the red hook
Brian & George take a trip
STAR REVUE
PAGE 8
APRIL 2022
FREE
INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM
Grella on JAZZ Quinn on BOOKS Gottschalk on MUSIC Dante on FILM
The Oscars was historic, and yes, Will slapped Chris by Roderick Thomas
I
f you hadn’t seen Will Smith walk on stage and smack Chris Rock on camera, you may have thought it was just a rumor. And if you haven’t seen or heard about the now infamous smack, you may not live on earth. Though the highlights of Oscars 2022 were unfortunately overshadowed by a few minutes of rage from the Fresh Prince himself, here are historic firsts, some wonderful, others unfortunate, all of them memorable:
First Women Trio to Host the Oscars
For the first time in history, the Oscars was hosted by three women–––three very funny women–––comedians and actresses Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes. The three hosts’ comedic skills blended well with each other, delivering punchlines and performing skits throughout the night with natural chemistry.
Lillie Marshall Honored - page 10
All three hosts delivered amazing performances, but Regina Hall was a refreshing addition to a stage
(continued on page 12)
Speaking to the Odessa Journal
T
by Dario Pio Muccilli, Foreign Correspondent
he Odessa Journal is the major English-language newspaper in Southern Ukraine, founded in early Ugo Poletti 2020 by editor Ugo Poletti, an Italian entrepreneur whose aim, as stated on their website, is to cover “culture, economy and historical amenities in Odessa”, the biggest urban area and trading port across the Ukrainian seaside.
about the current invasion, that is causing them so much pain. Moreover, being the main Englishlanguage news provider in Southern Ukraine it became a duty for us not to stop working”.
why Odessa has still not been devasted by massive bombings,” states Poletti, who stresses how, until more or less one year ago, the pro-russian political parties were hegemonic in the local councils.
Odessa wasn’t hit immediately, but the city has now become one of the main goals to achieve for the Russian Army. On March 26th, the day we reached Poletti over a video meeting, the Russians attempted a landing near the city which fortunately failed.
Nevertheless Odessa has become a symbol of the resistance of a nation struggling to survive an infamous attack. Photos of barricades and armed volunteers have jumped from one news agency to another.
But the war, with its overwhelming energy, has cast apart this aim and made the Odessa Journal’s editorial board focus on the ongoing conflict.
“There are many reasons why Moscow pursues the conquest of Odessa. First of all, that would tear apart Ukraine from the Black Sea, so it would cut away any remaining channel for import-export trade. Secondly, Odessa is a city where 80% of people speaks Russian and the area is so linked to Russia that annexing it is sort of a dream for the invader. On the other hand this closeliness is the reasons
“The day before the invasion we were planning to talk about art exhibitions, but as soon as the first bombings occurred early on February 24, we converted into a war newspaper,” says Poletti. “My Ukrainian staff felt the immediate urgency to write
Poletti doesn’t hide the surprise he felt when he saw the great efforts carried to defend the city by its inhabitants, who are, as already said, almost all russian speakers. “Eight years ago (when the Crimea was annexed and the Donbass invaded, ed) roughly half of the population still took a liking to Russia, because of
(continued on page 16)
