Popular humorist makes surprise visit to ASU

Gustavo Arellano
 
ASU Spanish professor Manuel Hernandez might be a tad nervous next week when he presents his lecture on the work of syndicated columnist Gustavo Arellano. That’s because the Mexican-American humorist, best-selling author and editor of the Orange County Weekly plans on being in the audience.

“When I heard there was going to be a lecture on my work, I did what any good Mexican would do: demanded I be allowed to sneak into the party for free,” Arellano said. “It’s an honor to have my work discussed at ASU, and muy, muy meta.”

Arellano’s surprise visit and Hernandez’s lecture, “The Humorist Gustavo Arellano’s Work and the Human Condition” kicks off the 2013 fall Project Humanities, a university-wide initiative to promote the importance of humanities within the higher education system and community. This year’s theme, “Humor…Seriously!”, is an examination of how humor plays an important role in our everyday lives, across disciplines, communities, cultures, professions, and generations.

Hernandez’s lecture is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, room 128.  Following Hernandez’s presentation, Arellano will speak and sign copies of his three books.

The lecture series, now in its sixth year, is open to the general public and is free.

Arellano’s sharp tongue-in-cheek humor combined with his historical storytelling abilities has opened up a captivating and intriguing dialogue among millions of Americans. Through his satire, he address issues such as Southwest Mexican and Mexican language, stereotypes, ethnic relations, immigration, cuisine, day labor and religion.

“Most interactions among whites, blacks and Latinos are usually very formal and surface-like but Arellano deconstructs and pulverizes misunderstandings and fears to reveal the fragility and strength of our human condition in forging, while anchored in local culture, an ever-changing national identity,” Hernandez said. “He (Arellano) isn’t afraid to take stereotypes by the horns and mixes it with both humor and history and does it most effectively.”

Arellano is a lifelong resident of Orange County, California, and is the son of two Mexican immigrants, one whom was illegal. His column “¡Ask a Mexican!” was started as a lark in 2004, and his politically incorrect humor proved so popular the Orange County Weekly made it a regular column. The column today has a weekly circulation of over 2 million in 39 newspapers across the United States, and won the 2006 and 2008 Association of Alternative Weeklies award for Best Column. He was also the recipient of the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2007 President’s Award and an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and was recognized by the California Latino Legislative Caucus with a 2008 Spirit Award for his “exceptional vision, creativity, and work ethic.”

He was published in book form by Scribner Press in May 2007 with ¡Ask a Mexican!, followed by best-sellers Orange County: A Personal History (2010) and Taco USU: How Mexican Food Conquered America (2012). Arellano is also a lecturer with the Chicana and Chicano Studies department at California State University, Fullerton.

For more information on ASU’s Project Humanities, visit http://humanities.asu.edu/

'King of Cool' lecture at ASU on April 7

Arizona State University Welcomes Steve McQueen's Widow and Marshall Terrill

By Jeremy Roberts
Steve McQueen Examiner

Steve McQueen's widow and his biographer, Marshall Terrill, are coming to Arizona State University's Downtown Phoenix campus to discuss and celebrate the life of the ‘King of Cool’ as part of a popular lecture series. This will mark the inaugural occasion Terrill has done an actual McQueen lecture at a college, and it is Barbara McQueen's first time back to a campus in almost forty years.

They will appear at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, 2011, at ASU’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation Building Two, 550 N. Third St., Phoenix, Innovation Auditorium, Room 110. The two will co-present, “Steve McQueen: A Tribute to the King of Cool,” answer questions, and sign copies of Terrill’s two new books Steve McQueen: The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon and Steve McQueen: A Tribute to the King of Cool as well as McQueen’s 2007 photo book Steve McQueen: The Last Mile.

The spring 2011 Humanities Lecture series is sponsored by ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences and University College. The event is free and open to the public.

“What does Steve McQueen have to do with the humanities?” asks Terrill, who has written four books on the cinematic icon. “In breaking down McQueen’s life, one can learn about history, human behavior, psychology, triumph and tragedy, and several invaluable life lessons.”

