tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15457434535421246052011-04-21T16:40:39.891-07:00The American ExperimentEmily Henrynoreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-7295415414638445962009-04-22T12:02:00.001-07:002009-04-22T12:07:38.835-07:00

Originally posted on Intersectionssouthla.orgCalifornia is facing the biggest education spending cuts in history, as well as thousands of job losses for teachers working in South LA's classrooms. Community forums, like the one held on March 30th at the Baha'i Faith Center in Baldwin Park, are bringing educators, students and residents together to make a stand against what some believe to be a

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-71779495432472937332009-04-22T11:58:00.000-07:002009-04-22T12:01:05.282-07:00

Originally posted on Neon Tommy.comYesterday, I stood in front of a class of seniors at Crenshaw High School and attempted to explain blogging. I showed them how to log in to Blogspot, how to write and submit their posts, and how to link to their stories from MySpace. But then a girl in a long purple dress, second row, asked: "What's the point?""What do you mean?" I replied, unsure I had

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-27744799107210126322009-04-22T11:44:00.000-07:002009-04-22T12:09:04.786-07:00

Originally posted on Neon Tommy.comIn-bound immigration is slowing in California, and the next generation of naturalized, immigrant children is growing. The number of U.S.-born children with legal and unauthorized immigrant parents has swelled in the last five years from 2.7 million in 2003 to 4 million in 2008. According to a study released by the Pew Hispanic Center, one in three of these

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-75511185906712193842009-04-10T00:17:00.000-07:002009-04-10T00:27:58.595-07:00

Originally posted on Neon Tommy.comIn 2006, I had a very detailed map of global nuclear missile range pinned to my bedroom wall. Why? I'm not exactly sure. But there was something refreshing about displaying an accessible, comprehensive two-page spread detailing mankind's biggest fear. I was brazenly exhibiting the most potent threat to civilization, nuclear war, like a piece of art. It was

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-8932218894158153842009-04-10T00:10:00.000-07:002009-04-10T00:16:36.902-07:00

Originally posted on Neon Tommy.com.I don't hate the Internet, and I'm too young to be nostalgic. But, I do believe that actions speak louder than words; a handshake is more powerful than a Tweet; and a smile is more important than a smiley. While we're busy obsessing over our invisible actions, there's a whole world at risk of being neglected."We are creating a technology that will create a new

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-56037539384558147952009-04-10T00:03:00.000-07:002009-04-10T00:08:03.005-07:00

One of the challenges in the world of digital innovation is the ability to recreate the human face. During his talk at the TEDx USC conference, Paul Debevec explained that while computer graphics in movies and video games have exploded in recent years, audiences still notice inconsistencies in digitally created human faces (a reason why many video game characters wear helmets, as in “Halo 3″).But

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-38428117185037826832009-03-21T01:31:00.001-07:002009-03-21T01:45:26.324-07:00

Originally posted on Neon Tommy.comHe watched his father die of starvation. It started with bouts of diarrhea as the digestive system broke down, and before long, the body was unable to process even the morsels that were offered. There was no food, other than the bark scraped from trees and occasionally, a life-saving potato. But the famine deepened. After his father's death, his 7-month-old

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-71263192573568315842009-03-12T16:17:00.000-07:002009-03-12T16:21:32.297-07:00

My hands aren’t looking the same as they used to. They look short-nailed and scraggly, dry. It’s all part of this bodily decay that’s happening I’m told. I’m going to start shrivelling up now that I’ve reached my twenties. You grow up and then you grow down. But that minute, that less than millisecond of time, that tiny significant fragment that is barely anything at all – a speck of dust on a

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-29502931471014752402009-02-09T23:02:00.001-08:002009-03-21T01:21:43.287-07:00

Originally posted on Neon Tommy.comWith a line sweeping around the building into the depths of an unusually cold Los Angeles evening, the Vista Theater on Sunset Boulevard was one of many across the nation experiencing Friday-night frenzy for "Watchmen". After all, when was the last time bona fide geeks were nourished by a decent superhero movie? Not since "The Dark Knight" in July 2008. It has

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-33671103736469361212009-02-09T20:47:00.000-08:002009-02-09T22:12:07.290-08:00

Originally posted here.It's ironic that in a world where instant teleportation is made possible through the virtual realm, human beings are becoming more isolated from one another. The idea of "social support" seems almost archaic. Independence is a more valuable trait than mutual responsibility.Social work as a profession is crumbling across the Western world, even in countries where it has long

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-27569087711301706822009-02-09T20:42:00.000-08:002009-02-09T20:58:45.392-08:00

Originally posted here.At home, things are as normal as can be. Dr. Elizabeth Morgan brings in a tray carrying a single cup of coffee, a sugar bowl and her favorite creamer. The creamer is shaped like a cow, with a looped tail forming a handle. It doesn’t work that well, she explains as milk slops out, but she loves it. Her daughter, now called Elena, laughs as she finishes snacking on a cracker

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-33073581347730047912009-01-27T11:06:00.000-08:002009-04-10T00:29:54.083-07:00

