‘Bohemian Rhapsody’: the PG version of a rockstar’s life

Share: The biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” follows the legendary band Queen, specifically the standout lead singer Freddie Mercury, during the most important 15 years on their road to success up to their Live Aid performance in 1985. The film gives a glimpse of Mercury’s private life and the outside influences that tore apart the band for years. It is almost impossible to distinguish where actor Rami Malek ends and Mercury begins. From his infamously horrible teeth to his defined facial structure, it’s difficult to imagine that …

Exhibit sheds light on women artists who never sought to hide

Share: Ask the average person who their favorite artist is and you’re likely to get names like Da Vinci, Picasso, Van Gogh or even Banksy – only men, most of them mainstream names and rightly praised for their masterpieces. Throughout most of history, the artistic contributions of women to the world of fine art have not been forgotten, because they were rarely noted and remembered in the first place. The Pasadena Museum of History’s exhibition “Something Revealed; California Women Artists Emerge, 1860-1960” seeks to play …

The Mamba Mentality: Going inside the mind of a psychopath

Share: When Kobe Bryant announced his first book, “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play”, many were ecstatic that one of the greats in basketball was going to write about his experience in the NBA, as well as his knowledge and understanding of the game of basketball after 20 seasons. Like Bryant’s “Detail” series on ESPN, where it’s 20 minutes of him doing in-depth game analysis of current NBA players, I was expecting a book enriched in text on Bryant’s psychological strengths and habits, which made …

A Halloween block party that’s dead for all the wrong reasons

Share: If you are a college student looking to have fun during the Halloween weekend, don’t go to Little Tokyo’s Halloween Block Party. It’s not so bad that nobody should attend, its just that if you are of legal age to drink, your money and time should be spent elsewhere. With an all ages event, it is to be expected that they would close off a part of the block party so people 21 years and older can enjoy their drinks. But this “beer garden” …

Pumpkin Nights: Nothing but a photo op stop

Share: When an event is hyped on all social media platforms, held in celebration of a big holiday and located in a spacious setting, naturally the expectations are high. Unfortunately, expectations can lead to disappointment. The Pomona Fairplex is showcasing local artists throughout the month of October at an event called Pumpkin Nights. What this entails is about a 30 minute trail filled with fake carved pumpkins, a scavenger hunt, poor ponies tired of giving pony rides and no Halloween music. But wait, there’s plenty …

Allie X’s breakthrough in experimental exceptionalism

Share: The dream of moving to L.A. and making it big as a musician seems virtually impossible when taking into account how many thousands of other people want it as bad as you do. But when superstars like Troye Sivan ask you to help co-write songs, you can’t help but realize that you’ve got something special about you. In her third  studio album, singer-songwriter Allie X  takes the challenges she’s faced as an aspiring musician, and in turn uses them to her advantage to create …