B section
wildlife
wednesday, october ,
Your guide to the Tucson arts and entertainment scene
Define ‘sexy’ for me
Dissard reflects Tucson
A peek at Halloween’s most revealing non sequiturs By Miranda Butler ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT For many girls, Halloween is an excuse to wear a costume that shows a lot more skin than usual. Now, many of us enjoy partaking in this tradition, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re going to sex it up — you should at least pick something sexy. Here are some terrible costumes we found on the all-encompassing HalloweenCostumes.com this year that attempt to make unsexy concepts into something naughty.
By Kellie Mejdrich ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
Sexy Nun:
I don’t know how many Hail Marys you’ll have to say to make up for this one, but I’m pretty sure it’s sacrilegious. A nun? A sexy nun? That’s one of the biggest oxymorons I’ve ever heard. If you go to a party wearing this getup, I’m pretty sure that 90 percent of the guests will laugh at you, and the other 10 percent will be offended.
Sexy Cuddly Lion:
So here’s an idea that just doesn’t make any sense. Sure, the mischievous kitten and playboy bunny are considered sexy animals, but this “cuddly lion” is really missing the mark. It looks more like a stuffed animal than anything alluring and, in my opinion, slightly resembles a camel. Case in point: look at the shoes.
Sexy Leprechaun:
I’m sorry, but Halloween is about as far away from St. Patrick’s Day as you can get. So, she’s kind of cute, but think about leprechauns here for a second. Does sexy come to mind? Thought not. They’re actually kind of creepy (especially if you’ve seen the movie). So I’m not quite sure what would inspire you to pick this outfit.
Who ya gonna call? Well, actually, I can guarantee you that a lot of guys are gonna be calling her … but that’s past the point. This costume actually succeeds a little too well in bringing the sexy, and in doing so, it pretty much defiles the innocence of our childhood. They did not wear shorts (or unzipped tops) anything like this on “Ghostbusters.”
Sexy Ms. Tater Tot:
“Sexy Ms. Tater Tot”? What on earth is this? I think it’s supposed to be Mr. Potato Head, but at this point, I really don’t know. Really. What else is there to say?
Photos courtesy of HalloweenCostumes.com
Sexy ‘Ghostbusters’ Girl:
Sexy Tin Girl:
OK, so it’s skimpy and short and shiny. But the Tin Man? Really? He’s not exactly the epitome of sex appeal. This girl is wearing a pointy party hat for Pete’s sake. It’s really the concept that isn’t working on this one.
Bands ‘Crawl’ onto Congress By Kristina Remy ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Club Crawl has become a Tucson tradition and it’s no wonder — the event has been around since 1994. When the Crawl first started, event producer Jeb Schoonover wanted a central event that merged together the bar scene and a plethora of live entertainment. “We already had bars all along Congress and Fourth Avenue and some of the bars and venues were already having live entertainment, so we just wanted to bring it all together and showcase the talent we have here in Tucson,” Schoonover said. Although Club Crawl initially only featured Tucson bands, within the last 10 years, the lineup has been gradually expanding to highlight a diverse line up. It is now the largest musical event in Tucson. Bands come from Tucson, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego and beyond. “We cover everything from blues to reggae to country and Latin music, and of course, Tucson has a ton of great indie bands,” Schoonover said. “We like to have variety because then there’s really something for everyone.” International performers include Matt Ellis, an Australian singer/ songwriter, and the Dutch indie-rock band Bettie Serveert. Local artists include Greyhound Soul, Seashell
Radio, The Jons, SKITN, The Tryst, Whole Lotta Zep, San Lunes, The Jits, Lovemound, R’Cougar, HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS, Shaun Harris, Cadillac Steakhouse and Blind Divine. Other out-ofstate acts include Felix Y Los Gatos from Albuquerque and Chris Miller, James Sasser and the Guilty Men from Oregon. For a complete line up, visit the Club Crawl website.
This year’s Club Crawl will be on Saturday and feature 25 stages and 80 bands. Venues include the Rialto Theatre, Hotel Congress, The District, Sharks, Vaudeville, The Screening Room, O’Malleys, The Hut, Sky Bar, The Red Room, 47 Scott, Cushing Street Bar, Delectables, Martin’s, Casa Vicente, Delectables, Chocolate Iguana and Winsett Park. The event is hosted
Christy Delehanty Arts Editor 520•621•3106 arts@wildcat.arizona.edu
by Tucson Weekly. Other sponsors include Channel 18, Channel 11, The Mountain, KRQ, Tejano and Mia 97.1, BrushFire BBQ, Budweiser, Cuervo Silver, Zwack and Captain Morgan Lime Bite. For more information, visit clubcrawl.ning.com.
For a preview of Bettie Serveet’s performance at Club Crawl, flip to page B2.
