Even though the 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” was generally slammed by critics I am always swept off my feet when I watch it.

I am a complete “Dune” enthusiast.

David Lynch, the director, disowned the film after its release feeling he was never able to do the version of the film he had originally conceived.

When he was first given the job he did so under the auspices that it would be a three to four hour long film with intermission and that he would have final cut.

Sadly that never came to be, but even a truncated film from a maestro like lynch is fantastic

In the movie sucks you into the far future where the royal families of Artiedes and Harkonnens, battle for control the substance spice which in itself
controls deep space travel, leading to the films most often quoted line: “He who controls the spice, controls the universe.”

Sure you can compare a movie like “Dune” to all of the “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” sagas, and that would make sense.

The book “Dune” came first, before light sabers and phasers there was Herbert’s universe of giant sand worms and psychic witch ninjas.

Sadly the film never rose to the standards of those it influenced but “Dune” is still a great guilty pleasure.

There is just something so enthralling and amazing about saying, “Father the sleeper has awoken!” or “The spice is the worms the warms is the spice.”

Just like most of Lynch’s films, there always seems to be some absurd or perverse oddity that just reeks as a Lynch film: the grotesqueness of the Baron, the awesomely graphic death of 1980’s singer Sting or the poison capsule tooth.

The acting is definitely shoddy at the most but it’s amazingly hysterical to watch popular 1980s Sting come out of a steamy shower in what seems to be a
rubber thong.

Because the film is truncated from the original script, the plot is choppy at best and it took me at least two to three times to actually understand the story line but everyone knows that it’s really hard to turn a Frank Herbert’s epic monumental page sci-fi novel into a two-and-half hour movie.

If anything, the movie should have been at least an hour longer.

Even then, some major and minor details of the novel are going to get cut to make the movie more theater friendly and entertaining.

Though “Dune” was not a successful movie in the eyes of most critics, it was an ambitious film that I will always find entertaining as hell.

CHRIS’ TAKE

There’s such a thing as a good bad movie: A movie that’s ultimately a failure in one key area or another, be it acting, effects, story or coherence, but in the end I can’t look away.

There’s still an allure about those films and one of the most infamous of the ‘genre’ is David lynch’s 1984 adaptation of “Dune.”

Frank Herbert’s “Dune” published back in 1965 is the seminal work in science fiction storytelling. So much of the aesthetics of the genre, the language, the feel, the natural proclivity to social commentary, it all comes from this one book. If J.R.R. Tolkien set the standard for Fantasy, so did Herbert for Sci-Fi.

The story is an epic set 10 millennia in a future where computers are outlawed, the weapons are silver tongues and shadow politics and the entire universe revolves around spice; the chemical key to deep space travel.

The problem is that does not equal a great film, an absolutely fun train wreck for sure that should be experienced, but not a great film by any means.

Before Lynch even started shooting the film was doomed; with special effects too difficult and complex to pull off and a harsh desert shoot.

The real nail on the coffin though was when Lynch was told that his film would have to be two hours long, not the 3 hours he was originally promised.

With all that stacked against him and the general complexity of the story itself the end result is a mess of a narrative that’s only saved by some incredible production design, bizarre character acting and a killer soundtrack by TOTO.

In these post “Lord of the Rings” times, with cutting edge effects, a large running time and a director who clearly loves the material, I would love to see

“Dune” given the chance to be a great film if not series. It has the potential to be something truly special … but now I’ll settle with my fun guilty pleasure.

Delta College student Alex Coburn is slowly becoming a modern “Indiana Jones,” only without the whip.
The graduating archeology student is known as the “fedora zoo guide” at the Micke Grove Zoo. His role at the zoo is a long way from his early start in the field, digging through dirt in his own backyard.
When Coburn was a kid his mother gave him a book with information about archeologists.
His immediate thoughts were: “You could get paid to dig in the dirt.”
He thought that would be cool.
Coburn’s father is a historian, so Coburn gained a background in history while growing up.
Coburn believes he is doing much of the same. Simply taking it in a different direction.
“I love history, I feel like I can preserve it and share it. I love that aspect,” he said.
Even with his current background in archeology Coburn is going to continue his education transferring to California State University, Sonoma because he feels he has experience with the people there and believes the transition to be one far easier than any other location.
At Sonoma State, Coburn will be working in the Anthropological Study Center on campus.
In the last two years, Coburn has taken part in four digs, one of which involved finding a bottle that could be dated back to the 1800s.
In other digs he has taken part of, he has found a mortar, obsidian and what is believed to be a human toe, but has not yet been confirmed.
Over the summer, Coburn is going to be working with the Micke Grove Zoo in a summer camp program. He’ll teach students about primates while also maintaining the bones, including cleaning and restoring the artifacts.
Coburn said all of his success is thanks to a nudge from Dr. Peggy Scully-Linder. After Coburn informed her that he wanted to become an archeologist and she helped him to get connected to and involved with ways to move forward in the career field.