McQueen, known for his ultra cool and nonconformist movie persona, started out life in rural Indiana. Born to a young, alcoholic mother and abandoned by his father, McQueen was left in the care of his grandparents and other relatives when he was a toddler.

Reunited with his mother at age eight, he was introduced to a series of strange men and a violent stepfather. Compounding McQueen’s problems were his partial deafness from a childhood ear infection and his dyslexia, making adjustment to his new life and schooling particularly challenging.

McQueen frequently got into trouble and soon found himself remanded to Boys Republic, a home for troubled teenage boys in Chino, California. Following that, he joined the U.S. Marines for a three-year stint and afterward used the G.I. bill to study acting in New York in the early 1950s.
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There his rebellious angst and good looks helped him become a fixture of the emerging Method theater scene, competing with the likes of James Dean and Paul Newman, with television and movie success just around the corner.

Terrill will provide a narrative spanning McQueen’s spectacular career, his greatest films (including The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, The Getaway, Papillon and The Towering Inferno), his personal flaws and defeats, and his hard-fought battle with terminal cancer at a controversial clinic in Mexico.

Barbara McQueen will present a more human side to her husband in rare photos she took from 1977 to 1980. They record a behind-the-scenes look at personal pleasures enjoyed near the end of the actor’s life: hitting the road in his vintage pickup trucks, driving 700 miles for a rare World War I motorcycle, flying antique planes in rural California, and generally ducking out of Hollywood life.

The pictures also capture McQueen on the sets of his last two films, Tom Horn and The Hunter.

“It’s very strange when people say, ‘Oh, you were married to Steve McQueen?’” said Barbara McQueen. “He was such a normal guy and unlike most Hollywood stars that I often say, ‘I could have just as easily been married to a plumber or electrician.’”

For directions, visit http://nursingandhealthasu.edu/contact/nursing-buildings.htm. For parking information, visit http://nursingandhealth.asu.edu/contact/parking/htm. For more information, call Mirna Lattouf, series lecture organizer, at (602) 496-0638 or visit http://sls.asu.edu/news.html.

'King of Cool' lecture at ASU

Steve McQueen: A Tribute to the King of Cool
ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation
550 N. Third St. Phoenix, AZ, 85004
PHONE: 602-496-0638
April 7, 2011
Thursday, 6:30 PM

ON THE WEB: http://asunews.asu.edu/20110315_kingofcool

PRICE: Free


Synopsis:
Barbara McQueen, widow of Steve McQueen, and Marshall Terrill, author of the biography, Steve McQueen: The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon, discuss and answer questions about the late star known as "the king of cool." Copies of Terrill's biography and the 2007 photo book, Steve McQueen: The Last Mile by Barbara McQueen and Terrill are signed. The fourth event in ASU's spring 2011 Humanities Lecture Series.

Categories:
Book Event, Book Lecture/Discussion, Book Signing/Reading, Event

Features:
Free and open to the public

McQueen's widow to host ASU lecture on 'King of Cool'

Steve McQueen’s widow and his biographer are coming to ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus to discuss and celebrate the life of the ‘King of Cool’ as part of a popular lecture series.

Barbara McQueen and author Marshall Terrill will appear at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, 2011, at ASU’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation Building Two, 550 N. Third St., Phoenix, Innovation Auditorium, Room 110. The two will co-present, “Steve McQueen: A Tribute to the King of Cool,” answer questions, and sign copies of Terrill’s new biography Steve McQueen: The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon and McQueen’s 2007 photo book Steve McQueen: The Last Mile.

The spring 2011 Humanities Lecture series is sponsored by ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences and University College. The event is free and open to the public.
“What does Steve McQueen have to do with the humanities?” asks Terrill, who has written four books on the cinematic icon. “In breaking down McQueen’s life, one can learn about history, human behavior, psychology, triumph and tragedy, and several invaluable life lessons.”

