Caliber Magazine – Issue 7.5 by Caliber Magazine

IN SIDE: yths M s u p m a C g n i h c t a W Binge numbers he

Boobs by t

i a t k c o C e g Colle

Welcome to Summer 2013! I dearly hope that everyone’s summer season will soon become a sun-burnt memory of lounging around in perfect unproductivity. I know that many of us do indeed have shit to do this summer, but even if just once, be irresponsible and fall asleep in the sun or read under a tree, or drink a margarita during the day, or do anything that’ll make you miss August come Christmas time! In case your workaholic tendencies get the best of you and you find yourself bored (guilty as charged), do not be alarmed, our summer issue of Caliber will provide you with a plethora of cookie and cocktail recipes, as well as some half-decent articles to sift through (just kidding, they’re AWESOME). Soon enough we’ll all be back for the new semester, but for now there’s a hammock somewhere calling your name. Find said hammock, lie down in it, and finish this brilliant summer mag. Enjoy! Lara Hovsepian-Ruby

Editor-in-Chief

INSIDE THE ISSUE 04 FACT OR FICTION: CAMPUS MYTHS Educate yourself on the local folklore. 07 OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! (with your cal id)

It’s not just for identification purposes. Learn where else your ID card can take you.

08 ONCE UPON A TIME: IF FICTIONAL CHARACTERS WENT TO CAL

Berkeley students and professors come from all over the world, including the fictional world. Here’s some bios of the most interesting characters (literally) on campus.

11 addicting games to help you procrastinate

4 13

12 WORDS THAT SHOULD BE A PART OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

A look at the current state of television consumption: why we do it and what it says about our generation.

16 The Metamorphosis: from Prude to Partier

An inside look at why reserved high schoolers delve into the party scene when they come to college, and what they’ve learned from it.

18 boobs by numbers

2 isn’t the only number that is boobily significant! Take a “Peeping Tom” peek at other interesting facts and numbers about the body part that we love to love!

20 Four for the Cookie Jar: homemade girl scout cookies

It’s a wonder some words never made it into the English language. Like “backpfeifengesicht”.

13 THE WAY WE WATCH: A GUIDE TO BINGE WATCHING

Kill that mid-study slump by taking a break playing one of five of the most addicting smartphone games available.

Say yes to Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, and Tagalongs year-round. Try these delicious alternative, money- saving recipes for the four most popular Girl Scout cookies.

23 CLA$$Y COCKTAILS

Throw together a party-worthy drink with ingredients you can (probably) find in your cabinet.

table of contents

FACTORFICTION: campus myths

Article by Monu Kala

background photo by Rosa Nguyen

Berkeley. This name is synonymous with all kinds of weird and quirky things: hobos on campus, Yoshua telling us that the world will end soon, and the old woman on Sproul reading out the Bible every morning while we walk to class. Another quirk that adds on to our experience here are our myths and legends. Did you know that you can go into that small circle on Sproul and do anything without consequences because no law governs it? Or has anyone tried explaining to you why Dwinelle is so confusing with a story about a weird love triangle involving two architect brothers? Such myths and stories are circulated all around campus everyday. However, there are many misconceptions regarding these myths, and it is important for us to actually know the facts behind them. The acquired information from the UC Berkeley Parent and Visitor Services department that follows will help unravel the truth and explain the real history behind the myths that we have all come to know. Apologies in advance to anyone whose interesting myths and legends have been reduced to simple, boring facts after reading this. However, it is important that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disregard these myths and legends as something foolish or nonsensical. Regardless of how ridiculous these myths might seem, they make our campus more interesting. These myths and legends are what give us stories to share with our friends and families back home. Every campus needs its own myths and stories, and these are ours.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

Sather Gate

Myth – Sather Gate originally had eight panels of nude men and women, in which the nude men were in the front and the woman were in the back. Since the front of the gate says, “Erected by Jane K. Sather,” Jane allegedly got offended because of the sexual implications that came with the word “erected” and she took the panels down. However, after a few years, these panels were restored with the women in front this time around. Fact – The panels were taken down and restored, but for a different reason. These eight panels on top of the gate represent different things. The four nude men represent disciplines of law, letters, medicine, and mining, while the four nude women represent disciplines of agriculture, architecture, art, and electricity. Once these were in place, some strangers decided to have some fun and cover the figures with oak leaves in strategic places. Jane K. Sather noticed this and wrote a letter to the officials about the university not being able to differentiate between “nude” and “naked,” and as a result these figures were taken down until 1977, when they were brought back and reinstalled.

The Sproul Circle

Myth – Allegedly, there is no jurisdiction in the space above the hole, so no law governs this space. This means that, potentially, anyone can do anything in and above that little circle and face no legal consequences for it whatsoever. The story goes that some people believe that they could shoot someone from the hole and claim no responsibility, while others in the past have tried growing pot in the hole. (Just FYI – the pot didn’t actually grow in the circle)

Fact – Though there is no actual law that governs that space above the hole; there is also no rule against pushing someone out of that hole, so the police or the authorities can always find a way to arrest someone. While you’re technically allowed to do anything in there, sooner or later you will have to face the consequences. (What a bummer, I know) The Actual Story – In 1989 there was a national public art competition held by the Berkeley Art Project to acknowledge and commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement, which began on the Berkeley campus in 1964. This Sproul circle was the winning design by a graduate student at the time, and he described it as “an invisible sculpture that creates a small space completely free from laws and jurisdiction.” He called this a “six-inch circle of soil,” with a “free column of air space above it framed by a six-foot granite circle.” This granite circle reads “this soil and the airspace extending above it shall not be a part of any nation and shall not be subject to any entity’s jurisdiction”.

