Daily Vanguard October 22, 2009 by Portland State Vanguard

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 23

Event of the day The Institute for Asian Studies is hosting a seminar today on the topic of “North Korea as History and Policy.” Carter J. Eckert, professor and director of the Korea Institute at Harvard, will speak. When: 6:30 p.m. Where: SMSU, room 238

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INSIDE NEWS Silent nights Portland State campus to close entirely for one week this December PAGE 2 The Daily Cut Your world in brief PAGE 3

Arts

Troubadour of nightfall Robert Francis may have left high school, but he's schooled in making hits PAGE 4

Somewhere between boring, middle-class and lesbian bohemian Melissa Hart talks about Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood PAGE 5 Spotlight on China The Portland Art Museum provides a unique multimedia look into the country's art explosion PAGE 5

Sports

Phillips hits hard Transfer from New Mexico State making a big impact at Portland State PAGE 6

All photos courtesy of Enbi Hartigan

Life Science Collaborative Complex brings together five universities OHSU and Portland State lead $200 million project to expand research Vinh Tran Vanguard staff

Portland State and Oregon Health and Science University are the leading partners in the forthcoming Life Sciences Collaborative Complex, to be located on the South Waterfront. The building will house bioscience research and instructional facilities for five universities: Oregon Health and Science University, Portland State University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon and Oregon Institute of Technology. In the governor’s recommended budget for 2009–11 is an allotted $250 million to create an interinstitutional facility for bioscience, medical and pharmacy research. The figure will be closer to between $170 million and $200 million once the project is completed, with OHSU responsible for about 60 percent of the cost, according to Lindsay Desrochers, Portland State’s vice president of Finance and Administration. According to the Oregon University System, the 300,000-square-foot

building will be located on a vacant lot that the Schnitzer family donated to OHSU in 2004. Marvin Kaiser, dean of Portland State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said Portland State is asking for both a dedicated space and shared space in the building. “The shared space concept is important as it demonstrates the partnered nature of the project,” Kaiser said. “In terms of dedicated space, we are projecting the need for about 10 to 15 percent of the space. We are sharing, along with the other universities, much more of the space.” Kaiser said about one half of the space is planned for instructional usage with classrooms and laboratories. The building may also be home to Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy and healthrelated programs at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Out of the Portland State students with a declared major, about 1,200 are in life sciences, which includes chemistry, biology and general sciences. This is according to a spring 2009 census count by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. Desrochers said that when construction of the new Life Sciences Collaborative Complex is finished,

the need for new research space at Portland State will be at its greatest. “Research space is one of the fastest growing areas,” Desrochers said. “The projection we saw a few years ago is that within a decade we will max out the research space on this campus, so by the time this building is built, we will be halfway there.” Desrochers said students will benefit from working in such a facility due to the collaborative nature of the project. “I like to think of this building as creating the synergy that you get when you have several institutions working together,” Desrochers said. “It’s always good to have students in proximity to activities critical to health sciences. It’s a great opportunity to be in an environment where, ultimately, they may be working in the future.” Faculty also gets the opportunity to work on more collaborative projects with their peers in the sciences. Provost Roy Koch said the space will be used by Portland State faculty to continue their existing research, with faculty splitting time between instructional work on campus, and research work at the South Waterfront. Desrochers said the project brings collaboration between professional

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Research unites: Five universities will join forces for the Life Sciences Collaborative Complex.

health clinicians at OHSU and lab researchers at Portland State. Kevin Reynolds, chair of Portland State’s chemistry program, said a collaboration with OHSU is a positive addition to research work. “In the last 18 months, the chemistry faculty received $11 million in research funding,” Reynolds said. “A significant portion of that money involves collaboration with OHSU, so it makes a lot of sense to co-locate to pursue those researches.” Reynolds’ particular research is regarding anti-malarial and anti-fungal drugs. Reynolds said he also has another project looking at secondgeneration biofuel, and the chemistry department as a whole is looking at new diagnostic incentive in medicine. “Whenever you put a bunch of scientists from different disciplines from different universities together, it stimulates creative science and collaboration,” said AnnaLouise Reysenbach, chair of Portland State’s biology department. “If you can stimulate collaboration and creative science, there’s the probability of making huge discovery.” Desrochers said the building will strive to be sustainable in design and will achieve at least a silver certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Vanguard 2 | News October 22, 2009

