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Sunday, September 5, 2010
She finally showed her face!
I ignored it at first. This nagging image picking away at the back of my mind. But then I finally had to listen to her. She's never been one to settle for being ignored.
I grabbed a pencil and my granddaughter's crayons and said, "Fine. You want everyone to see the face behind the whispers? Put your image on this page and I'll post it on my blog."
And then we drew. And erased. And sketched some more until she stopped saying, "Don't make me look so old. Erase that line. You've given me a double chin!" She's such a bossy muse.
Have you ever envisioned your muse?
26 comments:
- AnonymousSeptember 5, 2010 at 2:29 PM
Just beautiful, Maeve. I see you possess more that a literary flare. Keep this up and you'll be doing your own cover art.ReplyDelete
Thanks, Jeannene! I used to sketch and paint quite a bit but I'm afraid I've let it fall to the wayside. Every now and then (when the Muse insists), I still give it a try to see if I can still do it. :-)ReplyDelete
How cool, Maeve. I can't draw an identifiable stick man. Wish I had your talents. I've never thought of my muse as anything but a wench with a whip. I just wrote that my muse needs a large black coffee! Glad you shared.ReplyDelete
Trust me, Margie, this image is her when she's in one of her "nicer" moods. ;-) The wicked beastie's been known to sprout horns on occasion!ReplyDelete
You captured her literally! That's awesome! Shows too the creativity inside you isn't just with words!ReplyDelete
Thanks Darah! She insisted. ;-)ReplyDelete
Awesome, Maeve. Wish I had the ability to draw.ReplyDelete
Thanks Penny! :-)ReplyDelete
That is too cool, Maeve. I have never thought of my muse as a being before. I can't say that I have been introduced to her yet, but look forward to the event. I know what she likes and what she expects, but she is still allusive.ReplyDelete
You are indeed talented to draw like that!
As a new member of CHRWA I'm learning names and faces. But, few of us ever see our muse. Fewer of us, perhaps, have the ability to sketch and color our muse. Best wishes. Now, I'm off to have a heart-to-heart with my muse who seems to be on some deserted island somewhere.ReplyDelete
Thanks Paisley & Winona! I'm lucky my muse lends a hand to drawing. And Winona, sometimes she plays hide and seek with me too! I know exactly how you feel. :-)ReplyDelete
Maeve, you are multi-talented. Your muse is lovely. My muse is my youngest son, who I lost 5 years ago and who still inspires me every day.ReplyDelete
Thank you for your kind words, Gale. I can't begin to imagine the pain you've endured from the loss of your youngest son. I never really liked the term "loss". I much prefer "separated" for a while. Because you didn't lose him. He lives and laughs in your heart. Take care my friend, and listen to your son's whispers as he guides your hands across the keyboard. All my best, Maeve.ReplyDelete
Maeve, your muse is very pretty and you are a talented lady. I picture my muse as a nagging old witch whispering none too gently, "stick to your chair and type. I have a lot to say, and you are not typing fast enough."ReplyDelete
LOL! I understand completely, Mona! Believe me, sometimes my muse shows her "darker" side. :-)ReplyDelete
No physical manifestations for me. But, your Muse is very sweet and pretty. I like her. Even if she has a bit of a darker side.ReplyDelete
Thanks, Mary. I like her too. I'd be lost without her. :-)ReplyDelete
No physical manifestations for me either! But your muse is beautiful and looks full of good will.ReplyDelete
Wow! Your muse is quite lovely. My muse is a nagging witch and will haunt me over and over and have me redo and redo until it's 'perfect' in her eyes. Once it has met her expectations, then of course her voice becomes soft and she whispers, "There... it wasn't that hard now was it?" Sometimes I want to kill her, but she's usually right so I think I'll keep her ;)ReplyDelete
Sounds like the process witnesses undergo to generate a mug shot for the police :-) She does look a tad bossy, but that's the sort that gets results, right? Don't let her catch you on Facebook, Maeve!ReplyDelete
She is very pretty! Good drawing!ReplyDelete
MAEVE--and a lovely thing she is. No, I've never imagined my muse. I never kknew she existed until recently, when I realized something or someone had poured all these stories into me, and it was my job to get them on paper. Now, I realize, why she's been hot on my heels all this time! I can't even imagine what she looks like! And I'm envious you can draw. CeliaReplyDelete
Wow, Maeve! You're multi-talented! Great drawing of the illusive lady, BTW. My little pediatric patients used to draw better pictures than me. Mine were pretty rotten stick figures. I tried drawing pictures of cat faces on their bandaids and none of them knew what they were! Some of 'em laughed at my job. Pretty pathetic...ReplyDelete
What a great idea! I am in a writing crunch for September, but dying to reach October when I've set aside time to paint a couple character illustrations to market my next book. I'll definitely add creating a visual of my muse to my projects!ReplyDelete
Marsha (http://www.marshaamoore.com)
Great post, Maeve. I have pictured my muse as a fairy-like creature.ReplyDelete
Thanks Ladies! :-)ReplyDelete


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The 42 most influential latino politicians – Hispanic Power
Francis Lora
READING THE LIST makes it apparent that we have made a great splash in the American political systems in relatively few years, and that this is the century where some of the people profiled will make political tidal waves.
However, considering how many of us there are, we are surprised that most right now are still wading in the shallows of the political pool.
Furthermore, although it is a highly diversified list in terms the people selected their positions, their political affiliation, ethnicity, and age, reading it drives home that two groups dominate the list. Mexican-Americans are by far the most numerous Hispanics, and Cuban-Americans have economic muscle, with most of their cash going to Republicans.
To truly make a splash in US politics instead of the ripples Hispanics have made so far, we need to get everyone on board. And we have to turn to the following leaders and those like them.
Joe Baca
Congressman for California's 43rd District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of 47: 01/23/47 (Age: 56)
Hard to read if he's going to shoot high, or stay in the lower house.
The youngest of 15 children, Baca is a Vietnam War veteran. He served as a paratrooper, before graduating with a sociology degree, and working for 15 years in community relations.
He was elected to the California State Assembly in 1992, and US Congress in 1999. His journey and career from shoeshine boy to congressman epitomizes immigrants' aspirations. He works through the Congressional Hispanic Caucus" … to have more Hispanics sit on the boards of directors at major corporations."
Hector Barreto
Small Business Administration Administrator
* PaRty Republican
* Influence area: National economy
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth Age: 41
When his father handed the keys to 18-year-old Barreto and said, "Open the restaurant" … he did. His experience in family companies, in his native Kansas City, Missouri, gave him experience on the know-how of small business in an entrepreneurial and human scale. He started his political career fundraising for the Bush campaign in California. His father founded the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is an icon for the US Hispanic Business commune.
Appointed in 2001, as the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA) his work involves handling the SBA's portfolio of almost 45 billion dollars' worth of loans.
Xavier Becerra
Congressman for California's 31st District
* Party Democrat
* Influence area: From La to Washington
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth 01/26/58 (Age: 45)
Despite a proven electoral track record, a solid support base, Xavier Becerra has shown no signs of preparing for higher office. But he is ambitious and could be deciding when to run.
"I still want to be identified as a Latino, but that's not all I do," he once told local media
Becerra became the first Latino to serve on the influential House Ways & Means Committee.
With Becerra at its helm the Congressional Hispanic Caucus won increased funding for bilingual education, But when he met Fidel Castro in Cuba and failed to call for elections, the caucus Republicans quit it in protest.
* Party Republican
Background: Cuban-American
* Area of influence: Lincoln National–One of the most influential Hispanics Mario Only just arrived on the national scene
* Background: Cuban-American
* Date of birth.
Lincoln 13/06/54 (Age: 49) Mario 25/09/61 (Age: 42)
Lincoln y Mario Diaz-Balart US Congressmen from Florida
Lincoln has a strong chance of entering Florida's governor's mansion or the US Senate. Mario has too–but he will have to wait his turn behind his brother.
The Florida-born Diaz-Balarts are Fidel Castro's relatives, but staunch opponents of his dictatorship. They are nephews of Castro's first wife, who divorced him and headed for Miami.
Lincoln helped provide free legal services to the poor, before becoming an assistant state attorney in Miami, and a law firm partner.
He entered the Florida Legislature in 1986 with its largest-ever margin of victory, and on election to the US House of Representatives, he became the first Hispanic on the powerful Rules Committee. Lincoln helped strengthen the US embargo against Cuba, and restore disability benefits and food stamps to legal immigrants who were denied aid by the Welfare Reform Law. He also wrote the Central American Relief Act, granting US residency to hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Mario was president of a marketing and public relations firm in Miami, before becoming an aide to Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez. In 2002 he joined Lincoln in the US upper house, coming from the Florida Legislature where he was consistently ranked among its most effective legislators.
