“The new blood-soaked theatrics of that old-time religion splatter Benjamin Ortiz.”
A young Latin loco, sagging x-large, steps with attitude up to the local rock dealer. Recognizing his customer, the dopeman pulls a sack from his pocket and shakes it like a dinner bell. “My man, Joker,” he croons, “look what I saved for you special.” Joker strikes a defiant pose as his homeboy creeps up behind with a drawn shotgun. “Your crew blasted my boy the other night,” Joker snarls. “It’s payback time, punk!” BOO-YA!
Category: Writing
In the past 25 years, laboratories have encountered a wide range of diseases and infectious agents. Some have been conquered; others remain formidable challenges. These diseases and progress in the fight against them are highlighted…
In the past 25 years, laboratories have encountered a wide range of diseases and infectious agents. Some have been conquered; others remain formidable challenges. These diseases and progress in the fight against them are highlighted…
Raising Discourse From the Dead at an American City College
The Warsaw kid has just turned in a paper this morning comparing himself to George Orwell in 1930s Europe, making a leap from Down and Out in Paris and London to selling bootleg American DVDs for beer money in 21st century Poland. When I pass out todayÂ’s reading, I canÂ’t wait to see what he thinks about the chat between guest writers Antara Dev Sen and Dinesh DÂ’Souza, since he usually has the most sardonic comments during class discussion, deflating high American seriousness with Eastern European deadpan.
Review of Hotel America: Scenes in the Lobby of the Fin-de-Siecle, by Lewis Lapham (Verso, 1996)
Review of Roll Down Your Window: Stories From a Forgotten America, by Juan Gonzalez (Verso, 1996)
“Cutting crew: Benjamin Ortiz tracks down a ring of professional bike heisters.”
An apt and true reply was given to Alexander the Great by a pirate who had been seized. For when that king had asked the man what he meant by keeping hostile possession of the sea, he answered with bold pride. “What thou meanest by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, whilst thou who dost it with a great fleet art style emperor.”
–St. Augustine, “The City of God”
“While the poets who got it all started will never be forgotten, the man who organized the birth of San Antonio bar poetry, Ben Ortiz has somehow become synonymous with the word infamous … While his downright arrogant and in your face behavior got him into confrontations at times, it was that same direct approach that engraved the much-needed mentality to establish an aggressive stage presence. … Even today, the no holds barred remnants of what Ortiz began are still seen momentarily in the present day molding of what makes up today’s lighter show. …”
There’s something about San Antonio that breeds bands who just don’t give a fuck.
The Marketing of Zorro Masks History
By Benjamin Ortiz
With the North American Free Trade Agreement in high gear, the most recent Zorro adaptation seems oddly relevant. Not that the filmmakers wanted audiences to draw comparisons between an imaginary 19th century crusader and a band of contemporary masked guerrillas in Mexico (Los Zapatistas) who share the same initial.
