Daily Archives: August 22, 2017

Kansas City Star (blog)

Steve Bannon is what made Donald Trump who he is Kansas City Star (blog) The impresario of apocalyptic politics gave Trump a grandiose image of himself at a time when the real estate mogul was building a movement but had no real ideas. Until Bannon came ... He was a vibe, a zeitgeist not a platform. Bannon convinced him ... Bannon gave Trump exactly what he cravedWashington Post Steve Bannon, destroyer of worlds: After electing a president, he's back to building a right-wing media empireSalon Steve Bannon, UnrepentantThe American Prospect New York Times all 4,809 news articles »

Original post:

Steve Bannon is what made Donald Trump who he is - Kansas City Star (blog)

Tuesday, August 22

A full decade after its release, Hot Fuzz remains just as kooky and cultish as ever; its 10th anniversary gives Alamo Drafthouse ample reason to screen the film once again. In it, top cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is so good he makes everyone else look bad. So, after a little shuffling of paperwork, hes off the London force and assigned to the sleepy British town of Sandford, where nothing ever happensuntil peoples heads start falling off. Its a group of cops who find out there is a dark conspiracy, and it becomes a parody of American action films, says the theaters programming director, Robert Saucedo. To add to the fun, a curated pre-show 30 minutes before the film will provide gags and props to use throughout the movie. 7:30 p.m. August 22. 531 South Mason. For information, call 281-492-6900 or visit drafthouse.com/houston. $12. Sam Byrd

Wednesday, August 23

Yoga, craft beer and the breweries that produce that craft beer are all a big part of the Houston social scene. Why not combine all three into one? Thats exactly what Yoga & Hops has done, bringing yoga and beer to a number of local breweries, including Karbach and 8th Wonder. Entry includes one hour of vinyasa-based yoga, which focuses on movement and breath, and a craft beer to help wind down afterward. Yoga & Hops is a chance to do something outside of the studio and maybe bring yoga to people who might not initially be drawn to that sort of environment, says Cindy Agnew, who co-founded Y&H with college friend Angie Currell in 2014. Its a really friendly community setting. 7 p.m. August 23. 8th Wonder Brewery, 2202 Dallas. For more information, call 832-930-0391 or visit yogaandhops.com. $20 to $25; bring your own mat or rent one for $3. Clint Hale

With President Trump making progress pulling out of the Paris climate accord and global warming deniers growing louder by the day, its good to know there are folks whove got our back. When not busy keeping track of the pollution released each year in the Bayou City (more than 68 million pounds in 2015), Air Alliance Houston also helps organize the Houston Green Film Series. Next up is Wild About Houston 2017: Short Films Screening, and its being held, fittingly enough, at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion at Hermann Park. Just based on whats going on politically, people have kind of opened their eyes a little bit to seeing whats going on around them. How their lives are being affected, says Ryan Small, communications director. Come immerse yourself in nature, breathe in the (hopefully) fresh air and catch half a dozen shorts about wildlife and ecosystems. Stay after for a panel convo about our regions conservation needs. Co-presenters include Katy Prairie Conservancy, Citizens Environmental Coalition, Coastal Prairie Partnership and Houston Native Prairies Association of Texas. 7 to 8:30 p.m. August 23. 1500 Hermann Drive. For information visit facebook.com/HoustonGreenFilmSeries. Free. Susie Tommaney

Thursday, August 24

Its hard to imagine a world without smiley faces, LOLs or other emoticons that describe our current state of mind. Newest kid on the Houston dance block Group Acorde is premiering a work that explores how technology has become so intertwined with our interactions. After developing a hashtag for a performance last year, Director Roberta Paixao Cortes said the troupe began talking about how we communicate with hashtags, emojis, emails and Facebook, which all fed into the title of this new work: Unemojional. Its a full collaboration. All of the music is original and performed live, says Cortes. She describes their dance as contemporary, though both Cortes and Associate Director Lindsey McGill are classically trained. They also seem to have tapped into the zeitgeist with the timely release of The Emoji Movie. 8 p.m. August 24-25. Rec Room, 100 Jackson. For information, call 713-344-1291 or visit groupacorde.org or recroomhtx.com. $15 to $20. Susie Tommaney

The Wayans are an entertainment dynasty, but how has Shawn Wayans kept his career satisfying? Diversity! Besides starring in and sometimes writing box-office hits like Little Man, White Chicks and the first two Scary Movie films, hes kept his stand-up comedy a priority by hitting the clubs for more than 20 years, a tradition that continues with a weekend headlining the Houston Improv. Stand-ups not easy! Wayans explains. Its never boring, theres always excitement with new people coming to see you. The high you get from making people you dont know laugh is impossible to explain, this jolt of energy. Youll get out of shape if you dont do it youll go from being Kobe when hes in shape to now Kobe with his shirt on. 8 p.m. August 24, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. August 25, 7 and 9:30 p.m. August 26, 7:30 p.m. August 27. Houston Improv, 7620 Katy Freeway. For information call 713-333-8800 or visit improvhouston.com. $25. Vic Shuttee