Marianne Dissard has a lot to show Tucson’s lonesome cowgirls and cowboys this month. Accompanying the upcoming release of Dissard’s album, L’Abandon, the Tucson artist, in collaboration with Megan Amber Cox , part of the local Tuson artist collective Parasol Project , has produced a film also named “L’Abandon,” also known by the working title “Lonesome Cowgirls .” The remake of the original Andy Warhol film “Lonesome Cowboys” is a conceptual experiment in blending music and film, all held together by an atypical narrative centralized in the music itself. Themes of the film and the album reflect the title. The title “has a dual meaning; being abandoned or letting go in a negative sense, but also means the abandon that you feel when you feel free, and letting go and embracing something,” Dissard said. “There’s that duality, and the film and the album reflects that in its themes.” The film “tries to do more than the typical video that goes along with an album,” Dissard said. The film’s structure, composed of vignettes, mirrors the track-central composition of an album, she said. The characters and their motivations are also explorations of the album’s themes. “So I think of it as not just a music video but part of the visuals that explain what roots the album,” Dissard said. Dissard’s projects, including her upcoming poetry reading on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at Casa Libre , 228 N. Fourth Ave., are all about blending the lines between different art forms — poetry, film, music and lyrics. “It’s fun to fool with format and expectations of what music, what video is,” Dissard said. “Who in the hell knows what commercial is this days anyway? It’s an mp3; it’s a little YouTube piece that someone finds. You have to be making music and video all the time just to keep relevant.” “Lonesome Cowgirls” is more than just an homage to Warhol or an experimental album-video. It’s also a highly collaborative project for many Tucson artists and groups, including co-producer Parasol Project, as well as others such as music party-organizers and artist collective Powhaus Productions . “It was a really fun way to collaborate on such an experimental, playful level,” Cox said. Parasol Project is a multifunctional artist collective that is involved in many projects, including the living statues at Tucson’s Second Saturdays as well as other musical performances and large-scale art exhibits. “It was a pleasure to be able to work with Tucson’s so many great artistic individuals,” Cox said. The film was shot over a whirlwind 24-hour period, interrupted by a concert DISSARD, page B6
WEEKLY FIVE WHY
WAIT
PLEASE
YOU MUST
DON’T FORGET
does Facebook keep changing its chat? Names were better than pictures.
for it … Christmas music season is just around the corner. Soon “All I Want for Christmas is You” will be inescapable.
tell me what “toot it and boot it” means … please?
go on YouTube.com and watch Butterball Downstairs. Trust us.
to show your support for National Coming Out Week.
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wildlife
• wednesday, october 13, 2010 • arizona daily wildcat
local scenes To get you through your weekend … Thursday OCT. 14
Screening of ‘Zen in Ryoko-in’ at the UA Poetry Center Bet you didn’t know that the founder of the University of Arizona Poetry Center is named Ruth Stephan. Bet you didn’t know that she made a documentary called “Zen in Ryoko-in” in 1971. Find out what else you don’t know about Ruth Stephan and centuries-old Zen Buddhist rituals by watching her 70-minute film at the Poetry Center this Thursday.
Poetry Center 1508 E. Helen St. 8 p.m., free
The Hut 305 N. Fourth Ave. 9:30 p.m., free
OCT. 15
Marianne Dissard and Friends at Solar Culture Marianne Dissard will take the stage with her Europe 2011 touring band, made up of Sergio Mendoza, Brian Lopez, and Gabriel Sullivan. Guest musicians like Salvador Duran will join the fun. This performance is part of the two-day celebration of “Lonesome Cowgirls,” a collaborative film project between Dissard and the Parasol Project performance art troupe. The film is a companion to Dissard’s upcoming album L’Abandon.
Solar Culture 31 E. Toole Ave. 9 p.m., $7
Saturday
Sunday
OCT. 16
Van Gogh Rescue CD release show at Plush Local progressive/funk/alternative players Van Gogh Rescue are unleashing their debut album From the Top of Your Lungs with an all-night show at Plush. A sonic mix between the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus and Pink Floyd, VGR are a unique new force in the local scene. Expect to hear more of them. Also performing at Plush are Fort Worth and The Avalanche Symphony.
OCT. 17
SABHF Blues & Heritage Festival at Reid Park Monday is a drag. Get your blues out this Sunday at the Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation’s Blues & Heritage Festival at Reid Park. This year’s lineup features LA-based bluesand soul-singer Javina Magness, Neon Prophet, Sergio Mendoza y la Orkestra, The Coolers, The Sugar Thieves, and more. For the complete lineup visit http://www.azblues.org/Festival.
Plush 340 E. Sixth St. Doors open at 9 p.m., $5
Reid Park 3400 E. Camino Campestre 11 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., $10
Five for Fighting at Club Congress “More than a bird. More than a plane.” It’s … a multi-platinum singer-songwriter! John Ondrasik, better known as Five for Fighting, is dropping into Club Congress this Friday. Expect old chart-toppers like “Superman (It’s not Easy)” and “100 Years,” along with tracks from his 2009 album, Slice. Disclaimer: there will be no actual fighting.
OUR PICK
Top Dead Center at The Hut If you’re going to The Hut on Thursday be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. Top Dead Center, Tucson’s eminent Grateful Dead cover band, will be jamming out until the LSD wares off. TDC has been performing since 1999.
Friday
Club Congress 311 E. Congress St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. $28 advance, $30 day of show
‘Stabat Mater’ a dramatic thrill By Kellie Mejdrich ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
This week, the UA School of Music is all about drama. The Arizona Choir and the UA Symphonic Choir collaborates this week with the Arizona Symphony Orchestra in their performance of the Italian master Gioachino Rossini’s opus “Stabat Mater,” an operatic piece that contains all the drama of a Rossini opera, yet runs about an hour. The free performance will be held this Sunday at 3 p.m. at the St. Augustine Cathedral on 192 S. Stone Ave. The top graduate student choir, the Arizona Choir, working with the top undergraduate choir, the Symphonic Choir, will combine forces to form a choir of over 80 of UA’s top voices. Working in conjunction with the Arizona Symphony and including four soloists, including two UA alumni, this concert shows a significant portion of UA’s musical talent.