Posted on Pop+Politics.comLeaning over his keyboard, author Andrew Keen typed the word “Why?” into the search bar. Keen, who believes that the internet is “cannibalizing culture,” is also fascinated by the secrets of our online universe. He plays with a keyword research tool – a website feature that ranks the frequency of billions of questions inputted into search engines – and the results of his

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-84485406983522740752008-12-04T22:38:00.001-08:002008-12-04T22:45:35.350-08:00

I was standing on a pitch black area of beach with a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum in my hand, watching the confrontation between Mark and the toothy Jamaican man and feeling increasingly nervous. The man’s face was inching closer throughout the conversation, his voice getting louder. I glimpsed at his hands in case they concealed a weapon. I looked longingly toward the part of the beach 100

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-17866022690978017902008-12-04T22:35:00.000-08:002008-12-04T22:36:06.312-08:00

Oh, that I were a man and could beA thinker of great things, I could seeThe universe in existential glory,History in form of linear story,Politics in terms of how to vote,Passion and upon whom I should dote.I could sit hours away with only BrandyThinking of what tool would be handyTo mend a shoe, though worn in appearance,Allowing my toes much room for clearance.I would smoke cigars - and enjoy

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-61340673524794528622008-12-04T22:33:00.000-08:002008-12-04T22:34:15.566-08:00

There were daffodils in the springtime,Dewy ground, the smell of real green,The sun reflected in wet eyesOf a road seldom used.Slumbering dark behind windows,The sleepy whispers of morning,Rousing dawn from sleep, To Paint the watercolor of day.No children’s noises, orMechanical sounds, otherThan the door hinge that Mr BrownWill fix today.He carries a bucket, wears WellingtonBoots, treads

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-83787984260624714622008-12-04T22:32:00.000-08:002008-12-04T22:43:37.514-08:00

Where does a story begin? This is something that all authors, writers, dreamers and poets grapple with. Does it begin with birth? Or does it begin with the present? I carried the laundry up the stairs in a big, black sack. I threw it onto the bedroom floor thinking that all the clothes inside will have creased before I take the time to fold them and put them away. I’ve spent the day reading,

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-5977324893910047742008-12-04T22:27:00.000-08:002008-12-04T22:40:54.464-08:00

Inside the car, boarded up by metal and glass, radiator circulating like warm breath in the morning of their tiny bedroom at home, she thought the saddest thought of all. It was the thought that they would never truly be alone. No matter how small and impenetrable the space. She had so much more to fight against than opening doors and cracked windows. There was a space that she could only feel,

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-51577257410427361922008-10-12T15:12:00.000-07:002008-10-12T15:16:56.764-07:00

Two red helmets sit side by side on the seat of a motorcycle. One belongs to Dr. Stephen Trudeau, a psychologist and longtime biker with a passion for scenic highways. The other belongs to his 9-year-old son, Devin, a fourth-grader who loves math and riding to school with his dad. But instead of traveling on the back of his dad's bike, Devin rides alongside, in the comfort and safety of a shiny

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-1057267077835106202008-09-29T22:40:00.001-07:002008-09-29T22:41:56.126-07:00

The premier of Little Britain USA Sunday night marks the inevitable transition of Britain’s leading comedy sketch show onto American televisions. In Britain, the show has been running for five years and is a cultural phenomenon. Books, coffee mugs, t-shirts, you name it. Everyone in the show’s homeland has received a Little Britain Christmas gift since the first season’s debut in September 2003.

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-17208665591913418222008-09-26T19:51:00.000-07:002008-09-26T19:53:10.206-07:00

At some point soon after the very beginning of man, a Neanderthal tripped and fell over a misplaced mammoth bone onto the cave floor. Some of his buddies laughed. Some ignored him. But one of them grunted over and put out his hand. This was the moment we started talking about welfare policy. When the fallen Neanderthal refused to get up, that was the moment we started complaining about it.

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-89673872637062254422008-09-23T23:03:00.000-07:002008-09-23T23:36:52.671-07:00

Perhaps it was inevitable that the strange curse suffered by so many great writers should strike so close to home— at least, as close as my coffee table, where Infinite Jest resides, or my desk, stacked with books of David Foster Wallace’s short stories. Even my memo board is filled with words given to me by D.F.W, scribbled on post-it notes: “You‘ve got to discipline yourself to talk out of the

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-54496142514412426002008-09-23T22:59:00.000-07:002008-09-24T00:13:15.261-07:00

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown backs Obama. Russell Brand (we think, but he didn't make himself too clear on this one at the VMAs...) is also in the Obama Camp. Now a BBC poll shows that the majority of the world, given the chance, would stamp their hopes next to Obama's name on the ballot. But do Brits back Obama wholeheartedly, or because there seems no better option? Judging by the

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-35537251235068016692008-09-23T21:07:00.000-07:002008-09-24T00:19:51.874-07:00

At "Wayne Manor" in Monrovia, the bride and groom posed for pictures before being driven away in a Batmobile. For another couple, Castle Green in Pasadena became a haunted mansion, decorated with black manzanita trees, black roses in Gothic urns and glowing white pumpkins for a "Nightmare Before Christmas" wedding. In Orange, Alice found Wonderland at the French Estate Inn and spent her

