to see what goes on the behind the scenes of a radio show at Westchester Community College, watch this video on "Guy Talk." The show is on every Friday 8-10am.  This short video includes interviews with the co-hosts, live mixing and the topic of which movies and shows have made us cry.  This is our morning zoo!

If you want to watch great interviews from a radio station, be sure to view the HOT 97 Youtube page.

Can Films effect change?

Documentary or Propaganda

In the many years of film, the distinction between film and propaganda has been a very fine line.  When the film Battleship Potempkin by Sergei Eisenstein in 1925 was filmed it was considered a work of art.  It defined the Soviet Montage Theory of film making for the time.  But it was a work of art that represented the director’s view of the incident, not an honest review of what happened at that time.  Each person reviewing a film must make a decision whether to agree with the ideas presented or to disagree.

Todays Documentary creators like to believe they represent the truth and believe they can help to change the world based on the opinion of the truth that they put before us.  Take for example the work of Award-winning producer, director and writer Micah Fink.  Mr. Fink is a well-respected creator of documentaries and has produced some outstanding work.  He would like to believe that the film he produced in Sept 2005 “H5N1 • KILLER FLU” changed how the US government responded to the Swine Flu crises in 2009.  This claim may help Mr. Fink in acquiring benefactors but probable not how the US government made up its mind to treat a potential epidemic. file:

In the paper "The Swine Flu Crisis: TheGovernment Is Preparing for the Worst While Hoping for the Best – It Needs toTell the Public to Do the Same Thing!" the author Peter Sandman outlines issues that were detailed in Nature from May 21^st, 2009 that also outline the crisis.  In researching this subject I was able to locate hundreds of papers, films and books defining this crisis.  So why might Mr. Finks be the impactful document?

Documentary directors work hard to present a point of view they believe needs to be seen.  You may easily watch any of Michael Moore’s films and recognize their opinion is the driving force, not the truth.  But he believes he is doing a service and trying to create change in the world.

Remember when you are watching and news, film or documentary, it’s up to you to distinguish the truth from opinion.  The next time you see a Film like Kony 2012, try and understand why it is being made.  Is it an advertising campaign, politically motivated or the truth for you to decipher.

A Devastating Truth

                                     When Will It End??

It is true that with each passing year more and more immigrants seek for a second chance here in the land of milk and honey. 

Their treacherous journey to arrive in the safe haven of America is often overlooked by the circumstances that it takes to place foot on this promised land. But the brutality faced in the desert, the cold frightful nights, and the endless stomach growling's are merely the beginning of this bittersweet dream.

There is no question about the horrors that are experienced while trying to cross the Unite States border. However, that difficult journey they have embarked on to reach a safe haven is only the beginning. The underlying sentiment that many immigrants crossing the border are here to take someone else's wages and jobs is undeniable.

 But where does the problem begin? And more so, why are there more and more people trying to come into the U.S. risking their lives and willing to leave there homes,  family, and friends. Clearly, one does not wake up one day and leave their native land just because they feel like it, usually there is  an unhappiness, a struggle, or a hardship going on. 

Nearly a decade later, The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passed on January 1 1994 links 450 million people that produced $17 trillion dollars in output. NAFTA promised not only to aid U.S Citizens but also those abroad. To be precise, according to citizens.org it promised it "would create tens of thousands of good jobs here in the U.S. and that  farmers would export their way to wealth. In addition, "NAFTA would bring Mexico’s standard of living up, providing new economic opportunities there that would reduce immigration to the United States".

So who could lose? Well with over a $181 billion dollar deficit as of 2012,the elimination of five million manufacturing jobs, a 20 percent decrease in salaries,  the closure of  60,000 manufacturing facilities, inefficiency of properly check food supply, NAFTA had left many Americans without hope. 

Yet an even bigger impact was felt by  the Mexican population. Starting with the dislocation of many Mexicans in the countryside, a 66 percent decrease in wages for Mexican farm workers causing the inability to pay for their lands. Leaving half of the Mexican population earning less than the minimum wage needed for basic food necessities. Over 700,000 people with out  jobs, Mexico's economy is slowly dissolving. 
Little change has been seen in this past decade except trillions of dollars made, unemployment rate on the rise, migration into the United States inevitable. 

The Latest Trend In Fashion: Sportswear

I remember when people used to put on a shirt and a pair of jeans, but fashion nowadays sure has changed.
Sports fashion trend sporty clothing. Sportswear as a fashion trend has been evolving for the past few years. For spring 2013 it continues on the direction of sleek minimal and luxurious making itself ripe for new interpretations. Athletic looks are the new trend at fashion shows. One unifying theme of the Milan collections was that it was all over the place which was sports. Athletics mesh fabrics showed up in insets on the back of dresses or layered underneath them; and variations of modified tracksuits appeared in surprising numbers. A w magazine editor named Giovanna Bogetta Veneta showed up in a Junya wannabe dress that would have been great for running a marathon.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQjO1cq-YUw

Steve Sapienza: The Depth of Reporting

Documentary and news producers Steve Sapienza and Micah Fink came from the Pulitzer Center to our multimedia journalism class about two weeks ago to discuss some of their previous work and talk about how they did it.  Steve talked about working alone, which he prefers, and also a time where he experienced some difficulty when working with a full crew of people in order to gather his story material.  Below is also a link for some work he did in Malaysia on the struggle for education on palm oil plantations.  

education for migrant workers