McQueen, known for his ultra cool and nonconformist movie persona, started out life in rural Indiana. Born to a young, alcoholic mother and abandoned by his father, McQueen was left in the care of his grandparents and other relatives when he was a toddler. Reunited with his mother at age eight, he was introduced to a series of strange men and her violent boyfriends. Compounding McQueen’s problems were his partial deafness from a childhood ear infection and his dyslexia, making adjustment to his new life and schooling particularly challenging.

The teen-aged McQueen frequently got into trouble and soon found himself remanded to Boys Republic, a home for troubled teenage boys in Chino, California. Following that, he joined the U.S. Marines for a three-year stint and afterward used the G.I. bill to study acting in New York in the early 1950s. There, his rebellious angst and good looks helped him become a fixture of the emerging Method theater scene, competing with the likes of James Dean and Paul Newman, with television and movie success just around the corner. Terrill will provide a narrative spanning McQueen’s spectacular career, his greatest films (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, The Getaway, Papillon and The Towering Inferno), his personal flaws and defeats, and his hard-fought battle with terminal cancer at a controversial clinic in Mexico.

Widow Barbara McQueen will present a more human side to her husband in rare photos she took from 1977 to 1980. They record a behind-the-scenes look at personal pleasures enjoyed near the end of the actor’s life: hitting the road in his vintage pickup trucks, driving 700 miles for a rare World War I motorcycle, flying antique planes in rural California, and generally ducking out of Hollywood life. The pictures also capture McQueen on the sets of his last two films, Tom Horn and The Hunter.

“It’s very strange when people say, ‘Oh, you were married to Steve McQueen?’” said Barbara McQueen. “He was such a normal guy and unlike most Hollywood stars that I often say, ‘I could have just as easily been married to a plumber or electrician.’”
Author Marshall Terrill is a film, sports and music writer and the author of more than a dozen books, including best-selling biographies of Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley and basketball legend “Pistol” Pete Maravich. Three of his books are in development to be made into movies, including an upcoming McQueen biopic for Black Swan producer Brian Oliver.

Barbara Minty McQueen is the widow of the famous actor and met McQueen in 1977. They remained married until his Nov. 7, 1980, death. She resides in Ketchum, Idaho.

ASU Downtown hosts Nov. 21 art exhibit

Art exhibit, book celebrate collaboration spanning centuries

November 21, 2008
7 - 9 p.m.

The stars lean down from open space, and the moon comes running up the river.

It's a moment of inspiration that ripples through time and across nations.

It started when Chinese poet Du Fu wrote those words in the 8th century, and evolved into a modern work of art involving nationally recognized Arizona artist Beth Ames Swartz, four poets from Arizona State University and a delegation from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China.

The creative results will be on display in "The Word in Paint," an exhibition celebrating the collaboration between the visual artist and the poet, that opens Nov. 21. A public reception kicks off the opening from 7 to 9 that night at ASU's University Center, 411 N. Central Ave., Phoenix.

The free exhibition will run through mid-February, in conjunction with the publication by ASU of a book with the same name.

"This whole project is a celebration of cross-cultural understanding and the use of creativity as links between universities," says Jewell Parker Rhodes, Piper Endowed Chair and artistic director for Piper global engagement at ASU's Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. "It's a long-lasting work of art with a history that is entangled at its core with creativity and global engagement."

Rhodes introduced the Chinese delegation to Swartz's series of paintings, titled "The Thirteenth Moon." They were dazzled by Swartz's paintings based on ancient poems by Du Fu and Li Bai.

With support from Debra Friedman, university vice president and dean of ASU's College of Public Programs, and Scott P. Muir, director of the Information Commons Library, Rhodes involved poets from the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program in ASU's Department of English who would be teaching on-campus and distance learning courses for Sichuan University faculty and students as part of the Piper Center's Program for Global Engagement.