campus

Other Common Superstitions

4.0 Hill It’s simple – roll down all the way down the hill and you’ll get a 4.0 your first semester. But, how many students actually rolled down this hill their first semester at Cal? According to the poll, only 9 out of the 20 kids admitted to trying it out, and 3 said they have never heard of the 4.0 hill. The University Seal I’m sure many of you are familiar with this one: the superstition is that if you step on the university seal, you will fail your next midterm. To ensure that you don’t fail, you have to run and kiss the century-old 4.0 ball in front of the Campanile. Though the usual perception is that this superstition hardly matters to students, when asked on a Caliber-led survey, 16 out of 20 freshmen said that they actively avoid stepping on the university seal when possible. Wisdom from Athena We all know that there is a figure of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, over the main entrance to Doe Library. Apparently, if you walk under Athena’s gaze, she will grant you wisdom. However, you can’t just walk in and leave, you actually need to open up a book in the library to prove that you’re worthy. When asked, only two out of the ten students knew that you need open a book to prove yourself worthy of Athena’s wisdom.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

Dwinelle Hall

(One Messed Up Piece of Architecture) Myth – As the story goes, the reason that Dwinelle is so complicated is that when it was originally being constructed, the two architects working on it were brothers who got into a fight over the same woman. This understandably resulted in some tension between the two, and they both designed the building without consulting each other. The end result of this was that when their plans were finally joined, the levels did not match up and this is why Dwinelle is so confusing. Fact – As juicy and interesting as this myth sounds, it is not true; Dwinelle was actually built that way on purpose. The university needed two types of buildings – one that would contain classrooms that had higher ceilings for ventilation, and the other that would contain offices with no need for high ceilings that could use a simpler heating/ventilation system – however, they only had space for one. So now we know why we’ve all found ourselves lost at some point in Dwinelle.

The Strawberry Canyon Creek Myth – Various students believe that the pH of the creek is higher than usual because the Faculty Glade dumps all their reactions and residues in there. Some students also believe that the water from the creek is supposed to taste like strawberries, and hence the name “Strawberry Creek”. Fact – Strawberry Creek is the main stream running through Berkeley, and it has supported a growing number of native animals and plants following the restoration project that started in 1987. As far as the pH is concerned, the Strawberry Creek has a normal pH level ranging from around 6.5 to 7, and although this number is increasing slightly every year due to pollution, it has nothing to do with the Faculty Glade. Additionally, the water from the creek does not taste like strawberries, but rather Strawberry Creek got its name from the abundant native vines once found along its canyon bank.

oh, the places

YOU’LL GO ...with your Cal ID!

I’ve lost my Cal ID three times in the past two semesters, and it’s a pain. Because it’s not just getting in and out of your dorms that your Cal ID covers but a whole wealth of campus needs—plus these Article by Emily Burt perks, which you might not have known about!

did you know Your Cal ID can also work as a debit card! Here are some of the places that will take a Cal ID debit card, and a few cheeky deals as well: The Melt, (2400 Telegraph): Free fountain drink with purchase of any combo when you pay with your Cal ID Debit. San Francisco Soup Company (2512 Bancroft): Free fountain drink when buying a large combo Pacific Film Archive: (2626 Bancroft) Get a free movie poster when you make a Cal ID purchase Jamba Juice : (2514 Bancroft) Buy one smoothie and get one free when you pay with your Cal ID Debit. International House Café (2299 Piedmont): Save 10% when you pay with your Cal ID Debit

A Relaxing Afternoon Poolside No Cal ID? $5.00 for a day pass Bring: swimming costume, towel, good book, sun lotion. Student gym membership is only $10/ semester at the RSF, which gives you access to all the workout classes, all the cardio equipment, and all the campus swimming pools, and is one of the best investments you’ll make in your time at Cal. Being something of a lazybones, this is my favorite thing to do with a Cal ID. Blow off an afternoon from work, take a few books and head up to Golden Bear or Strawberry Canyon. You don’t have to get on a bus or the BART, the lifeguards have no problem with people just chilling on the wooden bleachers or the grass in their swim gear, and it’s high enough in the hills that you can forget the stresses of the day. Go during the week and you’re almost guaranteed your own swimming lane as well. Botanical Gardens No Cal ID? $8.00, ($5.00 conc) entry fee. If you’re willing to walk a bit of a way up the fire trails the Botanical Gardens can be a great way to kill a sunny afternoon. Home to all kinds of weird and wonderful flowers, with rearing trees on every side, it’s the perfect place for a picnic or a quiet afternoon of outdoor study.

Campanile View No Cal ID? $2.00 General Admission Getting to the top of the Campanile is a definite requirement of being a Berkeley student. Gives you a great view of the bay, doesn’t take that long, and once again is FREE with your Cal ID. Save it for a clear sunny day and take a camera for photos. Trip to San Francisco No Cal ID? $4.50 for the ride Bored of the BART? With your Cal ID comes a free bus pass! The AC transit can get you across the bay, leaving every half hour from the UC Berkeley campus and dropping you at the Transbay station in San Francisco. Avoid the stifling tunnels and potentially sketchy fellow BART-ers, and go upside of the Bay Bridge.

Lose your Cal ID and you have to pay a flat fee of $25.00 for a new card, and $60 for a replacement bus fee. I decided against the new bus pass: I only really used it to get up the hill when I was feeling lazy anyway— but paid for the new card without too much of a shrug. After all, with the freebies you can get, it’s not too much of a sacrifice. Moral of the story? Keep your friends close and your Cal ID closer.

campus

once upon a

time

if fictional characters went to cal

It’s a typical day in Berkeley. Speedwalkers with bulging backpacks nearly collide with bicyclists weaving in and out of the herds of sleep-deprived students like some obstacle course and a DeLorean nearly runs you over while you’re crossing the street. On the edge of campus, your breakfast is secondhand cigarette smoke as you slink your way to another large lecture at Dwinelle, passing by an obnoxiously loud protest advocating against the abuse of Pokemon in Pokemon battles. Your disheveled Einstein-looking physics GSI once again goes off on a tangent about space time continuum and something about a flux capacitor and while your classmate Marty McSomething looks on intently, you find yourself too sleepy to pay attention. After a quick nap at Memorial Glade, you watch the Quidditch team, with a cute new redhead on the team; you hear he’s an exchange student. Is this the real life or is this just fantasy? Let’s meet some of the fictional world’s finest attending one of the world’s finest universities. article by Athena Nghiem