IF YOU GO Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” presented by Arizona Choir, UA Symphonic Choir, Arizona Symphony Orchestra St. Augustine Cathedral 192 S. Stone Ave. Sunday at 3 p.m., free “(For) folks who want to hear the absolute best in choral literature, this is an absolute not-to-be-missed,” said Dr. Bruce Chamberlain, director of Choral Activities at the School of Music. The piece consists of 10 movements that, according to many music scholars, are among Rossini’s best work. “It’s just a rollercoaster ride that ends on an absolutely triumphant moment,” Chamberlain said. The piece certainly isn’t something subtle or quiet in any way, which is typical of Rossini’s energetic, drama-packed style. People are definitely in for excitement whatever their background, Chamberlain said. Attendants will have the chance to hear the acoustic treat that is the St. Augustine Cathedral, a building designed for these purposes. And at a ticket price of $0, it’s hard to resist.
Bettie Serveert get raw for Club Crawl By Steven Kwan ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Bettie Serveert will be performing this Saturday night, armed with an arsenal of new songs. For their first visit to Tucson, they will be headlining The Rialto Theatre’s Club Crawl set. Formed in 1990, the Dutch band released their 1992 debut Palomine to critical acclaim (Their name translates as “Bettie to serve,” a reference to Dutch tennis player Bettie Stöve). Despite brandishing a personal indie rock sound that is familiar, yet defies easy references, and touring with the likes of Jeff Buckley, Dinosaur Jr. and Superchunk, they were never able to crossover into the mainstream during the ’90s. The band has fared better stateside during the past decade, and their latest effort released in March, Pharmacy of Love, reflects a band rediscovering their essential sound. “A lot of people told us at shows that they really appreciate our music, but they said when you play live it sounds way more raw and spontaneous and that we may have polished the albums before a little too much,” said Bettie Serveert guitarist Peter Visser. “Well, if we play live — and they were totally right — if we play live we might get to that sound a little bit more.” To capture the sound of their live shows, Visser said that during recording, the band members stood together in a circle and performed each song a few times. Then they chose the best version of these performances. They went into the studio and recorded the entire album within just four days. “We thought that recording so quickly might make it a little more urgent and less comfortable, which gives a certain edge that we sometimes had with playing live shows,” Visser said. Joppe Molenaar, drummer of Dutch band Voicst, joined Bettie Serveert for the recording of Pharmacy of Love and is currently touring with them. Visser said that because Molenaar is a relatively new collaborator with the band — he has been drumming for them for about two years, according to Visser — he keeps everyone on their feet. Visser recalled one show in
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Holland where Molenaar provided the band with a creative spark. “At the end of a song, Joppe played a lot of stuff that no one knew what was going on. There (were) a lot of pauses in between his drumming. We started to play with him and for some reason we all hit it at the same time that he did, and we did not when he did not. But we didn’t look at him. So it was almost like one person playing with eight hands. After that was done and we were back in the dressing room, we all looked at each other and said, ‘Well, what was that?’ That was totally amazing,” Visser said. Since the return of various ’90s bands in recent years, including former tourmates Dinosaur Jr., Come and
Photos courtesy of BigHassle.com
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Pavement, Visser said U.S. audiences have been really open to the band. He hopes to enjoy Club Crawl with friends from local band Giant Sand before performing. “We’re looking forward to hanging out with cool bands and hanging out with a lot of cool people, and playing the best of our abilities,” Visser said.
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arizona daily wildcat • wednesday, october 13, 2010 •
diversions
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Role-playing website encourages writers By Jason Krell ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT You walk into your room after a long and uninspiring day of school. The monotony of it all bores you endlessly, but what is waiting for you at home gets you through each class. Finally home, you open your computer and head to DaeLuin.net, a place you know will allow you to express your imagination. The familiar home page greets you, and you immediately look along the right side. What you see makes you smile to yourself: you got a reply today. You click the link, excited to see what happened with your character. It seems a fight is set to brew between the person you’re role-playing with, but that’s exactly what you wanted. Every sentence you read gives you another idea for your own response. Your character isn’t going to sit calmly and wait; he likes to fight. No sense in waiting then. You’re going to throw the first punch. The second you’re done reading, you open a Word document and get to work. The words flow freely from your mind and onto the page. All of your creativity had been so
backed up that it was just waiting to escape somewhere. After a good 20 minutes of writing, you finish and post your reply into the thread. Glad for the chance to write, you sit back and think about how great this site is. Before, it was much harder to convince yourself to put pen to paper. Now that you’re writing with other people, you have an obligation that keeps you motivated. What’s even better is that your writing has improved simply by being exposed to the hundreds of styles on the website, not to mention the friends you’ve made who are there to offer as many critiques as you want. Yes, DaeLuin.net has certainly been amost positive influences on your writing. And that’s about what a post would look like on the fantasy forum-based role-playing site. Of course, there are much more exciting and unique settings than a bedroom and, with the freedom a fantasy setting gives, your character would be much more interesting than a simple person. But the truth is that this website will make you a better writer. While it can hardly be said that everyone on the website is a professional – most people just do it for fun –
everything will teach you lessons if you look for them. Let’s start with the most basic aspect of the site. Before you can even begin writing, you have to build a character. Seeing as crafting believable heroes and villains is one of the most important skills a writer can have, fleshing out your character on DaeLuin will only help. Then there’s the actual writing itself. There are two parts to that: the plotting and the writing Obviously there would be no point in writing if your character has nothing to do, so in figuring the “what” out, you might just get good ideas for other pieces you might be working on. On to the actual writing. There are lessons even before you start. Since you’re writing with others, you can learn plenty from what they did. What parts of their post were good? What parts could be improved? Then you figure out the “why” and incorporate those lessons into your own work. Even if you aren’t paying attention to the technical aspects, the sheer fact that you’re writing frequently will help. There’s no proof that practice will make you perfect, but it will
certainly make you better. The fantasy setting might turn off some writers since not everyone writes genre fiction, but it can be pretty loosely interpreted most of the time. If fantasy is your cup of tea though, you’ll be in love with the site. There are swords and sorcery aplenty on DaeLuin, along with floating cities and gods that walk among mortals. What’s even better — for those who would take pride in it — if you prove to be one of the more talented and active users on the site, you can become one of these gods. It won’t really get you anywhere in real life, but hey, who would mind the ego boost? To make matters better, there isn’t some kind of business running the site. It’s entirely created and run by a handful of administrators and moderators, all of whom were mere users at some point. The site runs on donations too, and all funds go toward paying to keep the server active, so no one is even making money on it. This is all a labor of love, and that’s why you’ll love being a part of it. So if you’re looking for a way to brush up on your writing while having a good time with a great community, check out DaeLuin.net.