Henry Bonilla
US Congressman for Texas' 23nd District
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: Intimate between Republicans and Latinos in a key state
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 01/02/54(Age: 49)
Bonilla faced a serious challenge in the last election, so the Democrats will target him next time round. His survival may well depend on if he can hang onto President Bush's coat-tails-Texan Latinos do not vote in a big way for other Republicans, but Bush has personally connected to them. San Antonio-born Bonilla was the first Hispanic Republican from Texas elected to Congress, when he switched from journalism to politics. He rose quickly through party ranks to serve on the House Appropriations Committee, and is now chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and member of the Subcommittee on Defense and of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. His district is the largest in Texas and when announcing funding for Del Rio Border Patrol Forces in Texas, Bonilla said, "The Border Patrol is our nation's first line of defense in homeland security; I'm here today to thank you for your dedication, your determination and your courage. Our nation is safer today because of the work you do."
Bonilla is co-chair of the Congressional Border Caucus and Vice-Chair of the U.S./Mexico Congressional Caucus.
Gery Chico
Candidate for US Senate
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: If senator, breaking the national political mold
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of Birth: 08/24/56 (Age: 47)
Chico has a 50-50 chance of becoming the Democratic candidate in next year's primaries, where he faces a tough line-up of Democrat rivals, and an electorate that could break up along ethnic lines.
If he makes it he would probably beat out a Republican candidate to take his seat in the upper house, bringing an end to the three-decade draught of Latinos in the US Senate. He would also be the first Hispanic Senator ever elected from Illinois.
Chico served as Mayor Richard M. Daley's Chief of Staff, and in 1995 Mayor Daley appointed him President of the Chicago Board of Education. Chico championed a broad series of educational and fiscal reforms, continually raising the bar for the third largest school system in the nation. His successes garnered critical acclaim on the national level, and he is widely credited with the impressive turnaround of Chicago's public school system.
Chico has excellent relations with the business community and serves as vice-chairman of the Chicago Chamber of Commerce and as a trustee for the Field Museum and Mexican Fine Arts Museum.
Cruz M. Bustamante
Lieutenant Governor of California
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: If governor, a rock in the national political pool
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 01/04/53 (Age: 50)
California is a jewel in the crown of US national politics, and if Bustamante sparkles in the recall race it will be a giant step for Latino politics: we are looking at a potential vice-president in 2008 if he becomes governor. Born into a Mexican immigrant family he grew up working in the fields of San Joaquin Valley and would have been a butcher if he had not discovered politics. He said of Latinus, "Twenty years ago they said we were a sleeping giant–we were never asleep. Our growth, our political sophistication and our business success has happened because we kept at it."
At his first press conference as the first Latino Speaker in California, a reporter asked Bustamante if he had a "… radical ethnic agenda."
He replied that although we come from different backgrounds, we all have the same agena: good schools, safe and clean neighborhoods, decent jobs so we can take care of our families; and an opportunity for every person to make the most of their Godgiven talents. "That's not an ethnic agenda … that's an American agenda!" he said.
Henry Cisneros
Chairman of American City Vista
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Ground-breaking veteran and mentor
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 06/11/47 (Age: 56)
San Antonio-born Cisneros is one of the most respected leaders in Latino politics and acts as an advisor to many others. Currently in business, he founded the New America Alliance, one of the most powerful Latino organizations in the country. And although he does not had public office, he is more powerful than many who do. In 1981, Cisneros became the first Hispanic mayor of a major US city when he was elected Mayor of San Antonio, the nation's 8th largest city and served four terms to 1989, For the next three years he hosted "Texans", TV show and "Adelante", was a national daily Spanish-language radio commentor, before becoming Bill Clinton's secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Cisneros says, "Over the next decade we're going to see a sea change in America and I fully expect that by 2008 we're going to have a Latino candidate for the presidency. By the end of the decade we're going to have major candidates for the senate in Illinois, California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Colorado. This is a locomotive running down hill."
Linda Chavez-Thompson
Vice-Chair of AFL-CIO trade union
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Major influence in organized labor
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 08/01/44 (Age: 59)
When Chavez-Thompson talks people listen. And with Latinos in the service sector joining unions en masse, revitalizing organized labor, companies listen too.
A second generation Mexican-American, born in Lubbock, Texas, she was one of eight children whose parents were cotton sharecroppers, and began working in the cotton fields aged ten. The entire family worked all day in the hot Texas sun with adults earning fifty cents an hour and Linda earning thirty cents an hour. Her back-breaking labor in the scorching cotton fields of west Texas planted the seed of her future career. In her ninth grade year, her family faced poverty and she dropped out of high school to help support them. In 1963, aged 20, she married her first husband and went to work cleaning houses. Chavez-Thompson joined the Laborer's International Union in 1967, and became a union representative for Hispanic American members. Appointed by Bill Clinton to be labor secretary, she withdrew when it was revealed she had employed an illegal immigrant as a maid, which cut her political trajectory short. Nonetheless, she is still a political heavyweight.
Fernando "Freddy' Ferrer
Former candidate for New York mayoralty
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local, but potentially national if he takes New York
* Background: Puerto Rican
* Date of birth. 04/30/50 (Age: 53)
Knowing that winners never quit and quitters never win, he will run again for The Big Apple's mayoralty, but this time will succeed. And as Hillary Clinton knows, New York is a stepping stone to bigger things. It is also one of the key states that make or break candidates during presidential elections. Born in the South Bronx, Ferrer was drawn early on to community work and politics. After five years on City Council, he moved on to a 14-year stint as Bronx Borough president. Under his aegis, the ravaged South Bronx began the painstaking task of urban rebuilding, after years of decline. In 2001, Ferrer almost had the Democratic mayoral nomination in his grasp, but came up against the "fear card and the race card" played by his opponent.
Ferrer now runs the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, a non-profit, progressive policy organization dedicated to economic and social justice. Asked what he would change about his close but not close enough 2001 bid for New York City mayor, he quips, "I would do nothing differently-except win."
Michael Flores
Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the State of California
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local and international
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 02/05/57 (Age: 46)
Flores is extremely talented, energetic, and has the potential to go further, but is keeping his cards to himself. However, his future is not clear in the event of Governor Gray Davis losing the California recall race, especially if a Republican calls the shot in Sacramento. Appointed in 1999 by Governor Gray Davis, Flores oversees the international activities of the governor. He orchestrates the governor's trips to other countries, the visits of foreign dignitaries, and various events that strengthen California's ties with its international partners. A native of Sacramento, Flores earned his degree in psychology from California State University and did graduate work in clinical psychology at Morehead State University (Kentucky). Before entering the political arena he spent 16 years in various state agencies (e.g., Departments of Justice and Corrections) working on issues concerning juvenile crime. As an associate consultant (1986 to 1991) to the Senate Democratic Caucus, he drafted legislation protecting insurance claims of terminally ill patients. In his current post he is the liaison for California-Mexico affairs and coordinated the governor's visits to Mexico and the Irish and Mexican presidents' to California.
Al Gonzales
Assistant to the President and White House Counsel
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: Justice system
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 08/04/55 (Age: 48)
Although he b widely expected to become the first Latino on the US Supreme Court, suspicions of the Christian right about his possible stand on abortion may block his appointment.
Gonzales grew up in a try-bedroom house in Houston, where his immigrant father worked six days a week doing two jobs to provide for his family.
Gonzales joined the US Air Force and was stationed in Alaska before going to its Academy, where a professor got him interested in law. This lead him to Rice University–his parents did not finish elementary school and his seven siblings never went to college. His legal career took him to the Texas Supreme Court, making him the second Latino in the institution. Working side by side with then Governor Bush, he dealt with everything from which gifts the governor could receive to execution orders.
His job is to advise George Bush on every legal aspect related to the White House. Inside Bush's inner circle, Gonzales is probably the closest Latino to the President. Being the legal accomplice to Bush's every political move ks really risky.
Ed Garza
San Antonio, Texas Mayor
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Now, local, but if re-elected national.
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 01/30/69 (Age: 34)
Despite having attracted big business to this traditionally Latino city, bringing jobs, he is considered by many to be too close to the business community, and so might not be re-elected. If he is, he is heading for US Congress
At 34 he is San Antonio's youngest city Mayor, now in his second term. After 9/11 he made San Antonio the second most prepared city after New York by implementing an anti-terrorism plan. While studying Business Administration for two years in the University of Texas, he then changed plans and earned a Masters in Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. As a third generation Latino, he has earned the confident vote of fellow Latinos, but also the non-Hispanic vote, which was granted to a Latino like it had never been before during former elections.