NEWS

Sarah J. Christensen Editor-in-Chief Danielle Kulczyk News Editor Theodora Karatzas Arts & Culture Editor Richard D. Oxley Opinion Editor Robert Britt Sports Editor Shannon Vincent Production Manager Marni Cohen Photo Editor Zach Chastaine Online Editor Jennifer Wolff Chief Copy Editor Jennifer Wolff Calendar Editor Matthew Kirtley Advertising Manager Judson Randall Adviser Ann Roman Advertising Adviser Illustrator Kira Meyrick Marketing Manager Kelsey Chinen Associate News Editor Virginia Vickery Production Assistants Bryan Morgan, Charles Cooper Williams

Writers Kate Alexander, William Blackford, Bianca Blankenship, Alanna Connor, Meaghan Daniels, Erica DeCouteau, Mariah FryeKeele, Joel Gaddis, Natalia Grozina, Patrick Guild, Rosemary Hanson, Steve Haske, Ed Johnson, Carrie Johnston, Mark Johnston, Tamara K. Kennedy, Anita Kinney, Katie Kotsovos, J. Logue, James MacKenzie, Holly Millar, Sean Rains, Stephanie Fine Sasse, Gogul Krishnan Shenbagalashmi Janakiraman, Wendy Shortman, Nilesh Tendolkar, Robin Tinker, Vinh Tran, Virginia Vickery, Allison Whited, Carlee Winsor Photographers Aaron Leopold, Rodrigo Melgarejo, Liana Shewey, Adam Wickham Copy Editor Robert Seitzinger Advertising Sales Matthew Kirtley, Ana SanRoman, Jae Specht, Wesley Van Der Veen Advertising Designer Shannon Vincent Contact Editor-in-Chief 503-725-5691 editor@dailyvanguard.com Advertising Manager 503-725-5686 ads@dailyvanguard.com The Vanguard is chartered to publish four days a week as an independent student newspaper by the PSU Publications Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers, and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. One copy of the Vanguard is provided free of charge to all community members, additional copies or subcription issues may incur a 25 cent charge. The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper. Copyright © 2009 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway, Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26, Portland, Ore., 97201

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Portland State campus to close entirely for one week this December Carrie Johnston Vanguard staff

From Dec. 19 until Dec. 28, while students enjoy their usual holiday break, Portland State faculty and staff will also be gone due to the use of furlough days. Furlough days are mandatory, unpaid days off for staff and faculty, both classified and unclassified. The closure is an alternative to spreading the furlough days out over the course of the year. The 10 closure days include six regular workdays and the Christmas holiday, which is paid. The departments of Academic Affairs, Extended Studies, Student Affairs, Facilities and Planning and others decided that particular week is best for the closure, due to its history of low productivity. The weeklong closure will help keep employees employed and working when there is actually work to be done. The exact number of furlough days for an employee is allocated

Archive/Portland State Vanguard

Silent nights according to annual salary range. For example, unclassified faculty and staff who make $30,000 and below take three furlough days per fiscal year, whereas faculty and staff making between $130,000 and $150,000 are required to take 10.2 furlough days annually. To determine if an employee is classified, unclassified, represented or not, the Portland State Human Resources Web site has links to salary tier charts indicating percentages of impact on yearly pay and the minimum number of leave days. All Oregon state agencies are required to stop service one day per month, but universities have decided to condense the furlough days into one week when employees are most apt to take vacation. The plan addresses the larger, statewide budget crunch. The aim is to keep people employed while saving money, and to minimize the impact on students and employees who work less than 20 hours per week.

“This is a deep recession and I’m proud of Portland State for living within its means,” said Cathy LaTourette of the Portland State human resources office. Lindsay Desrochers, vice president of Finance and Administration, sent out a campus-wide e-mail in September providing advance notice of the closure. “It is the intent of the university to provide faculty and staff with maximum opportunities to apply relevant paid leave,” the e-mail read. “In keeping with the spirit…of the… agreements for a leveled approach to the upcoming salary reductions, furlough days and leave days.” Most university buildings will be closed during the furlough period, though certain rooms in need of regular supervision, such as labs with live specimens, will have technicians on-site to care for them. The Campus Public Safety Office will also operate as it does during usual closures, housing buildings will still be open and dining halls

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Shut Down: Campus will be closed Dec.