Psych ward romance ‘Kind of’ an enjoyable movie By Brandon Specktor ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Writing/directing duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, responsible for “Half Nelson” (depressed teacher learns from students) and “Sugar” (sports underdog makes good), are no strangers to uplifting melodrama. In an interview with the A.V. Club about “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” the partners said they, “tried to embrace every cliché of a teen movie we could think of.” That’s no joke. While the trailer looks like a “Cuckoo’s Nest” clone, the film replaces raging individualism and rebellion against an unqualified authority with raging libidos and rebellion against overbearing parents. The result is a cute and
insubstantial story that is more John Hughes that Ken Kesey. This breakfast club just happens to be locked in an adult psychiatric ward. The protagonist, Craig (Keir Gilchrist), is about as exciting as his name. He goes to a high-stakes high school in New York City, where the relative brilliance and sexuality of his peers leaves him a self-loathing wreck. Mom and Dad don’t understand; instead, they just push Craig to apply to a prestigious summer program that he doesn’t care about, but feels will solely determine his future happiness. So he climbs the Brooklyn Bridge. Craig doesn’t jump, but instead checks himself into a hospital psych ward, home to a cast of kooky patients and one flirty teen named Noelle (Emma Roberts — not Emma Watson, but about as cute).
The relative weirdness of his new peers, and the attention from Noelle, eventually rehabilitates Craig after a few days in the hole. We should all be so lucky. As promised by the directors, Craig’s short journey pauses at all the great teen movie clichés. He makes friends with a wizened loon (the surprisingly dynamic Zach Galifianakis) who becomes a teacher and confidante, despite violent mood swings. He breaks out of his cage and runs through hallways with his lady over songs by Broken Social Scene. He explains his past through Wes Andersonstyle montages, some with stopmotion cityscapes. At one point, he impersonates David Bowie in an endearing musical fantasy. But what gets lost in all the peppy teen homages is a reason to
care. Craig’s problems are broad enough that any young student can sympathize, but his circumstances are too extreme and his changes too immediate to connect with. Many of us have thrown pity-parties over college applications and the pressure of future planning. Few of us have straddled the rails of the Brooklyn Bridge, ended up in
Texas artist to bring indie sensibility to Club Congress second place at the competition, she walked away with more than just the In continuing its tradition of $700 prize. In the showcasing a wide-range of musical months that followed, acts and artists, Club Congress is she garnered a bringing yet another fresh voice to manager and began its historical stage this Thursday playing throughout night. The star of the night? The Austin, Texas, at a soulful redhead, Sahara Smith. variety of venues. The young Texas native created Now, with a more quite a buzz among the music mature sound and scene with the release of her first presence, it is no single entitled “The Real Thing,” surprise that Smith earning her growing recognition has recently found among music connoisseurs. Now, her way into the the young starlet is making her way across the country on her own realm of national personal tour to promote her debut fame, capturing the eyes and ears album Myth of the Heart. of a wide range of While Smith could generally be listeners and releasing classified as a country artist, her her very own album. crisp, unique voice and individual Since its release at style brings a little something else to the table. “Sahara’s a Texas artist who the end of August, Smith’s album has is influenced by a mix of blues, folk, received a flood country and rock, pulled together of rave reviews. by a stylish, indie sensibility that The Los Angeles I think makes her appealing to a Times spoke of broad audience,” says publicist Tyler Smith’s voice as Cannon of Shore Fire Media. “hit(ing) angelic Although she only just celebrated highs reminiscent of Alison Krauss her 22nd birthday, Smith is a veteran and Emmylou,” and American to the performance biz. She began Songwriter noted that “Smith’s playing music when she was just ethereal pipes pull you in, and her 12-years-old. She even wrote one way with words of her songs keep you there.” featured on Myth So if you are of the Heart when ready to be pulled she was a mere into a night of 13-years-old. Sahara Smith poignant lyrics However, it was Hotel Congress and striking in 2004, when vocals yourself, 311 E. Congress St. Smith was only you might want 15, that she first Thursday at 7 p.m. to check out won national All ages, free Sahara Smith this acclaim when she Thursday night participated in at Club Congress. “A Prairie Home Maybe you will discover what Companion”’s national “Talent from charming myth rests in the heart of Twelve to Twenty” contest. Even this soulful singer. though she only ended up taking
psych ward and left feeling right as rain in five days. Craig’s easy victory emphasizes our own daily defeats. It’s a valid date movie. If there’s one message to take away from this movie, it is this: Cute girls heal all wounds. Or maybe: Your life isn’t as bad as you think, you whiny turd. Maybe there isn’t one message. As in life, you need to find the meaning for yourself. Just don’t expect Zach Galifianakis to help you.