He says that within the next ten years, we will see many Latino leaders reaching higher offices, and many of them coming from Texas.
Garza is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and still lives in San Antonio's historic Woodlawn Lake neighborhood where he grew up.
Charlie Gonzalez
US Congressman for Texas' 20th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Texas Politics is a family legacy
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 05/05/45 (Age: 58)
Charlie Gonzalez followed his father, the late Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez into politics, and it is not clear if he has any plans to go further. He is serving his third term in Congress. Gonzalez has important expertise in the legal field which started in private practice and was followed by over ten years as a high-rated trial judge.
He is a powerful spokesman for Latinos has been deeply involved in civic activities in San Antonio, and has sponsored budgeting and legislation to benefit his community.
It was through the Civil Rights Task Force that Congressman Gonzalez took a lead role in the 2000 decennial census, encouraging all Americans to complete and return their census forms. Recognizing his leadership on the census for the Hispanic Caucus, the House Democratic Leadership selected Congressman Gonzalez to also Co-Chair the Democratic Caucus Census Task Force. Most recently, the Congressman was appointed to Co-Chair the Democratic Caucus Special Committee on Election Reform and the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute, to ensure that elections meet civil rights laws, voting rights laws, and election laws.
Tony Garza
US Ambassador to Mexico
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: International and national.
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth 07/07/59 (Age: 44)
Hard to say if he will stay in diplomatic service or run for office, but he is young, ambitious and talented. Born in Brownsville, Garza is a second-generation Texan whose grandparents hail from Mexican border states. He has been US Ambassador to Mexico, one of the country's most important diplomatic posts, since November 2002.
"As someone who grew up along the border, I came to understand long ago that the destinies of our two nations are forever linked," Garza told the American Chamber of Commerce Mexico last March. Many Mexicans were encouraged by his selection, assuming Garza's direct access to the White House ensured their concerns over immigration and NAFTA would be heard in Washington. In 1994, shortly after George W. Bush became Governor-elect, he made his first appointment, naming Ambassador Garza as Texas' 99th Secretary of State and a Senior Advisor. Insider were hardly surprised when Bush chose Garza to be the ambassador, considering the two Texans' long-time relationship. The connection dates back at least 15 years, to when Bush, then governor of Texas, supported Garza's successful bid for the Cameron County judgeship.
Ron Gonzalez
Mayor of San Jose, CA
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 08/20/40 (Age: 63)
Well entrenched with a solid base at the heart of Silicon Valley, with its billions in revenues for the state–which is where his power lies–yet shows no obvious ambitions.
Before his election as mayor, Ron Gonzales worked as an executive with the Hewlett-Packard Company, where he led a national education initiative that established partnership between Hewlett-Packard, local school districts, and universities. He has established innovative programs that help recruit and retain teachers in San Jose public schools by providing loans to help them buy homes and to encourage college students to choose a career of teaching in San Jose schools. As a two-time mayor and member of the Sunnyvale City Council (1979-87), Gonzales helped initiate governmental efficiency measures that were recognized in the best-selling book Reinventing Government. He was re-elected in 2002, and he led a renewed increase in reinvestment and redevelopment of communities throughout the city in collaboration with residents, grass-roots organizations, and local businesses Gonzales is committed to move all of the city's departments to performance-based standards in three years.
Luis V. Gutierrez
US Congressman for Illinois' 4th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Nationally as an immigrants' rights champion
* Background: Puerto Rican
* Date of birth: 12/10/53 (Age: 49)
Having faced strong opposition in his primary, he needs to consolidate his position, and is not moving up in the near future. Gutierrez worked for ten years in Chicago and Puerto Rico as a teacher and a social worker.
From 1984 to 1985 Gutierrez was the administrative assistant for the mayor's subcommittee on infrastructure, before serving as an alderman on the Chicago City Council. In 1992 Gutierrez entered the US House of Representatives with 78 percent of the vote and was reelected in 1994 with 75 percent. In 2001 be crossed party lines to support the candidacy of Republican Ramiro Gonzalez, for the presidency of Cicero, Chicago. Since the bitter Bush-Gore 2000 fight the atmosphere in congress has become increasingly partisan making it harder for Latinos from different parties to support each other. His tireless leadership championing the causes of the Latino and immigrant communities has led to greater responsibilities within the U.S. Congress and has earned him widespread acclaim throughout the country–culminating in his selection as the most admired Latino leader in the country, according to a recent nationwide survey.
Rosario Marin
Former U.S. Treasurer and potential US Senate Candidate
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: California
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 08/04/58 (Age: 45)
Resigned her post to run for the US Senate in her California home base but has not yet officially registered her candidacy. She is very popular in both California and in the Republican Party, and has the brains, drive and guts to take the Democrats on in their home turf. But she probably lacks the campaign cash to go for it. Marin was brought by her parents from Mexico at the age of 14 and unable to speak any English. While attending college in Los Angeles, Marin also worked full-time at City National Bank, where she went from assistant to the receptionist to almost Assistant Vice President. Her first-born child's Down syndrome made her campaign for disability rights.
Marin was one of the highest ranking Hispanics in the Bush Administration–her signature was on dollar bills and she encouraged poor Latinos to get bank accounts. Marin started her political career during Governor Pete Wilson's term. Mayor of Huntington Park in 1994, she also worked as Public Relations Manager at AT&T, as well as continuing to pursue her education and achieving different academic accolades.
Raul M. Grijalva
US Congressman for Arizona's 7th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local, but potential to be national
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date or birth: 02/19/48 (Age: 55)
Savy enough to make it to the Senate but as a first-term congressman in his late fifties time is going against him.
Born in Tucson, Arizona to a bracero worker who emigrated from Mexico in 1945 to help offset the loss of skilled American ranch hands serving in World War II. His parents stressed the importance of education to their three children, and it was that encouragement that led Raul to his career into life-long public service. He has lived and worked in District 7 his entire life.
Grijalva hit the headlines voting against the bill to wage Iraq's rebuilding, arguing domestic social and economic needs must come first. He has raised both anger and admiration, but he is determined in his commitment to benefit his largely Hispanic district.
He has strongly sought to protect undocumented workers from violence, promoting a comprehensive border policy, "Homeland security is a natural problem, and resources must be put into it along the border", he said to the Tucson Citizen, but "without choking off the flow of people and commerce crossing the border".
Mel Martinez
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: Every city in the US
* Background: Cuban-American
* Date of birth: 10/23/46 (Age: 57)
Will run for Florida's governor post but be up against entrenched Lincoln Diaz-Balart who has a local base, and veteran Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is also in the wings possibly contemplating a run.
In 1962, Martinez left Cuba as part of the efforts of a Catholic humanitarian organization that managed to bring 14,000 Cuban children to the US. Speaking Spanish only, he lived with two foster families and eventually, his family joined him in 1966. He graduated from Florida State University College of Law in 1973.
His achievements in the private and public sector, his commitment to community, social service and faith-based agencies gained him the position of Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD focuses on improving the quality and availability of public housing and ensures affordable options for low-income people. Prior to this post, Martinez won the Chairman of Orange County election in Florida, where he managed to reduce property taxes twice. He served in the Governor's Growth Management Study Commission and had an outstanding input as Chairman of the Orlando Housing Authority.
Ruben Hinojosa
US Congressman for Texas' 15th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National, impacts nationwide education
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 08/20/40 (Age: 63)
Unlikely to move up the ladder. This native of Rio Grande Valley, South Texas, serves on two House Committees: Education and the workforce; and Financial Services, and is also a Co-Chair of the Democratic Caucus Education Task Force. He was the main force behind the major legislative initiative known as: "The Higher Education for the 21st Century Act". This bill brought forth funds for $69 million for Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs); enhanced visibility of HSIs within the Higher Education Act; relaxed restrictions attached to institutional eligibility for HSI designation; and improved financial means by which HSIs strengthen schooling. When Hinojosa was member of the Small Business Committee, he improved access to loans for small businesses; removed tax and regulatory burdens for the Small Business Administrations Programs. He also headed a campaign to found a Women's Business Center at The University of Texas-Edinburgh. Before his election to Congress, Hinojosa was President and Chief Financial Officer of H&H Foods, which had 300 employees, and was awarded by the US Department of Commerce and by The Small Business Administration in Washington D.C.
