Goodfellas
By ChicanoRick | August 19, 2008
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This is one of those movies that I had never gotten around to watching but everyone talks about it. Supposedly it’s a classic like The Godfather and Scarface. I’ve never really been into the whole “Italian Mobsters” style, usually the people I see that jock these movies are fake ass gangsters or wannabe tough guys. For some reason, the simple act of watching and owning these movies makes them hard. You can especially see this behavior in rappers, adopting names like “Corleone” or “Gotti” when they’re not even Italian. You see them on MTV Cribs with ‘Scarface’ playing in the background. “You know me, gotta keep it gangsta”.
With that said, I was actually surprised while watching ‘Goodfellas’. Surprised at how horrible it is. Yet another disgustingly long and horribly paced uneventful movie. I really can’t think how someone can find this entertaining. I’m not even going to bother explaining the story because:
A) You’ve probably watched this already
B) There’s not much to write about
The movie is annoyingly narrated by the main character, and later switches off with his bitch. That alone taints the movie. You can almost picture them reading off of a script with amateur voice inflection.
What solidifies this as a 2.5 Star movie (besides the horrible pacing and lack of plot progression that are staples of a ‘Perdicion Italiana‘) is the constant onscreen festivities. It never fails. Whether someone’s getting married/baptized/first communion/buried, there’s always an excuse to have music playing with people dancing and drinking… and chatting it up about nothing in particular. This would be a musical but gangsters don’t sing.
Even when someone gets blasted it leaves you feeling like nothing special happened. Nobody really reacts to it, like it’s an everyday thing. I guess it is, but it also takes away from the drama.
As a final note, Joe Pesci’s character is a bitch. A pint-sized loud mouth Italian with a Napoleon complex. Talks a gang of shit but when he gets it dished back he’ll pull his gun out. Lame because he can’t go toe to toe with anyone older than 12 years old.
All in all, I was falling asleep while watching this. I think I passed out for 15 minutes at one point. I watched it after work and it killed my spirit, effectively ruining the rest of my day. Give it at watch.
Topics: Movie | No Comments »
New Message Board
By ChicanoRick | August 18, 2008
I found a message board that can be intergrated with the website so that the user accounts here will work on it. I’m going to be working on it, changing the theme and tweaking stuff but go give it a look and give it some activity. The link is on the left sidebar.
http://www.chicanochronicles.com/messageboard
Topics: Site Update | No Comments »
Whites No Longer a Majority By 2042
By ChicanoRick | August 14, 2008
I’m sure you have heard that Whites in America will no longer be a majority in the year 2050, but according to recent Census projections that will happen 8 years sooner.
“The nation has been growing more diverse for decades, but the process has sped up through immigration and higher birth rates among minority residents, especially Hispanics.”
This is according to an article posted on Yahoo.com. There’s also an interesting breakdown of population percentages broken down by race. Sounds good to me, it’s about time we see a distribution of power. I can only imagine the uproar from old white conservatives over this “devastating news”. This country needs to move forward and evolve, to finally have unity and political equality. I believe this can only happen until after the ‘baby boomer’ generation fades out.
Topics: Cultura | 1 Comment »
Chupacabra on tape?
By ChicanoRick | August 13, 2008
I just saw this online, supposedly two cops were riding around in their car and caught what they think is el chupacabra on their camera. Pretty dissapointing. That shit looks like a hairless mutt, not the slick alien creature we’re used to seeing in drawings:
http://www.local10.com/video/17166768/
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Prison Break - Season 1
By ChicanoRick | August 12, 2008
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My brother got the season 1 set a few months ago and we recently started watching it. Shit I was hooked from the beginning.
If you’re not too familiar with the series, Prison Break is about a guy that gets falsely accused of a murder and sentenced to death. His younger brother is determined to get him out and masterminds a plan for a break out. The whole season you see this plan unfold with unforseen complications but it inevitably leads up to the escape.
The series is very well made, with hardly any downtime or unnecessary bullshit. Every episode progresses the story enough for you to feel rewarded and that’s what got me hooked. It got to the point where any available 40 minutes of free time was reason enough to watch the next episode.
Prison Break has a pretty big cast of characters and thankfully they’re all interesting. There’s a couple in there that I hate, either for the shit they do or just on principle so it’s very rewarding when they get what’s coming to them.
This set is definitely worth the money if you haven’t seen this show before. I haven’t gotten hooked on a series like this since I started watching Lost. Like all things that are addicting, you’ll consume this in large doses with the scary realization that it’ll inevitably end. Thank God for season 2.