Can the Coens keep the ‘Grit’?
By Dallas Williamson ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
COMMENTARY BY Graham Thompson
T
Photo courtesy of myspace.com
arts writer
he Coen Brothers are releasing a new film, a remake of the classic Western “True Grit” originally starring John Wayne. The Western has been lately revitalized and revisited by such films as “3:10 to Yuma” and “Appaloosa.” But knowing the Coen Brothers, this will be an entirely new approach to the Western. The original “True Grit” is one of the best movies ever made and I hope the Coens do it justice. Too often is the remake not as good as the original. In this instance, with a plot involving a 14-year-old hiring a man of “true grit” to track down the man responsible for the death of her father, the Coen Brothers have a lot to consider.
It’s bad enough with books; it’s so hard to watch adaptations of them because they always have to conserve and compress and leave out important pieces of material that you’re dying to see. But with remakes of films there seems to be a greater desire to deviate so that the audience feels as though they are watching a different film, and usually the director has a vision for the film that a previous director did not capture. Since it’s the Coen Brothers we’re talking about, expect quite a bit more violence and raw behavior: the trailer lets us glimpse a man riding a horse wearing the severed head of a bear to keep from being recognized. With the grit taken care of, the Coen Brothers’ biggest challenge should be making sure their Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn lives up to John Wayne’s iconic interpretation of the tempestuous, intoxicated, tenacious U.S. marshall. Here’s hoping he will. “True Grit” will be released Dec. 25.
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arizona daily wildcat • wednesday, october 13, 2010 •
• wednesday, october 13, 2010 • arizona daily wildcat
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David Vick, a UA alumnus, and Garrett Macdonald, the UA Capoeira Club president and a UA senior, perform Capoeira Mandinga Brazilian martial arts.
Nice to meet me: Cultures mingle at TMY Festival Beautiful October weather was the perfect accompaniment to last weekend’s Tucson Meet Yourself Festival, a Tucson tradition of 37 years. The decades-old festival was founded in 1974 by Dr. James “Big Jim” Griffith, the head of the UA’s Southwest Folklore Center from 1979-98. Tucson Meet Yourself has its roots in education; it was the product of a professor’s tenacity, and remains connected with the university. This was TMY’s most successful year, with over 100,000 attendants over three days of festival activities. Downtown Tucson was congested with patrons, spanning over five full city blocks crowded with food vendors, performers, and local craftsmen proudly presenting their heritage. The map of this year’s festival included the Tucson Convention Center, El Presidio Park, Jacomé Library Plaza and La Placita Village.
This year’s executive director, Mia Hansen, was able to talk to Wildlife between flitting from booth to booth and exchanging quick messages over her radio. “(We) tripled our footprint this year,” Hansen said. An enthusiastic woman, Hansen had an ambitious vision for the festival this year, which came neatly to fruition. Highlights of the festival included the Key Ingredients Pavilion in El Presidio Park, where TMY was proud to be the first to display the Smithsonian Institute’s traveling exhibit, “Key Ingredients: America by Food,” presented by the Arizona Humanities Council. The exhibit tells the story of America’s identity through the traditions of eating and cooking. This year was also the first for the “Traditions of Home,” an interactive public exhibit in the Tucson Convention Center area celebrating traditions of folklore and storytelling in individual’s personal lives, as well as art installations that showcased bright
and colorful spaces such as living rooms and kitchens — spaces where traditions are born, bred, passed on and cherished. Among the hundreds of festive booths, art pieces and musical performances, the smells of over 50 traditional ethnic cuisines mingled with the breeze and enticed the patrons of the festival. For decades, Tucson locals have fondly referred to the festival as “Tucson Eat Yourself,” a playful nod to the impressive diversity of food available. The Spanish food booth sold bowls of seafood paella,
a traditional dish of rice and mussels; the Greek stand was crowded with people waiting for flaky baklava and savory gyros; the Indian stand steamed samosas continually throughout the day. Among the more surprising samples were Colombian and Vietnamese foods. Dr. Maribel Alvarez, head of the UA’s Southwest Folklore Center and the TMY Board Chair and Folklorist, appreciates the moniker but thinks it a bit narrow. “The festival is not just about eating — although in almost
“I think it’s very important. Tucson is an isolated place, and when you’re just walking down the street you don’t realize how diverse it actually is.”