Friday, August 25

Imagine a door becoming a see-saw, a 12-foot-tall stone mill morphing into a Ferris wheel or a tunnel that narrows your point of view like a telescope. Now factor in a company of dancers, leaping and swinging, climbing and twisting against these transformable set pieces, and youve got NobleMotion Dances Catapult: Dance meets Design. Husband-and-wife artistic directors and choreographers Andy Noble and Dionne Sparkman Noble agree that it would have been easy to make the five dance works mechanical, and therefore less human, but, adds Dionne Noble, I think music and lighting and the dancers themselves soften the edges throughout, but it is true that these are real structures theres steel onstage, theres a largeness, a grandness to the structures. I think we can only be human against them. 7:30 p.m. August 25-26. The Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-315-2525 or visit noblemotiondance.com. $25 to $35. Natalie de la Garza

The premise is simple: A couple has invited another couple over for a dinner party, but the guests show up on the wrong night. What makes Yasmina Rezas Life X 3 ominous and/or funny, depending on which of the three outcomes the audience is watching, is how protagonists Henry and Sonia respond when theres no food and no way to calm their unhinged six-year-old child. Its not what happens to you, its how you respond, says Trevor Cone, executive director of Dirt Dogs Theatre Co., producing the French playwright known for Art and God of Carnage for the first time. Its a very philosophical yet scientific look at who we are in the universe, adds Cone, whos directing the play. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. August 25 through September 9. The MATCH, 3400 Main. For information, call 713-561-5113 or visit dirtdogstheatre.org. $22. Steve Jansen

Sure, card-carrying designers get first crack at The Houston Design Centers Designer Sample Sale during a day before preview but trust us there are still plenty of couture furnishings to be had for a song. Sheri Roane, marketing director for the center, tells us they keep raiding designer storage areas throughout the event, even Sunday. Its really good stuff; designer furnishings, things that go into beautiful homes and condominiums all over Houston. Look for rugs, case goods, accessories, lighting and one-of-a-kind pieces. Time it right (the early bird finds the bargains), refuel at the food trucks (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), and attend one of the free lectures about mastering luxury (10:30 a.m. August 25), remodeling tips (10:30 a.m. August 26) and escaping the clutter (11:30 a.m. August 25-26). 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. August 25-27. 7026 Old Katy Road. For information, call 713-864-2660 or visit thehoustondesigncenter.com. Free. Susie Tommaney

The Waiting Room follows the spirit of a Bengali-British housewife who has just died but has three sunrises remaining to eavesdrop on her family and find closure before she moves on to await reincarnation. Her spirit guide? Bollywood heartthrob and legendary actor Dilip Kumar, who reached his peak with audiences in the 1950s and '60s yet remains crush-worthy for Priya even in death.British dramatist Tanika Gupta garnered attention (and the John Whiting Award) in 2000 for this sentimental comedy that takes us through the stages of denial, outrage and acceptance as long-held secrets are revealed. Bree Bridger, who just finished a stint directing for Mildred's Umbrella's Museum of Dysfunction IX, directs this production for presenter Shunya Theatre, a Texas-based South Asian theater troupe. 8 p.m. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. August 25 through September 3. The MATCH, 3400 Main. For information, call 713-521-4533 or visit shunyatheatre.org or matchouston.org. $20. Susie Tommaney

Anybody who has ever wondered about the glamour of the greasepaint and the prestige of hanging out backstage will think again after witnessing the door-slamming British farce, Noises Off, where everything that can go wrong, does. Playwright Michael Frayn got the idea for the play after realizing that behind-the-scenes hijinks are sometimes funnier than what the audience members are watching, and his play-within-a-play debuted in London in 1982. Stageworks Theatre is opening the season with this classic romp and updating the piece by setting it in 1971, the same year that No Sex, Please, We're British debuted. Costumer Ellen Girdwood has her work cut out for her, outfitting the cast in the groovy bell-bottoms and bright, psychedelic colors of the early '70s. Sean Thompson (As You Like It) directs. 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. August 25 through September 17. 10760 Grand Road. For information, call 281-587-6100 or visit stageworkshouston.org. $19 to $28. Susie Tommaney

Read more from the original source:

21 Best Things to Do in Houston This Week: Deathcopter and an Arts Open House - Houston Press

August 21, 2017 Seattle; and Los AngelesWhen Shawna Nelson leaves her office in Seattles suburbs, she does what 28-year-olds often do: dines with friends, goes out dancing, or sees a show. Sometimes she hits her swanky gym.