Sherlock Holmes

Grad Student

Undeniably one of the most brilliant minds at Berkeley, Sherlock Holmes previously triple majored in biology, chemistry and some unknown interdisciplinary study that allowed him to be incredibly well-read and knowledgeable about the most mundane topics, perhaps only useful at trivia bar nights. Currently he is a GSI for a philosophy logic course about the science of deduction; however, he is often found scoffing at the slowly ticking minds of his students, simply because he reaches conclusions faster than anyone can think. He is frequently found holed up at random hours in his lab on campus or 221 Bancroft Way with his roommate, a UCSF medical student by the name of Watson. Sherlock introduces himself, saying “My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don’t know.” Sherlock previously attempted to start a club for consulting, but made his club too exclusive so that the only person who was accepted was himself. In his spare time, he now does private consulting, often allegedly investigating murders for the thrill of it, and hopes to develop a startup out of his home residence. His most popular case so far: investigating thefts committed by Berkeley squirrels.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

Hermione Granger

Undergrad

Although her time turner may not be legal here in the United States (not too sure about importation laws on that one), Hermione Granger never misses a chance to further her education. This time, Hermione is expanding on a Muggle Studies class previously taken at Hogwarts, obtaining a major in Muggle Studies, or more commonly known to us Muggles as just plain “history”. When she’s not busy staying up late in Main Stacks or the North Reading Room in Doe Library, a great hall reminiscent of her own back home, Hermione is on Sproul, promoting equal rights for all in the spirit of Berkeley protests. She is currently starting a chapter of S.P.E.W., the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, here, shaking her badges at students passing by on Sproul. “I’m hoping to do some good in the world!” says Hermione about her actions.

Frodo Baggins

Undergrad

Frodo Baggins understands that one does not simply walk through Sproul, especially being the height he is. Though the Shire is a long way off from Berkeley, Frodo finds a second home in the co-ops. His favorite course is the History of Middle Earth DeCal, which he considers more of a history class, especially with the course reading There and Back Again by his own uncle, the famous Bilbo Baggins. Although Frodo enjoys college life, he mentions “I miss the Shire. I spent all my life pretending I was off somewhere else. But my own adventure turned out to be quite different.” Although he remains undecided about his goals in life and living up to the legacy of his uncle, he is very committed to working hard to achieve his goals despite any challenges or “Gollums” that stand in his way; a college education is precious. Another interesting fact: Frodo also believes that there is one “ring” to rule them (Berkeley students) all: the ringing of the Campanile bells, which he plays with passion and consistency.

Katniss Everdeen

Undergrad

Berkeley is a far way off from Katniss Everdeen’s hometown in District 12, but this undergrad manages to feel surrounded by the outdoors of home by taking a quick break in secluded and wooded areas of Strawberry Creek or hiking around Tilden Park, often “collecting” and “finding” deer or random birds on her ventures. Though the plump Berkeley squirrel may look like a tempting target for her arrow, Katniss no longer needs to support herself by selling kill at The Hob, allowing her to focus on her education. Nearly everyone predicts her major to be Peace and Conflict Studies; even the professors themselves often invite her for a talk about her past experiences. Katniss is headstrong on going her own way, however, and is earning her BA in Plant Biology, expanding on her knowledge of edible and poisonous berries and plants from home. When asked about what she does in her spare time, Katniss replies, “I volunteer.” Besides being on the field as one of the best archers on Cal Archery, Katniss can also be found frequenting the bakery where her boyfriend, Peeta, works. Although rumored to have appeared on a reality show, it’s the truth that in whatever she does, this girl is on fire.

entertainment

Atticus Finch

professor

Luke Skywalker

Undergrad

Luke Skywalker hails from a galaxy far, far away and, though trips home are a pain and two luggages might not fit in an X-wing fighter, studying abroad on another planet has opened up a whole new world for Luke. A mechanical engineering major he is, as Yoda would say, Luke wants to bring the technology of robots, such as his companions R2D2 and C-3PO, here. Luke is also very involved with the ASUC, running under the New Jedi Order. In his rare spare time, Luke trains with his lightsaber and hopes to make lightsaber dueling a club sport. May the force equals mass times acceleration be with you, Luke. Greatest annoyance: people coming up to him and claiming that they are his father.

One of the most patient professors on campus, it’s a shame that lawyer and professor Atticus Finch only teaches at the Boalt School of Law. However, he does often give seminars about his humble past experiences in the courtroom, focusing on breaking tensions and gender stereotypes that align with the spirit of movements that have begun here at Cal. A commonly repeated phrase of wisdom: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view— until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” In the classroom, Professor Finch uses mockingbirds as a symbol of his honor code and trust in the students. He inspires generations of students to become lawyers, all the while being friendly and easy to talk to. Anyone can grab a coffee with Professor Finch and enjoy a side of intelligent conversation— no matter their age—at Cafe Strada..

Troy Bolton

Mulan

Undergrad As an international student residing at the I-House, Mulan likes to keep the cultural connections linked with her heritage by being an active member of the Chinese Student Association, although tea-pouring ceremonies are definitely not her thing. Mulan also kicks butts, literally, training in martial arts while her intelligence and determination make her a quick learner in archery and fencing; it is no surprise that this quickwit and loyal girl is friends with Katniss. Mulan also volunteers at the Gender Equity Resource Center, since her past experiences have helped her recognize the need for an inclusive atmosphere for all genders. Mulan is definitely “a girl who’s got a brain, who always speaks her mind” and is furiously loyal and proud of her family as well as her Cal Bears community.

Undergrad

After graduating from a little high school called East High School, Troy Bolton headed here. Ah, who’s kidding, as if he would’ve gotten in here.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

article by Swapna Dhamdhere

RUZZLE

This game is the perfect filler for any empty or busy time that you may have. You only get two minutes to find as many words as you can on a sixteen letter board. Each round is short enough that you can squeeze in a round or two while you’re waiting for your computer to start, riding the bus, or need to make those agonizing last five minutes of class speed by. Start playing and soon you’ll be seeing Ruzzle boards in your sleep. Literally.

FIND IT: iPhone app store Addiction level: 5/5 Cost: Free Tips: Try the practice board. It’ll help you not suck against your ﬁrst real opponents. Turn the sound on. The chiming sounds are annoying as hell but provide such instant gratiﬁcation that you won’t be able to put it down.

