Nikoletta Anagnostou

All Articles

DIG •

A Saturday in Santa Barbara — DIG

With summer just around the corner, the travel bug may be creeping up your leg. Luckily, Long Beach residents don’t have to go far for a fun excursion because California is full of destinations that make local travel a breeze. Among the standouts is Santa Barbara—just a two-hour drive away. Nestled between the central California coast and the Santa Ynez mountains, Santa Barbara’s tightly-knit community, filled with coastal charm and aesthetic Spanish architecture, makes the town a rich part of C...
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Long Beach Unfiltered — DIG

We had just left the Long Beach Rescue Mission Samaritan House, driving in a minivan up and down the industrial alleyways off Anaheim St. near the Los Angeles River, when John Wimberly, outreach coordinator at the mission, pointed something out to me.
“You see that, right there?” he asked, pointing to a white wall with a black streak of ash pulled up against it. “There was a fire. That’s how you know people were here. But they’re all gone now.”
And gone they were, except for the few stragglers....
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The Pioneers of Tomorrow — DIG

Huy Tran’s life exists in the in-between. In between countries, in between cultures, and now, as a film student at CSULB, he strives to understand and dissect his lived experience as a Vietnamese-American for himself and his community.
Tran’s fascination with visual media led him toward a career in cinema. Born in south-central Vietnam, Tran found himself entranced by colors, motion, and symbolism of TV, title sequences, and state propaganda. While also interested in illustration and graphic design, Tran ultimately chose to pursue film because of the medium’s powerful ability to convey complex messages and spur cultural discussion.
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The State of Drag — DIG

Drag’s a tale as old (and bold) as time. Through years of silencing, drag performers have enduringly and unapologetically stayed true to their art form. 
The Long Beach drag scene is particularly vibrant; the joie de vivre of drag fills the seats of places like Hamburger Mary’s and The Executive Suite. The ‘90s saw drag permeate mainstream culture, and since then, drag’s visibility and role in pop culture have only grown. Today’s drag artists are continuously redefining the definition of drag—wit...
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Step Into The Groove With The Good Foot! — DIG

Upon entering, a euphoric concoction of funky beats, melodies and bass lines immediately filters into your ears and down to your soul. Hundreds of people are gathered tightly in the small bar. Song after song, they move, laughing and dancing the whole night as the DJs throw down vinyls. A disco ball and black lights shine down, creating a rainbow of bold, vibrant, and fluorescent colors. On the outside patio, people light cigarettes to go with their conversations. There are no faces stuck in cel...
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A Granddaughter's Lament — DIG

Silence. Loud and heavy. I glance at my phone to make sure the voice recorder is still on. We’d been sitting together for the last 45 minutes recounting my grandfather’s childhood for a class project. Finally, his voice cuts through his tears to speak:
“…Nikoletta, there is so much…it’s…it’s unbelievable,” he musters in a thick Greek accent, his voice drifts and his eyes close, returning to places and times that I’ll never see or understand. I know. There is so much. Too much. 70 years of ‘much’...
CyberMuse •

The Cute, Colorful, and Coordinated Style of Marie Olmedo

For Marie Olmedo, clothes are more than just things to wear—they’re pieces to bring to life. Her colorful, maximalist outfits turn heads and spark conversations, giving the viewer a glimpse into her personality. And as an artist, fashion isn’t just a set of bold choices, it’s a way of life.


But Olmedo wasn’t always fashion-conscious. She said that in high school, everyone had clothes from stores like Hollister and American Eagle, and she didn’t feel comfortable dressing outside the box....
CyberMuse •

The Pieces We Carry

Pulitzer-finalist novel “The Things They Carried” begins by describing the literal things that American soldiers in Vietnam carried, tallying the weight of each individual item. But by the end of the book, author Tim O’Brian shows that by far the heaviest ‘things’ the characters carried were the intangible trauma and emotional damage that the soldiers took on throughout the war.

While the imagery is quite morbid, this message of the immaterial being more important than the physical rings true...
CyberMuse •

The Cool Nudes are Back at MAC

Looking for the perfect nude lip? MAC’s got you.
With the return of the ‘90s and ‘00s fashion trends comes something even better: MAC Cosmetic’s nude collection. Featuring 28 new and returning shades, this launch is a concealer-lip lover’s dream. While the collection includes some warmer tones, the cool-toned and lighter lip colors are the ones stealing the show and filling a gap in MAC’s current range of lip colors. Once-retired cult favorites from the ‘90s and ‘00s such as Fleshpot,...