Topics: Entertainment | No Comments »
Crooked Stilo
By ChicanoRick | August 10, 2008
Crooked Stilo is a rap group comprised of brothers Victor and Johnny Lopez. They were born in El Salvador, but came to the United States at a young age when their family decided they wanted a better life. Growing up in Los Angeles, they were influenced by their cultural music, as well as the urban style. Eventually they decided to rap, but they wanted to combine both styles and make it their own.
They are largely known for their successful formula of “remixing” old school cumbias and other spanish-style songs. Where other groups simply sample a song and just rap over it, Crooked Stilo goes further and do the song justice by creating an “Urban” updated version by adapting the song’s original content with today’s surroundings. “Ya Lo Saben”, “Mis Colegialas”, and “Traicionera” are all good examples of how nobody does the old school better than Crooked Stilo.
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Topics: Music | No Comments »
Sellouts
By ChicanoRick | August 10, 2008
Simply put, a sellout is a backstabber. A person that turns their back on their own group of people just to be accepted by another. I can’t stand these people because when you talk to them they get all uncomfortable, as if by just simply talking to you they run the risk of showing the “skeletons in their closet.” This is mostly because they’re embarrassed to be associated with their culture, and they’ve grown to think that they are inferior by default. So they shed whatever cultural customs and traits they grew up with in order not to be associated with their own kind. This is when they change their dress and appearance, when ‘Roberto’ and ‘Francisco’ turn into ‘Robby’ and ‘Franky’.
A greater offense is committed when the individual actually understands and speaks Spanish, but acts like they don’t in order to avoid association. Eventually they get caught up in their own front when a Mexican goes up to him speaking Spanish. A wave of comprehension washes over their face, along with a couple of seconds delay in response as they try to figure out what to say along with “I don’t speak Spanish.” That’s when they get called out, “Si sabes, buey! No te hagas pendejo..” I’ve seen fools darker than me trying to pull that shit off, you aint fooling anyone.
Some vendidos take it a step further and show hate or distaste for their own raza. Mexican shit to them is like garlic to a vampire. When they hear banda in front of their black or white friends, they’ll be the ones that say “I hate that shit!” because of the sudden/unexpected wave of embarrassment. Funny thing about it is that everyone around them probably doesn’t trip off it. These are the fuckers that hate their own kind and bash and make fun of them every chance they get. The perfect example is the comparison between George Lopez and Carlos Mencia. There’s a difference between pointing out the funny shit your people do in observational comedy (George Lopez) and just talking shit and using derrogatory words like wetback and beaners with a hint of anger (Mencia). Well, Mencia’s not even really raza but the fucker acts like he is and that’s the problem.
Part-Time Mexican
This is a variation of a sellout, and it’s pretty easy to spot: it’s when a sellout temporarily revisits his Mexican roots, but only when it’s beneficial to him. Part-time Mexicans usually drink ‘Corona’ because “Hey, it’s the shit”, and chances are they haven’t tried any other Mexican beers. I’ve said it many times, but here it goes for the site: sometimes I hate drinking Corona for the simple fact that it’s what these part-time Mexicans drink all the time. It’s fucking good, but damn it almost has a stigma to it now. Another good example of a part-time Mexican is when Mexican food becomes a topic of discussion, usually when it’s time to eat. Let’s say they walk into a restaurant and one of his friends says “damn tacos are bomb, dog”, the part-time Mexican will say some bullshit like “yeah, I grew up with this” or “I eat this all the time”, basically saying ‘this makes me tight’. So everything that’s part of the culture that’s praised and well accepted, they’ll take credit for, but things that are not, like the music, they immediately denounce it and claim no affiliation with it. But by far the best time to spot a part-time Mexican is on 5 de Mayo, where if you pay close attention you’ll hear some dumb fuck say “the Mexican in me is coming out”, like it’s somewhere deep inside and it decides to come out when it’s ‘cool’. It’s a once a year thing to these fools, like a fad. Actually, that’s what 5 de Mayo is to a lot of part-time Mexicans: Groundhog Day.