Ramon Alonso has been an outstanding student here at Delta College in his studies with the Mechanical Engineering program.
His interest in engineering started when he was younger and worked on people’s cars for free, gaining experience in figuring out better ways to fix and build the mechanical parts of cars and other objects.
Alonso strived to bring his love of engineering to his fellow students as well as the greater community.
He became co-president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, a group that helps connect people who have interest in engineering to internship and community service opportunities, as well as helping them to acquire more engineering and leadership skills.
“Any chance to volunteer, we’ll go do it,” he said.
One such opportunity involves a project to rebuild a Taylor-series airplane.
Alonso is also involved with the Teacher Apprentice Program as a math tutor, by recommendation of Counselor Debra Louie, as well as his tutoring help with the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program.
He has been actively involved in helping give other students the skills needed to transfer to schools.
Outside of campus, he had the opportunity to intern at the engineering labs of the University of Michigan and focus on the subject of control systems.
“Building and seeing complex systems, it amazed me. It was really intriguing,” he said.
Ramon plans to take his talents to the University of California, Berkeley where he will focus on control systems or microelectronic mechanical systems, with the hopes of obtaining a master’s degree.
He owes a part of his successes to his advisors here at Delta including MESA Director Cassandra Hernandez-Vives.
“With the help from the Director at MESA and everything she’s supported me with, it has been amazing. I’ve never met someone so willing to help me with so much and go above and beyond to write letters of recommendation at the last minute,” he said.
The future looks bright;  someday he’ll achieve his goal of working for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory or the labs of Lockheed Martin.

Sina So is a 20-year-old Delta College student who is transferring to University of the Pacific this fall.
So is the definition of an ideal student. Ambitious, inspiring and optimistic, she sees herself moving forward after receiving her bachelors in business administration from Pacific.
Growing up, So has faced adversity at almost every turn. As the youngest child in her family, growing up with Cambodian parents who speak little English, she was forced to deal with bills and land lords.
At 10, So had to deal with the loss of her biological father to lung disease.
When she reached the college level she realized her mother and stepfather had no money to give her for college, which required her to begin working while in high school.
“Our family has always been poor my parents came here from Cambodia and lived off welfare,” said So. “My parents have never paid for anything for my schooling, because they can’t afford it, and I see that so I never ask.”
So also had unstable roots while growing up due to family woes.
She moved every few months. She was unable to finish a full year at the same school. So attended more than 10 middle schools on her journey to high school and college.
“It was always hard in school,” said So. “I was young and I always had to move in the middle of the school year and adapt to a new environment.”
So began attending Middle College High School, which allowed her to get a jumpstart on college level units. So graduated from Middle College in 2007 with more than $30,000 in scholarships.
So was the recipient of the Dell Scholarship, which supplied her with a free laptop, books, printer and supplies for her college endeavors. She also received the $10,000 Horatio Alger Scholarship.
So planned on attending University of California, Davis and majoring in biological science, with high expectations from her parents.
“My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I didn’t want to do that,” said So.
But So felt obligated to come home, and help her parents her stepfather was ill and her mother was not doing well with her gone.
“My mom went through a depression when I went to Davis,” said So. “We had family and financial issues at the time so I decided to come home and help.”
When So returned to Delta, she decided she was not interested in pursuing a major in biological science. Her passion was in helping others pursue their dreams, particularly students. She decided she was going to major in business.
So looks up to Debra Louie, a counselor and professor at Delta who works in the transfer center located in DeRicco. So is currently working in the transfer center scheduling appointments for Louie, and helping student with resumes, among other duties.
“She has helped me through so many things,” said So in regards to Louie, “She helped me get into UOP and get the job at the transfer center as well I don’t know what I would have done without Mrs. Louie.”
While working in the transfer center helping students it sparked her interest in helping others. She plans to become a Human Resources manager, which entails helping people find jobs and maintain benefits.
“Hopefully, I can help a great deal of people,” said So.
With a whirlwind schedule, So finds time to volunteer at her church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church next to the Adult School on Pacific Avenue.
“I help in the choir, and offering testimony,” said So.
So had a rough struggle through life, but shows what students can do even when facing adversity.
“I can see what I can do with my future now,” said she said with a smile.

