Forget everything you know about extreme sports films. Professional snowboarder Travis Rice’s highly anticipated new movie, That’s It, That’s All, is finally out and the industry will never be the same. For two years, producers Rice and Curt Morgan scoured the globe in search of perfect conditions visiting New Zealand; Japan; Germany; Canada; Valdez, Alaska; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and Mammoth, Calif. The fruits of their labor is a truly groundbreaking film.

Both the level of riding and the level of production are unprecedented. The film was shot entirely in high definition using a dozen different types of cameras including, for the first time in a snowboard film, the Wescam 35mm to catch steady shots from on-board a snowmobile and the Cineflex HD to capture steady aerial shots from a helicopter. The result is an awe-inspiring Planet Earth-meets-epic snowboarding film. Submerge recently caught up with Rice from his Jackson, Wyo. home to chat about the new film.

How have the premiers been going so far; you’ve had a bunch, right?
Yeah, we’ve had quite a few. We did a world premier down in Wanaka, New Zealand, and then did a tour through Australia and then we just finished our US Tour. Next Wednesday we’re heading over for a fucking death march through Europe.

I’ve read in a past interview that you still have videos of you and your friends filmed on shitty old VHS cameras riding in the back country when you were kids. It’s got to be a trip to watch That’s It, That’s All now that it is completed. Your films have obviously come a long way.
[Laughs] Yeah, I’m still excited about it and I’ve seen the movie God knows how many times, not to mention being in that editing room for about four months. Seeing people watch it though, they are genuinely stoked on it. I’m still hyped on the film.

Don’t you think you just made every other snowboard video dropping this year look like clown shoes?
[Laughs] Um, I mean I definitely don’t like to say it that way. We were definitely after our own thing for our own reasons. We weren’t necessarily out to shit on the competition. I guess simply put, in comparison, yeah. We kind of made the video comparing it to film entities other than snowboard films, so for us it wasn’t like, “Think about doing this or doing that.”

You used the same camera systems used to film Planet Earth, right?
Yeah, we used the same aerial systems that they used. It’s called Cineflex.

So that’s why you get that “floating camera” effect, right? Where it doesn’t feel like the camera is in the helicopter at all.
Totally, and that’s why we really wanted to do it that way. We used another system as well; it’s a little bit of an older system but more kind of what Hollywood uses called the Wescam 35mm. The real reason we wanted to do that is because, I mean, you see aerial shots a lot these days in films, but you always think that there’s some dude hanging out of the chopper trying to keep it steady. But with the Cineflex you can do it, and you’re still focused on the action and what’s going on. You don’t even think about the fact that you’re shooting from a helicopter.

You filmed for two years; there must have been tons and tons of footage. How do you sift through all that and decide what makes the cut and what doesn’t?
It was a long process, man. We had a little over 300 hours of raw footage at the end.

Organization is everything, if it just came down to editing, then you know, bada-bing bada-boom. Sitting and organizing the footage is probably the most tedious part. Curt Morgan, my partner, he started basically in the fall before our second season and kind of worked steadily throughout the winter. We even brought our studio up to Alaska with us for a month. We would shoot during the day and work all night. Then come springtime he pretty much sat down in front of a computer and didn’t leave for four months straight.

What happens with all the unused footage?
We’re doing a six part hour-long TV series. So a lot of it is going toward that.

When will that be ready?
Next fall.

I feel like anyone could watch That’s It, That’s All and enjoy it regardless of whether or not they had ever been snowboarding. Is that what you guys were going for—a more broader audience?
That was kind of our big challenge that we put ourselves up to on this project was basically still making the movie for our peers, for the core snowboarder. But, at the same time trying to do it in a sense where a 50-year-old Texan could watch it who has never seen a snowboard and have it be compelling and interesting.

You can’t really appreciate things until you’ve tried them yourself, whether its skateboarding, golf, anything. Until you actually go out and try you don’t really grasp what’s its like or how challenging it really is.
Our big thing was trying to put the viewer in the shoes of the rider.

There is a scene in Alaska where you almost get caught in an enormous avalanche. What was going through your head as you had to “Wolverine” your way out?
Honestly, nothing. You don’t really have time to think about it or process it. It’s action, reaction, you know? It’s more after the fact you actually have time to think about it.