19–28 when faculty will use furlough days.

will be available for use. Maintenance crews, payroll workers and select administrators will be working, but most buildings, including Millar Library, will be closed for the duration. Decisions are still being made regarding what work is needed on campus during this time. There will also be a large impact on any on-campus student jobs. Where hours are typically reduced during winter break, this year they will be cut altogether. “Planning ahead to take care of any parking permits, adds, drops, financial aid issues, advising appointments or any other business in Neuberger Hall is a good idea,” said John Eckman, executive director for Housing and Transportation Services.

For updated information on closures, furlough days and salary reductions, visit: www.pdx.edu/hr

CAMPUS CONNECTIONS News for students, by students

The Daily Barometer: OSU allocated $98.1 million for 2009– 10 budget The State Board of Higher Education, along with several of its committees, met at Oregon Institute of Technology on Oct. 2 to discuss and review the annual 2009–10 allocation for the Oregon University System institutions and to review retention issues. OUS Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Jay Kenton presented the proposed approach for the annual operating budget. Some of the guiding principles and priorities in the budget were working to evenly distribute enrollment across the system, improve retention and graduation rates and ensure institutions’ financial integrity. The university receives the funds in allotments, which are then distributed to programs based on need. According to Kenton, Oregon State will receive $98.1 million for the 2009–10 budget. However, the OUS 2009–11 operating budget is 17.3 percent lower overall than it was for 2007–09, while tuition for undergraduates has increased by 8 percent from last year. Nonresident and graduate tuition has increased by 4 percent since last year. Student retention rates were also discussed. The Board decided that one way to improve the retention rate is to offer more access to courses students need to continue with their majors. Nancy Heiligman, associate vice president for finance and administration and director of budgets, said that the university is trying to get rid of low enrollment classes while offering more classes that help students advance with their majors.

According to the Powered By Orange report given at the beginning of the school year, a survey conducted by The Oregonian in of graduating high school seniors in spring 2009 throughout the greater Portland area showed that OSU was the leading university destination of choice. Those high school graduates are now OSU freshmen who are being directly affected by budget decisions and limited course options. “Students find it discouraging when the classes they need to move up with their studies aren’t offered,” Heiligman said. “We want to make more courses available to them so they can graduate on time.” With the economy in its current state, layoffs have been a threat to all businesses. OSU Vice President for Finance and Administration Mark McCambridge said that in order to reduce the amount of staff the university has to lay off, positions are filled by staff already employed at the university. “We look for qualified employees already working within the university to fill open positions,” McCambridge said. “We try not to hire outside the university unless we have to.” According to the OSU faculty senate session held in late September, OSU is continuing to develop alternative revenue sources to further reduce costs. OSU President Ed Ray said in his State of the University address on Oct. 8 that “additional cost reductions will result from streamlining operations and reducing redundancies in various academic support areas.” —Katrina Lorengel

The Daily Emerald: Last Friday first of 10 furlough days Those who attempted to renew their driver’s licenses, register for food stamps or obtain a fishing license last Friday encountered the first of several scheduled furlough days for many state agencies. For 64 state agencies across Oregon, Friday marked the first of their scheduled unpaid days off work— the result of recent state budget cuts. Gov. Kulongoski announced the revised state contract in July, adding 10 of these unpaid days off work to the majority of state agencies’ 2009–11 calendars. This reduction in salary expenses trimmed $32 million from the previous contract costs, saving the state at least $2 million each furlough day. About 6,700 state workers did not have Friday off of work, compared to the 26,500 who stayed home. While most state workers had a three-day weekend, a few agencies were permitted to keep their doors open on Friday, including universities. Di Saunders, spokesperson for Oregon University System, said, “Campuses are handling furloughs differently, depending upon the student population and what least disrupts instruction.” The labor union employed by the state university system recently negotiated its contract, which requires employees to take between eight and 16 furlough days. Other agencies that remained open included state parks, the correctional department, hospitals, state police and the state legislature. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission also remained open for business, along with all associated stores selling alcohol. According to the