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-67101409848514139102008-08-28T18:45:00.000-07:002008-08-28T19:01:58.608-07:00

My mother never lost faith in America. When she was pregnant with me, trying to decide whether or not the baby should be born in her homeland or her new world, the final decision was sealed because Bruce Springstein's "Born the USA" was still blaring throughout Baltimore in 1985.Although she took me back to England where we both would have the support of her large and extended family, she never

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-66945826767227649542008-07-29T12:37:00.000-07:002008-07-30T15:58:11.103-07:00

The floor shakes, the walls shake, the desk that you're sitting at shakes, as if the whole world is on a roller coaster. The feeling of powerlessness is overwhelming. There is nowhere to run away to and nothing to do but wait, breath abated. Around the office the staff laugh nervously to one another while edging their way toward the sanctity of a door frame. The first instinct is to run outside

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-88129041121106760202008-05-30T22:24:00.000-07:002008-05-30T23:07:41.619-07:00

All things considered, this review is not an exaggeration. The concept of a movie based on a four-year-old sitcom would usually be destined for failure; but SATC defies the disappointing, gold-digging, shameless cliche-clinging of sitcom franchises and immediately becomes a feel-good classic. Joining the ranks of Pretty Woman, The Bodyguard, Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Sleepless in Seattle, the

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-81020912763606209342008-05-27T12:12:00.001-07:002008-05-27T12:12:53.999-07:00

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-6463608238319252592008-04-27T17:47:00.001-07:002008-04-27T18:47:37.794-07:00

Rockstar is the balls of the video game industry. Since its inception by the characteristically red-headed Scot, Dave Jones, in 1997, the game has taken the brunt of the debate over video game violence. And it's no wonder. What GTA did was take every imaginable suppressed human inclination toward violent actions and give them a space to play. If you ever imagined snipering people, stealing a car

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-61444965867182884672008-04-05T13:43:00.001-07:002008-04-27T17:46:46.066-07:00

On March 17th, 13-year-old Curtis Richardson was shot dead in front of his home. "He was walking with his friends when one of his friends threw up a gang sign and they came back and started shooting," said a 13-year-old school friend of Curtis.A resident named Vincent said that he was one of the first on the scene. "I ran around here and checked his pulse. He had a pulse but he wasn't moving or

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-42550228475791548752008-04-03T19:52:00.001-07:002008-04-07T15:34:42.079-07:00

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-35994927646774673812008-03-31T14:56:00.000-07:002008-04-02T17:01:46.607-07:00

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - A 20-year-old man died on the 101 freeway at 8:15 am yesterday; he took a gunshot to the head before his car sailed across five lanes of the freeway and crashed into the divide. Initial reports suggested that the man was the victim of a violent attack, but police are now considering the possibility of suicide. A tragic story is beginning to emerge.Early Sunday morning, police

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-84621637832080187022008-03-30T14:00:00.000-07:002008-03-31T23:25:54.532-07:00

For the second time this week, two gunshots were fired in the Sunset/Van Ness area. The shootings killed one man at approximately 1am on Wednesday, March 26. No details have been released about the shootings last night at 12:50am. My bedroom window overlooks the Sunset Boulevard off-ramp where the man was shot and killed on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, as I was lying in bed, I heard two shots.

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-77305710939604481412008-03-29T18:12:00.000-07:002008-03-30T13:53:32.882-07:00

LYNWOOD, Calif. – For three years, Lynwood residents have been living in the shadow of an invisible football stadium. They have seen the value of their properties decrease, and the area has become a real-estate limbo since plans for an NFL stadium were mapped over their zip code. They don’t know whether to make themselves comfortable, or prepare to evacuate. Silvia Villegas has decided to “

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-62145470433578058522008-03-29T17:38:00.000-07:002008-03-30T13:37:27.540-07:00

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-21079712529644701002008-03-29T17:31:00.000-07:002008-03-30T13:54:11.951-07:00

LYNWOOD, Calif. – Political action committees in Lynwood pulled out all the stops in the past two elections, rummaging through candidates’ pasts and publishing campaign material in order to sway voters. The methods were effective, but the committees don’t always play by the rules. During the November 2007 election, a committee called Voters Against Corruption used a doctored photograph to

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-986160248514609312007-11-09T16:04:00.000-08:002008-03-31T23:32:33.189-07:00

I take the subway every day. I wait for a bus at MacArthur Park every day. I take a bus down Alvarado to school every day.Strange things frequently happen. I sat next to a woman a few weeks ago who told me that she was on her way to jail for kicking her baby. I don't know if she was being serious or not, but when I asked her "why?" she said: "I don't know mommy. Sometimes I just get so angry.

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545743453542124605.post-27754420962652915372007-11-01T21:59:00.000-07:002008-03-30T13:38:11.394-07:00

At Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro Station, I trudged down the steps feeling the depressing de ja vu of routine. I take this route every day, and usually enjoy it, but today it felt like a weight. I wanted to be at home. I didn't want to face the every-day drudgery of my commute.Just when I was writing this down ("I'm discouraged by the routine drudgery..."), a man with a croaky voice asked me

Emily Henrynoreply@blogger.com4