Timeless Thought, Reflections on ‘Between 2 Worlds’

Written by George Garza

Recently in San Antonio, I took part in hosting a film screening of Jose Jaramillo’s “Between 2 Worlds”, a documentary that takes a look at the Gregorian and Mayan calendars. This screening was part of a new project (Culture Consumers) that presents films as conversation starters to stimulate dialogue in the local community with some relevance to things happening in our homes, neighborhoods, city, country, planet, universe, and within our selves.

The screening itself took place on Monday, July 25, a day observed by some around the globe as the Day Out of Time, a notion proposed by the late Jose Arguelles. According to Arguelles, July 26 should be the beginning… Read more

‘I AM,’ Reviewed

Written by George Garza

I saw the film ‘I Am’ with my twelve-year-old brother. The documentary comes from the director of several Jim Carrey classics (Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty) among other similar comedy gems. This time, however, fart jokes get left aside to tackle some very serious issues.

The film trails Tom Shadyac following a near-death experience from a biking accident that left him with a concussion and out of commission for two months. In his own words, “Facing my own death brought an instant sense of clarity and purpose.” He comes to question the millionaire lifestyle in a world so far removed from sanity. Thus, he seeks out great minds from around the world… Read more

Politics

Time to Reinvest in Building Strong Communities

Written by George Garza

A couple weeks back, I was listening to NPR’s affiliate station in San Antonio, TPR – KSTX 89.1FM. It was early evening and I’m assuming the show airing may have been rebroadcast. The info, though, was very very timely. The interview featured two military advisors who wrote a document titled “A National Strategic Narrative” and signed it “Mr. Y”, a throwback to an article written by George F. Keenan, originally titled “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” signed by and given the pseudonym “Mr. X” or just “X.”

I am usually dialed into NPR, forcibly keeping up with the chaos of the globe, with little hesitation to turn the car off… Read more

Politics

The Invisibles – When the dream becomes a nightmare

Written by George Garza

Originally published at georgemgarza@tumblr.com.

Marc Silver and Gael Garcia Bernal filmed a series of shorts entitled ‘The Invisibles’. The series gives an inside look at life from the other side of the fence. These are the stories of the families torn apart by the dangers of migration.

In a sense, these are the real nightmares of the American Dream: poor people risking life and limb for a chance at a better life.

News

The power to communicate and the power to transform society belongs to everyone

Written by George Garza

There is something awkward about the way we as a society view communication. Perhaps the lack of comprehension is due to the business surrounding the idea.

We live in a world where communication is taken for granted. We waste words without any real attention to their meaning, let alone their value.

We see communication as a career path. We don’t fully embrace the notion that it is inherently human to communicate, or to want to. Communicating with others makes us feel connected. In fact, our whole development, from prehistory to now, is communication-based.

Immigration

Amidst Hot Winds

Written by George Garza

Our neighbors to the south are caught in a whirlwind of despair while drug lords continue to set the country ablaze with gunfire. The stories coming through the pipeline depict a nation overrun by vicious animals with political agendas. It strikes me odd that this chaos has all but erased the fact that a great chunk of Mexico was recently left in ruins in the wake of Hurricane Alex.

I find it further disturbing that much of America feels it in our best interest to cage the animals and let them sort it out on their own turf. The same cult would have us go knocking door-to-door throwing every “illegal looking” soul over the… Read more

Politics

Solution City is Where it’s at this June

Written by George Garza

For those of you who don’t know, Detroit, MI is the capital of the economic crisis as far as industry is concerned. The fall of the auto companies based out of what is widely known as “Motor City” has had a catastrophic effect on the community, leaving many homes abandoned as Detroit’s employment rate continues to fall.

However dire the situation may seem, there is a momentum brewing in Detroit that is lighting fires for social change around the nation and globe. The focus of efforts to deal with these issues, in the minds of the community organizers, starts locally first. By building back the local economy from the ground-up, the people of Detroit are… Read more

Bridging the Digital Divide is Crucial

Written by George Garza

Recently I have been involved in organizing a campaign to rally support within a cross section of communities for Digital Inclusion. This topic has already presented itself as the over-arching focus for my personal grassroots efforts this year.

Today, February 15th, 2010 marks our first National Day of Action for the cause and you can keep up with all the real time action on Twitter by searching the hash tag #mediajustice and of course you can keep up with all the San Antonio happenings, including live updates from our press conference by following any one of these feeds.

What began a couple years back with new colleagues in… Read more

Be a Patriot. Start a Rock Band!

Written by George Garza

On Wednesday, December 16, 2009 the Local Community Radio Act passed through the House of Representatives with a voice vote.

The action surrounding Low Power FM radio and it’s course through our legislative system is something I’ve been observing since meeting members of the Prometheus Radio Project this past June at the 2009 Allied Media Conference held in Detroit. Upon realizing the implications of this hugely important bill, I felt compelled to sign-up for regular emails from the movers pushing LPFM into the spotlight. Since then, however, I have not done much other than make a couple phone calls to my representative’s offices and leave a message with their clerks. Nonetheless,… Read more