But at the end of the night Ms. Nelson always returns to Dora, the dusty Ford Explorer she calls home. In the back, where a row of seats should be, lies a foam mattress covered with fuzzy animal-print blankets. Nelson keeps a headlamp handy for when she wants to read before bed. Then, once shes sure she wont get ticketed or towed, she turns in for the night.

I still strive to have some sort of routine, says Nelson, who started living in her car about a year ago. Would I rather spend $1,200 on an apartment that Im probably not going to be at very much, or would I rather spend $1,200 a month on traveling?

For her, it was an easy choice.

Shes not alone. As housing costs soar, US communities have faced ballooning homelessness, declining homeownership, and tensions over gentrification. But the rising expense of homes, when combined with the demographic, cultural, and technological trends of the past decade, has also prompted a more positive phenomenon: smaller, leaner living. This conscious shift, mainly among portions of the middle and upper classes, springs from a desire to live more fully with less.

For some it means choosing tiny homes and micro-apartments typically less than 350 square feet for the chance to live affordably in vibrant neighborhoods. For others, like Nelson, it means hitting the road in a truck or van, communing with nature and like-minded people along the way. Proponents range in ages and backgrounds, but they all share a renewed thirst for alternatives to traditional lifestyles like single-family homes, long cherished as a symbol of the American dream.

I think fundamentally it comes down to a shift in perception about the pursuit of happiness how it doesnt require a consumerist lifestyle or collection of stuff, says Jay Janette, a Seattle architect whose firm has designed a number of micro-housing developments in the city. Theyre not really living in their spaces, theyre living in their city.

John Infranca, a law professor at Bostons Suffolk University who specializes in urban law and policy, says the phenomenon is driven largely by Millennials, who have been the faces of both the affordable housing crisis and the shift to minimalism.

Research shows that the 18-to-35 cohort continues to rent at higher rates than previous generations: 74 percent lived in a rental property in 2016, compared to 62 percent of Gen Xers in 2000, according to the Pew Research Center. And while the Millennial desire to not buy homes tends to be overstated studies suggest many want to own, but often cant afford to they do prioritize experiences over stuff.

They arent the only ones. Spending on experiences like food, travel, and recreation is up for all consumers, making up more than 20 percent of Americans consumption expenses in 2015. (In contrast, the share for spending on household goods and cars was in the single digits.) Baby-boomer parents, downsizing as they enter retirement, find that their grown children are uninterested in inheriting their hoards of Hummels and Thomas Kinkade paintings. The same live with less logic has begun to extend beyond stuff to the spaces these older adults occupy.

There is some cultural demand for simpler living, says Professor Infranca. And by virtue of technology, we are able to live with a lot less.

Its a distinct moment for a culture that has long placed a premium on individual ownership and a keeping up with the Joneses mentality, Mr. Janette and others say.

I think the recession changed the playing field for a lot of people, notes Sofia Borges, an architect, trend consultant, and lecturer at the University of Southern California. Job security, homeownership a lot of that went out the window and never really returned. When a change like that happens, you have to change your ideas a little bit too.

That was certainly the case for Kim Henderson, who was a marketing manager making more than $80,000 a year before the recession. I never again found a job like I had [before 2008], says Ms. Henderson, now in her 50s. When they were available, they went to younger people.

Kim Henderson plays with her dog, Olive, on Aug. 12 in her apartment in downtown Los Angeles. Ms. Henderson, who moved into the 175-square-foot unit about a year ago, says downsizing has been good for both her soul and her savings account. Theres an energy you get from purging, she says. I have more money in my pocket and less things.

Jessica Mendoza/The Christian Science Monitor

|

Caption

Today Henderson makes about $37,000 a year as an executive assistant to a bar owner and lives in the Bristol Hotel, a mixed-use apartment building in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Her studio, which she shares with her small dog Olive, is 175 square feet the equivalent of about four king-size beds. The walls are covered in framed artwork that Henderson collected from thrift shops and friends. An apartment-sized fridge and a fold-out couch are her largest possessions.

Its the same exact lifestyle [I used to live], just with less things and more money in her pocket, she says.

Henderson pays $685 a month including electricity a bargain for Los Angeles, where studios average $1,500. She can save money and still have enough disposable income to eat out and travel, she says. But at least as important is the sense of liberation. Theres an energy you get from purging, Henderson says. You dont need six towels. You dont need a ton of dishes. You pick the things out that you really want to keep in the useful category.

The sentiment is in keeping with a growing culture of minimalism. Marie Kondos The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which urges people to keep only those things that spark joy, has sold 1.5 million copies in the US alone. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, also known as The Minimalists, have also helped take the notion mainstream with a podcast, website, bestselling books, and documentaries.