Did that happen often on that trip?
That’s pretty few and far between. That’s only really happened to me three times ever, and that one didn’t even really catch me. It’s definitely uncommon. But, you know, the danger is there, indeed.

There’s a section in the movie where some of your peers are praising you and talking all this great shit about you. What’s it like to hear them say things like, “Rice progresses the sport?”
Oh it’s epic. I couldn’t be happier about it. To be honest, with making this film it’s been a little difficult, especially in the editing process, because it is so focused on me. My buddy put it best when he said to me, “The only way this movie is going to be good is if you’re the only one who doesn’t like it.”

[Laughs] No, but I mean it’s definitely humbling.

You are all about progression, you have pushed the sport in new ways your whole career. After That’s It, That’s All, what the hell could be next for Travis Rice?
Oh, it’s in the works, man. In 2010 we’re going to shit all over this project [laughs]. No, ever since we basically had our first premier of this film we’ve been working on a new project. I guess That’s It, That’s All isn’t exactly the greatest title for following it up.

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You know what they say: Laughter is the best medicine. A divisive government, treacherous economy and two wars weigh heavily on the minds of most Americans as we approach another presidential election, hoping that no matter who’s elected, he’ll be able to turn things around. With the world seeming so dire, perhaps the only way to deal with it is to try to find the humor in it. But for some, the comedy of Lewis Black is probably a bitter pill. Author, playwright, actor and stand-up comedian—Black’s resume extends far past his appearances on The Daily Show and as host of Comedy Central’s The Root of All Evil. But more important than his accomplishments, Black is a keen observer of politics, and his sharp commentary takes shots at members of our government on both sides of the aisle. On his way to Purdue University, Black took time from his perpetual touring to answer a few of our questions.

I’m sure you’ve probably answered a lot of questions about this, but I saw that you went to perform for the troops in the Middle East at the end of last year. What was that like?
It seems silly to say, but it was sort of life changing.

How so?
I had not been exposed to the military. You realize that we’re insulated—we’re not only insulated from the war, but we’ve been insulated from our military. For all the lip service that’s paid by politicians, it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what these people do. And if they really paid the lip service, they’d be more careful in where and how they used people like this. They’re extraordinary individuals on many levels, and they [politicians]—from the bottom up—they don’t pay enough attention to them. They don’t provide them [the troops] with what they need. It’s just amazing.

Was it all what you’d expected it to be?
It wasn’t. It was stunning how much more in touch the military seemed to be with their men than the politicians in this country seem to be with the people they’re supposed to be governing.

In that light, does it upset you when you hear politicians telling Americans that they’re supposed to support the troops?
I don’t mind politicians saying, “Support the troops.” What I mind is when they act as if we don’t. It’s disgusting. You can’t use that anymore. You can’t say, because someone doesn’t want to have a war, that they don’t support the troops. You can’t say it. You may have been able to say it during the Vietnam era, but you can’t say it anymore. It doesn’t hold. It holds no water. It’s a myth. It’s a lie. You can’t say what McCain said about Obama. You can’t say it. That shit’s got to stop—some time in my lifetime—because it’s counterproductive, it’s stupid, and it’s divisive.

I wanted to talk with you about the conventions. Did they sway you one way or the other, which way you are going to vote in November?
Yeah, it made me think about moving. It’s unbelievable. I really do feel that with the addition of Sarah Palin, it’s fiction. It’s like watching a movie.

What was your initial reaction to McCain picking Palin to be his running mate?
My initial reaction was what I’d always thought, which is anybody could be vice president. You can’t tell me that she’s the most popular governor. Really? Of Alaska, you fucking idiot—an alcoholic’s paradise. Please. To watch people who don’t know here talk about her—like Giuliani. They don’t know anything about her. Both sides spin their crap, it’s like, just be honest about stuff. You’ve got one group of people talking about the future, and the other group living in the past. What about now?

