Air Jordans: The Must Have American Accessory

Photo by kanyetothe.com

Your favorite rapper has a pair of Air Jordans. So does your favorite athlete. You may have also seen them on your favorite singer, when she decides to take off her five-inch heels, and sport her J's instead.  If you are under the age of thirty, you may have seen your first pair of Jordans on your favorite cousin, who taught you how to wear and take care of them. 

Michael Jordan Slam Dunk Contest 1988 Photo by Cliff1066

The Air Jordan sneakers are the most coveted accessory, worn by fashion tastemakers of every economic background. Since their first release in 1985, the shoe named after one of the most influential athletes of our time, Michael Jordan, has been a staple in American fashion for the past 26 years. How is it that a shoe named after an athlete outlast even the most couture fashion brands? Does Todd Oldham ring a bell?

In 1985 Michael Jordan was playing with the Chicago Bulls.  Because of the MVP's  twenty-years with the NBA, Jordan has been revered as the best basketball player of our time. His shine and outstanding talent landed him one of the most successful athletes endorsements to date. 

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez: Rivalry Between Filipino and Mexican Fans

via Facebook

As the country prepares for the Manny Pacquiao and the Juan Manuel Marquez rematch, Filipino and Mexican fans are sharpening their tongues in preparation for this Saturday.

Mexicans and Filipinos share the same Spanish colonial history as well as a passion for boxing, but Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao  has made things a little weird.

One night I was waiting for someone at a bar. The bartender was friendly and chatty, then he asked me what my ethnicity was. When I let him know that I'm half Filipino, the next question was, "Do you like Manny Pacquiao?"

"I love Manny Pacquiao," I said.

The bartender then properly informed that he was Mexican, and that he "Hated Manny Pacquiao."

We manage to stare down each other for a few seconds. This is a rivalry that is deep rooted and personal because Manny Pacquiao has been dubbed "The Mexican Assassin" and "The Mexicutioner."

Omaima Aree Nelson is Denied Parole: From Model to Cannibal

I'm sort of lost for words and also my appetite. 

Omaima Aree Nelson was convicted in 1991 for murdering her 56-year old husband William E. Nelson.  According to court documents she also cooked and ate her husbands remains. 

On Wednesday, Nelson faced a parole board pleading for an early release from her 27-years-to-life sentence. 

She was denied parole. Big surprise. 

Although she contends that she never ate her husband, her psychiatrist testified that she did in fact, dismember and consume her husband's remains.  She had to this to say in her defense: 

"If I didn't defend my life, I would have been dead. I'm sorry it happened, but I'm glad I lived." "I'm sorry I dismembered him."

One would assume that domestic abuse would contribute to such madness, which is exactly what Nelson claims her husband did: he had tried to strangle her the night before she killed him, and raped her throughout their marriage. 

So she fried his hands, literally. According to Orange County Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Randolph J. Pawloski:

"There were suitcases and plastic bags soaked with dark liquid from his body parts. In the fry cooker there sat Mr. Nelson's hands, and when we opened the refrigerator there was Mr. Nelson's head with stab wounds,"

What Nelson did to her husband's body is horrendous. 

"After the murder, Nelson boiled her husband's head on the stove in an attempt to remove his teeth, skinned his torso and fried his hands in oil, Pawloski told the Daily Pilot. Nelson told a psychiatrists that she carved up part of her husband's back and dipped it in barbecue sauce, something she now denies."

The details of this crime is a sociopath's crime of passion, if there is even a term that exists. 

It's an oxymoron nonetheless, and although Nelson has been compared to Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs, I think Nelson's husband is the only human that she's ever consumed, but it doesn't make her case any less horrifying. 

The Occupy Movement: Where it is In History, and Where the Iraq War is Not.

Photo by wheelzwheeler: Occupy London

As the Iraq war comes to a close, I begin to wonder whether or not the young people of my generation made as much of a fuss as they should have.

Sure, there were big city protests all around the nation, but when I look on the anti-war movement of the 1960's, our protests of the Iraq war did not capture the same steam. In fact, it was pretty lackluster. And clearly not effective, considering that it was the longest war in our nation's history.

Well protesting the Iraq war was an early 2000's trend and the current Occupy movement is what deserves our attention.  Started by the Canadian activist group Adbusters, the demonstrations started on Wall Street to protest the social and financial inequality in the U.S. The Occupy movement was overwhelmingly peaceful, as thousands of protestors have set up camp in front of major corporations, but it has been a nuisance to every resident in every financial district in America. As it continues to grow in every major city in the U.S., and it's thousands of occupants have been called "Dirty Hippies." Now where have we heard that term before?

The Electric Daisy Carnival: The LA Rave Riot

The Electric Daisy Carnival has had it's share of controversy.
 
During their massive rave in 2010 over 100 people, both minors and adults, were sent to the hospital due to various injuries. Drawing as many as 99,000 people to a single event, it's clear that EDC has a huge following of adults and youth a like.

While promoting their documentary The Electric Daisy Carnival Experience on July 27th. The promoters made a snafu in not anticipating a large crowd in the middle of Hollywood's busiest intersection, when DJ Kaskade, who is one of the highlighted Dj's in documentary, tweeted that he was doing a free open-air show outside of Chinese Grauman theater.

Kaskade's set went without a hitch, until his rave bus hit the corner, creating mayhem with hundreds of kids running after him.

The crowd grew larger and larger, and according to LA Weekly journalist Dennis Romero it became a standoff between the crowd and the cops.

"Police declared a tactical alert [actually this isn't true; see more at the bottom] and officers arrived en masse to Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue and then pushed West. Hollywood Boulevard was shut down from Highland Avenue to La Brea Avenue."

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The Love Letters of Lori Davis and Damien Echols

In world where love can be fabricated on a "reality" show, it is not surprising that Damien Echols and Lori Davis found each other in a fantastical circumstance.

Empathy met apathy as beautiful letters were exchanged, containing basil leaves and cloves, in a effort to connect Echols into her wold. The two were married in 1998 behind a prison wall, and fought valiantly for Echol's freedom for thirteen years.

Echols and Davis have gone through the trials and tribulations of any married couple, except their courtship started on Death Row. The New York Times has posted a massive feature on their tremendous love story, highlighting many of the struggles that they had to endure along the way.

Gawker Kind of Reminds Me of My Bitchy Best Friend in High School

Photo by Nick Douglas

I would compare Gawker with The New York Times as two popular high school students. The NY Times became popular for being the Valedictorian and Gawker got popular for talking Sh*t and being the top gossip.

Both have an incredible importance in High School, it just depends who  you would rather be seen with.

My friends were clearly the smut loving type and so is Gawker! 

Like the top gossip that it is, Gawker has a way of getting you interested in what they have to say. As The NY Times has to go through the rigamorale of actual "reporting," Gawker has already gathered the scoop of the most noted gossip of the day.

Economy... SNORE...War... SNORE...The world... SNORE! SNORE! SNORE! The NY Times just doesn't have the update on Lindsey Lohan the way that Gawker does! Her 17-year old sister went with her to her Playboy shoot. That clearly generates more interest than the floating orb on Riker's Island.

If you want your world to be shattered with truth and despair, I suppose The NY Times is a fantastic resource.  Like the Valedictorian, you can be assured that The NY Times will at least try to know everything that is "smart." Their front page is like dinner platter of smartness, and there is plenty to eat.

If the Internet were a school lunch table,  I certainly would rather have Gawker by my side. You know the saying goes, "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all, but if you have nothing nice to say.... come sit next to me."

Therefore, I'll never admit that when held a gunpoint I'll probably choose Gawker over The New York Times, so I'm probably going to hell too.