Carlos Mayans
Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: Local, but has potential to be national
* Background Cuban-American
* Date of birth: 07/08/48 (Age: 55)
Being mayor of Wichitia shows an ability to get the cross-section vote without a Latino bloc, which can restrict many Latino politicians when they want to run statewide. His drive could take him much further.
Mayans also symbolizes the future–the spread of Latino political power beyond traditional strongholds.
Wichita, Kansas seems like the last you would find a Cuban-American as mayor. But that is exactly where Mayor Carlos Mayans now holds the city's reins. A local TV station, in supporting his bid for mayor, gave Mayans kudos for his tenacity and creativity in lowering airfares at the Wichita airport through the use of state lottery money–an effort locally dubbed "Air Carlos." Born in Havana, Mayans came to the US after the revolution and stayed bray in a Florida refugee camp. He asked to be sent to Wichita, where his younger brother and sister were already in foster care. Also raised by a foster family, Mayans worked his way through high school while working in a burger bar before serving in the army as a medic.
He later started his own insurance agency.
Robert Menendez
US Congressman for New Jersey's 13th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National
* Background: Cuban-American
* Date of birth 01/01/54 (Age: 49)
Heading for New Jersey governor's mansion or US Senate. Robert (Bob) Menendez is the son of Cuban immigrants and the only Cuban-American Democrat in the US Congress, although he is as tough on sanctions against Castro's government as any Republican.
He was raised in Union City and currently resides in Hoboken. Last year Menendez was elected Chairman of the Democratic Caucus and became the highest-ranking Hispanic in congressional history; in fact, the only Hispanic to ever hold a leadership position in either party.
He has been a fierce critic of all Republican policies he considers biased against immigrant groups and has promoted contact between the House leadership and Hispanic advocacy organizations. "I see it as my mission to be an advocate for Hispanics across the country in our national agenda in the Congress." His contributions on behalf of Latino civil rights have provided him strong clout. As Juan Andrade Jr, president of the US Hispanic Leadership Institute, has pointed out, he will be an outstanding national figure since the Latino vote must be an important concern for coming presidential candidates.
Silvestre Reyes
US Congressman for Texas' 16th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National, and Mexican border issues
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 10/10/44 (Age: 59)
Staying put
Congressman Silvestre Reyes was born and raised in Canutillo, Texas, just five miles outside the El Paso city limits. He is married to Carolina Gaytan Reyes, and have three children: Monica, Rebecca, and Silvestre Jr. Reyes, now in his fourth term, became the first Hispanic to represent his El Paso district in the US Congress. Silvestre Reyes built his career on the US-Mexico border.
As El Paso's chief US border patrol agent, be earned a reputation as a tough player, instituting Operation Hold the line to stem illegal immigration across the Rio Grande. After 26 years with the INS (1969-1984), he ran for US Congress, winning a seat. El Paso and the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez comprise the largest community along the US-Mexico border.
Bill Clinton chose him to discuss border issues with then Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. Reyes considers himself a political moderate, but leans rightward on immigration. He opposes the new guest worker program sought by Mexico's President Fox, arguing it would lead to exploitation of the migrants it is supposed to benefit.
Gloria Molina
Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local, but noticed nationally
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 05/31/48 (Age: 55)
A forerunner who found her niche and stayed there, Molina is the most prominent elected Latina official in California–Los Angeles County has a population of 10 million–end a power broker.
When Xavier Becerra and Antonio Villaraigosa both ran for the mayoralty of Los Angeles, threaterring to split the Hispanic vote, it was Molina who got them to meet in her home, along with Henry Cisneros, to persuade one of them to drop out.
They both refused, but she is one of the few politicians with the muscle to have gotten them to meet in the first place. Before becoming the first Latina elected to the State Assembly, the LA City Council, and to her current post, she worked in the Carter White House.
A native Angelina, she is the eldest of ten children. She has a legislative reputation for standing up for the average citizen against formidable odds–big government, banks, public utilities, etc.
Her legislative successes–too numerous to list here–have earned many accolades, including, one of the Democratic Party's "Ten Rising Stars."
Bill Richardson
Governor of New Mexico
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National, the first Latino governor in more than a century
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 11/15/47 (Age: 53)
Will probably run for the US Senate when his term is served. He was born to a Mexican mother and American father in Pasadena, California, but he spent most of his youth in Mexico City. A staunch Democrat and activist for the Latino community, Richardson stresses that Latinos "cannot just focus on the traditional Hispanic issues of immigration and civil rights." In a list of his accomplishments, shaking hands is not the least–during his successful 2002 campaign for governor of New Mexico, he broke the world record for handshaking, squeezing 13,392 hands in eight hours. Among Richardson's other "minor" accomplishments: He is a three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, served in Congress for over 14 years, and was the first Hispanic to hold two Cabinet positions–Ambassador to the UN and Secretary of Energy. In February, 1997, he became the first Hispanic US ambassador to the UN. Known as a skilled troubleshooter, Richardson traveled to such hot spots as North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, and Sudan, and mediated the end of Zaire's civil war.
One of the brightest stars in Latino politics.
Grace Napolitano
US Congressman for California's 38th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National, helps small minority-owned businesses
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 12/04/36 (Age: 66)
Not likely to go any higher. Born in Brownsville, a Texas border town, Napolitano married soon after finishing high school and moved to California, where the couple raised five children, and she worked for Ford Motor Co. On retiring she worked full time in Norwalk, her home for the last 35 years. She was first appointed member of the Norwalk City Council, winning her first election in 1986 by a mere 28-vote margin. But her reelection, four years after, won her the the highest margin of votes in the city's history. She serves as mayor in 1989, before heading to California Assembly. Napolitano is now in her third term in the US Congress having won reelection with 71 percent of the vote. She serves on the Resources, International Relations, and Small Business committees. She is member of several caucuses, such as: Hispanic, Women, Indian, Armenian, Greek, and the centrist business-oriented New Democrat Coalition (NDC).
Napolitano is in favor of reforming the system of federal "contract bundling," an impediment to many small businesses, and in helping minorities obtain badly needed capital for business.
Ciro D. Rodriguez
US Congressman for 28th District, Texas
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth 09/12/48 (Age:54)
Ciro D. Rodriguez, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1977 as Democratic congressman from the 28th Congressional District, which includes his hometown of San Antonio, Texas.
Rodriguez holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in social work. He has taught at the college level and been a caseworker for the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.
In Congress he joined the Veterans Affairs and Armed Service Committees to promote the interests of the 50,000 veterans in his district, and to promote military base redevelopment, such as the Brooks City Base from the old Brooks AFB, and the transformation of Kelly AFB to Kelly USA, a state-of-the-art maintenance and logistics center.
His congressional interests are far ranging, from prudent spending to protecting Social Security and MediCare, public education, remediation of pollution to project the environment, ecotourism, and historical preservation.
Raul Romero
Bush advisor on Latino issues
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: National–head-hunted Hector Barreto and Rosario Marin
* Background: Panamanian-American
* Date of birth: 07/25/53 (Age: 50)
Dark horse. Has the right connections and skills, and is placed in the right spot to head in one of many directions Romero, a Panamanian immigrant whose family fled the Manuel Noriega government, insists his fundraising efforts are a way of repaying the president for his father's ouster of Noriega in 1989. Considered influential in Bush's appointments of Latinos to top government posts, such as US Treasurer Rosario Main, Romero is again being tapped for Bush's 2004 campaign, mainly as a scout for Latino talent. Romero is a well-connected businessman who's lent his considerable influence in Latino circles to the benefit of the president's political career. Bush enlisted Romero, the CEO of a Houston construction company, to seek contributions from Hispanic business leaders for his two gubernatorial campaigns and later in his bid for the presidency. After being elected Texas governor, Bush appointed Romero to head the General Services Commission, which supervises state construction projects, and watchdog groups note that Romero's firm received substantial government contracts at the time
Ken Salazar
Attorney General, Colorado
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local
* Background: Spanish-American
* Date of birth: 04/02/55 (Age: 48)
Potential future governor of Colorado, which has one of the fastest growing Latino populations, and unlike states that are traditionally Hispanic and have crowded fields for an ambitious politician, Colorado gives him a clean shot for the top job.
Attorney General Salazar is a fifth-generation Coloradan from the San Luis Valley and is descended from Spanish conquistadors. For many years he has worked as a farmer, small business owner, and natural resources lawyer.