— Alexandra Queen Tucson Meet Yourself volunteer
every culture, eating is a part of celebration,” Alvarez said. Alvarez teaches English 248 at the university, an Introduction to Folklore course that was an ideal segue into introducing students to TMY. “In the classroom, we talk about the theoretical; the students were required to come to the festival and volunteer. They are looking at it from an academic point of view. Attending becomes like a practical in a lab,” Alvarez said. Alvarez is interested in the educational opportunities that TMY provides — and there are many. It is a fusion of cultures and languages coexisting in one condensed space; the lines between cultures become literally and figuratively fluid at the festival, with Polish food being sold next to a Thai masseuse, next to a booth from Tucson Tamale Company. It is an explosive celebration of diversity and the timelessness of tradition. This generational aspect was reflected in the guests as well; patrons of
Mohyeddin Abdulaziz, a native speaker of Arabic, writes attendees’ names in Arabic.
the festival ranged in age from infants to grandparents, whole generations of families attending together. The volunteer effort of the festival was colored by this same diversity; 12-year-old volunteers helped carry tables and set up tents. Over 400 volunteers operated this year’s festival, many returning, sporting bright pink t-shirts supporting the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure. Tucson Meet Yourself is always graced by remarkable performances, and 2010 was no different. Mariachi El Quinto Sol strummed their guitarras at the TCC Plaza Stage; various Folklorico dancers swirled their skirts to impressed crowds. One favorite was the Bollywood wedding procession, which snaked through the festival streets on Saturday evening. The UA’s own Bollywood dance club, Om Shanti, led the colorful celebratory march. Returning events included the Corrido contest, put on by Dr. Celestino Fernandez, a professor of sociology at the UA. Corridos are a traditional form of poetic ballads hailing from Mexico, designed to tell a narrative of important events. “Corridos are not about the skill of performance or how well instruments are played. They are about the story — the words,” Fernandez said. Competitors have been a mix of Tucson locals, as well as commuters from Phoenix and Mexico, eager to share their song. “We once had a little boy about 7 years old, all dressed up, who performed his own corrido,” Fernandez said. “I think he won a prize.” Every space in the blocks of the festival was packed with something for everyone. “We wanted to fill as much as possible,” Hansen said. This year was the first to include Pima County Meet Yourself, with representatives from Pima County available to discuss local issues concerning
Dancers from Danzas Folklorico Orquidea perform dances with a blend of Native American, African and Spanish influences.
health, budget and education. The paths throughout the streets were lined with yellow footprints, an effort of the Southern Arizona Roadrunners, Tucson Medical Center and Activate Tucson, which led patrons throughout the festival and to Tai Chi and health screenings. True to its name, TMY was buzzing with conversation and interaction between all ages and ethnicities. The scope of downtown provided an environment for cultures to collide. Alexandra Queen, a UA senior in Alvarez’s Folklore course, is a regular attendant and volunteer of the festival and urges people to take advantage of it. “I think it’s very important. Tucson is an isolated place, and when you’re just walking down the street you don’t realize how diverse it actually is,” Queen says. Alvarez is a staunch advocate of increasing people’s awareness of diversity, and has made a valiant effort in maintaining the festival’s pedagogical integrity. “Many think the festival is only for fun, and while it is fun, it is also about careful interactions (between people) and details. There is a lot of well-educated research put into the festival,” Alvarez said. “The culture of the festival is a culture of celebration; it is about spending every day of life to enter into a festive mood.”
Chieko Nakano, a UA East Asian studies Ph.D. alumna, practices and teaches origami. Among the figures created by Nakano are a sumo wrestler and a jumping frog.
Photos by Gordon Bates/Arizona Daily Wildcat
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• wednesday, october 13, 2010 • arizona daily wildcat
threads
Where to go for that killer Halloween costume By Miranda Butler ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
Spirit Halloween 5725 E. Broadway Blvd.
Spirit is a nationwide Halloween superstore. There are three locations in Tucson alone: the closest to campus is on Broadway Boulevard, plus there’s another on Oracle Road near the Tucson Mall and one more on Ina Road. Spirit stores open in September and close again after first week of November. Spirit specializes entirely in Halloween merchandise. It’s really made for Halloween lovers, especially if you’re a fan of the horror of the holiday. The store is decked out in Halloween decorations and eerie displays. Spirit has a great arrangement of costumes at reasonable prices, and an impressive amount of haunted house props. It’s probably the only place where you can buy an entire playground for life-sized zombie babies or a fully animated Freddy Krueger mannequin.
Approximate price range for an adult costume: $20-$60 Quality: 4/5 Variety: 5/5 Awesome level: it’s AWESOME
Creative Costumes 4220 E. Speedway Blvd.
Creative Costumes is Tucson’s year-round party, costume and
formalwear shop. It’s a smaller store operated by a friendly staff where you can either purchase a costume or rent an outfit from their extensive collection. This store has a fun and colorful layout, and it also features costume makeup, realistic wigs, many shoes and all kinds of specialty accessories. Since Creative Costumes is a year-round costume supplier that offers more than just Halloween merchandise, the quality of the product is much higher than your average Halloween shop. This does increase the price range, but there are some great clearance items if you look for them.
Approximate price range for an adult costume: $40-$90. There are also rental options. Quality: 5/5 Variety: 4/5 Awesome level: really cool
Party City 5385 E. Broadway Blvd.