Something Giuliani said in an interview after his speech was that McCain’s choice of a running mate was looking toward the future, while Obama’s was looking to the past. I thought that was interesting comment in light of what you’re saying.
The whole thing is phenomenal. I have somewhat of an understanding of why he [McCain] made the choice he made. Him picking her is like watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, only she’s [Palin] not quite as qualified as Jimmy Stewart.

To be fair, what did you think of Obama choosing Sen. Joe Biden?
It’s an interesting choice if you can get him to shut up. He talks too much. Obama had to pick somebody with experience. If someone’s going to die in office [laughs]… I mean, literally, you have to. I truly felt like if Obama wanted to just win, he had to pick Hillary [Clinton], no matter what the consequences. But the Democrats don’t want to win. They never want to win. They just don’t seem to want to. The logical choice is Hillary, whether you liked it or not, but if you wanted to win—as a ticket as a party. They don’t seem to want to govern.

What I find most appalling is their lack of response. What Lieberman did was reprehensible—on any level. So for the party that this schmuck represented, for this idiot to go speak for the other party, what are you saying to all of the people who voted for you? And what is the party saying by saying, “Oh well, what are you going to do? That’s Joe.” It’s not funny. It’s disgusting. I just find it odd that they don’t respond. Democrats don’t ever seem to know how to respond.
It’s nonsense what the Republicans are saying at this point, but the fact is, since the Democrats don’t have a proper response, it makes you go, “How intelligent are you?” Come up with something. Be direct.

What do you think the Democrats should do next if they somehow manage to lose this election?
I think they should rename the party. Come up with a new name, a new logo and go through a re-branding process. That’s all they can do. I mean, really, after eight years of this, if you can’t win the election, just disband.

Are you going to miss President Bush when he’s gone?
No. You can tell already. Look, it was nuts before, and now it’s even more crazy. As a comic, you can’t write the stuff that they’re doing. They’re writing it for you.

Has your job almost been too easy over the past eight years? Are you kind of looking forward to a challenge?
In a way, but it’s been hard to find the funny in it in a lot of ways. As funny as it is, it’s hard to treat it as if it is funny, because it’s really unbelievable.

How do you think history will judge this president now that his reign is almost over?
After they get over the laughter and the tears in just trying to record it, I think history will stand agape at what he did. He made a concerted effort to go back to 1956. If TV was in black and white, I might have bought this, but it’s in color and it’s digital. It’s a mindset that should have never been in power.

Do you think that if they’d managed to succeed, that if they’d actually rolled the clock back to 1956 that we would have been better off?
Well, no. I would’ve been suicidal, having lived through it once, but it certainly would have made more sense. It would have made it seem more rational.

Post from: Submerge Magazine

By Michaela Pommells

If you haven’t been a part of it, you may not know Sacramento’s fashion scene is as alive as it is. It reaches far beyond the chic boutiques on the Midtown grid. A dynamic class of needle and thread craftsmen make up a strong community of local designers. Yet, while they wipe sweat from their brow in the name of fashion, they can sometimes be overshadowed by the stigma of working in a smaller city.

The truth is Sacramento is home to artistic talent defined by relentless creativity and eccentricity. Here to relinquish the unaware from what some may perceive as local fashion doldrums are three capital city designers. Here are their insights on the local fashion scene and how they plan to breathe life into it.

Trisha Rhomberg is part of the local fashion scene’s legacy and future. Originally from St. Louis, she has developed strong roots in Sacramento. A self-taught seamstress, she began creating and selling her garments out of recycled materials while a studio art student at Sac State. In 2003 her clothing line, Pretty Trashy, was birthed in a downtown garage. She began selling Pretty Trashy at Olipom, a Midtown boutique owned by Olivia Coelho. Five years later, Rhomberg co-owns popular vintage boutique “Bows and Arrows” with Coelho and sells Pretty Trashy in over a dozen stores across the country and one in London.

She describes the current conditions as “Slowly rumbling…small tremors before the quake. Lots of talent [with] little things happening.” You’ll find no disillusionment in her voice as she describes what needs to happen to stimulate the local crowds.

“We need bigger venues to get involved, enough talent to fill a theater, enough support to fill the seats,” Rhomberg says. “Shows need more respectable stages. We have to reach out to the people who may not seem to know or care what’s going on in the little Sac fashion world and take a chance. You have to go after what you want. I’ll go get them. I’m going to find a bigger prettier stage to display our works of art.”

