photo courtesy of Bellevue College Gallery Space

Currently on View in the Bellevue College Gallery Space:

February 14 – 29, 2011
Made Local: Produces of the Pacific Northwest

Reception: February 23, 5 – 7 p.m.

Made Local — Products of the Pacific Northwest showcases the recent work of exceptional designers from Western Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.

A dialogue between tradition and innovation provides a unique insight into the identity of the Northwest and its design output.

All events are free and open to the public.  http://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/galleryspace/

photo courtesy of canadianfinanceblog.com

Valentine’s Day means different things for different people. For some, it’s the worst day of their lives. For others, it could end up being the best.

But all in all, it’s really how you define the date yourself and how you choose to see the day. And it’s probably healthier to NOT rage on about it on street corners. Grabbing life by the horns and what-not.

Whether you are one or the other however, there is a movie that will fulfill your needs on this most debatable of days.

Starting with the bird-halo, love sick/lovely couples, here are some of the best movies (SOME, mark my words) that are sure to only make this day better for you:

Valentine’s Day, directed by Garry Marshall, stars so many actors and actresses out there I can’t list them in one article. This priceless film follows a number of people’s lives and experiences on the day of love, teaching us all a very important lesson at the end. Which I will try not to spoil by telling you.

27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden, a bold “yes” if you are looking for some adorable loving that started out a bit unorthodox.

Kate and Leopold. Just think of a  sexy blonde and a man, lost and alone, taken from a period where men did all the courting, and then Hugh Jackman actually doing the courting. If your boyfriend can withstand the yearning look in your eye as you ogle the main man, ladies, I would say to definitely watch this film.

Comedy, comedy, comedy! Some of us just like to crack up and have the time of our lives on this day, and here is what I strongly suggest. Take with two sugars and a wide grin:

Princess Bride, adapted from the equally fantastic book, and directed by Rob Reiner, all you need to look out for during this film are the R.O.U.S.’s.

S.A.D…Singles Awareness Day. It’s a depressingly rainy holiday and one I have been part of for a long time. So listen to my vast experience in this measure when I say these will make your day better. Or worse. Or better.

Romeo and Juliet, the 1996 adaptation with DiCaprio and Danes…(everyone dies AND it’s a shoot-em-up!).

The Lake House, directed by Alejandro Agresti (they can’t be together…because he kind of exists, but doesn’t. Kind of like my imaginary boyfriend.)

Ah, yes. The male uniform. If I know nothing about this holiday, it is that most men DREAD it’s very existence and just want to run. Far away.

For those of you who know what I’m talking about, take a sneaky step away from your significant other and try:

TERMINATOR. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Machines. Conners. Bombs, helicopters, chains, rifles, red metallic eyes and a puzzle that refuses to be re-arranged. This series of films will one hundred percent erase V-Day from your brain.

However you see this annual day of love, any of these films and the millions of others unlisted will help you enjoy it the way you want. So grab a friend, a partner. or your family even, and have an evening to remember.

Source: http://www.nccareeroutlook.com/career_pathways

Are you dissatisfied with the constant questions you have when it comes to fulfilling everything you need to complete your Associates Degree in Arts and Sciences?

Do you make a ritual of penning your advisor into your schedule once a month to keep on track?

Have you ever stopped what you were doing late one Thursday night between procrastinating an English paper and drinking your evening cup of tea and asked yourself if an AA in Arts and Sciences was right for you, even though you know it is because you made sure to pen YES all over your planner precisely for these moments?

If you just nodded in response to this, this article may be of importance to you.

An Arts and Sciences AA degree may be a lot of work and a lot of late nights (90 credits what?), but it is one of the most stable degrees a student can shoot for when continuing on to their BA or searching for a job – especially if they are undecided.

There is also a large branch of choices of what you can go into when the time comes for some decision-making.

Some of the most common areas a student with a BA in Arts and Sciences chooses to go into include education, human relations, communication-even computer or political science.

When it comes to questioning whether you will earn a job in the field of your choice, having a Bachelors Degree alone puts you on a high list for managers who are looking to hire at entry level positions, and a BA is a great way to get an entry level position at a large business company or corporation.