There are two different Party City stores close to campus: one on the north side of Broadway Boulevard, and the other right across the street. The former is the store’s original location, which (for the month of October) has been converted to sell only Halloween merchandise. The latter location is bigger, housing additional Halloween items along with Party City’s regular arrangement of party supplies such
Creative Costumes
as piñatas, tableware and balloons. Party City is a big store that’s busy and chaotic, especially on weekends. But the atmosphere is fun, and it’s conveniently laid out with aisles labeled like a grocery store. Party City has costume shopping down to a science. A giant wall of posters displays every available costume. If you’re not sure quite what you want to be for Halloween yet, this might be a good place to start. Likewise, if you’re throwing a party, Party City is the only store on this list that offers a huge variety of all the supplies you would need.
Approximate price range for an adult costume: $30-$50
Lisa Beth Earle/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Quality: 3/5 Variety: 5/5 Awesome level: it’s pretty cool
How Sweet it Was Vintage Clothing and Rentals 419 N. Fourth Ave.
You’ve probably seen the unique establishment How Sweet it Was on Fourth Avenue. The shop is one of Arizona’s oldest and largest vintage stores, serving Tucson since 1974. How Sweet it Was offers a unique shopping experience and retro atmosphere. It features racks and racks of vintage clothing and can be quite fun to explore.
Aside from the actual clothes, it also offers an arrangement of interesting hats, scarves and accessories. How Sweet it Was is the place to go if you’re planning to do something retro and creative. However, if you’re looking for a sexy getup or want to dress up as a particular character, some of the more typical Halloween shops would be more appropriate.
Approximate price range for an adult costume: $20-$40 Quality: 3/5 Variety: 3/5 Awesome level: really fun store
Ginny Polin/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Lissa Marinaro, Zoë Boutique owner, helps Melissa Barber, a retail and consumer sciences senior, hang art by local artists at her store located on 735 N. Fourth Ave.
How Sweet it Was Vintage Clothing and Rentals
DISSARD continued from page B1
Lisa Beth Earle/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Parasol Project collaborates on artist’s reimagining
which happened between film shootings, presenting Dissard’s new album . The film is definitely experimental, but Cox says it has something for everyone willing to take a look. “There’s a story inside of it, and it’s really quite sweet,” Cox said. To Dissard and Cox, this film is just another chance to speak to the Tucson community they are so invested in. The film is “about people
here,” Dissard said. “It’s about a bunch of cowboys and cowgirls running around, bumping into each other.” Dissard, who was born in a small town in southwest France, grew up in Los Angeles and Phoenix but says Tucson is her home now. “It’s the mellowest city in America,” Dissard said. “Tucson has to deal with a dual identity, and I think that makes me feel at home, as I have to deal with two cultures.” Dissard and Parasol Project’s
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film premieres at The Loft Cinema on Thursday at 7 p.m. , followed by a show at Solar Culture on Friday, playing L’Abandon, the album. Those curious about the artistic goings-on are sure to find these upcoming events an interesting and satisfying display of a great deal of artists’ hard work and passion. “Its definitely a Tucson film, a lot about us, about our Tucson,” Dissard said. “Everyone here is trying to find that abandon, that freedom.”
Zoë Boutique features local art By Kristina Remy ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT When Lissa Marinaro took over Zoë Boutique in 2000, she knew she wanted to bring art and fashion together. The boutique, which is on the southwest corner of University Boulevard and Fourth Avenue, provides customers with an art-filled shopping experience as they peruse through rack after rack of the latest fashions. The boutique has a wide selection of clothing, shoes and accessories from a variety of labels, including the mainstream (Tarina Tarantino) and the local (Siobhan). The art featured in the store is from local artists and changes every few months. On Oct. 16, head down to Zoë Boutique for its event “Autumn Delight.” The event is an open reception that will showcase the paintings and drawings of
several local artists, including Lauren Russell, a UA art student. “It’s important to support local and upcoming artists and because the connection between fashion and art is so strong,” Marinaro said. “It just makes sense to have both.” Other artists include Nina Axan, George Belcher, KoKo Bellows, Amy Hagemeier, Lisa Kanouse and Andrea Peterson. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will go until 9 p.m. Refreshments will be provided, and new fall fashions will also be debuted. Event attendees are invited to come shop and check out the art, which will also be available for sale. All of the art will hang until Nov. 27. For more information, call Zoë Boutique at 740-1201 or stop by the shop. Business hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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• wednesday, october 13, 2010 • arizona daily wildcat
visuals
Screening Room series examines border By Kellie Mejdrich ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The Screening Room is bringing a large collection of films together to discuss the US-Mexico border this October in collaboration with “Artes Sin Fronteras,” a monthlong collaboration in Tucson that includes a series of events in film, theater, music, visual arts and literature. “It’s not just about the conflict but also about cultural newness that happenes when cultures interact, when cultures come
together like Arizona and Sonora do,” said Suzanne Borth, the education director at The Screening Room. Eren McGinnis, who produced and did sound for the upcoming documentary “Precious Knowledge” in collaboration with director and photographer Ari Paolos, is excited to be involved in the film festival and is highly invested in her new work, which will show a short preview clip followed by a discussion on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. The documentary follows the lives of students at Tucson
High School who fought to protect the Raza Studies Program at their school in the midst of political turmoil. “It was very inspirational to work with high school students, students who care about justice, who care enough to get arrested,” McGinnis said. The roughly 2-and-a-half year long project is set to premiere in full in February. McGinnis hopes her documentary will inform people about what’s going on politically in the city. “We want to educate the
public about the issue,” McGinnis said. “People can watch the movie and make their own choices. They can see the kids, see what they’re learning and make their own choices.” McGinnis said she hopes that the film will help people form their opinions, which they can then take to the polls. “It comes down to who you elect. It’s a very important election,” McGinnis said. This festival is sure to be an interesting, inspiring collection of screenings which deal with issues very close to home.