OLCC’s Web site, the agency will have floating, unscheduled furlough days “due to the nature of the business.” Rod Nichols, spokesperson for the State Forestry Department, which was open Friday, said some patrons were surprised to find that it wasn’t a furlough day for every agency. “On a couple of occasions this morning, the caller, upon hearing a live person, said, ‘Oh my gosh, you are open!’” Nichols said. Some state workers affected by the furlough day said the unpaid day off affected both their own ability to cope with the recession and the community members who rely on their agencies. Among them was Craig Spivey, a spokesperson for the Employment Department, which was closed Friday. Spivey said Oregonians who depend on unemployment checks would have to wait an extra day because of the closing, creating a potential hardship. “If they typically expect their check to arrive on Wednesday, it will arrive on Thursday,” Spivey said. Kulongoski said he hopes employees will understand the reasoning behind the scheduled Friday furlough days. “The closures amount to salary cuts for state workers that are necessary to reach target savings while maintaining a high level of service during this economic downturn,” said Kulongoski spokesperson Anna Richter Taylor in a press release last week. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Oregon is one of the 21 states implementing or seriously considering furlough days. The last of the state’s planned furlough days will fall on May 20, 2011. —Alex Zielinski

The Daily Cut

Vanguard News | 3 October 22, 2009

Your world in brief

World: Kuwait grants women passports without spousal nod

Remains found in Utah not poet Everett Ruess

KUWAIT CITY (AP)—Kuwait’s highest court granted women the right to obtain a passport without their husband’s approval, the case’s lawyer said Wednesday, in the latest stride for women’s rights in this small oil-rich emirate. Unlike with highly conservative neighbors like Saudi Arabia, women in Kuwait can vote, serve in parliament and drive—and now can obtain their own passports. In many countries in the region, women cannot travel or obtain a passport without the consent of their male guardian. Attorney Adel Qurban, whose case the court was ruling on, said the landmark decision “freed” Kuwaiti women from the 1962 law requiring their husband’s signature to obtain a passport. His client, Fatima al-Baghli, is one of thousands of women who have been petitioning courts for this right. The court found the article in the decades-old law “unconstitutional” because it goes against the principal of equal rights for men and women. “It undermines her free will and compromises her humanity,” the court explained according to a copy of the decision provided by the lawyer. Activist Aisha al-Rsheid hailed Tuesday’s ruling, but said females in this traditional male-dominated society were still a long way from the equality promised by the 1962 constitution. “We want to see women judges and prosecutors, we want women to give their citizenship to their children, and we want women to have the right to state-provided houses,” just like men, she said. With its history as a trading community, Kuwait has long been more liberal than the Bedouin societies in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula and its 1962 constitution provides for a parliament and equality of the sexes. Conservative elements in the country, however, have long promoted a stricter interpretation of Islam, especially regarding relations between men and women. —Diana Elias

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—The nephew of Everett Ruess, a legendary wanderer in the 1930s, says remains found in a Utah wilderness are not those of the famous poet. Last spring, the magazine National Geographic Adventure reported what seemed like proof— based on a battery of genetic and forensic tests—that Ruess’ remains had been found on the Navajo Nation reservation. Utah’s state archaeologist questioned the find. Now Ruess’ extended family says the initial DNA tests at the University of Colorado were incorrect. Brian Ruess, a 44-year-old software salesman in Portland, Ore., tells The Associated Press that more extensive tests found no link between the skeleton and Everett Ruess’ surviving nephews and nieces. —Paul Foy

Nation: 32-carat diamond sells for $7.7M at NYC auction NEW YORK (AP)—A square, 32.01-carat emerald-cut diamond that billionaire philanthropist Leonore Annenberg bought for her 90th birthday sold for $7.7 million at auction on Wednesday. About the size of a walnut, the flawless, colorless diamond sits on a ring designed by Manhattan jeweler David Webb. It is flanked by two pear-shaped diamonds, one of them 1.61 carats and the other 1.51 carats. The ring was offered for sale by Annenberg’s estate. Christie’s auction house did not identify the buyer, who bid by phone. Annenberg died in March at the age of 91. She served as U.S. chief of protocol during President Ronald Reagan’s first term—a position that carried the rank of ambassador. Her husband, Walter Annenberg, a billionaire publisher and ambassador to Britain under President Richard Nixon, died in 2002. The record for any diamond or jewel at auction is $24.3 million for the 17th century cushion-shaped grayish-blue 35.56 carat Wittelsbach Diamond. It was sold at Christie’s in December 2008, topping the previous record of $16.5 million for a 100-carat diamond sold in 1995 in Geneva. —Ula Ilnytzky

