Classic Las Vegas lists the 11 most endangered historical sites in Nevada, or whatever.

I've left comments on there before, but I think I am the only one and I have a feeling no one outside of the three people working to save the Huntridge read it anyway. Either that or no one gives a crap. So I'm going to cut loose here:

Maude Frazier hall is not historic. It's OLD. It's ugly. It's not functional. It's in the way. Tear it the f*ck down and put something pretty and useful there.

And the Huntridge Theatre is much more awesome in all of our minds than it ever was for real or ever possibly could be again. Now, that is a building that is historic and not ugly, but sometimes I think that no one is thinking pragmatically when it comes to the Huntridge because they are so tied up into their emotional connection with it. Let me lay it on the line for you, kids: The only way for the building to be saved is for it to become occupied by a company that wants to use it for offices or some other endeavor that is not dependent on filling seats/floorspace with grubby kids coming to hear third-rate alt-rock.

The ideal usage: A cool, youngish company buys the building, instead of taking up residence in some faceless, industrial park. The whole building, BTW, not just the Huntridge side -- also the old Cima side. Said company remodels the inside for its purposes: offices, conference rooms, warehouses, etc., and cleans up the historic tower and exterior, a la Holsum Design Center. Then lease out the additional spaces fronting Maryland for a deli or coffeeshop or gallery or some other place that will easily feed off both your numerous employees and all those people who supposedly love the neighborhood and building so much. This will a) save the damn building, b) reduce suburban sprawl and c) clean up that corner.

OK, back to your cubicles, kids. That's as much urban redevelopment as I can handle for today.

11:43 p.m. Just got home. The second of two 10-page research papers I needed to complete by tomorrow is done. I am almost dumbfounded, especially considering this was hardcore research and surprisingly, I did not fill either paper with BS, as I am usually won't to do.

If taking these two grad classes this semester have proven anything, it's that even though I could excel in grad school despite all my other commitments, it's one more thing I really don't need to add to my life right now. This was a good learning experience and should I choose to pursue that master's degree in the future, I have these credits down (unless, of course, I decide urban sociology is not that course of study, therefore negating the last five months).

If anyone is for some reason (hell if I know why you'd want to) interested in reading either of these dizzying articles, I'll be happy to share them after final revisions. The pulse-pounding titles:

• "Locked and Loaded: The military-industrial complex and its influence on U.S. economy and policy decisions post-World War II"
• "Midtown UNLV: Pipe Dream or Inevitable Outcome? Exploring the feasibility of success for a public-private partnership in the redevelopment of a university district on Maryland Parkway"

Yes, I know, the excitement is overwhelming you already.

In better (I guess) news, As Yet Unbroken finally recorded another batch of songs last night, with slightly improved results. I have yet to clean up the final mixes, but I think we'll finally have songs posted for your enjoyment/ridicule by this weekend. We're planning to start booking shows by July, so stay tuned for me to surely self-promote the hell out of those right here in this space.

No new articles from me this week, sorry to say. I have (allegedly) a big one coming up some time this month, and I was working on one for (I think) July's 944, but due to some issues with the story's subject, I might have to get it pushed back an issue. We'll see. Right now, I'll just be happy to have no deadlines for anything the next few weeks. I want to get this house up to speed, catch a few movies, rock out with the band, and get out of town next weekend.

Research paper #1 done, 29 footnotes later. Going to let it "cool" and then do last edits and formatting tomorrow. Going home to either a) pass out or b) work on paper #2, though based on how little sleep I got last night and the 14 or so hours I've spent looking at a computer screen today, I'm thinking "a."

Hey, I give stuff away on Mondays. If you're a geek like me, prove it by adding popgoestheicon as a friend.

Bug man comes tonight, band practice/recording session tomorrow and then hypnotherapy (for a story I'm working on ... among other things) on Wednesday. Somewhere in the middle of all I have to finish off two research papers by 8:10 p.m. Thursday.

So yeah, you won't be seeing much of me. And for some of you, this is a good thing, I know.

1. Scholarly articles are useless except for their "Conclusion" sections.
2. Pick Up Stix's Pad Thai is surprisingly awesome and one order is enough to feed Burma. All of it. Well, what's left.* And the tofu is reaaaallly good.
3. 944 edits the hell out of my stories.

OK, that's it for me. About to watch a film about the deception and devastation of the Vietnam War. Good stuff before bed, no?

*Is it too soon for jokes? Pah.