Incorporating a plethora of local artists to infuse their talents in the streets of Sacramento looks to be Rhomberg’s mission. She has linked with other local artists such as Lacadia Olson of Cuffs Urban Apparel and Deeda Salon, among others. She’s participated in innumerable local fashion shows with more in the works. She’s a likely candidate to lead the budding fashion scene in Sacramento.

Benzo Couture Photo by Jeremy Scott

To help further the crusade is Mercedes Ben, owner and designer of Benzo Couture. She officially began her fashion career two years ago. An apparel design student at Sac State, her ambition stretches far beyond the city limits.
Ben’s short presence on the local front doesn’t come with little experience. She’s lived in a handful of major cities before coming to Sacramento. She speaks of her time spent in New York, Los Angeles and Denver as the force behind many of her creations. The relationships she has formed through her travels allow her to display her art to many audiences. She will be showing her work with Betsy Johnson in an upcoming show in Denver.

Ben has seen a lot of change since hitting town. She watches with a close eye as more local designers emerge, striking interest with local boutiques and residents. She sees fashion events getting more crowded and respected. Ben’s sentiments are not unlike Rhomberg’s. Ben believes local designers can form a more unified front.

“I believe people love seeing the shows but there is still a lot of work that Sacramento and our small design community has to do to ever get it to the level of much larger cities,” Ben says.

Benzo has her sights set high. Her enthusiasm is seen in her efforts to expand as an international brand with results benefiting Sacramento.

“I will always show in Sacramento, but in order to put Sacramento on the fashion map, the rest of the world has to be exposed to the talent that is here,” she says.

Designer Jesus Medrano Photo by Andrea Telles

Whenever an industry is in need of change, hope often lies in its youth — not youth represented by a numerical digit but instead the kind that’s refreshing, unpretentious and optimistic. That is precisely what you will find in Jesus Medrano. He sees so much potential in Sacramento’s future he refuses the notion that it’s at all dull.

“I see Sac as the next L.A. or San Francisco,” he claims. “Soon designers from out of town will want to come here. All it needs is everyone to believe in it. It can be achieved we just have to change a few things. And I feel it’s happening already.”

Born in Mexico, Medrano comes to Sacramento from Los Angeles. His love for fashion was developed as a youngster by watching his trendsetting sister. He equates much of the slow-moving fashion scene to a lack of designers appreciating its art form. He wants local designers to get the communities feet wet with innovative shows and practical designs.

“Let’s not scare everyone with crazy fashions, let’s give them stylish wearable garments,” Medrano explains. “I think some Sacramento designers are pushing people’s interest away with things that they might not understand yet. I feel that if we want Sacramento to become addicted to fabulous fashions we have to give it to them in small doses.” Medrano realizes a hunger for fashion around town and has every intention of harvesting his fashion career in Sacramento.
Sacramento’s fashion scene undoubtedly has a steady pulse. Yet, so much talent lurks in the city’s streets waiting to be uncovered. An alliance between artists, local business owners and community members appears vital. These designers each have the potential to be Sacramento’s white knights. Those of us waiting for everyone else to get on board will have to put our faith in their hands.

Post from: Submerge Magazine

There I was, chillin’, maxin’ out, “lurkin’ hard” in a limo, drinking a Red Bull Vodka on my way with the Red Bull Sacramento Crew to swoop up some of the nastiest local skateboarders in the 916. I knew it was going to be ill. I mean, shit, we’re in a limo, so I sat back and waited for the madness to ensue.

Rob Mason

We pulled up to the old Flatspot skate shop downtown and saw a dozen or so sweating kids skating flat ground awaiting our arrival. The limo driver, we’ll call him Dan, got out of his driver seat and opened the door, allowing everyone in. “Beer me” someone exclaimed, as an ice-cold one got tossed into his hands. “Do you have any CDs?” I replied to the dude clutching the beer and almost before I’m finished I get a sarcastic reply, “Yeah…see deeze nuts!” I should’ve known not to give him such a golden opportunity. After a few quick laughs we all saddled up, cameras and lights chillin’ in the back, and headed over to the first spot: Granite Skate Park off Power Inn Road. Although there was nothing NSA about skating the biggest park in all of Northern Cali—our crew just needed to warm up and get their bones loose on their home turf.