I’ve been told “you have to get out of your box, not everyone’s the same” in defense of sellouts, but the whole point is that you can have your own style without selling out. It’s not what you become, it’s how you go about doing so. There’s other groups of people that might mistakenly be considered sellouts, but if you look closely there’s a few key differences:
Culture Cannibal
These fools aren’t really sellouts, but you’re their enemy regardless. A Culture Cannibal is a person that hangs with people different from them, making themselves the only one of ‘their kind’ in a group. You’ll know who they are when you see them, they’re usually reffered to as “the Mexican”, “the black guy” or “the white dude” in the click that’s ‘cool’. Instead of selling out, they act as Mexican/black/white as they can. Almost like a cultural spokesperson in a group. As soon as someone of their same race comes into the picture, they get on the defensive and give them the cold shoulder… especially if everyone else thinks they’re cool. This reaction stems from an insecurity the Culture Cannibal has; he thinks that there’s a magical ‘1-slot’ open for his kind, and is afraid to be replaced by a better version.
Cultural Amnesia
These are the people that didn’t have much cultural influence from their parents growing up, so they really don’t know their roots. Anything they learn from their raza comes from books they read or people they know. I’ve met a lot of people like this, and they’re usually curious and interested to learn a little more about customs and stuff. Make sure you know the difference before you treat these people like sellouts.
Sellouts have no pride, so I don’t fuck with them. You can’t trust a backstabber, so how can you trust a sellout? Regardless of your culture, you should be proud of it.
Topics: Opinion | No Comments »
Cumbia Urbana - The Album
By ChicanoRick | August 1, 2008
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I downloaded the entire CD for $8.99 from Amazon.comthe day it came out, and I can safely say I have yet to be disappointed by a Crooked Stilo album.
After experimenting with cumbia mixes in their previous albums, Crooked Stilo has decided to record an entire CD in this style. Some of the songs sound experimental while others sound just right. This has been they’re style for some time and it looks like they’re getting better at it. This is definitely better than the musical disaster that is ‘La Novela’ by Akwid.
‘Cumbia Urbana’s’ sound is a little different than what I’m used to so I had to give the songs a couple of plays through to get a feel for them. At first listen there were only a couple of songs that I liked right off the bat, but now I’m surprised that many of them grew on me. Considering these are cumbias, most songs are about women and relationships… the good and the bad.
Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Music | No Comments »
‘White God’ Myth
By ChicanoRick | July 29, 2008
Regardless of how familiar you are with Aztec history, I’m sure you’ve heard something about how they reacted when they first saw Hernan Cortez and the conquistadores. Supposedly they were awestruck on first sight by how they were all wearing armor made of iron, had long beards, and were light skinned; that they confused Cortez for being a god that had been prophecized would return to reclaim his throne.
That god was Quetzalcuatl (feathered serpent) that left the land and went off to sea. According to the legend, Quetzacuatl promised to return some time in the future on the year ‘One Reed’. The Aztec calendar is cyclical, with 52 years being a full cycle. It just so happens that the year 1519- the year Cortez arrived- was ‘One Reed’. To add further coincidence, Cortez and his men even arrived from the same direction Quetzalcuatl had disappeared to.
So there’s the ‘White God’ relevance. I’ve even heard some absurd statement that the Aztecs saw Cortez on a horse and thought it was a single bodied creature. What the hell do you call that, a centaur? It might sound like a possible explanation at first, but really give that some thought. Do you honestly think these people thought Cortez was like Motaro from Mortal Kombat? How stupid does that sound? And how much credit does that give to their intelligence?
The Aztecs did not think Cortez was a god. Far from it. The Spanish were seen as a nuisance and just another enemy to battle. Even the Tlaxcala boasted that they would kill the invaders off at the first sign of conflict.
Sadly it seems that although the general population didn’t think much of Cortez and his men, the Aztec leader Montezuma II was scared by the thought of him being the returning god. Montezuma was an insecure and superstitious leader. He felt they were coming after him to reclaim the throne. By the time he assured himself that Cortez was not Quetzalcuatl, it was too late. He had already let the enemy into the city and establish a ‘base’. This was one of the many elements that eventually led to the fall of the Aztec Empire.
This theory is the perfect example of the ‘winning’ society altering history to fit their agenda. Hey it makes for a good story, along with Cortez being portrayed as a fearless leader. Truth is he was scared as hell fearing he would be ambushed at any given time. Big surprise: he was human.
Topics: Cultura | No Comments »
Bass Rutten Bar Fight
By ChicanoRick | July 28, 2008
Hahaha I had posted this before but shit erased on me. Dope enough to put back up, Bass Rutten is a funny (and dangerous) ass motherfucker.
Topics: Entertainment | No Comments »
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