He has served on the Governor's cabinet as executive director of the Department of Natural Resources and chief legal counsel to the Governor. Salazar was elected Attorney General in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. Salazar has served on many boards and commissions including the Colorado Water Conservation Board and selection committees for United States Attorney and Federal District Court judges in Colorado As Attorney General, he is the Chairman of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Board. He is the Chairman of the Conference of Western Attorneys General, end of the Environment Committee
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
US Congresswoman for Florida's 18th Distinct
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: National and international
* Background Cuban-American
* Date of birth: 07/15/52 (Age: 51)
May run again for higher office. Havana-born Ros-Lehtinen was the first Cuban-American woman elected to Congress and is its only Republican Latina. She came to the United States with her family when she was seven years old. She lives in Miami and has represented Florida since 1989. Since 1982, Ros-Lehtinen has demonstrated 20 years of legislative leadership. She served four years in the Florida House of Representatives and then became a state senator. She currently serves on the International Relations and Government Reform Committees. Though conservative in some issues, this outspoken opponent of Fidel Castro is a champion of Hispanic causes and tax reform, an international defender of human rights and democracy, a politician who condemns oppression. She is very connected to her constituents and their concerns. People like her, so she is likely to represent them for a good while. "There's still so much to do," she has said. "Cuba is still not free. My mission is not over, and if God gives me an opportunity, and voters vote me back in, I'd like to remain."
John Sanchez
Position: Heads Bush '04 campaign for the Southwest Region
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: In a tight race, his skills could make or break the presidency
* Background: Spanish-American
* Date of birth: 01/11/63 (Age: 40)
In the event of a Bush win, he could get a job in Washington before trying again for the New Mexico governorship or the US Senate.
The man in charge of the Bush '04 campaign for the Southwest Region descends from Spanish settlers of New Mexico with a history in politics. His great-great-grandfather was a territorial legislator in 1860 and his grandfather a Republican legislator in 1930. The youngest of eight, Sanchez beat out the state speaker of the house to become a state representative, His trajectory is what many aspire to: he grew up in a poor family and later became a successful businessman as a roofing contractor. In 2002 he lost to Bill Richardson in a Hispanic Vs Hispanic governorship race. Sanchez says, "The biggest difference between Democrats and Republicans is that the Democrats want to keep Latinos reliant and dependent on big government through the hand out, whereas Republicans want to empower Latinos through lower taxes and personal responsibility, and smaller government with the hand up–and will allow Latinos the ability to live the American Dream."
Lucille Roybal-Allard
US Congresswoman for California's 34th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National, trail blazer for Latinas
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 06/12/41 (Age: 62)
Roybal-Allard took over from her father, who was also a congressman, and faces the problem of all California politicians aiming higher–too many candidates for too few positions.
Lucille Roybal-Allard was born and raised in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, and since 1992 has represented her district, which has the largest Hispanic majority in the nation.
She was the first Latina elected to Congress and the first woman to chair the Hispanic Caucus. Her career in Congress has given her a reputation as consensus builder and supporter of social legislation. Proud of her Mexican roots, she thinks the Latino population is not just a minority group. "Latinos in the past have been placed in a very narrow slot [assuming] we only care about immigration and bilingual education, when the reality is that all issues of American society are also our issues."
Her commitment to the residents of her district is reflected by her civic activities and intensive work to address the people's needs through the House Appropriations Committee, where she serves.
Orlando Sanchez
Candidate for mayor of Houston
* Party: Republican
* Influence area: Local
* Background; Cuban-American
* Date of birth: 10/14/57 (Age: 46)
Came close to winning the mayoralty last time, and is in with an excellent chance of Victory in the next contest. Cuban-born Sanchez arrived in Texas at age six when his family escaped the Castro regime. Hispanic Houstonians came to recognize his father's voice as the Spanish radio announcer for the Colt .45s, an early version of baseball's Houston Astros. Heading for his second bid for the mayoralty of Houston this fall, Sanchez has many convinced he'll triumph this time around to become the city's first Hispanic mayor. Sanchez made an extraordinary showing in the mayoral race of 2001, coming within 10,000 votes of incumbent Lee Brown. His strong performance in that race stimulated widespread interest among GOP leaders eager to court the Hispanic electorate, who urged the 45-year-old Republican to run for Congress. Instead, he ventured into the business world, joining the Odyssey Group, an investment management firm. Sanchez has focused his campaign on improving city service, reducing traffic congestion and eliminating government waste and corruption while cutting taxes, pointing to his three terms on the city council as proof of his political competence.
Loretta and Linda Sanchez
US Congressman for California's 47th and 39th Districts
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Linda–Local Loretta–national.
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: Loretta 01/07/60 (Age: 43) Linda 01/28/69 (Age: 34)
Both are articulate, outspoken, smart, active, fundraisers, and ambitious. And Loretta's a telegenic four-term Congressman. They will go far, but face the crowding problem of all major Latino states–there is only one governorship and two US Senate seats to go for. Born in the City of Orange to Mexican immigrant parents Linda's election was historic as she joined her sister, both Democrats from California, in the US Congress, in 2002. Both ran against Republican men. Also she serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Committee on Government Reform, and the Small Business Committee. In addition, Linda's also an advocate for California's working families. Prior to coming to Congress, she worked for the Orange County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Loretta is a businesswoman. Prior to her work in Congress, she was a financial manager at the Orange County Transportation Authority, and started her own consulting business in Santa Ana, assisting public agencies and private firms with financial matters. She serves on the Homeland Security Committee. While on the House Committee on Education she has protected parental involvement initiatives.
Nydia M. Velazquez
US Congressman for New York's 12th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local, potentially national
* Background: Puerto Rican
* Date of birth: 04/03/53 (Age: 50)
Ambitious bet only has a New Yolk base, may run for governorship or mayoralty. The first Puerto Rican US Congresswoman, Nydia M. Velazquez, was one of nine children in a sugar cane worker family. Velazquez stared school early, skipped several grades, and became the first person in her family to receive a college diploma. She also received a Master's degree in Political Science from New York University. She eventually went on to teach Puerto Rican studies at CUNY's Hunter College in 1981. Politics and debate are a natural gift to Velazquez when it comes to speaking for the rights of minorities, women and children and low-income people. Her first contact with politics was witnessing discussion at the family table, concerning sugarcane workes' conditions. She has been a fierce advocate of The Family Violence and Prevention Act. She has also been a promoter of small business legislative priorities, related to tax regulations, access to financing, trade, technology, and pension reforms. In 1992, her grassroots political campaign took her Capitol Hill, but few people make it higher without massive campaign funding, which usually comes from big business.
Jose Serrano
US Congressman for New York's 18th District
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National and international
* Background: Puerto Rican
* Date of birth: 08/24/43 (Age: 60)
Will probably run for New York mayoralty or the US Senate. Born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, he was taken to New York aged seven and settled in The South Bronx, which has been his home ever since. Serrano was elected by an overwhelming majority to represent his district in The Bronx in 1990. He is a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. He successfully fought for posthumous citizenship for non-citizens who died as a result of the September 11th attacks and who had already started the petition process to become US citizens. He's considered the architect of the "English-Plus" Resolution, which expresses the sense that the government should pursue policies to encourage the use and learning of various languages. Serrano introduced it as a substitute to an English-only measure. He also authored "The Cuban Reconciliation Act," which would repeal the Cuban embargo and the sanctions imposed by the Helms-Burton Act. In 1997, Serrano reintroduced an act to enable Cuban nationals to play professional baseball in the United States.
Antonio Villaraigosa
Former LA Mayoral Candidate
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: Local
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 01/23/53 (Age: 50)
Will run again for Los Angeles' mayoralty, and if he has learned from his last campaign, this time he will win.
Antonio Villaraigosa was born and raised in Los Angeles by a single mother and became a trade union leader and Speaker of Los Angeles Assembly. In 2001 the then City Attorney and rival candidate, James Hahn (a moderate Democrat), defeated him in the mayoral contest. Villaraigosa nevertheless continues to aspire for higher offices. And why not when more than 9,000 fans and supporters poured out to overflow Villaraigosa's campaign headquarters on election night, even though all polls predicted his loss? He still has the support of the powerful County Federation of Labor, which put all its street muscle into his campaign Villaraigosa assembled a classic progressive coalition as he had done for his mayoral run. "I'm not going to take the easy route," he says. "Even though they're going to attack me for it, I'm still opposing the death penalty, still opposing three strikes, and still opposing those who want to declare war on our youth."