This program provides full funded international opportunities for MFA Creative Writing students. It offers teaching opportunities around the world, as well as support for students to do creative work at artist colonies and participate in international conferences.

ASU Professor Beckian Fritz Goldberg, graduate students Iliana Rocha and Leah Soderberg, and visiting doctoral student John Sparrow from Royal Holloway College in England, viewed an exhibit of Swartz's paintings in Scottsdale. In response, the poets wrote original poems based on particular works. "The Word in Paint" reproduces eight of these poems among artwork from the past three years.

The collaboration spanning centuries "shows us that when a heart beats in China or Russia or Iraq or anywhere in the world, it's the same kind of heartbeat that we all have," says Swartz. "The poetry is all about the challenges that we face as humans in trying to get along with each other. It constantly amazes me how poignant and applicable it is today."

Swartz's 50-year career includes a 2002 retrospective at Phoenix Art Museum and a solo exhibition at The Jewish Museum in New York. She is a recipient of the Arizona Governor's Arts Award, the highest award for an artist in the state.

The book also includes essays on Swartz's artwork by internationally known art critic Donald Kuspit, professor of art history and philosophy at the State University of New York, and John Rothschild, an author and poet. It is jointly published by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the College of Public Programs.

The book will be available for purchase at the event, and beginning Nov. 22 through Swartz's Web site at www.bethamesswartz.com.

For information, call (602) 496-0406.

High resolution photos of Swartz and the artwork are available at the following links:

http://copp.asu.edu/do/college-news/photo-gallery/Beth_Ames_Swartz/view

http://copp.asu.edu/do/college-news/photo-gallery/facing_snow.jpg/view

http://copp.asu.edu/do/college-news/photo-gallery/facing_snow_closeup/view

http://copp.asu.edu/do/college-news/photo-gallery/facing_snow_closeup2/view

MEDIA CONTACT:

Corey Schubert
Manager of Media Communications, ASU College of Public Programs
602.496.0406 office
602.370.6128 cell
Corey.Schubert@asu.edu

'Green Jazz' series to benefit Valley families

'Green Jazz' series to benefit Valley families

Jazz artist Althea Rene will kick off a Green Jazz Series in September that is designed to raise awareness about the environment while benefitting low-income families in the Valley.

Arizona State University Online and the Herberger Theater Center will host Rene as part of its Green Jazz Series at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 4.

The first of six concerts that will run through April 2009, the Green Jazz Series combines the blue sounds of jazz with “green” concepts for sustainable living.

Proceeds from the concert series will support the Green Survival Initiative, a Phoenix-based sustainability project. Through the use of cost-effective green technologies such as compact fluorescent lights, low-flow shower heads and water heater blankets, GSI seeks to mitigate increasing energy costs for approximately 7,000 low-and-income fixed households in the Phoenix-Metropolitan area.

“Just as ASU is expanding access to its academic programs with ASU Online, we are using the Green Jazz Series to expand the benefits of green concepts to low-income households through the Green Survival Initiative, using the music of jazz as the vehicle to spread the idea and to generate support for the Green Survival Initiative,” said Mernoy E. Harrison, Jr., ASU Online and Extended Campus vice president and executive vice provost.

“The GSI recognizes that there is a cost to convert to a green lifestyle and those who need it most might not be able to make that conversion,” said George Brooks, publisher of Southwest Green Magazine and one of the concert series’ sponsors. “We believe that once these conversions are made, each household could save anywhere from $300 to $500 annually.”

An educational component will also be incorporated into the concerts, including information booths and giveaways.

A full-time performing artist, Rene is regarded as one of the nation’s premier solo improvisational flautists and has recorded and performed with jazz greats Al Jarreau, Nancy Wilson, Norman Brown, Boney James and George Duke. Rene will perform an assortment of urban contemporary tunes with a rhythm and blues twist and showcase songs from No Restriction, her latest CD.

Tickets are $20 for general admission and $40 for VIP seats. Call the Herberger Theater box office at (602) 254-7399 or visit www.herbergertheater.org.