SUBWAY SURFER Race through the subway and collect as many gold coins as you can whilst running from the security patrols. The cool thing about this game is that all you really have to do is swipe in the direction of the coins and make sure not to die. The longer you’re alive, the faster it gets. With each update, the setting changes so you’re not stuck running the same tracks. FIND IT: iPhone app store Addiction level: 4.5/5 Cost: Free Tips: Go the extra mile and do the daily challenges. You won’t be sorry!

TEMPLE RUN All you need to do for this game is outrun demonic monkeys from whom you stole an ancient idol. Taking on the persona of an explorer, you run endlessly whilst avoiding randomly generated obstacles. FIND IT: iPhone app store Addiction level: 4/5 Cost: Free Tips: Watch out for the corners. They get you every time.

SOBER SANTA This is a throwback to the good old days of ebaum’s world games that you played in your 6th grade computer class. Basically all you have to do is keep Santa standing as he gets more and more inebriated. FIND IT: Ebaumsworld.com (you can also now ﬁnd it on your iPhone or Android) Addiction level: 3/5 Cost: Free Tips: Get to the champagne fast. The drunker you get, the more coins you earn. Bottoms up! you every time.

PLANTS vs ZOMBIE

This may seem like a strange combination, but it’s worth all the time you’ll waste. You place various plants and fungi around a house with varying defense capabilities to protect yourself from zombies. The game is all about putting the right mushrooms in just the right lane to blow a zombie head to bits. FIND IT: iPhone app store Addiction level: 3/5 Cost: $0.99 Tips: There are hundreds of cheats out there to help you maneuver the lanes and get your plants to work in lanes other than the ones they’re placed in.

entertainment

WORDS THAT SHOULD be part of the

able the ineff makinxgpressible! e

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Article by Lara Hovsepian-Ruby

Sometimes in speech you just feel inadequate - there’s no exact word to describe how you’re feeling so you go on in a half-sensible jumble of dialogue that leaves you in the same, inarticulate place you started. Lucky for other cultures - they have it easy! They already have words that we have yet to incorporate into our daily conversation.

Shemomedjamo (Georgian) This word means, “I accidentally ate the whole thing,” but you know that in reality it wasn’t an accident because the meal was just so good that you decided to indulge in all practices of gluttony and keep eating way past caloric intake levels set by normal humans and your pants. Gigil (Tagalog)

This is for when you see something that’s agonizingly cute and you get this urge to squeeze it really, really hard. You should probably resist acting on this one; well I mean you could, but I’m not sure how socially acceptable it would be.

L’esprit de l’escalier (French) “One time I came up with the perfect comeback at exactly the right moment; it was so great, she just stared back at me with her mouth open and everyone laughed at her,” said no one ever. Until you master the art of articulating half-decent insults on a whim, this phrase has you covered. It refers to all the feelings that arise when thinking of everything you should have said in a conversation. Pena ajena: (Mexican Spanish) The Mexicans are so thoughtful; they came up with a word to express the embarrassment you feel for someone else when witnessing his or her humiliation. For real though, sometimes you just want to reach out and stop the situation, but you can’t, so at least you can describe the mortification you feel just in witnessing it. Rhwe (Tsonga, South Africa) I’m going start this one with HAHAHAH. Haha ha ha. Okay I’m done. It means “to sleep on the floor drunk and naked.” Welcome to college.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

Tartle (Scottish Gaelic) I’m so entertained right now by trying to say this word out loud with a legit Scottish accent. You should try it. It refers to the panic one feels right before he or she is expected to introduce someone whose name he or she can’t remember. Tarof (Farsi) To tarof is to refuse something from someone until it has been offered a few times (as a form of respect). Having been raised by Iranian immigrants who are far too well-versed in the practice of tarof, I can assure you how annoying it is to have to reject the beautifully baked cookie someone is offering you until they’ve already asked you to eat it three times. Backpfeifengesicht (German) You know the douchebag who glides into class twenty minutes late, sits in the first row, then shamelessly raises his hand and says something completely irrelevant and disruptive in a way that implies the honor he’s bestowed on the peasants sitting around him simply by sharing their presence? Yeah, well he has a backpfeifengesicht (ten points to Gryffindor if you can pronounce this word), AKA: a face that deserves to be punched. Someone, please actually punch a backpfeifengesicht and tell me about it. Zeg (Georgian) Zeg means “the day after tomorrow.” English has been around since the fifth century A.D., how has this word not been incorporated into it yet? Age-otori (Japanese) In Japanese there’s actually a word for looking worse after a haircut!

THE WAY WE WATCH:

a guide to binge watching

A look at the current state of television consumption: why we do it and what it says about our generation. article by Denise Lee photography by Simon Chen

It happens to the best of us. Whether we’ve just finished our midterms or finals, or are simply feeling drained from walking all the way from our dorm, apartment, co-op, what have you, to North Gate and back—we just want to reward ourselves. We want to resist obsessively over-analyzing all of our answers on the midterm we just took. We want a break from our problem sets. We want to undo a little bit of the enrichment (and mental exhaustion) in trying to savor every brilliant insight our professor has to offer on Woolf and Orlando or Pope and the Enlightenment. So, we start with one episode and suddenly we’ve been unintentionally, unforeseeably sucked in and fully entrenched in the cultural pandemic that is binge-watching. We’re straining our eyes to keep them open at three in the morning, because one episode turns into four, which turns into a whole first season. Binge-watching is the act of watching multiple episodes of a given TV show in one sitting, as opposed to the more traditional (and maybe antiquated) serialized viewing. Bingeing on TV shows is a habit that has become more and more prevalent in recent years, owing to the increased availability of television

entertainment

series outside of broadcast air times, which has allowed viewers to transcend set broadcast schedules as well as its weekly waiting periods. First, DVDs and box sets of shows that surfaced at the turn of the millennium made it possible and convenient for TV fanatics to begin to indulge in bingewatching. DVDs allowed viewers to reexperience episodes of their favorite shows, to discover shows of older generations, or to access ones they just missed on broadcast TV. And then there’s Netflix: a primary enabler of binge-watching. Netflix allows viewers to stream shows online, making it possible for them to do their bingeing without ever having to leave the room and interrupt their episodic binge flow. Other resources like HBOGo and Showtime Anytime—online supplements to the respective network providers—allow subscribers to stream episodes in the same fashion. Viewers can watch all the existing episodes of Girls, The Wire, and Homeland, among other shows, and watch them all in one sitting if they so desire. As binge-watching is a relatively new phenomenon made possible by such recently arisen resources, it’s no wonder that a predominant portion of bingers is made up of younger generations—