Hilda Solis
US Congressman for californias 32nd district
* Party: Democrat
* Influence area: National impact on Hispanic issues
* Background: Nicaraguan-Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 10/20/57 (Age: 46)
Possibly aiming to run for higher office in six years or so Hilda Solis is now serving her second term in a Congressional district that encompasses the San Gabriel Valley and parts of east Los Angeles. She is a lifetime resident of the San Gabriel Valley and currently lives in El Monte with her husband Sam. She holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and worked in the Carter Administration In the House of Representatives she serves on several powerful committees, giving her clout for her political passions, which include the rights of working families, better quality health care, and protection of the environment, tn August of 2000, for her work in environmental justice, she became the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
She recently introduced a bill to grant naturalization to Hispanic who fought in Iraq. Solis believes that education–both academic and political–is the key to future Hispanic success, which will one day end in a Latino US President.
Raul Yzaguirre
President of the National Council of La Raza
* Party: Non-aligned
* Influence area: National at grassroots and Congress.
* Background: Mexican-American
* Date of birth: 07/22/29 (Age: 64)
Leads the most powerful grassroots Hispanic organization in the US. He grew up listening to his grandmother telling him about mothers confronting the Texas Rangers and beating their hands on their chests saying "What have you done to my son?" "Why did you kill him?" His grandfather was almost lynched for breaking the Texan curfew on Mexican-Americans. When Yzaguirre was seven or eight years old he went to a political meeting to try and organize the defeat of an Anglo constable. The constable came in and beat people up, breaking up the meeting.
Such experiences made Yzaguirre the formidable leader he is today from a young age–he organized his school and chapters of the GI Forum and traveled all over the state, meeting some the famous civil rights leaders.
"You can't grow up in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and not notice that there's lots of poverty and discrimination in our community," which was how I got into the civil rights movement, he said. Eventually he helped found La Raza, an organization that community-based politicians turn to for advice and support.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Ferraez Publications of America Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group


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By Drew Morton | Pajiba Blockbusters | June 17, 2010 |
By Drew Morton | Pajiba Blockbusters | June 17, 2010 |
I wrote in my last neo-noir retrospective review of The Long Goodbye (1973) that neo-noir films take "a self-reflexive approach to the narrative and stylistic tropes of the classical era." This was true of most of the films in this series thus far: The Long Goodbye (1973) in its 1970s interpretation of Philip Marlowe and Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) in its subversive infusion of race into the period milieu. The odd man out, as already mentioned in The Long Goodbye piece, was our kick-off film, P.T. Anderson's Hard Eight (1996), a film that is more classical in its approach to story and theme than its contemporary setting would suggest. Today's film, the Wachowski Brothers' debut Bound (1996), similar to The Crying Game (1992) before it, meets my definition of a neo-noir thanks to the simplicity inherent in subverting a standard generic convention: the depiction of the femme fatale's sexuality is inverted. In Bound, Violet (Jennifer Tilly) only tangentially uses her sexual prowess to seduce a man, her main target is a woman.
The film's protagonist is Corky (Gina Gershon), an ex-convict who, hoping to start over, accepts work as a handy(wo)man at a Chicago apartment complex. While on the job, Corky rides the elevator with the couple living in the apartment next door to her base of operations: Mafioso Caesar (Joe Pantoliano) and his other sidearm, Violet. When Caesar leaves to perform his dirty deeds for Don Gino Marzonne (Richard C. Sarafian), Violet summons Corky to her apartment to help retrieve a missing earring that has fallen into the drain of the sink. Violet flirts with Corky and the two later have sex. During their post-coitus moments, Violet drops the bombshell on Corky: Caesar is the money launderer for the mafia and while they have been together for five years, she longs for a better life.
That opportunity arises when Violet witnesses Caesar torturing a fellow hood who has stolen $2 million dollars from Gino. Upset by the violent torture but assured that Caesar will find the money, Violet recruits Corky to help with the con. Essentially, Corky will make off with the suitcase holding the money while Caesar is distracted by Violet. In turn, Violet will tell Caesar that she saw Caesar's nemesis/Gino's son, Johnnie (Christopher Meloni), run off with the money and Caesar will be forced to go on the lam, knowing full well that Gino will blame him over his own blood. Of course, complications that I will not describe ensue for the two lesbian lovers and there's a whole lot of blood, white paint, and good old fashioned suspense.
One of the more difficult things about writing these retrospective reviews is the desire to both introduce an unfamiliar viewer to what is quite possibly an overlooked film while providing a level of analysis that appeases those readers who are already familiar with it. This balancing act is complicated when dealing with any type of film that involves plot twists and mystery, which of course are key traits of any type of noir. That said, I'll deal with the forthcoming analysis both specifically and vaguely in order to try to split the difference. As I noted in my introduction to the review, the key neo-noir trait of Bound is its subversion of the protagonist/femme fatale relationship by keeping the femme fatale but replacing the traditionally male protagonist with a woman (Note: Is there a film noir with a female protagonist who is roped in by a homme fatal? Maybe House of Games?).
The film still goes through the usual steps of the protagonist being conflicted and skeptical about the femme fatale's alliances. For instance, both Corky and we as viewers wonder if Violet is really interested in running off with her. After all, couldn't their sexual relationship simply be Violet's means of pinning the theft on this fresh out of prison ex-convict, leaving the heterosexual couple the ability to run off with the mob's money? That's essentially the role the femme fatale plays in every other film noir, including Double Indemnity (1944), its spiritual clone Body Heat (1981), and The Killing (1956). By drawing on the genre's history of forcing both the protagonist and the viewer to question the motives of the femme fatale, we're also forced to reflect on a larger question: Is Violet truly gay? If Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) is a noir about race (not ABOUT RACE, at TK noted), Bound is a film that encourages us to think about the heterosexual norm in most Hollywood film and the end result of that process is rather stunning.
Of course, Bound also implies an equally important factor about neo-noir's relationship to classical noir: how does the ability to be explicit in depicting both sexual acts (gay or straight) and violence change the genre? Maybe I'm making Bound to be more of a meta-generic conscious film than it really is, but the reflexivity the film takes towards those classical conventions, like the previous two entries in this series, forces us to be made aware of the generic legacy neo-noir needs to negotiate. I would argue that the oscillation between explicit sex and violence in many neo-noirs (A History of Violence is another prime example) serves that legacy described by scholars Raymond Borde and Étienne Chaumeton as the aim of film noir: to create a specific alienation. In Bound, we as viewers (probably more so the male viewers, maybe lesbian viewers) are treated to the beauty and eroticism of Gershon and Tilly's relationship while being forced to acknowledge the comic but grisly violence of the lifestyle they have chosen (the criminal lifestyle, not that of their sexual preference). By the end of the film, there are answers to many of the questions I begged above and a resolution that tries to address the critique that the whole inversion that the film is founded upon provides nothing but erotic sensationalism.
I'm not sure as a straight male that I'm the writer to answer if the film is completely successful in addressing that critique. Yes, Violet and Corky are lesbians who engage in sexual acts that are staged for our viewing pleasure, which does provide a certain degree of sensationalism to the film. Yet, there's more to their relationship than sex, which ultimately lends the relationship a human element that normalizes their relationship and provides the story with some meaningful stakes. In any case, Bound obviously leaves the cinephile with a lot to chew on. While I've only scratched the surface on the pleasures the film has to offer to the noir literate viewer, the film also contains some virtuoso camera moves and some fine performances by the three leads. While the Wachowskis hit a rough patch with the latter two entries in The Matrix Trilogy (1999, 2003) and Speed Racer (2008), they lit the screen on fire with Bound.
Drew Morton is a Ph.D. student in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of California-Los Angeles. He has previously written for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and UWM Post and is the 2008 and 2010 recipient of the Otis Ferguson Award for Critical Writing in Film Studies.
← Pajiba Love 06/17/10 | The Pajiba Ten (1992 Edition) →


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Science doesn't just happen in big facilities far away. There is science happening right in your city. On May 13 the universities and the nature clubs, the industrial researchers and the backyard tinkerers invite you to come out and play with them at the free 10th annual Science Rendezvous.
What Happens
Every booth wants you to poke, pet, produce, prime, punch, or pedal to partake in the science they are excited about. There are things that explode, float, or twirl. There are technologies that make our modern world run, and technologies looking for new applications. There are ancient technologies like telescopes and modern ones like Frisbee-throwing robots.
Out of the lab and into the streets, more than 6000 groups entertain over 300,000 visitors on this free day of discovery. Get a peek at state-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities, and get a glimpse into the career of a scientist. Meet animals, bike to light up an infrared camera, try the CSI tools, or map your own DNA. Each location is different because it is made up from the local community.