For the past four years, first generation American Lee Juarez has worked day and night to become the first in her family to attend college.
In the fall she will attend University of California, Merced.
MESA Director Cassandra Hernandez-Vives introduced Juarez into the idea of joining the program. She was hesitant at first, but realized it would help with her biological science major.
At Merced, Juarez will focus on cognitive science.
“It’s a bit more psychological. So you get to learn about the brain, learn about their functions, senses. What parts of the brain are triggered produced when learning a language,” she said.
Juarez wasn’t interested  in science until she saw the human side.
“I want to do research on the brain. Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, why do those things happen. How can we cure that? I guess I’m just curious about that other people think,”she said laughingly.
In high school, she felt pressure from her parents to pursue the medical field, “it wasn’t until my senior year of high school I thought to myself, ‘I do want to go towards the medical field … but there’s so much more you can do,’” she said.
People ask what she wants to be.
“I can’t really give them a direct answer because you can’t really predict where you’re going to be at in the future … I could go into research or I could even teach. It’s just so diverse,” she said.
Juarez realized the pressure from her parents wasn’t negative. They wanted the best for her.
“For four years they’ve seen me come home late, studying. I had to work at the same time trying to support my family. As a student, everyone has to do that,” she said.
During her time at Delta, she held four jobs at one time. Juarez was working 40-hour weeks and had to drop two classes, she found herself having time just for one class.
“I felt like a failure,” she said.
Juarez found solace in Hernandez-Vives and her family.
“Me and Cassandra are really close. There were times when I’d go to her crying. Go to my parents crying, and tell them I don’t know what to do,” she said.
It was Hernandez-Vives who advised her to cut down the work schedule, and forced Juarez to find balance in supporting her family and her education.
Her hard hours paid off.
She received a $23,000 grant from the UC Merced Foundation.
“When I read that letter I didn’t know how to react to that. I thought I read it wrong. I was excited,” she said, “I don’t have to pay it back it. Thank God for it, I’m totally blessed with that,” she said.
Juarez leaves Delta with a certificate in American Sign Language, two associate or art degrees, and an associate of science degree.

Very few students have accomplished what Angela Bardot has been able too during her time at Delta College.
She graduates on May 23 with four associate degrees: communication studies for transfer, inter-dispensary study of communications, photography, and arts and humanities.
But Bardot does much more than focus on her academics, though she is a student at both Delta and a local Bible college. She currently has bachelor’s degree in Bible and Theology and is going to be adding more degrees to her resume at the end of this semester.
She is involved in many extracurricular activities, including five campus clubs.
The club she has had the most impact on is the Writer’s Guild.
Bardot has been the president of this club since 2007.
The club focuses on techniques to become more creative writers. The group also publishes Artifact, the campus literary magazine.
“New students should take the opportunity to join a club because, they do great things for this campus and community,” said Bardot.
Bardot gives nearly every minute of her free time back to her community.
When she is not on campus, she is spending all of her free time volunteering at her church.
Her involvement in church has led to her decision as to where she will pursue her education next school year. She has decided to go Regent University in Virginia.
Regent will accept all of her credits from both of the colleges she is attending right now and allow her to get her masters in communications much faster.
Bardot said that if it was not for the professors who noticed her passion and pushed her to excel, she doesn’t know what she would have done.
She has grand plans for her future.
“Ten years from now I would see myself publishing fiction and art books. For a career, I could see myself as a professor who is teaching communications. I’m not sure but I would like to have done some mission work in Japan as well,” said Bardot.

Danner Hall is still the home of food services despite rumors of iminent closure.
On Thursday,  May 2, Fidel Cabuena, Director of Auxiliary Services, met with  the Associated Student Body Government to discuss ideas for both Danner Hall and the Bookstore.
“Only part of the current cafeteria is currently being used for culinary arts lab space,” said Cabuena.
The Culinary Arts department has dealt with a very limited space for quite some time and because of this problem some of the food has to be prepared in other locations around campus.
Danner Hall would become the classroom space that the program needs in order to provide the best possible food service on campus.
The opening of food services in the bookstore itself would allow students to get food on campus later. Right now the cafeteria  closes at 1 p.m. everyday.
This would actually be great for students who have evening classes on campus but don’t want to have to go off campus to purchase food.
It is currently unclear as to what will happen with the proposal.
However, none of the six food services employees will be layed off as a result of this proposed idea.
Students were not notified of the proposed changes via email because the idea is still in the planning stages.
Last year alone   food service lost  $426,000 in profits.
If the plans work out it can help food services become self sustaining.
Java Jitters is currently the only outlet of food service that is sustainable.
The proposed changed would allow students greater access to food on campus, allow for more educational space and help food services get out of the red.

