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Woke

Pardon the Interruption

"Woke" has become a political trigger word recently. Many conservatives who use the word "woke" have even stumbled to define its meaning, such as conservative writer Bethany Mandel in a now viral interview with Briahna Joy Gray. 

Google search the term "wokeness" and you'll get a definition from Oxford Languages, "the quality of being alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination." Liberals and progressives have been using the word to address the need for more social equity and equality and raise awareness of racism.

It's a term that has now been hijacked and repurposed by conservatives to call attention to all that is perceived wrong with society and culture, whether it's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), LGBTQ+ issues, library books, feminism, immigration, climate change, etc., etc., etc. Woke has now become a word to express opposition and grievances by the privileged. Many have used woke as a threat to conservative family values.  

Best explained by Adam Serwer, "Most of the utility of woke as a political epithet is tied to its ambiguity; it often allows its users to condemn something without making the grounds of their objection uncomfortably explicit." 

But as conservative columnist Johnny Luk noted in an opinion piece, "wokeness can also shut down good causes... No systemic problem can be solved without both sides listening. How can we give permission to people to engage in debate without slapping them down for having a different view?"

John Darkow, Feb 17, 2023

Source:

https://theweek.com/political-satire/1021115/too-woke

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/6/24/what-is-woke-culture-and-why-has-it-become-so-toxic

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/bethany-mandel-woke-interview-definition/673454/

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/woke-conservatives/story?id=93051138

Jimmy Giuffre

Music Appreciation

Jimmy Giuffre was an American jazz musician who made a significant contribution to the development of cool jazz and free interplay between the musicians. 

Born on April 26, 1921, in Dallas, Texas, Giuffre began playing the clarinet at a young age and later switched to the tenor saxophone. He graduated from Dallas Technical High School and North Texas State Teachers College (University of North Texas College of Music). 

In the early 1940s, he started his professional music career playing with local bands in Dallas. He then moved to Los Angeles, California and joined the Woody Herman Orchestra. When in Herman's band, he wrote Four Brothers in 1947. The song is a jazz standard in AABA format. 

In 1951, he became a member of Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars. Giuffre collaborated with jazz musician and All Star member Milton "Shorty" Rogers to write charts. One of their charts named Big Boy was an instant hit in Los Angeles.

In the 1950s, Giuffre began to explore new directions in jazz. He formed a trio with pianist Jim Hall and bassist Ralph Peña, which became known for their innovative approach to cool jazz. They had a minor hit in 1957 called The Train and the River. 

Throughout the 1960s, Giuffre continued to experiment with new approaches to jazz, incorporating elements of free jazz and avant-garde music.

In the 1970s, he was hired by New York University to head its jazz ensemble and teach private lessons in saxophone and music composition. 

He suffered from Parkinson's disease and later died of pneumonia on April 24, 2008. 

Lighthouse All Stars - Big Boy (1951)

The Train and the River (1958)

Four Brothers

Sources:

Wikipedia

Al Pacino

Acting Appreciation

Born in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on April 25, 1940, Al Pacino is one of the most iconic actors of our time with a career spanning over five decades. He's been nominated for countless awards, and has won an Oscar, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.

He was raised in the South Bronx with his grandparents who were Italian emigrants from Corleone. In his teenage years, Pacino left home after an argument between him an his mother about his enrollment in a High School of Performing Arts. To finance his acting studies, Pacino took on low-paying jobs. 

Pacino got into occasional fights and was considered somewhat of a troublemaker at school. Despite facing a difficult upbringing and dropping out of school at age 17, Pacino was determined to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. He attended numerous auditions and eventually landed his first role in a one-act play called Hello Out There!, in 1963.

Pacino was cast in several Off-Broadway productions, but it was his Broadway debut in the play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, which earned him a Tony Award nomination and launched his acting career.

Pacino's breakthrough role came in 1972 when he starred in The Godfather as Michael Corleone, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He then starred in the crime drama Serpico, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. 

In 1975, he played Sonny Wortzik, a man who robs a bank in order to pay for his lover's sex change operation in Dog Day Afternoon. He then starred in a legal comedy-drama ...And Justice for All, which he was again nominated for an Academy Award for Best Leading Actor.

In 1983, he then played Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who rises to power in the drug trade in Miami, in Scarface. The film has since become a cult classic, and Pacino's catchphrase "Say hello to my little friend!" is one of the most iconic lines in cinema history.

In Scent of a Woman, Pacino played Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a blind retired Army officer who hires a young prep school student (Chris O'Donnell) to be his aide for a weekend trip to New York City. An iconic moment in the film was Pacino's tango with the young Gabrielle Anwar. His performance as the cantankerous yet vulnerable Slade earned him his first and only Academy Award.

He then starred in numerous roles playing gangsters, detectives, a football coach, a film director, a lawyer, a writer, and even the devil. Al Pacino has had an incredible career. He has become a cinematic icon, and his influence on the industry cannot be overstated.

The Godfather (1972)

... And Justice for All (1979)

Scarface (1983)

Scent of a Woman (1992)

Argentina (2016)

Sources: 

Wikipedia 

Body Art: Anne Claire Fleer - Female Empowerment

Artist: Anne Claire Fleer (@artbyanneclairefleer) 

Model: Margherita Barbieri (@alwaysmargi)

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