Arts

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the national bestseller and second novel by author Jonathan Safran Foer, takes on a heavy task: describing the profound pain that comes from losing a loved one. Foer sets out to do this through the perspective of his main character, a grieving boy, coping with the recent death of his father in the attack on the World Trade Center.

I recently tried to kill two birds with one stone. This being the time of year when term papers, projects and finals heap themselves upon students with reckless abandon, I am doing a project on the bar scene in San Luis Obispo. I can’t give up my night life just because I have a couple of projects and term papers due, can I?

The best of both worlds, right? Not so much.

In an effort to find upcoming college bands and musical acts, mtvU announced the launch of its Web site www.bestmusiconcampus.com. The site gives students an opportunity to build profiles featuring blogs, videos and their original music. The most popular bands will be eligible for awards including artist of the year, month and week.

Some people view hip-hop music as nothing more than just that, music.

But a Cal Poly group still in its first year on campus is representing hip-hop culture and all of its elements: emcees, DJs, graffiti art and breakdancing.

Formed last spring, Students United by Hip-Hop Culture’s mission statement is “to provide a place for those interested in hip-hop culture to take part in or experience the culture as well as positively affect the community.

Rule 1: Respect the microphone, respect the poet and respect the poem. Rule 2: Turn off your cell phone. Rule 3: Please limit your time at the microphone to two poems or two minutes, so everyone has a chance to participate.

These are the rules for “Another Type of Groove,” an open-mic night put on by the Multicultural Center to create a space for dialogue and the exchange of ideas through poetry within the Cal Poly community.

The world is faced with a set of challenges now that are unlike any faced before. There are new and horrific diseases, state-sponsored international terrorists, problems with fossil fuel dependence and weapons of mass destruction in the hands of defiant dictators.

Cal Poly journalism lecturer Marvin Sosna’s new book “Brandon’s Trail” is not only a story about a young boy’s coming-of-age, but a wonderfully beautiful description of the Sierra Nevada mountain range as well.

The story focuses on 10-year-old Brandon, whose parents proposed a 212 mile trek into the Sierras along the John Muir Trail.

Cal Poly graduate Michael Kelleher has taken his math degree to a whole new level. After a 10-year-long banking career, Kelleher is now touring the nation with his band Culann’s Hounds.

The group of friends started the band in 2000 after the loss of Kelleher’s first daughter to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

aDid I just go to a punk show? I’m still not very sure. I mean there were definitely people who would describe themselves as punk there. And I guess it makes some sense when someone explains it to you. But, still. A bunch of acoustic singer-songwritery stuff and I’m standing with people patched-out, leathered-up and pierced?

Not that it truly matters in any way.

There are many wineries in San Luis Obispo, and many opportunities to try them out. The problem? They’re all very spread out. Perhaps the reason people don’t venture out to taste wines more often is the perceived distance from quaint little San Luis Obispo proper.

Imagine a holiday show that pairs outrageous lyrics with skits acted out in Shakespearean dialogue. Gale McNeeley has managed to combine them both in his new show “Gale McNeeley and the Satiricals.” The show is over an hour of singing, dancing and acting out songs originally by Tom Lehrer and the comedic material of Johnny Wayne and Frank Schuster.