So we pulled up to Granite like straight pimps. Everyone piled out of the limo to skate the park and immediately everything was getting destroyed. These skateboarders were killing this park, literally, name a trick and it was laced. After about an hour of the park, a few flip tricks over the double set courtesy of Kyle Duval, and stenciling all the local groms’ decks (www.redbullskateboarding.com), we jumped back in the fly mobile (Dan’s limo) and headed to some gnarly 11 stair at a school in Fair Oaks, Calif.

We pulled up to this handrail, and it was pitch black. As soon as Danny Boy let us out, I realized we were in the fuckin’ suburbs somewhere and we were being mad loud. I gave it 15 minutes before the cops showed up. With this in mind, we quickly set up the lights, and they got to work. After a few warmup ollies, things started getting dope. This little man, Blue Turner, was destroying it: backside smith grinds like it was his day job. Then next thing you know, Rob Mason barreled through and started trying to backlip the damn thing. It was dope; the Lurk Hard homies were representing.
After another hour or so, we jumped back in the limo and headed over to Ink in Midtown for some grub and drinks. An hour or two, a few drinks, and a chunky meal later, we were ready to peace out.

All in all, the night was an unforgettable experience. Big ups to Armain Austin, everyone at Red Bull, Lurk Hard and everyone who was along for the ride…thanks for a dope evening! And remember, NSA is only a state of mind.

By Brandon Brown
Photos Courtesy of Joe Poinski

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Back in 1956, Dr. Dorian Paskowitz—a Stanford graduate—removed himself from regular society. He lived without a mortgage, not tied down to any one place or occupation. He surfed beaches from coast to coast, and then some. However, Paskowitz (nickname of Doc) wasn’t a lonesome drifter. He took his family along for the ride.

“I’m not a surfer,” he says. “I didn’t understand why the film would be interesting, because I first misunderstood that maybe it would just be a tribute to Doc Paskowitz. But as soon as I got into the family dynamics more…everything turned around. It’s an incredible story about a family. It’s not even a surf movie, I mean, it is. It’s set in surfing, but it could have been in rock ‘n’ roll or anything. I got hooked on that.”
Surfwise debuted in 2007, and this past Friday, June 20, opened at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento. While wandering through Chinatown in Los Angeles, Pray answered a few of our questions about life with the Paskowitzes.

It seems that the Paskowitzes’ diet—that they weren’t allowed to eat refined sugars and things like that—that Doc was ahead of his time. Nowadays everyone freaks out about refined sugars and flours.
Totally. He is a doctor, and he was way ahead of his time in terms of preventative medicine, the idea of just taking care of yourself, making his kids eat seven grain cereal. Today, everyone’s like, “Sure, you should eat healthy grains.” But this was in the ‘60s. There’s very little about Dorian Paskowitz’s medical approaches or philosophies of health that I disagree with. He was dead on the money, and he’s been dead on the money for 40 years. We do eat too much. We’re dying from eating too much, and our society is sick. We do need to eat less, not only because it helps the planet, but just in terms of health. All those things, he’s been in touch with his whole life. What’s interesting, though is that he’s such an extremist, there are so many kids, that enforcing all of that made it really quite dramatic.

Are the kids still following in their father’s footsteps?
It’s kind of mixed. They respect their mom and dad for the most part. Some of them are like, “I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. We had the best childhood in the world.” And some of them feel as if the movie paints too negative a portrait. But the movie also is very honest about how some of the kids feel that it was wrong that their father didn’t send them to school, and that he was quite an extremist and it wasn’t very easy living in that household, even though they got to surf every day and didn’t have to go to school. It’s interesting, because I think all nine of the kids are sort of conflicted. It’s still a very close family. It’s not like Capturing the Friedmans. It’s not a very dark tale, but it’s very honest. Their recollections are really honest. They’re just a really honest family, and the movie plays both sides of that coin. I try not to decide for the audience. One minute you think, “It’s so cool what he did. What an awesome father. He loved his kids so much that he didn’t want them to get damaged by public school, and he wanted them to eat healthy. He got them in touch with nature and the ocean.” There are so many things that are cool about that that I really respect. It’s just so bold and gutsy to do that. On the other hand, there are other times in the movie where it’s like, “Oh God. I can’t believe it.” There are nine kids crammed into this little camper. They lived really poorly. They never held down a steady job. He pulled them out of society. It was like a little cult or something.