The emphasis is on getting your hands into the action. Takeaways give you activities to do at home and ideas for ways to put more since in your life the rest of the year.
Not Just for Kids
While each festival location definitely has activities for the community's smallest members, there are hands-on activities for people of all ages. Kids, it's a great way to inspire your parents to try some cool experiments at home.
From Inuvik and Vancouver to Windsor and St. John's, there are more than 34 sites holding free festivals on May 13. Find a location near you on the festival's webpage.


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I write sci-fi novels filled with adventure, mystery, romance, drama, horror, and many more genres all mixed in... Sci-fi for everyone to enjoy. I'm also a published poet. When you have a moment, please check out my Authors page and a few videos and blogs I've recently added... Let me know if you'd like to become friends.
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Location, Location, Location — Twitter platform developers have been doing innovative work with location for some time despite having access to only a rudimentary level of API support. Most of the location-based projects we see are built using the simple, account-level location field folks can fill out as part of their profile.
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Twitter Can Now Know Where You Tweet
Twitter Can Now Know Where You Tweet
Discussion: ProgrammableWeb, Gizmodo, Charles Hudson's Weblog, Kelsey Group Blogs and WebProNews
Andres Ferrate / ProgrammableWeb: Twitter API Adds Location Data - Tweets Get Realtime Geo
Mike Boland / Kelsey Group Blogs: Twitter: Now with More Local
Chris Crum / WebProNews: Twitter to Become Location Aware
Brady Forrest / O'Reilly Radar: Twitter: Your New Location Service Provider
Tameka Kee / paidContent:
Twitter To Add Location Data—A Precursor To Geotargeted Ads?
Twitter To Add Location Data—A Precursor To Geotargeted Ads?
Michael Gummelt / Facebook Blog:
Publishing to Twitter from Facebook Pages — Many people have asked us to make Facebook and Twitter work better together for those times when they want to share their content as widely as possible. We agree. Over the next few days, we will be releasing a feature that allows administrators …
Stuart Dredge / Music Ally: Facebook and Twitter's new band-friendly plans
Adam Ostrow / Mashable!: WOW: Facebook Launches a Twitter App
Jennifer Martinez / GigaOM: Facebook's Twitter EndRun: Coopetition
Dana Oshiro / ReadWriteWeb: Facebook Pages to Automatically Publish to Twitter
Rodney Rumford / FaceReviews: Facebook Jumps the Walled Garden to Twitter
Chloe Albanesius / AppScout: Facebook Links 'Pages' to Twitter
Franky Branckaute / The Blog Herald: Facebook Launches Twitter Application for Page Admins. Where's The Small Print?
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook: Facebook Releases The Twitter Exporter Tool
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint.com: Facebook becomes Twitter app
Wall Street Journal:
Internet Archive to Form Coalition to Challenge Google Books Settlement — Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Yahoo Inc., and a number of other library associations are joining a coalition being created by the Internet Archive to challenge Google Inc.'s settlement with authors and publishers …
Discussion: L.A. Times Tech Blog, ZDNet Government, Search Engine Land, TechFlash, CNET News, Brave New World, Mashable! and TeleRead
Alex Pham / L.A. Times Tech Blog: Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon band together to oppose Google Books settlement
Richard Koman / ZDNet Government: MSFT, YHOO, AMZN join fight against Google Books
Eric Engleman / TechFlash: Amazon, Microsoft to join effort against Google book settlement
Steven Musil / CNET News: Coalition to challenge Google Books settlement
Martyn Daniels / Brave New World: The Great Book Bank Robbery - The Opposition Grows
Ben Parr / Mashable!: BOOK BATTLE: Microsoft, Amazon, and Yahoo Challenge Google Over Book Settlement
David Rothman / TeleRead: Google book settlement targeted by new coalition: Microsoft …
Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent:
Amazon, Microsoft, and Yahoo Join Coalition Against Google Book Settlement — Can the collective weight of Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) help scuttle Google's book settlement? The three companies are banding together to join an alliance that is urging …
Discussion: New York Times, Softpedia News and PC World
Dana Oshiro / ReadWriteWeb:
Google Labs Launches Listen Podcast App — Google Labs just launched Listen - an "audio magazine" that allows Android users to subscribe to programs and search terms to queue up their podcasts for easy listening. While Listen only offers English audio podcasts for now …
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch: Listen: Google Launches An Audio Search Engine For Android
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped: Google Listen for Android
Garett Rogers / Googling Google: Google launches "Listen" for Android
Chloe Albanesius / AppScout: Google's 'Listen' Helps Android Users Find Podcasts
James Lewin / Podcasting News: Google Listen Brings Podcasts To Android Phones
Todd Ogasawara / MobileContentToday: Google Listen for Android Lets You Search For & Listen to Podcasts
Chris Crum / WebProNews: Google Launches Google Listen Android App
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple's UK Online Store Lists August 28th Ship Date for Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program — Apple's UK online store is now listing a shipping date for the OS X Snow Leopard "Up-to-Date" program of "by August 28th". The listing comes on the heels of reports from several sources in recent days …
Discussion: TUAW, Gadget Lab, Engadget, Electricpig.co.uk, SlashGear, I4U News and LOOPRumors
John Burke / TUAW: Apple Store UK says Snow Leopard ships by August 28th
Charlie Sorrel / Gadget Lab: Snow Leopard On Sale In a Week?
Ross Miller / Engadget: Snow Leopard shipping August 28th, says Apple's UK online store (update: US too)
Greg Strachan / Electricpig.co.uk: Apple OS X Snow Leopard shipping early
Chris Davies / SlashGear: Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard shipping August 28th
Kazouz / LOOPRumors: Apple UK store lists August 28 shipping date for Snow Leopard Up-to-Date program.
Snow Leopard to hit next Friday (August 28th) - support training has begun
Snow Leopard to hit next Friday (August 28th) - support training has begun
Discussion: T3.com News, MacRumors, Pocket-lint.com and Gizmodo
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint.com: Snow leopard hits 28 August says Apple UK
Joanna Stern / Gizmodo: Rumor: Snow Leopard Hitting Shelves Next Friday, August 28
Twitter to roll out commercial accounts this year — Yes, Twitter will start earning some income this year. — Co-founder Biz Stone said the company is in the first phase of rolling out commercial accounts that will entice business users to pay for premium services like detailed analytics.
Discussion: Softpedia News
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Brainstorm Tech:
Munster: An Apple TV set by 2011 — Gene Munster has seen the future of television and it has an Apple (AAPL) logo on it. — In a note to clients Thursday, Piper Jaffray's senior analyst offered a scenario by which Apple would enter the cut-throat TV market by 2011 with an Apple-branded television set …
Camille Ricketts / VentureBeat: Apple TV to get long-anticipated upgrade?
Jonny Evans / 9 to 5 Mac: Apple plans TV sets, Apple TV gets Hulu - analyst
Aharon Etengoff / TG Daily: Analyst sees shiny Apple TV set by 2011
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee: Will There Be an Apple TV Set in Two Years?
Arik Hesseldahl / Business Week: Munster: Apple TV Ready for Its Close-Up
Joseph F. Kovar / ChannelWeb: Apple To Sell TVs And Video Subscriptions: Reports
Dan Frommer / The Business Insider: Apple To Make Apple TV Less Crappy (AAPL)
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily: Apple Triple Play: iTunes, App TV and Apple Television
Martin Bryant / TheNextWeb.com: Apple "To release their own TV set by 2011″
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint.com: Munster: Apple to launch television by 2011
Doctor Q / MacRumors: Apple TV Set by 2011?
Monica Chen / DigiTimes:
Asustek to launch Ion-based nettop in September and Eee Keyboard in October — Asustek Computer will launch Nvidia Ion-based Eee Box and Eee Top all-in-one PC, as well as two ultra-thin notebooks under its U/UX series line in September. The company will also launch its Eee Keyboard …
Discussion: Softpedia News and Gizmodo
Danny Allen / Gizmodo: Asus Eee Keyboard Expected "As Early As October"
Stephen Wolfram / Wolfram:
What We've Been Doing This Summer — So what's been happening with Wolfram|Alpha this summer? A lot! — At a first glance, the website looks pretty much as it did when it first launched—with the straightforward input field. But inside that simple exterior an incredible amount has happened.