Good show, kids.

Yesterday, I did a few searches on the web, blogs and news sites for anything related to UNLV's participation in the walk-out/teach-in protests taking place at college campuses across the United States to support the so-called Jena Six (click here for original post). The only thing I could find was my original post on Sunday questioning both the validity of the effort and UNLV's ability to overcome its notorious apathy.

Depending on how you perceive the world, it's either disappointing or comforting that UNLV managed to maintain its status quo. The UNLV Rebel Yell--near as I can tell--was the only local media outlet to cover the walk-out. Interestingly, they didn't even receive a press release prior to the event. It was your fair blogger who turned the college paper (my former stomping grounds) onto the story on Sunday, and that's considering that ONE OF ITS OWN WRITERS was the ORGANIZER of the event.

Here is the link to the Rebel Yell's article: http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article/2007/10/04/unlv-students-join-protest/

Let's sum it up: "approximately 20 students attended the teach-in." The writer wrote--with no citation, so we can only assume it is editorializing--"the teach-in was fairly well attended." "Fairly well attended?" Twenty. 20. Two-zero. On a campus of nearly 30,000.

We can blame mid-terms. We can blame poor advertising (which one student does in the article, citing a "bureaucratic wall"). Or we can blame apathy. Send UNLV students a bulletin on MySpace about an open bar near the campus, and the place will be packed. Ask them to get politically involved in anything? Good luck.

This isn't unique to UNLV, of course. It's a Las Vegas problem that is oft-discussed on radio programs such as KNPR's "State of Nevada," in local blogs and in the op-ed sections of Sin City newspapers. And it's a reality. In my own experience, a very small number of people have been responsible for the majority of movements in this city related to art, social justice, culture, political action or environmentalism. You will see the same names turning up time and again--and the walk-out on Monday at UNLV is just a microcosmic sample of that phenomenon.

In the same issue as the news story, the Yell's editor-in-chief wrote a compelling editorial (http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article/2007/10/04/is-who-more-important-than-what/) addressing the issue I brought up in my post on Sunday: Why is it the hip-hop community taking action on the Jena case? She notes that "the problem seems to be that Hip-Hop and black are used somewhat synonymously," then thoughtfully questions whether that really is a problem, asking "What difference does it makes who stands up for a certain cause as long as people are standing up for something they are passionate about and want to give a louder voice to something that has yet to be fixed?"

However, the argument that UNLV in general is not an apathetic campus because you might find "100 students in a room praying together for the victims of Darfur on a Tuesday night, or 30 students putting together meals for the homeless on the weekends, or five students practicing their lines to the Vagina Monologues about sexual abuse" is weak. The numbers still don't add up. There are pockets of students on campus who are very involved, yes. But as noted above, it is those small pockets repeatedly doing all the heavy lifting while the rest of UNLV's students--and the rest of Las Vegas' residents--worry about more important things, like spray tans, VIP lists and beer pong.

Right about now, the notoriously apathetic students of UNLV should be walking out of their classes and participating in a "teach in" led by Troy Nkrumah of the National Hip Hop Political Convention in room 213 of Frank and Estella Beam Hall on campus to show support for the six black teens in Jena, La. whose charges in relation to the beating of a white classmate have been deemed harsh and unjust by a number of pundits and community leaders.

Uh huh. UNLV students. Taking a stand on anything. Right.

Surely members of UNLV Students for Hip Hop (Really? There's a student organization called "UNLV Students for Hip Hop?" From what I can tell, that would be just "UNLV students in general" based on the usual musical choices found at campus events.) have walked out. But other students? The president of UNLV Students for Hip Hop thinks so.

"UNLV [students] has the label of being 'apathetic,' and we are doing what we can to change this," said Justin Ponkow. "Students are taking notice that racial injustice is still around and that our generation has to take a stand. Whether you like it or not, this is the Hip Hop Generation, and we are struggling harder than any other generation to find our voice. And this national walk-out is a good step toward finding that voice."

I'm sorry -- what does the Jena case have to do with hip-hop? Why is it that people such as Mos Def and Common are the leaders of this national movement? The case involves black students, yes. So now we automatically make any black youth issues hip-hop issues? This makes no sense to me. It's bad enough that the Jena case is being perceived as a racial issue; the attachment to a supposed "Hip Hop Generation" now racializes that generation as well.

Can't wait to read the news reports coming from the walk-out to see what the demographic composition of the participants turns out to be.