Watching the Webisodes, there were certainly some cultish undertones. Was that something you picked up on?
He’s one of these very charismatic, very dominant, leadership type characters that you run across every so often in life. Many of those people are in leadership positions or do start religions or cults or whatever. And he does have a following. Most surfers who’ve met Dorian Paskowitz think the world of him, and that’s fine. It’s not like they shouldn’t. He promotes healthy living, and he promotes surfing. That part’s all cool, it’s just how far do you go to drag your kids into your trip? Everyone who watches the movie has a slightly different take on that.

I’ve spoke to other documentary filmmakers, and they’ve said that editing is the most important part of the process. Is preserving that sort of ambiguity one of your biggest concerns when working with an editor?
Yes. All my movies, I’ve always said is 90 percent editing. That’s not to take away from the cinematography or the interviews. If you don’t have that, you don’t have anything. But editing is huge in telling the story in a documentary, because you’re presented—in my case—maybe 100 hours of material, and it’s a question of striking a balance. It’s saying, “A movie has to be a journey. Where do we begin the movie and where do we end the movie? What kind of journey is the audience going to go on?” It can tip over at any one moment. There’s a lot of really intense and some funny scenes in the movie, but if it goes too far in any one direction, it can tip over. If the movie focused too much on just Dorian, then all of a sudden we’re missing out on the kids, and the kids are wildly entertaining. To me they’re the heart of the movie.

There are other themes about sexuality, and how you share that with your family, and that could’ve been a bigger theme in the movie. There’s also a lot of talk about religion and Judaism and the Holocaust, and that could’ve tipped it over. It could’ve become a Holocaust movie, which I guarantee would’ve been the first surfing Holocaust movie ever. Not to make light of it, but you know what I mean. We spent almost a year in the editing room balancing it out. It was extremely difficult, but I’m proud of it. My editor did a great job. It’s like writing a novel. You have all this material and you just try to shape it.

The movie premiered in 2007, but another movie of yours, Big Rig, was completed around the same time…
Yeah, they’re totally unrelated, but the timing was really…very odd. Big Rig was released this month, and it’s all about truck drivers. We’re doing a truck stop tour this summer, and it’s being shown free to truckers all across the country.

Were there shooting conflicts?
[Laughs] I would literally go from a truck stop in Alabama and get on a plane and go to Hawaii. My brain was completely screwed up—truckers and surfers. I must say that they do have some similarities. Surfers are independent-minded people, and so are truckers.

How do you think the Paskowitzes have adapted to life away from the camper?
Well, Dorian and Juliette have lived pretty much the same for 40 years. They’re still very poor. They live a very meager existence. They live in an apartment and Doc makes all his money from selling his books. He still eats totally healthy food and surfs as much as he can. He’s getting up there. He’s like 80 now. He’s in his late 80s and he’s extremely healthy. He doesn’t take any medicine. He lives his life strictly according to his principles, and so does his wife. Their kids are all grown now, so they do [live according to Doc’s principles] to varying degrees as much as they can. I think they’d all like to be as healthy as Doc…and so would I, by the way.

I’d read on your Web site that you had never listened to Pearl Jam before making Hype!, and that you’d never scratched a record on a turntable. You’ve already mentioned that you’re not involved with surfing. Do you get influenced after making a film like Surfwise to participate in the culture you’ve been learning about for so long?
A little bit. More of what it does is give me an appreciation for those areas. For the rest of my life, if I run into a truck driver, I can talk to him or her. That’s the thing I love about my job so much. I get to drop into these cultures and meet a lot of people—many of them become my friends and I keep in touch with them long after. I feel kind of spoiled. The downside of it is that I more tell about those cultures and I don’t really live them. It’s more vicarious. I get to observe and meet these people, but I don’t become them because that would be phony. It’s just not me. It’s not the purpose of my movies.