And once you’re in, all you need is a positive thought-process and the will to do your work to climb the ladder and go on towards bigger opportunities.

Having a BA shows a company you are willing to do your work, you can stick to a job and you can push through the struggles inside their business to finish the job. And it especially tells them you can learn and accept knowledge in the force.

They know you are applying to their job because you want to. You paid for the education to earn a spot in their line of work, and you aren’t just there to find a place to slack off and get your bills paid.

Another job opportunity you should look into is working at the university you are attending. Not only will you be learning hands-on-experience at what you want to do after graduation, but you are gaining connections as you go.

In this economy things are hard, but if you keep searching you WILL find a job, whether it is what you wanted to start with or not.

It will lead to bigger and better opportunities down the line if you stay determined, continue learning, be open, and do your work to the best of your personal ability.

You can learn a lot about a person by seeing where they come from and taking the time to know their culture (SOURCE: http://deniseleeyohn.com).

If you’ve ever had an e-mail pen pal from a country you can’t quite pronounce, you know what I’m talking about when I say that where a person lives connects a lot to how they see and live their life. [Read more...]

Courtesy of Amy Leong / The Jibsheet

Forced labor, child slavery, sex trafficking, domestic servitude and bonded indenture. These are the five types of 21st century slavery and exactly what BC students Mindy Rusu and Cassie McFadden, co-founders of the Freedom for Them club, are trying to end.

You may have seen them holding “End Slavery” signs in the courtyard or having a bake sale in the cafeteria to spread knowledge about what their club is all about.

But right from the beginning one can tell that this club is different than any other club on campus.

Founded in the fall 2011 quarter, Freedom for Them is a non-profit group trying to end modern day slavery by building awareness that slavery does exist today and that it is bigger than ever before.

“The only way to stop something is to make known that it does exist and that it is wrong! Once people are aware of the problem, we can work to stop the problem,” said McFadden. “We are really trying to make a difference in our community, country, and around the world in the lives of people/girls we have never met and probably never will meet.”

What makes this club incredibly unique, though, isn’t just their dedication to the cause, but the selflessness and passion that goes into everything they do.

Even with being so young, Freedom for Them already has had fundraisers that raise money towards bigger organizations, such as the A21 Campaign, whose goal is based around directly fighting trafficking at its source while also working with other aspects within sex/human trafficking. McFadden explains that as a club, they want to help as many different organizations as possible by supporting a different organization every 3-4 weeks, doing a fundraiser, and donating money to them.

Freedom for Them stands as a voice for all the innocent people around the world are victims of this immoral system. To many, the idea of slavery was ended hundreds of years ago when in actuality there is slavery still occurring now and even in Seattle.

One of the biggest parts of human trafficking is sex slavery, where girls (and some boys) are forced to have sex in order to make a profit for the person in charge, also known as a pimp. Sound a lot like prostitution? That’s because it is, but what people don’t know is that 90 percent of prostitutes in the world are forced into that lifestyle. “People need to know, and modern day slavery needs to be stopped,”said McFadden, and the students at Bellevue college can make that happen.

Meetings are every Wednesday in room C103 from 2-3 p.m. Although the club is a Christian based group, believing “God has a hand on this project,” said McFadden, they are always welcoming new people, no matter your background or belief, because modern slavery affects everyone around the world.

During meetings, McFadden and Rusu will usually go over the basics of what human trafficking is for new members, then discuss organizations they are working with and plan fundraisers.

Currently they are planning another fundraiser that will either be a movie event or have a DJ and food where all the proceeds will go to Shared Hope International.

They are also planning off-campus fundraisers to gain a larger profit and are working on planning a big event that will happen some time during spring quarter ,where they will be partnering with other clubs on campus to raise more money and alertness towards the cause. If you love to organize events, have great or interesting ideas, or just want to learn more about human trafficking and get involved, their doors are always open. If you can not attend meetings but are still interested in upcoming events, you can either join the club’s mailing list or check out their Facebook page.