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

including, in large part, college students. An article that appeared in the online Princeton Review in 2011 states that binge-watching is particularly apt for a college lifestyle: “As college students often have irregular schedules, ‘binge watching’ allows them to fit their TV viewing into random blocks of free time.” Such a statement rings true to many Cal students who simply don’t have time to revolve their academic coursework around a Thursday night NBC line-up. The fact is we students take our coursework with us beyond our Mondayto-Friday schooldays, well into our weekends. Amidst the countless papers, midterms, projects, and problem sets we’re always whining about, the question arises: how do we have the time? Although binge-watching has had a fairly new presence in television viewership, there are, of course, students who choose not to include TV in their schedules. Second-year cognitive science major, Emiliana Ahn explains her apathy toward television: “It’s just a personal choice that I made to not watch TV, because I feel like it’s a waste of time.” Similarly, Amy Mostafa, a second-year English major, says that although she “used to bingewatch Parenthood and Downton Abbey over winter break,” she doesn’t have the time during the semester. It’s probably for the wiser. Time is of the essence when you’re a perpetually inundated Cal

student whose stress level may be more secure than your grades. Those of us who are consistent television fanatics, however, somehow make room in our busy schedules to binge-watch, but this can easily develop into something seemingly out of our control, as with other binge activities like binge-eating or binge-drinking. It often starts with one 48-minute episode while you’re eating a meal, but you could find yourself sitting in the same seat hours after the last bite. So, if binge-watching feels out of our control, how do we get sucked in? Firstyear student Leah Cha explains why she binge-watches: “I don’t like stuff you have to wait for. I just like watching it all at once. I know that’s really bad […] when I finish watching everything, I’m like, ‘aw crap I have stuff to do.’” That “aw crap” feeling Cha speaks of is not an uncommon one. As the word “binge” is wrought with connotations of indulgence and excess, the passive act of bingewatching often generates feelings of guilt. Mostafa agrees with this, saying, “I have classes and midterms, and I feel guilty watching TV.” Watching one episode might feel like a treat after a midterm or a momentary distraction from schoolwork, but binge-watching could potentially lead to a downward spiral of bad test results and decreased academic drive. While it seems that binge watching would

<< “Binge-watching, for these viewers, is not just about impatience; it’s about the changed experience with a television series as a piece of art.”

be evidence for the gluttonous and slovenly nature of our current culture, some people dispute this perspective. Binge-watching, for these viewers, is not just about impatience; it’s about the changed experience with a television series as a piece of art. Still, among TV enthusiasts, there are opposing views on binge watching, and it’s hard to say which—binge-watching or serialized viewing—lends to a purer, more fulfilling TV experience. Some prefer to take the traditional approach and see value in week-by-week viewing. An article featured in Slate in July of last year argues that binge-watching obstructs viewers from appreciating each episode on its own, stating, “episodes have their own integrity, which is blurred by watching several in a row.” The weekly waiting periods might give the viewer time to digest and mull over the plot twists within each episode as it comes out. On the other hand, bingeing on a series may enable a viewer to have a richer experience. A CNN article, published in February, argues that bingeing allows viewers to be more immersed into a show, and therefore have a deeper understanding of it without interruptions: “Every commercial break erodes that thin and personal connection a little; weeklong gaps between episodes stretch us closer and closer to the point

at which our attention snaps and moves elsewhere.” Both of these arguments are sound, and ultimately, it comes down to viewers’ personal preference.

Panda rules out others completely: “You can’t binge-watch [Sherlock]. You watch one of those, and you’re emotionally exhausted.”

In an article in TIME from last July, TV critic James Poniewozik compares watching a series to reading a novel— and compellingly so, as he brings to light the different ways of reading novels: “I’ve plowed through some in a day or two [...] Each kind of reading is different: one is like a sustained trance, the other offers the pleasure of being reminded and surprised by the characters after I open to the last dog-eared page.” As Poniewozik points to the various ways of reading based on different kinds of texts, he also raises questions of what kinds of television shows are suitable for bingewatching and which ones are not.

Panda makes a good point. The distinct qualities and styles of each show calls for a different kind of viewer experience— that is, of course, depending on each viewer. Some shows are better taken in one by one, in slow and steady in-takes, while others seem to ask to be taken in all at once. Marisa Mito, a third-year comparative literature major, is a fan of Mad Men, which she finds bingewatchable because of its “much slower plot.” She explains that she “keep[s] watching it not so much to find out what happens,” as for its “rich and wonderful” aesthetic that draws her into a sort of binge-watching trance.

It is possible that there are varying degrees of the binge-watchability of a show. When I posed this thought to Cal junior Arjun Panda, a molecular and cell biology major, he said, “Shows are bingewatchable in different ways. I think the ones that are more difficult are sitcoms like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, because it’s just the same thing. It doesn’t go; it doesn’t move forward. It’s not plot based; it’s just like, ‘hey this group of four people is doing something ridiculous.’ You watch two episodes, you laugh and you’re like ‘okay, I’ve had enough of this.’”