Post from: Submerge Magazine

Marijuana laws in the U.S. are pretty confusing—some would say downright stupid. The situation is even more sticky (no pun intended) here in California. Though it is legal for prescribed patients to use and cultivate marijuana under California state law (thanks to voter-approved Prop. 215 passed in 1996), it’s still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, leading to the butting of heads between state and national officials, with innocent people caught in the crossfire. On May 22 in Sacramento, however, the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed AB 2743 by a vote of 9–7. The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego) aims to protect the integrity of Prop. 215. If the bill were to become law, it would make it the policy of state and local police not to cooperate with federal drug hounds in raids on those who are purchasing and providing marijuana in a state-legal manner. You’re probably still fucked if you’re buying that shit at your local playground, though.

If marijuana policy is your thing (and even if it’s not), June 12 will be a good chance to celebrate this most recent legislative victory. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)—an organization founded in 1995 that strives to change U.S. marijuana laws—is throwing their third annual fundraiser party at the Playboy Mansion in L.A., and the event is open to the public. Hosting will be Adrianne Curry, the controversial reality television star of programs such as America’s Next Top Model (she was the first winner), The Surreal Life, My Fair Brady and others that you probably lie to your friends about watching. Notoriously outspoken, Curry shared with Submerge her thoughts on marijuana laws and the upcoming event while visiting family in Chicago.

I wanted to talk about the MPP event over at the Playboy Mansion. How did you get involved with the organization?
I think it’s really messed up that we would deny anybody [access to medical marijuana]—especially someone with cancer. My mother’s best friend, who’s like my second mom, is battling stage four cancer right now. I see how much pain those people are going through, and it’s like, why are we going to deny them anything? They’re not going to live, so why can’t we make them comfortable? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Everyone says marijuana is the gateway drug. I disagree. That would’ve been cigarettes for me. I wouldn’t have drank or smoked or done anything had I not started smoking. I prefer it over drinking or anything else. I think [marijuana] is a lot safer. I would rather have a guy drive a school bus a little stoned over being wasted—not that anyone should drive stoned, but if you catch my drift.

I’m a little anti-alcohol in ways. Sure, you can have fun with it here and there, but you know, the drug war is just another failure. I’m one of those people who thinks that all drugs should be legal, and that the people who are going to do them are going to do them anyway. So, kill off the weak. We don’t need them. Is that sweet?

How do you feel about the commercials used to steer kids clear of drug use? There’s this one commercial with kids who are obviously stoned, driving a car, and they hit a kid on a bike while exiting a drive-thru.
First off, that’s stupid. Secondly no one should use anything—NyQuil, Benadryl, anything—and drive. It’s just not the smart thing to do.

The propaganda that this government is using against marijuana when there’s stuff out there like heroin, which I was addicted to along with cocaine… Where are the ads that are telling people to not do these? I don’t see them. But we’ll show someone hit a child because he smoked a joint in a drive-thru. What the fuck?

Do you think, given your past history with drugs, does that make you more aware of the dangers of what’s out there?
Yeah, because of my excessive drug use in my past, I’ve been able to discern what’s the real drug and what isn’t. Cigarettes? My God. It took me forever to quit. I gained 15 pounds. It almost ruined my life. That’s a drug. Alcohol? Same thing. Coke? Same thing. Heroin? Same thing. I can quit pot whenever I want. I’ll go six or eight months and not smoke it for no reason other than I just don’t feel like it. That’s not a drug. Everything affects people differently. Some people are allergic to pot, and they shouldn’t do it. Some people are allergic to raisins, and they shouldn’t eat those either.