Discussion: Mashable!, Search Engine Journal, The SiliconANGLE and ReadWriteWeb
Stan Schroeder / Mashable!: Wolfram Alpha Has Grown a Lot. You Should Try it Out Again
Richard MacManus / ReadWriteWeb: Top 10 Most Exciting Web Apps or Services
Mark Milian / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Telecoms chase after Google Voice's innovative calling features — Google engineers show off the Voice Web app. Credit: Septillion via Flickr — Google's pickup of Grand Central, a little Web startup with big ideas for revolutionizing phone use, is starting to look pretty smart two years later.
Discussion: Brainstorm Tech, Patricia Handschiegel and IntoMobile
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Apple Continues To Right App Store Wrongs. Obama "Hope" App Is Go. — Last month, we wrote about an iPhone app getting rejected because it featured artwork of President Obama. Specifically, it was Shepard Fairey's famous "HOPE" image of Obama that Apple found inappropriate stating that it "ridicules public figures".
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Hacker Mitnick may sue AT&T over data breach — After having his AT&T wireless account breached and his personal information posted on the Web, famed hacker Kevin Mitnick thought the least the cellular service provider could do was compensate him for his troubles.
Discussion: Liquidmatrix Security Digest, Gawker, GigaLaw.com Daily News, The SiliconANGLE and DSLreports
Dave Lewis / Liquidmatrix Security Digest: Mitnick May Sue AT&T Wireless
Doug Isenberg / GigaLaw.com Daily News: Hacker May Sue AT&T After Account Breached
Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins / The SiliconANGLE: ...As If You Needed More Reasons to Hate AT&T [#AT&Tfail]
Mark Milian / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Flickr says 'Obama Joker' image removal complied with takedown request — The now-infamous "Obama Joker" picture. Credit: Firas Alkhateeb — After a Chicago student gained national fame for editing a picture of President Obama in the image of the Joker villain from "The Dark Knight" …
Discussion: TechCrunch, Silicon Alley Insider, Techdirt and TechPolitik, Thanks:electricwaffles
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch: Flickr v. Free Speech. Where Is The Courage?
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider: Yahoo Deletes Anti-Obama Image From Flickr
Michael Masnick / Techdirt: Did Flickr Takedown Obama Joker Time Cover Over Copyright Infringement?
Steve / The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs:
"Likely illegal"? Bitch, please — So everyone is all having a field day about this story that broke today where Ed Colligan of Palm told me that my "let's not steal each other's employees" plan was "likely illegal." First of all, the reason Colligan didn't want to play ball was that he knew …
Discussion: Brainstorm Tech
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Brainstorm Tech: Steve Jobs to Ed Colligan: Dear sir, let's collude
Google Mobile Blog:
New Image Search Results for Feature Phones — Earlier this year, we launched new Image Search results for iPhone and Android-powered devices. Since then, we've rolled out the new format to iPhone and Android in 28 countries. Now, the new Image Search results pages are also available for most other phones in 38 languages.
Discussion: Fone Arena, IntoMobile, CNET News, MobileContentToday, Phone Scoop and ResourceShelf
Dusan Belic / IntoMobile: Google updates Image Search for feature phones
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET News: Search Google images on your cell phone
Todd Ogasawara / MobileContentToday: Google Hasn't Forgotten Feature Phone Owners: Image Search Available Now
Eric M. Zeman / Phone Scoop: Google Revamps Image Search for Feature Phones
John Timmer / Ars Technica:
Scientists make bendable, transparent LEDs—without organics — Organic LEDs, or OLEDs, promise to bring flexible, transparent displays to the market, but some researchers have found a way to get the same effect by printing microscopic inorganic LEDs onto plastic and glass.
Discussion: Reuters, sciencemag.org, msnbc.com, Softpedia News, Electronista, Gizmodo and digg.com
Julie Steenhuysen / Reuters: LED display technology gets a twist
Phil Berardelli / sciencemag.org: Printed Assemblies of Inorganic Light-Emitting Diodes for Deformable …
Andrea Thompson / msnbc.com: Breakthrough makes LED lights more versatile
Thomas Kang / Google Photos Blog:
Collaborate on Picasa Web Albums — After a recent trip to Yosemite, I was frustrated to see my traveling companions share their photos in three different online albums on three different photo-sharing sites. What we really needed was a single album to which everyone could add their photos.
Discussion: Softpedia News, ReadWriteWeb, InformationWeek and Lifehacker
Frederic Lardinois / ReadWriteWeb: Google's Picasa Web Albums Are Now More Social Than Ever
Adam Pash / Lifehacker: Picasa Web Albums Adds Collaboration
Twitter had been in talks to buy FriendFeed too, co-founder Stone says — Twitter had been in talks to acquire FriendFeed before the start-up of ex-Googlers decided to sell the company to Facebook last week. — "If that's where they wanted to end up, that's the right move for them," …
Discussion: paidContent, Thanks:mgcreed
Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent: Facebook Adds Some Automatic Twitter Integration
Joanna Stern / Gizmodo:
Cloud Telecomputers' Glass Platform Puts Android in a Desktop Phone — This isn't the first Android desktop phone we have seen, but Cloud Telecomputers' 8-inch touchscreen Android Glass phone keeps the old corded handset intact and bakes in a load of communications functions. — Why put Android in a desktop phone?
Discussion: Engadget, PR Newswire, OhGizmo!, SlashGear, Pocket-lint.com, DVICE, Electricpig.co.uk and BetaNews
Donald Melanson / Engadget: Cloud Telecomputers announces Android-based Glass platform for desk phones
Michael Doherty / PR Newswire: Cloud Telecomputers Introduces Glass: The Android-based Platform …
Chris Davies / SlashGear: Cloud Telecomputer Glass slaps Android onto an awesome touchscreen desk phone
Duncan Geere / Pocket-lint.com: Android appears in nifty "Glass" landline form
Adam Frucci / DVICE: A desktop phone with the heart of a cellphone
Ben Sillis / Electricpig.co.uk: Android for landlines lands
Tim Conneally / BetaNews: Glass: Android for office phones
Analysys Mason:
As Clearwire investors write off billions of dollars, what is the future for WiMAX? — Terry Norman, Senior Analyst — Over the last two or three years, WiMAX has gained a strong foothold in developing countries in which there is a need for broadband, but the fixed infrastructure is poor.
Discussion: GigaOM and dailywireless.org
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM: The Future of WiMAX Is Bleak: Analyst
Sam Churchill / dailywireless.org: Future Bleak for WiMAX?
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Los Angeles gets its Google Apps groove — On August 11, Randi Levin, the chief information officer of the city of Los Angeles, stood before City Council members at a hearing of the information technology committee and made her case for why the nation's second-largest city should adopt Google Apps.
The JobsBloggers / Microsoft JobsBlog:
Microsoft Retail Stores: We're hiring! — You may have heard about our plans to open Microsoft retail stores in cities around the world. Well, I know a lot of you have heard because the JobsBloggers have been getting peppered with questions. :) — We've recently announced our first two stores …
Discussion: TechCrunch, Ars Technica and SlashGear
MG Siegler / TechCrunch: Microsoft Stores Now Hiring. …
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica: Microsoft Retail Stores are hiring
Chris Davies / SlashGear: Microsoft hiring for Retail Stores
Joachim Bean / TUAW:
Want a 1st generation iPod? They're still available from the Apple Store — In 2001, the same year the Game Boy Advance was introduced, Apple brought the iPod to us (and not to universal enthusiasm, either). When I was doing some Google searching last night on Apple model numbers, I found something quite strange.
Discussion: Gizmodo, MacRumors Page 2, CrunchGear, Webomatica and Crave
Mark Wilson / Gizmodo: Apple Still Selling the Original iPod for $130?
Jason Kaneshiro / Webomatica: Feeling Nostalgic For Uh, 2001? 5GB iPod Available
John Collins / The Irish Times:
Eircom to block internet access to Pirate Bay as other firms refuse — EIRCOM WILL block its internet customers accessing the Pirate Bay website from September 1st, but other internet service providers (ISPs) have refused a similar request from Irish record labels.
Discussion: ZeroPaid.com and Slashdot
CmdrTaco / Slashdot: Irish ISP To Block Access To Pirate Bay
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Rural broadband = more jobs, better salaries — Is broadband access good for rural America? In case there were any doubts, the Department of Agriculture put them to rest in a new report. The study contends that rural counties in the United States that embraced broadband adoption at the start …
Discussion: WebProNews, 901am, The SiliconANGLE, techPresident and digg.com
Mike Sachoff / WebProNews: Broadband Growth Fastest In Rural Areas
Mike Abundo / 901am: Broadband Makes Farms Productive
Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins / The SiliconANGLE: Broadband Studies Bear Out Common Sense [Head for the Hills]