Whether you support or oppose it, the bottom line isn’t that binge-watching is necessarily good or bad. It’s that this new era of television in its different forms (Netflix, Hulu, and the like) allows viewers to have more control over what they watch, when they watch, how much they watch— or if they watch at all. The prevalence of binge-watching is not a reflection of the hyper-gluttony or impatience of our techcentric generation; it is an indication of the newfound prerogative to control the way we consume television—as indulgently all-at-once as that might very well be.

entertainment

themetamorphosis: from prude to

PARTIER

Have you ever seen a party animal at Cal and wondered what she was actually like in high school? Or even worse... have you ever bumped into an old friend at a party and known exactly what he was like before college? If so, you know how common it is for students to change their social lifestyle drastically from high school to college. It is completely possible for your high school’s biggest “prude” to transform into your college’s biggest “party animal” practically overnight. Though everyone knows this can happen, it can still come as a surprise, and the reasoning behind it isn’t always obvious.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

In fact, there are many different motives, ranging from newfound freedom to a desire to meet new people. Each person has a different backstory and thus, a different set of reasons. In order to uncover some of these, we talked to several sources who told us exactly what made them decide to alter their social scenes and what the change taught them. Fall semester is often wild and crazy for incoming freshmen, but little do most know, many of the biggest social butterflies in college were actually very reserved in high school. These students didn’t just keep their grades up and make

their parents smile in high school. They were also content with social lives that didn’t involve much partying, or in some cases, any at all. One source told us that she was perfectly happy spending her Friday nights baking pies and studying for the AP tests with her friends. This can change once college hits, though. For example take Chris*, a fraternity pledge last semester. He fulfilled the party animal stereotype since he went out almost every weekend and came back to puke in his room, pee in the hallway, and coax several girls back to the dorms with him. However, during Thanksgiving when

his girlfriend of a year came to visit him at Cal, everyone in his dorm found out that in high school he had been much more conservative with regards to his social life. According to his girlfriend, he never drank; and he even made fun of people who did, saying it was “stupid” and a “waste of time.” His girlfriend had never seen his wild side before. For months, he’d been lying to his family and friends back home about his total immersion into the party culture at Cal. Surely, everyone has their own opinions about why social transformations like Chris’s happen. We, however, talked to some sources who told us about their firsthand experiences and their personal motives to change. According to our sources, one major reason is the general pressure from parents and culture that inhibits typical “partier” behavior in high school. While this is true to a certain extent for every individual, it is certainly more common with international students. One source, an international student, claimed that she lived with her extended family, including her grandparents, and this made her at-home atmosphere very conservative. She had curfew whenever she went out, which was not very often anyways. Similarly, another source claimed that his neighborhood on the East Coast seemed to “judge the kids who used to come back home late,” and as a result his parents prevented him from going out too frequently. In addition to familial and cultural pressures, many partiers in college were introverts in high school in order to excel more fully in academics. For high schoolers everywhere, how many times have academic commitments like homework, studying, and college applications had to take priority over social activities? Either way, our sources talked a good amount about school being the main focus in high school. When asked what they did for fun, many replied with “homework” or “studying.” Being a good student meant a lot to them not only because they wanted to get into good colleges, but also because those they surrounded themselves with were also good students. One source told us with a smile that this allowed for “healthy peer pressure and good support systems.” In her high school days, she says, studying was socializing because it involved hanging out with her friends. With all these forces working for straight-laced kids in high school, why is there such a drastic transformation as soon as college comes along?

Fall semester is often wild and crazy for incoming freshmen, but little do most know, many of the biggest social butterflies in college were actually very reserved in high school. culture, academic demands, and friends. This allows students to change their social-inclinations. Many of our sources claimed that they “couldn’t wait to get to college” or that they “had to get out of their home and feel free.” This seems to imply that, at least for some students, college gives them a chance to explore their social options freely. One source claims one of the biggest reasons for branching out socially is that in college “it’s easy.” Even for those reserved high schoolers that take great pride in their “self-disciplined” lives, the pressure can wear them down, and the taste of a college party or even the mere idea of one can be too good to resist. As one of our interviewees said, “The college experience is supposed to be the best time of your life.” Students’ priorities and expectations change as their environment and those around them do. So the takeaway from all of this? Basically, balance is good. Many psychologists agree with this, including John Grohol, CEO and founder of one of the Internet’s leading mental health websites, Psych Central. He says, “A little partying is healthy, but so is studying. Making new friends is what a good part of college is all about. Staying up all night playing video games with your new friends is not (well, as long as it’s not every night).” This calls into mind “The University Triangle” with “sleep,” “school,” and “social life” at its three corners. Most people say to pick two; the joke is that at Berkeley you can only have one. However, what our sources and the psychologists of the world agree upon is that balance is important. So that means choosing a little bit of all three, even if “social life” means something different to everyone. article by Liz Layman & Monu Kala photography by Simon Chen

Well, perhaps it’s for that very reason. College seems to mitigate most of high school pressures like parents,

lifestyle

boobs

BY NUMBERS We have been fascinated by them since the dawn of man, quite literally. They jiggle, wiggle, and give many admirers “happy pants.” Some people claim that they are the windows of the soul. That’s right, we are talking about boobs; aka breasts, titties, funbags, hooters, melons, bazombas, chesticles, jugs, knockers... we can go on forever. As tribute, we at Caliber have compiled for you some little known facts about these glowing orbs of greatness. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be amazed. Without further ado...

by Arielle Schussler

1 - Weight in pounds of the average boob

C - Average bust size, which has increased from a 34B over the past 15 years.

- The average age of a woman getting breast augmentation surgery.

1962

- The average number of bras a woman owns.

- The year the first breast augmentation surgery was performed.

316,848

- Number of breasts Anne Boleyn was rumored to have.

- Number of breast augmentation surgeries in the year 2011.

200

- Millions of years ago that lactation evolved, spurring the appearance of mammals.

1 in 8 - Number of women that will be 38KKK - The size of the world’s largest diagnosed with breast cancer.

breasts.

th - Year of the Academy Awards where Seth MacFarlane performed the infamous tune “We Saw Your Boobs,” calling out Meryl Streep, Naomi Watts, Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Marisa Tomei, Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Chastain, Jodie Foster, Hilary Swank, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet, and NOT Jennifer Lawrence for exposing their breasts on film.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

Curvaceous: Marilyn Monroe

1970s

Tiny: Twiggy

1950s

1930s

Classic: Veronica Lake

Hourglass: Bette Davis

1960s

1920s

1940s

trends by decade and their sex symbols Washboard Bound: Clara Bow

tions

st reduc

f brea umber o N 0 0 18,0 on men in 2008 ed perform

Braless: Farrah Fawcett

sources & more information

a very brief

•

history of the BRA

• • • •

Cosmopolitan UK on 25 Facts about Boobs Marie Claire on Breast Facts Stylist UK on 15 Facts You Never Knew About Boobs Live Science on Breast Facts Playboy on The Ultimate History of Boobs

35,000 - The number of years ago our ancestral hominids painted images of nude women on caves...a time before bras

th - Century that cleavage first became a fashion accessory, with the introduction of corsets into European textile trends.