FOOD ON CAMPUS: Danner Hall Food Services just after lunch on Tuesday, May 7.

A committee appointed by Superintendent/President Dr. Kathy Hart made of three faculty and staff retirees is currently seeking items to be placed in the capsule.

The 50th Anniversary Time Capsule Committee is accepting mementos in the mail room through the semester’s end.

“A time capsule has moments of the time and the College. We hope to put some DVDs of today’s Delta with instruction on what type of machine to play them on,” said Delmar McComb, Time Capsule Committee chairperson, in an email interview.

The capsule is the size of a shoebox, said McComb.

It will be placed in the Goleman Library, where a previous time capsule was sealed away in 1985 but removed during recent renovations to the campus building.

The 1985 capsule contains memories of the Stockton College, before Delta was created. Delta College is the offspring of Stockton College.

The new time capsule is expected to be opened on Delta’s 100th anniversary in 2063.

Earlier this year, Rio Hondo College in Whittier buried a time capsule on their campus to commemorate its 50th anniversary.

That time capsule had 28 items, including: copies of the student newspaper, brochures of campus events, a CD of campus photos, a cell phone and a college T-shirt.

The committee is asking students to help build the memories of Delta by donating an item that’s related to the campus.

A dedication of the time capsule is schedule for October.

Ten days after Delta College student Dominic Deiro died tragically in a solo-vehicle drunken driving accident, his family found a way to cope through education.
In response to the December 23, 2011 accident that took his life, Deiro’s family founded the Dominic Designated Driver program in hopes of spreading awareness and deterring young people from drinking and driving.
On April 30, the Deiro family brought that message to Delta College during an event in Upper Danner sponsored by the Cultural Awareness Programs Committee and produced by the English Department and DDD.
Mia Deiro Douglass, Dominic’s sister, was the keynote speaker.
She shared precious moments she has had with her brother, and the inspiration and optimism he carried throughout his life.
“Dominic was born on February 23, 1990 at Dameron Hospital, it was at that moment I knew I would no longer be the center of attention,” said Deiro Douglass holding back tears. “Everyone always spoke of how good looking he was with his red hair and big smile.”
The emphasis of having a sober driver, and drinking responsibly was the overall goal of the informative forum.
Officer Craig Wood of the Stockton Police Department stressed the financial struggles and consequences drunk driving can have on individuals.
“You all need to decide right now that this is unacceptable,” said Wood, addressing the crowd. “Decide today that you are not going to drink and drive.”
Bobby Wells, a current University of the Pacific student and one of Dominic’s close friends, spoke about the importance of friendship and drinking responsibly.
Wells was supposed to be in the car with Deiro that night.
“I never saw myself as lucky,” said Wells. “I was just as hurt as everyone in the car that night.”
Wells closed with: “You really don’t know when the last time you will see someone.”
Rosie Huerta, a financial aid outreach specialist spoke about the memorial scholarship worth $200 offered by Delta and the DDD program.
“We’re here to tell you this needs to be stopped,” said Huerta.
Robert Duran, a member of the Hip Hop Congress performed a song titled “No drinking and driving,” which he himself has fallen victim to.
Duran wrecked his car in a drunken driving accident in 2006.
Duran received a brain injury as a result of the accident and had to have surgery. He learned first-hand about the dangers of drinking and driving. No other people were hurt in his accident.
Patrica Cunningham, also a member of the Hip Hop Congress, performed a touching freestyle poem.
Student Angela Bardot and English Instructor Paula Sheil, along with the Writer’s Guild, introduced a Memory Tree at the end of the event.
The Memory Tree is a way to pay tribute to those who have fallen victim to drunken driving accidents, along with honoring Dominic’s family’s commitment to him.
The tree is laced in San Francisco Giants colors, which was Dominic Deiro’s favorite baseball team. It has found a permanent home in the Goleman Library.
Mia Deiro Douglass closed with thanks to the contributors who helped put the event together, including special thanks to Robert Bini, a Delta English instructor who co-edits Delta Winds, a campus magazine where Dominic Deiro’s Dream Act essay was published.
Deiro Douglass also wants to encourage students to post student writing on the DDD website and share their thoughts on the matter at hand.
With support from more than 40 bars in the Stockton, Lodi and Modesto area, as well as Arizona, the family’s message is spreading far and wide.
“We want to inspire all age groups to have a designated driver,” said Deiro Douglass.

MEMORY TREE: Robert Duran hangs a note on the memory tree in the quad on Tuesday, April 30.