Arts & Culture

Although I’ve been a student for16years now,I’ve been finding it increasingly difficult to actually buckle down and concentrate in my studies. Procrastination isn’t my number one problem (though it’s definitely up there),and neither is dozing off during lecture or putting off studying for that midterm because I wanted to do some weekday gallivanting out on the town – nope,my trouble lies in the listening and paying attention part of going to class.

Passion,electricity,a little spunk,a righteous cause and a great deal of heart:Just what every on-campus organization needs for success– and one of the newest student groups to bring just thatis Electronic Music for Change.The members of Electronic Music for Change havepassion for electronic music andacommitment for positive change.

After a four-year hiatus from Sacramento,the Found Footage Festival – a showcase of strange videos discovered by sifting through garage sales and thrift stores – will return to the capital city on Friday. The collected videos will be shown at7and9:30p.m.at Movies on a Big Screen,which is located at6004th St.in West Sacramento.Tickets are available at the door for

Do you want to save money? Own one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture and decorations that have character? Live in a sustainable,earth-friendly manner? Eco-friendly design and practices have become very prevalent in recent years,encouragingeveryoneto reuse,recycle and not waste resources.

The UC Davis department of theatre and dance present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musicalOklahoma! on Saturday at8p.m.in Jackson Hall. The production is directed and choreographed by Granada Artist-in-Residence Mindy Cooper,who previously directed and choreographedUrinetown:The Musicalin2007.

The lithe talents of Robert Downey,Jr.and Jamie Foxx are the most tangible aspects ofThe Soloist,a film full of heart but haplessly misguided.A chance encounter with a violin-playing homeless man named Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx) provides Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez (Downey,Jr.) with some fresh material.

MUSIC Living Legends Today,7:30p.m.,free Sacramento State University Union Ballroom NorCal has its share of hip-hop collectives,but holding it down for Los Angeles is eight-piece group Living Legends,whose minimal beats and heavy rhymes recall that of Hieroglyphics,sans the Bay Area grittiness. The Inversions,James Rabbit,Color of Love,Antarctica Takes It! Today,8p.m.,free,21 300Room in West Sacramento James Rabbit is all over the place.With his own “vaguely Muppet-like” mix of jazzy piano,utterly danceable pop and upbeat showiness,he answers the long-standing question of what it would be like if Queen,Phoenix,Michael Buble and Mika were to make a musical baby.Because I know you all were wondering,too.

Mims Guilt Capitol Rating:1

Strung Out Prototypes and Painkillers Fat Wreck Chords Rating:4

The other day I logged onto Facebook and read: “Susan Boyle:3of your friends are fans.“ I squinted at the picture next to the notification:A middle-aged woman with bushy eyebrows,frizzy curly hair and a microphone in hand.Nothing to write home about,right? Evidently not.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill pledge marathon.There’s no suave host coaxing the home viewers to dial in and save endangered forest critters or afternoon nature shows and documentaries – only noncommercial,diverse,freeform radio. Campus radio station KDVS90.3FM is currently in the middle of their annual fundraiser,which started on Monday and runs until Sunday.All proceeds go toward making up two-thirds of their expenditures for the entire year.

With the economy in a sad state of disrepair,few people are occupied with the quality of life of those beyond their immediate family.However,rock band Papa Roach has taken a different approach with their involvement in Loaves and Fishes.Loaves and Fishes is a Sacramento-based charity dedicated to “feeding the hungry [and] sheltering the homeless,” according to their website.