1907

- The year Vogue magazine first used the word brassiere in print.

1914 - The year American Mary PhelpsJacobs patented the first bra design, which consisted of two handkerchiefs sewn together with baby ribbon used as straps.

1948

- The year the first push-up bra came on the scene, introduced by Frederick Mellinger of Frederick’s of Hollywood.

1983

onic ebuts the ic d a n n o d a M 1991 - Yearr her “Blond Ambition” tour. fo conical bra

- Year that the first Hooters

restaurant opened. (we all know they stuff their bras for increased tips!)

1990s

2010s

Athletic: Brooke Sheilds

2000s

1980s

Petite & Perky: Cindy Crawford

All Shapes & Sizes: Angelina Jolie

Natural-Looking Fakes: Jennifer Love-Hewitt

love & sex

FOUR for the

COOKIE JAR When the excitement of Christmas and New Year’s Day fades away, the season of Girl Scout cookies ushers in and fills our hearts with joy instead. It’s the time of year you break down your bank account $4 at a time, and when the adorable young scout on Sproul shouts “last day!” your soul panics. What is there to live for after Girl Scout cookies leave your local neighborhood? What do you do? You can stock up at the end of March and buy out every box in that little wagon where the scouts keep the goods. You can beg at the feet of eight year old girls to extend the season just one... more... day. Or you can take action. Like the saying goes, “Teach a bear to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies, and it eats for a day. But teach a bear to bake its own, and it eats for a lifetime.” Though the Girl Scouts of America have their recipes under lock, key, and wagon, there are alternative mock recipes to get you through the time of year these morsels are out of stock. Give these recipes for the top four selling Girl Scout Cookies a try; consider the Caliber verdict, and eat cookies for a lifetime. article by Jennifer Wong

Ingredients 1 1/2 cups of creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Your favorite chocolate

Directions 1. *Follow the steps to the Trefoil recipe to yield the shortbread part of the Tagalongs. In step 6 of Trefoils recipe, use a spoon and press gently into the center of each cookie. Try to create a little pocket that you will later spread peanut butter topping into. The following steps are for that topping and the chocolate coating. 2. Stir the peanut butter and powdered sugar into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute or until it is smooth and slightly melty. When the peanut butter and sugar are blended together, stir in the vanilla extract. 3. In a separate microwavable bowl, heat your chocolate until it’s melted. 4. Spread a dollop of your peanut butter mixture onto the top of the cookies. 5. Place your cookies on a fork and dip it into the chocolate to coat the cookie. Try to remove any excess chocolate and then place the dipped cookies on sheets of wax paper until the coating hardens. 6. You’re done! Eat away!

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

VERDICT This recipe is spot on—you’re getting a cookie that tastes just like the original here, but with a slightly softer cookie texture. The only problem is controlling the portions. It’s difficult getting the right peanut butter to cookie ratio and it’s very easy to make too thick a chocolate coating in the dipping process, but if you master these challenges, you’re set with the perfect homemade imitation Tagalongs. On the other hand, you can pile on more peanut butter than the originals to get an even more flavorful cookie.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded coconut 1 bag of Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons milk Your favorite type of chocolate

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup butter 1 tablespoons milk 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

Directions 1. *Follow the steps to the Trefoil recipe to yield the shortbread part of the Samoas. For step 6 in the Trefoils recipe, you can choose to cut the dough differently to make the donut-like shapes of official Samoas. The following steps are for the topping. 2. Heat oven to 350°. 3. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, spread out the shredded coconut and bake for 10-15 minutes. Open the oven every so often to stir the coconut pieces so that they’re all toasted evenly. They should come out the same orange color that you see on Samoas. 4. Add the milk, salt, and unwrapped caramels into a microwavable bowl. Heat for 40 seconds at a time until you get a smooth mixture. Stir every 40 seconds and keep an eye on the contents to make sure they don’t expand while heating and overflow onto the sides of the bowl (use a cloth and hot water to clean any unwanted caramel stuck to surfaces). 5. Mix the toasted coconut into the melted caramel. 6. With a knife or spatula, spread the caramel coconut mix onto your cookies. 7. Melt your favorite chocolate in a bowl via the microwave or by double boiling. Dip the bottom of your cookies into this chocolate and drizzle some more on top to mimic traditional Samoas. 8. Eat happily!

VERDICT These are so good that you may never want to buy Samoas again. You can be as generous as you want in applying the caramel coconut topping to bump up the level of flavor you get with each bite. They taste almost exactly like real Samoas and this may be the case with all of the recipes, but there’s something about these being homemade that makes them taste even better than purchased ones.

1. Mix butter and sugar together until creamy. 2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk. Add this powdered mixture a portion at a time to the buttery mix and combine well after each portion. 3. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until it becomes dough. 4. Sprinkle some flour on cutting board and place the dough on top. Split the dough in half and wrap each half in wax paper, saran wrap, or place it in a tupperware container. Refrigerate the dough until it’s firm (about an hour and 15 minutes). 5. Preheat the oven to 350°F and cover your baking sheet with wax paper. 6. When firm, roll out dough on floured cutting board until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with your favorite cookie cutters and reroll the scrap dough to cut again. If you don’t have cookie cutters, you can use the mouth of a cup or anything clean that will help make a shape. 7. Bake your cookies on your baking sheet for 10-12 minutes at a time. Rotate the baking sheet 180° halfway through the baking time to help everything come out more evenly. 8. Let them cool and enjoy! Or take it to the next level and use this recipe as the basis for Samoas and Tagalongs.

