#american-culture

#american-culture

The first time I heard about Cinco de Mayo was when a restaurant advertised it.Of course, the information provided didn't say anything about the history behind the holiday.Then, I saw non-Mexican people wearing sombreros and I knew something was off.After doing some research, I realized that celebrating Cinco de Mayo without knowing its meaning or caring to learn about Mexican culture is where the problem lies.

For Gail Jennings and her family, the Thanksgiving menu is never written in ink.One year, the turkey may appear on the table in her Durham, N.C., home burnished and whole, a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.The next, it may be roasted in parts, the drumsticks, wings and thighs swathed with onions and tomatoes.

American society doesn't encourage gratitude.For proof, consider that mere hours after a feast celebrating thankfulness we are encouraged to go on a shopping spree rather than keep the feeling of gratitude going through the coming season.And with toy ads and lists, teaching kids gratitude can certainly get muddled when they start to believe the world owes them.

Works by Andy Warhol are to be shown in Dublin as part of Ireland's largest display of pop art.
he Pop Art Pioneers exhibition at Gormleys will showcase 2 million euro worth of works by Warhol and fellow US artists Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring and Robert Indiana.It will feature Warhol's silkscreen portraits, Lichtenstein's The Den, Haring's graphic designs and Indiana's LOVE artworks.

Judging the photographs of an artist who is not primarily a photographer raises a prickly question.Are you assessing the photos on their own merits or examining them to better understand the artist's main work?With an artist like Degas, his photos can be regarded as preparatory sketches for paintings.

"You motherfucker."The two words, scribbled in a notebook, convinced Cristi Miles her vision was working.Since 2020, Miles-co-artistic director of Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble (PETE)-had been dreaming up a theatrical presentation that would capture the way she felt when she first encountered Swiss photographer Robert Frank's 1959 series The Americans, via an episode of The Daily, which noted their thematic overlap with that year's unstable summer.

It's absolutely not an exaggeration to say we've all been somewhat impatiently waiting for the opening of Gumbo Social.The upcoming restaurant not only claimed a spot on Eater SF's list of most anticipated restaurant openings of this year but also earned similar shout-outs from the San Francisco Chronicle and Bon Appetit - whose list, by the way, covered restaurants from California to Rhode Island.

In this chewy theatrical epic, three versatile character actors unpack 160 years of American capitalism through the story of a family firm founded by Jewish immigrants.Lehman Brothers started as a general store in Alabama in 1844 and became the fourth largest investment bank in the US before collapsing in the 2008 financial crisis.

In Dallas, Texas, Korean American bartender-turned-cart owner Sunny Hatch had a largely Western upbringing, a common tale for children of immigrants who choose to immerse their families in American culture as a means of survival."It didn't feel safe to be Asian," Hatch says."I feel like a lot of hapas that I meet tell me the same thing - that their parents wanted them to be super Western.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter and have the latest stories from Mission Local delivered directly to your inbox.Season's greetings!Community orgs of the Mission District tell me they'll be in low-operation mode for New Year's - but there's still plenty to do, with numerous and free events citywide.

French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf performs during the Nice Jazz Festival in southeastern France in July 2019.Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images Every time he works on a new album, trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf asks himself: Am I doing something new or am I repeating myself?"Am I just releasing album to release an album because this is how I make a living?

Terry Crews is one of the most talented men in America.He has enjoyed a diverse career, including playing in the NFL as a linebacker, acting in iconic shows like Brooklyn 99, hosting America's Got Talent, and writing books on masculinity (and .That's just the professional talents you know him for.A true multi-hyphenate, Crews is a fine artist (his photorealistic sports paintings are seriously wild), activist, and even furniture designer (his refined collaboration with design firm Bernhardt Design blended modern and ancient Egyptian influences).

Thursday, March 30, 2023 by Seth Smalley
The Travis County Commissioners Court officially proclaimed February 2023 as Black History Month in a unanimous vote last month.The proclamation was made in conjunction with the Austin Independent School District's celebration of African American heritage.Commissioners drew attention to the fact that the proclamation stood in stark contrast to efforts to ban the teaching of the history of how minorities were treated in America.

"More than 150 million people in the United States use TikTok on a monthly basis, with the average user today being an adult well past college age.Their videos provide a lens through which the rest of the world can experience American culture.Examples include TikTok's role in bringing exposure to American musicians, artists, chefs, and many more.

The American Black Film Festival will introduce its inaugural comedy festival, " Because They're Funny ," at the Wharf in Southwest DC from October 6 to October 8.The three-day festival will highlight rising BIPOC comics, as well as feature performances by what are promised to be well-known comedy stars.

Please try again




Jason Moran performs at the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival.(Courtesy of Newport Jazz Festival)



The inspiration for Jason Moran's new album, From the Dancehall to the Battlefield, came from a distinguished source, who passed it down like a family heirloom.Randy Weston, a fellow pianist-composer in the jazz tradition, was still performing in his mid-80s a decade or so ago, when he welcomed Moran to his home in Brooklyn with an admonishment: You need to know about James Reese Europe.

I sometimes feel I'm in a daily struggle not to become a shallower version of myself.The first driver of shallowization is technology, the way it shrinks attention span, fills the day with tempting distractions.The second driver is the politicization of everything.Like a lot of people, I spend too much of my time enmeshed in politics the predictable partisan outrages, the campaign horse race analysis, the Trump scandal du jour.

I sometimes feel I'm in a daily struggle not to become a shallower version of myself.The first driver of shallowization is technology, the way it shrinks attention span, fills the day with tempting distractions.The second driver is the politicization of everything.Like a lot of people, I spend too much of my time enmeshed in politics the predictable partisan outrages, the campaign horse race analysis, the Trump scandal du jour.

Some US lawmakers are working to ban TikTok.That wold be a boon to Snap, Meta, and Google, CFRA says.The research firm says TikTok could make $9 billion-$10 billion in US revenue in 2024.There probability TikTok will be banned is still low but it's gone up significantly over the last six months, the firm said.

The Chinese government could use TikTok to control data on millions of people and harness the short-form video app to shape public opinion should China invade Taiwan, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday.Wray responded affirmatively to questions from Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the panel's ranking member, on whether TikTok would allow Beijing widespread control over data and a valuable influence tool in the event of war in the Taiwan Strait.

Historical Figures
A new AI chatbot, Historical Figures, promises to take its users on a journey through space and time, simulating conversations with famous leaders - from Jesus to Joseph Stalin to Henry Ford and many more.Just, uh, one thing: apparently, pretty much every historical figure was absolutely perfect, and definitely feels bad if anything went wrong if or when they were in power.

Joni Mitchell will receive the 2023 Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.The legendary singer-songwriter will be bestowed with the honor during a tribute concert, scheduled for March 1st in Washington, DC.
"This is a very prestigious award," Mitchell said in a statement (via ).

Joni Mitchell is this year's winner of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress.Since the lifetime achievement award was established in 2007, it has gone exclusively to A-list celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie.Mitchell is the third woman to be recognized, after Carole King in 2013 and Gloria Estefan (in tandem with her husband Emilio) in 2019.