IF YOU GO The Screening Room 127 E. Congress St. Thursday, 7 p.m. “Who Is Davani Cristal?” free. Oct. 21, 7 p.m. A 10-minute preview of Ari Palos and Eren McGinnis’s documentary “Precious Knowledge” Oct. 28, 7 p.m. “The 800 Mile Wall” by John Carlos Frey, free.
Union Gallery’s ‘Fearless’ celebrates openly gay athletes By Maitri Mehta ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The Union Gallery is currently filled with hundreds of faces — even after the space is closed for the evening. On exhibition now is Jeff Sheng’s photo exhibition, “Fearless,” a collection of more than 100 portraits of athletes that identify openly as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer. Sheng is an artist based in Los Angeles and began his work on “Fearless” in 2003 following his college graduation. “Fearless” will have its opening reception this Thursday, at 5:30 p.m., with a speech from Sheng himself, the keynote speaker of the UA’s ‘Coming Out Week’ (Oct. 11-15). “Fearless” is surging with power, and perhaps its effects derive from the unique nature of the exhibition itself. The sheer number of portraits is astounding — Sheng has photographed more than 100 athletes, ranging in age from high school to college students, who have all identified as “out,” a sizeable hurdle in the stereotypically homophobic athletic community. Sheng also requires that his subjects be scholastic athletes. Sheng’s
collection began seven years ago. “It was a really difficult project to start,” he said. “I started by emailing colleagues and people I knew that were athletes — anyone who was willing to hear me out. The project eventually just grew by word of mouth. Most of the athletes have been the ones to contact me.” Sheng initially had no large ambitions for the project. “I started thinking I would take 20 portraits and be done,” he said. But “Fearless” has quickly transformed into a driving phenomena. It has been displayed on various college campuses throughout the United States since 2006. Sheng wanted the portraits to be displayed in unconventional venues such as student unions, dining halls, gyms and recreation centers. The work demanding everyone’s attention without discrimination rather than confronting a specific audience that proactively went to view the exhibit in a gallery space. In 2008, “Fearless” was on display at the ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut and since has been exhibited at the 2009 International Conference on LGBT Human Rights in Copenhagen, Denmark and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Ginny Polin/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Stephen Hall, an art history junior, looks closely at portraits of openly LGBTQ high school and college athletes as part Jeff Sheng’s “Fearless” exhibit in the Student Union Memorial Center’s Union Gallery.
Sheng has now extended his portraits to Canadian athletes. The experience of viewing each portrait is connective and personal. Each athlete was photographed in uniform, isolated in an area that represented their sport — locker rooms, soccer pitches, swimming pools. Sheng’s process is to have each athlete perform an intense workout — completely alone — after which Sheng would shoot a series of 100-200 portraits. During the shoot, Sheng would ask that the athletes work out every five to 10 minutes and then shoot another set of photos. The result is stripped and vulnerable — each athlete stares intently at the lens, sweaty and exhausted from his or her rigorous exercise. The piercing gaze of each young man, woman or transgender student is honest and vulnerable, caught in a state of true dedication, strength and focus — genuine effort. Sheng’s embodiment of their physical strength becomes a projection for their emotional courage in being out and open in sports, an area that is thought of as hypermasculine. “I wanted to capture their identities as athletes,” Sheng said. “That was my main goal.” The portraits are straightforward and simple, and it is this exact “ordinary” quality that is what is so poignant about Sheng’s work. “Fearless” is an exhibition that demands people treat LGBTQ people as they would anyone else, and it relays this message in such a stark, confrontational way that it makes it seem obvious that equality should be the status quo. “I am using images of other people who are very proud of who they are and all the different representations of themselves,”
Sheng said. An athlete himself, Sheng did not identify as openly gay during high school. A former tennis player, Sheng stopped playing during college when he became interested in photography. When he did come out, Sheng wanted to revisit his past identity from a fresh perspective, combining his present and past passions by pursuing a project of sports photography. Sheng consciously, and even aggressively, intends for “Fearless” to be an urgent, provocative body of work that incites discussion and activism. “It’s my job as an artist to use my work to further social activism,” Sheng said. His goal of using “Fearless” as an educational work coincides with the goals of Mandy Garcia, the Union Gallery curator. “We want to use the art (we display here) as education — we don’t always see it that way,” Garcia said. Though the Union Gallery is an art gallery, it is advantageous in its location at the Student Union Memorial Center. It becomes a hybrid of the traditional gallery and the high-traffic spaces where Sheng intended for “Fearless” to be displayed. The portraits are brightly colored and highly contrasted like stills from a Nike commercial. The prints range in size from 13 by 19 inches to 4 by 6 feet. Some are accompanied by a textual biography and interview with the athlete pictured, but most speak for themselves. The athletes stare into the eyes of the viewer, their own eyes proudly and gently asserting their individuality and, more importantly, their humanity. Jeff Sheng will be speaking this Thursday at the Union Gallery, on third floor of the Student Union Memorial Center, at 5 p.m.
Happy Hump Day! from the Arizona Daily Wildcat