Do you think drugs’ being illegal fosters irresponsible drug use?
Well, not just that. It being illegal causes projects with drug people walking around selling weed. It makes people who need it, who have cancer, who would rather not go out to the bar and drive and would rather sit at home and get stoned at the end of the day, it makes them go to dangerous lengths to pick shit up. It’s like really? This is what we’re going to do. It doesn’t make sense, in the greatest country in the world, as we love to claim. I would just like to see us start acting like it. I don’t like going to other countries and see that they have figured stuff out before we have.
You know, I don’t like prostitution. Do you think I want to know that my husband has a readily available clientele of prostitutes anywhere he goes? But he has them anyway, even if it’s illegal. Might as well legalize that too, that way it’s safer and people don’t get diseases or get murdered by Green River Killers. It’s ridiculous. We make things harder for ourselves, because secretly, I think our government doesn’t fucking care about us.

You’ve been in Playboy magazine before, and I’m sure you’ve been to a few parties at the mansion. How does the MPP event compare to what normally goes on there?
There’s a lot less…uh…fuss [laughs]. There are a lot of women who respect themselves. But they’re still hot. You don’t see people doing some of the things you’d see at the mansion. It’s a little more calm. People are a lot less fucked up, because there’s a lot less drinking, and there’s a lot more deep conversation going on [laughs]. It is awesome, and it’s still a lot of fun. You’ll see a lot of hot chicks and you’ll see a few wild and crazy things. I think because the alcohol intake is a lot less, that people are on much better behavior. I’m going to guess that they have to clean up after the stoners a lot less than they do after the drunks.

Post from: Submerge Magazine

THE GAME INDUSTRY CAN’T SEEM TO STOP itself. Software sales alone jumped 34% to $8.64 billion in 2007 from 2006 and are predicted to surpass $10 billion in 2008. Growth is always healthy, but are creative and fun games becoming replaced with bigger and better versions of proven genres?

After I made the move to a current generation console, I was neither expecting to nor thrilled about buying $60 games. What happened to the glory years where games ran a cool $40? The answer is that big name games cost much more to develop than in the mid-90’s. An $800,000 budgeted Playstation game would be considered a smash blockbuster if it sold over 1 million units. A single AAA current generation game costing upwards of $20 million is seen as a disappointment by a studio if it only sells 1 million units.

I’ve noticed the increased price for games has changed my purchasing habits. Years ago I would be much more willing to try out a unique looking title that may only be receiving 7’s or 8’s in reviews. At $40 a pop it didn’t seem too bad to go out on a limb every once in a while and try something new. But with games being more expensive now, I tend to not even think about buying a game with reviews less than an 8. If I go out and buy every $60 game that I think looks even decent, how am I gonna be able to afford the $2 Pabst at the bar?

Since studios must rely on such large software sales, they aren’t as likely to release the creatively fun and original games that I idolize. Look at some recent/upcoming games: Devil May Cry 4, Gran Tourismo 5, Grand Theft Auto 4, Ace Combat 6, Call of Duty 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Virtua Fighter 5, Tekken 6, Resident Evil 5… While these games are all quality titles and some of my personal favorites, they are all just fine-tuned modified versions of the originals. The market is potentially becoming stale and filled with clones.

Luckily a handful of original games come out every year that still can rock the foundations of game design. Digital distribution is also providing a great outlet for smaller developers to get their titles into consumer’s hands. By not needing a publisher, developers can afford to charge less for games distributed online. Xbox Live Arcade games typically sell for $5-15 and produce some original new titles that are a breath of fresh air. Mediums like these are starting to be a great breeding ground for independent studios to get out material that would normally never have a chance to see the light of day.

Nintendo is also doing the industry some good with its casual game market. The Wii and DS led system sales in 2007 and much of that had to do with the type of software Nintendo was putting out. Many of the games were new, inventive, accessible to non-gamers, and plain fun to play. Last year marked the legitimate solidification of the casual games market and I am finding myself investing more and more time into these pick-up and play games. It’s just good to know you can jump in and have some fun without needing to invest multiple hours into an epic title.

While the most high profile games will continue to one-up each other in production values and flare, there is a limit to how many games of one type people can play before becoming bored out of their mind. Thankfully there is still hope for new innovations and the ability to get that into the hands of open-minded gamers. 2008 and beyond is going to be a real eye-opener on the split between causal games and the hardcore games. While the monotonous pitfall is ever present, digital distribution allows for fed-up indie developers to churn out normally inaccessible hits for everyone to get their hands on.

Post from: Submerge Magazine