There are other forces at play, too. Digital access to resources makes living lean more feasible, says Infranca at Suffolk. Henderson, for instance, doesnt own a car, relying instead on ride-sharing services or her own two feet to get around. And because she lives downtown shes closer to the amenities and establishments she loves.

Its a value proposition, says David Neiman, whose Seattle design firm focuses on small-efficiency dwelling units, which start at 150 square feet. I could live for the same price in a central location in housing thats clean, has internet, and I can walk to work and exciting things. Or I can live farther away, have more space, and its in a secondary neighborhood and I have to drive.

Instead of renting a micro-unit in an urban center, filmmakers Alexis Stephens and Christian Parsons decided two years ago to build their own 130-square foot house and load it onto the bed of a U-Haul. They then set off across the country in a bid to live more simply and sustainably, travel, and invest in their own place all while documenting the experience.

The Tiny House Expedition has since become a thriving enterprise. Ms. Stephens and Mr. Parsons have interviewed tiny house advocates and dwellers across 30,000 miles and 29 states. At a sustainability festival outside Seattle in July, they sold T-shirts and copies of the book Turning Tiny, a collection of essays they contributed to. They gave tours of their home. And they answered questions about building and living in a tiny house, touting its potential as an affordable, sustainable, and high-quality alternative lifestyle.

Christian Parsons stands inside the entryway of his tiny home on July 22 at a local sustainability festival at Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, Wash. Mr. Parsons built and shares the home with his partner, Alexis Stephens, and together they travel the country documenting tiny home communities.

Jessica Mendoza/The Christian Science Monitor

|

Caption

People are empowering themselves to build housing options that work for them that are not available in the market, Stephens says.

Tiny homes can range from about 100 to 300 square feet and cost between $25,000 to $100,000, give or take. Stephens and Parsons built theirs using reclaimed material for about $20,000, and it comes with a loft for a queen-sized bed, a compost toilet, walls that double as storage, and shelves that turn into tables. For those with more lavish tastes, vendors like Seattle Tiny Homes offer customizable houses complete with a shower and a washer and dryer for about $85,000.

You arent downgrading from a traditional home, says founder Sharon Read. It can have everything you want and nothing you dont want.

Those who would rather not lug around a whole house while they travel, however, have turned to another alternative: #vanlife. The term was coined in 2011 by Foster Huntington, a former Ralph Lauren designer who gave up his life in New York City to surf the California coast, living and traveling in a 1987 Volkswagen Syncro. His photos, which he posted on Instagram and later compiled in a $65 book titled, Home Is Where You Park It, launched what The New Yorker dubbed a Bohemian social-media movement.

The hashtag has since been used more than a million times on Instagram. Vanlifers drive everything from cargo vans to SUVs, though the Volkswagen Vanagon remains the classic choice.

Its definitely found a renewed zeitgeist, says Jad Josey, general manager at GoWesty, a Southern California-based vendor of Volkswagen van parts. The fact that you can be really compact and mobile and almost 100 percent self-sufficient in a Vanagon is really attractive to people.

People like freelance photographer Aidan Klimenko, who has been living off and on in vans and SUVs for three years, traversing the US and South America.

The idea of working so hard to pay rent which ultimately, thats just money down the drain is such a hard concept for me, says Mr. Klimenko. Vanlife, he adds, is access to the outdoors and its movement. Im addicted to traveling. Im addicted to being in new places and meeting new people and waking up outside.

Still, the movement to live smaller may not be as extensive as social media makes it seem, some housing analysts say. Zoning regulations especially in dense urban areas often restrict the number and size of buildable units, slowing growth among micro-apartments and tiny homes. Constructing or living in a tiny home or micro-unit can still pose a legal risk in some cities.

And by and large, Americans continue to value size. The average new home built in the US in 2015 wasa record 2,687 square feet 1,000 square feet larger than in 1973, according to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

Living mobile isnt all grand adventures and scenic views, either. Van dwellers say theyve had to contend with engine trouble, the cold and the heat, and unpleasant public restrooms. And Henderson in Los Angeles says she once lived in an affordable micro-housing development that had a pervasive drug-dealing problem.

Still, those who have embraced leaner living say what they might lose in creature comforts, they gain in perspective and experience. In crisscrossing the country, Stephens and Parsons opened themselves up to the kindness of strangers. Its a nice reminder that as Americans we have so much more in common than we realize, Stephens says. They also spend more time connecting with others, instead of closeting themselves at home.

Whether youre choosing a van, a school bus, a tiny house, or a micro-apartment, you get a lot of the same benefits, she says. We need more housing options, period, in America. Weve boxed ourselves in a very monolithic housing culture. Were showing its OK to venture outside of that.

Read the rest here:

Why it's becoming cool to live in your car or a 150-sq. ft. apartment ... - Christian Science Monitor