VERDICT These taste just like the real thing! You’ll get just the right amount of sweet, but they’ll be different in texture. This recipe makes typically softer cookies than the actual purchased ones, but if you like that then you’ll enjoy these more than the original. These are also very easy to make with simple ingredients involved. Definitely give these a try if you’re a Trefoil fan and treat yourself to your favorite Girl Scout Cookie at any time of the year.

food & drink

Ingredients 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoon mint extract Your favorite type of chocolate

Directions 1. Put the butter in a bowl and beat it with a whisk until it gets creamy. Add sugar to the creamy butter and mix well together. Stir the egg and mint extract into the mixture. 2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, and salt together with a whisk or a fork. Then, about a fourth cup at a time, add this powdered mixture to the creamy batter in step 1. Mix well after each half cup addition and you should end up with a dough. 3. Dust a cutting board with some flour. Place the dough on your cutting board, and split it in half. Roll each half until they turn into two separate cylinders. Try to get the cylinders to be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. You can make the dough whatever size you want, but keep in mind that variation in size will affect baking time later on. Wrap your dough cylinders with wax paper or saran wrap and refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour and 15 minutes). 4. Transfer the doughs to the freezer and leave them in there for 45 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350°F. 5. Take out the doughs, remove their wrapping, and start slicing them into about 1/4 inch thick cookies. 6. Place the cookies on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Since these barely expand when they bake, you do not need to space out the cookies on the wax sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes each batch. After 5 or 6 minutes, you can rotate your baking sheet 180° to help everything bake more evenly. 7. While the cookies cool, melt your chocolate of choice in a bowl via either the microwave or by double boiling. 8. Place your cookies on a fork and dip them into the melted chocolate until coated. Remove excess chocolate and let harden on a sheet of wax paper. 9. Remove the wax paper. Devour!

VERDICT This recipe yields cookies that are very similar in taste to actual Thin Mints. The biggest difficulty though is achieving the right texture. Overbaking by a minute or two can leave these dry and weak in flavor, and underbaking by a minute or two can make them too soft to be the real deal. It may also be difficult to find mint extract for sale, but the Safeways and Trader Joes around campus should carry them. Though you have to wait a while when you refrigerate and freeze the dough, they rest of the process is simple and fun to follow. In the end, you get a basic, decent chocolatey, minty cookie. There must be some secret ingredient the Girl Scouts are hiding for their most popular product because this version will make you a formidable substitute to Thin Mints, but isn’t quite enough to replace the original.

FALL 2013 / calibermag.org

CLA$$Y COCKTAILS article by Mark Alshak

It’s Friday night. You’re about to go out with your friends, but you are sick of drinking natty light and Vitali at the frats. You want to feel like a classy drinker. Yet, you yourself don’t have better ingredients. Except you do--you just don’t know it yet. This list will show you how to make a variety of good tasting drinks (some are little-known drinks, while others are Caliber/Berkeley concoctions) with only the basics: handles of vodka, tequila, or rum, with common juices that many would have in their fridge and kitchen. Impress your friends while drinking down some classy (or not so classy) drinks. It’s time to become adult about your drinking--no more handle pulls for you! (Unless you love that, then by all means).

Cheapness, on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being “are you kidding me I’m just a broke college kid?” to 5 being “how did I get blacked out from 4 dollars?”

THE ESSENTIALS Everything but the juice will last a long time. Smirnoff Vodka (or Vitali, but I suggest investing in either Smirnoff or, for the big rollers, Skyy) Captain Morgan Light Rum and Dark Rum Orange Juice (or Sunny D) Pineapple Juice Cranberry Juice Grenadine (this stuff lasts a while and it’s really good) Triple Sec (The secret to most cheap, alcohol heavy drinks.)

Taste, on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being “instant projectile vomiting inducing” to 5 being “this literally tastes like heaven, and I meant literally.”

Amy’s Tattoo .5 oz. Each of light and dark rum* 2 oz. Pineapple juice 2 oz. Orange juice 1 splash Grenadine syrup The name caught people by surprise. If you have a friend with a tattoo and your event, name it after them and give it whatever variation you like! It tasted pretty good, even to someone like me who hates rum. Now that’s a win in my book. *If you only have one type, just use double of one. Cheapness: 3.5, Taste: 3.

THE BERKELEY BAD ATTITUDE .5 oz. Light rum 1 oz. Vodka .5 oz. Triple sec 1 oz. Cranberry juice 1 splash Grenadine syrup This drink is a variation on the “Bad Attitude.” It’s light and sweet, yet still extremely strong. Making this drink with your friends is sure to impress them. My personal choice for pre-gaming a party, an invite, or really any event. Cheapness: 1.5,Taste: 5

CALIFORNIA BREEZE 3 oz. Triple Sec 1.5 oz. Vodka 2+ oz. Pineapple Juice Everyone who’s not in California is jealous of us. We have the best weather, the best people, and the best school. Now, we have our own drink that encompasses the sunny, beautiful weather that our state has become famous for. It’s intensely sweet and friends will be glad they are getting drunk off of this. Cheapness: 4, Taste: 4.

Bloody Caliber 1.5 oz. Vodka 1.5 oz. Rum 4+ oz. Cranberry To those who just want to get wasted of off very minimal ingredients, yet don’t want to be gagging all night with shot after shot, this is an option. It is extremely strong and tastes like a spiced cranberry juice (because of the rum) and overall it was pretty good. It’s definitely useful because of the ease of ingredients. Cheapness 4.5, Taste: 3.

THE BERKELEY BARBIE 3 oz. Vodka 2 oz. Orange Juice 2 oz. Pineapple Juice 2 oz. Cranberry Juice This one comes out pink and was a huge hit. It was really fruity and tasted good, but it did not give the feeling of being in a fraternity’s basement drinking vitali. Ahh, the finer things in life. Cheapness: 2, Taste: 4.

LONG ISLAND PUNCH 2 oz. Vodka 1 oz. Light rum 1 oz. Triple sec 2 oz. Pineapple juice 2 oz. Orange juice 1 splash Grenadine syrup By far the most complicated, but by far the most worth it. The taste of the pungent cheap alcohol is masked by the wonderfulness that is juice and Triple sec. Not only did it taste absolutely wonderful, but it was also extremely strong. Just how we like it at Caliber. Cheapness: 0.5, Taste: 5.

food & drink