Looking to improve your political savvy? Come to a special political forum on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 7 pm in the University Lecture Hall open to all students and community members interested in learning about and discussing vital issues related to the presidential race.

The forum will be moderated by Louis Vandenberg, general manager of KUCR 88.3 FM and the producer of Los Angeles-based KPFK 90.7 FM’s acclaimed public affairs program, “Background Briefing“. A member of the State Democratic Central Committee, he is also the three-time Democratic nominee for United States Congress, 44th Congressional District.

Student organizer Martha Preciado said she and a committee of students have invited candidates, or their representatives, to attend the forum and debate the important issues of this presidential race, such as war, healthcare, immigration, education, social security, and human rights. There will be a time for questions from the audience.

Armando Navarro, professor of ethnic studies at UC Riverside and the leader of the National Alliance for Human Rights, said the student forum is coming at the right time, in the week just before the Feb. 5th California presidential primary.

“The Inland Empire is going to be pivotal,” Navarro said. “And I contend that our students, and all students, will be pivotal in this race. I’ve never seen it like this. There’s a sense of urgency across the board. I am proud of these students who are taking such an active role in this political race.”

View the full press release for the event here.

The Specifics:
Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: UCR Campus, University Lecutre Hall (UNLH) 1000
Price: This is a free event!

First off, let me say – wow.

Okay, now on with the description:

Wanna add a little adrenaline to your Thursday evening at 8:30pm? Join us for a night of action and adventure as the Film & Photography Society at UCR showcases it’s latest epic action-thriller, Incrimination, in the UNLH. This is a student production filmed on a $700 budget, and features a cast and crew of over 60-70 people, police cars in an authentic bus yard film set, and an actual SWAT team (no word yet on how they pulled that last one off).

But enough talk – dig the trailer:

Seriously, this looks bananas. I can’t even count how many guns I saw in that trailer, this is clearly going to be awesome. The only thing that they need for it to be a real Hollywood film now is for the Black dude to die in the first five minutes.

Some special behind-the-scenes commentary from the director:

All jokes aside, this is really inspiring. Hopefully this will be the first of many brilliant student films to come out of UCR’s talented and diverse student body – don’t miss this chance to say you met these soon-to-be-famous actors and producers before they got big!

The Specifics:
Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008
Time: 8:30pm – 10:00pm
Location: UCR Campus, University Lecutre Hall (UNLH) 1000
Price: This is a free event!

The rumors are true – KUCR is proud to announce one of the most exciting hip-hop / experimental instrumentalists LA has to offer – Daedelus in concert this Wednesday, 23rd January at 7 PM at the Barn, for free, as part of the ASPB Winter Concert series.

Despite the fact that he was formally trained on double bass and bass clarinet (and also played the guitar and accordion, among other things) and studied jazz at USC, Daedelus ended up going the hip-hop / electronica route, working with artists such as MF Doom, Madlib, Pigeon John, and others – and releasing albums on Plug Research and the notorious Warp. As if that weren’t enough, he gets heavy, heavy rotation at KUCR!

For those of you who can’t wait for Wednesday, here’s a hot-off-the-Stones-Throw-presses video featuring MF Doom on vocals and Daedelus on beats and accordion:

And the brilliant “Fairweather Friends” video, which incidentally made Ryan’s Best of 2007 list:

Once again, the show:
Location – at the UC Riverside Barn
Date – Wednesday, 23rd January
Time – Doors at 6 pm, show at 7. Get there early – you’ve been warned!
Price Free. You’re on your own for parking, though.

Need more? Here’s a randomly selected discography.

Looking for something awesome (and free) to do on Wednesdays this quarter? Look no further than ASPB’s Winter Concert Series at the Barn from 7-9 p.m. Here’s a quick look at the lineup for this quarter. We’ll do a post on each act pretty soon, but for now, here’s a quick overview:

Jan. 23 – Daedelus with as-yet unnanounced opener (a KUCR collaboration!)
Jan. 30 – Aima (LGBTRC sponsored)
Feb. 6 – Mulatto w/ spoken word artists (sponsored by REACH and WRC)
Feb. 13 – The Expanders w/Redbeef and Juice (sponsored by ASP)
Feb. 20 – Zion I and Mistah Fab (Homecoming show)
Feb. 27 – Poetry Slam
March lineup TBD (but good things are in the works, trust us!)

Here’s the details:
Showtimes: 7-9 pm each Wednesday
Venue: The Barn, right here on UCR’s campus
Price: Free! (parking not included)

Capacity at these shows is limited, so show up early. The first show of the season (Matt Costa) was totally packed and people had to wait outside. You don’t want to be that person, trust me.

Okay, I’m excited about the Daedelus jumpoff.