McFadden is very optimistic about Freedom for Them expanding even more to create opportunities for us to help. “We want people to get involved in the ways they can and be able to impact this campus and the world in a big way,” said McFadden. “If none of this appeals to you then you can just spread the word! It’s not always a comfortable subject to talk about, but it needs to be talked about. Don’t be afraid to be bold!”

Freedom for Them brings attention to that difficult subject that many try to ignore. They hope to grow here on campus, as well as create clubs in and out of the state, and eventually turn into a non-profit organization, dedicated to not only spreading awareness about human trafficking, but ending it for good.

The club lets us know that no matter how much we try and disregard it, slavery is not dead. There are still innocent people around the world that are victims of greed in others. Even if you can’t join the club, donate. Every penny can save the life of a helpless human being. As McFadden said,“give them a chance at a new life; a life that you and I already get to have and many times take for granted.”

BC's Big Band Jazz Festival this week

“‘Bout twenty years ago, way down in New Orleans, a group of fellows found a new kind of music. And they decided to call it… JAZZ. No other sound has what this music has. Before they knew it, it was whizzing round the world. The world was ready for a blue kind of music. And now they play it from Steamboat Springs to La Paz.” Of all the different music genres, jazz is definitely one of the most unique and universally prevalent.

Commencing on Feb. 3, the 16th Annual Big Band Jazz Festival hosted by BC’s Jazz Band will give students an awesome opportunity to immerse themselves in the foot-tapping big band jazz music.

Most jazz lovers may relate big band jazz to the swing era in the 1930s. During that period, swing jazz that emphasized a strong, rhythmic groove was extremely popular. People danced to swing music and every night on the radio, such music was broadcasted live.

While it is true that swing big bands were extremely popular at the time, big band jazz does not necessarily refer to swing jazz. What essentially sets big band apart from the other styles of jazz is its instrumentation. A big band typically consists 17 pieces of instruments: four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones and a four-piece rhythm section that includes drum, piano, bass and guitar.

Unlike other styles of jazz that focuses a lot on improvisation, the early big bands improvise very little due to the need for arrangement. It was not until later in the decade that soloists were given more freedom to extemporize.

With its dominating prevalence, big band jazz also gave rise to certain star soloists in the 1930s. Teenagers and young adults would “worship” these famous musicians and attend concerts of their favorite stars. For the same reason, big bands were also used as a morale-lifting tool during the World War II. Glenn Miller, one of the best-selling artists and bandleaders of the time, died when travelling between troop shows.

Though no longer a mainstream genre, big band jazz is still enjoyed by many nowadays. If you are one of them, or simply curious, the evening concert on  Feb. 4 featuring BC’s Jazz Band directed by local jazz legend Hal Sherman is certainly worth attending. Guest artist Alexi Nikolaev will be performing in the concert and doing a clinic on the same day during lunch hour.

Apart from the evening concert on Feb. 4, 32 Washington and Oregon high schools and middle schools are going to compete for top honors starting the day before at 8am. The top three schools in the competition will be participating in the evening concert as well.

Feb. 3: 8a.m.  5 p.m. prelims free to public J B Festival (Jr. Highs/High)

Feb. 4: 8 a.m.  5 p.m. prelims free to public J B Festival (High Schools)

Feb. 4: 8 p.m. $10 Concert

For more information call Lyneen Patnoe at 425.564.3114 or lyneen.patnoe@bellevuecollege.edu

James Bond: The man with a license to kill. (SOURCE: http://topnews.in).

James Bond has always been a favorite when it comes to action films.

So at least half of everyone reading this article will be happy to know the Bond franchise is running on it’s 23rd movie, keeping its record of the longest running feature film ‘series’ in history. [Read more...]

Check out schedules at The Melting Pot to see when Yogi performs. (SOURCE: http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net).

Comedy has always been a major part of the people living in Washington, Seattle, and of course, Bellevue College. With all the rain crowds and gray mornings, we kind of have to be. For one student at BC however, comedy isn’t just used for the lack of sunshine. Yogi Paliwal is a standup comedian who performs across the state, and he’s beginning to gain quite the crowd of fans. [Read more...]