Local: Ore. lawmaker suspends campaign for governor SALEM, Ore. (AP)—Citing family health concerns, Republican state Senator Jason Atkinson has suspended his campaign for Oregon governor. The southern Oregon lawmaker said Wednesday that both he and his wife Stephanie have been “confronted with some serious health concerns.” Atkinson did not go into details. However, Atkinson is still recovering from an accidental shooting in 2008 that nearly killed him and severely damaged his leg. In the same year, Stephanie Atkinson was treated for thyroid cancer. Two other Republicans are running for governor—businessman Allen Alley and former legislator John Lim. Former Portland Trail Blazers center Chris Dudley and state Senator Frank Morse of Albany are considering running as well. —Brad Cain

Oregon offers model to boost nursing faculty PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—A predicted national shortage of nurses in the next decade could be made worse by a shortage of the experienced nurses who train them at community colleges and universities around the country. In response, nursing education leaders from 11 states are gathering in Portland this week to find ways to boost the number of faculty in nursing programs. The Oregon model they’ll study blends the curriculum and faculty of community colleges and universities to give nursing students in two-year associate degree programs a chance to earn bachelor’s degrees. The more nurses with bachelor’s, the greater the number

expected to go on to advanced degrees and teaching, educators say. “We really are one faculty and a common curriculum,” said Christine Tanner, a professor at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing. Eight community colleges have joined OHSU to create the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education, allowing students in rural areas of the state to complete their coursework for a bachelor’s while remaining in their community. The Oregon program is the centerpiece of the two-day conference sponsored by the Center to Champion Nursing in America, created by AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The center is working to prepare nurses for the demands of 21st century medicine, which includes a major shift in demographics to an aging population suffering from more chronic illnesses that will boost demand for health care. At the same time, a major nursing shortage is expected with federal estimates projecting the nation will have 29 percent fewer nurses than it needs by 2020. In Oregon, the shortage could reach 50 percent, Tanner said. “It’s a little bit scary,” she said. The situation is made worse by the fact that most nursing faculty are older than practicing nurses and are closer to retirement, educators say. “Our pipeline is running dry because the average age is about 57 to 58—that’s ancient,” said Susan Hassmiller, senior nursing advisor for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. But there is no shortage of applicants. Nursing schools across the country were forced to turn away nearly 50,000 qualified applicants last year, partly because of the faculty shortage, according to the American

Association of Colleges of Nursing. Adding to the discouragement for applicants is an unusually tight job market created by the recession and budget cuts at hospitals and clinics, educators say. The market is even tighter, they say, because many experienced nurses who dropped out of the work force or reduced their hours to parttime have re-entered the market full-time to support their families during the recession. But educators warn that will change quickly and dramatically when the recession is over and the demand for nurses spikes. “People who have stepped in to temporarily ease this shortage are people between 50 and 64,” Hassmiller said. “Now, if you can imagine in a year, or two or three, that this recession ends, people are going to step out,” she said. “So I’m really actually more afraid of what’s going to happen demographically when this temporary easing is over.” Major hospitals are already planning for ways to cope, said Carol Bradley, chief nursing officer and a senior vice president for the Legacy Health System in Portland. But she says it will also take improvement in faculty salaries to attract more teachers along with support for programs like the Oregon consortium. “It’s just a fact you can make more money in the practice arena, so that’s a major issue that our academic partners are trying to address to move those salaries forward,” Bradley said. In addition to Oregon, Tanner said the conference includes California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington. —William McCall

News Editor: Danielle Kulczyk 503-725-5690 news@dailyvanguard.com

This day in history: Oct. 22 1913: Coal mine explodes in New Mexico A coal mine explosion in Dawson, N.M., killed more than 250 workers on this day in 1913. At exactly 3 p.m., a tremendous explosion ripped through the Stag Canyon Fuel Company’s No. 2 mine. A heroic rescue effort saved 23 others, but also cost two more people their lives. 1934: Pretty Boy Floyd is killed by the FBI Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot by FBI agents in a cornfield in East Liverpool, Ohio. Floyd, who had been a hotly pursued fugitive for four years, used his last breath to deny his involvement in the infamous Kansas City Massacre, in which four officers were shot to death at a train station. He died shortly thereafter. 1962: Kennedy announces blockade of Cuba during the Missile Crisis In a dramatic televised address to the American public, President John F. Kennedy announced that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear weapons in Cuba and, in response, the United States would establish a blockade around the island to prevent any other offensive weapons from entering Castro’s state. Kennedy also warned the Soviets that any nuclear attack from Cuba would be construed as an act of war, and that the United States would retaliate in kind. 1964: Sartre wins and declines Nobel Prize On this day in 1964, Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, which he declined. In his novels, essays, and plays, Sartre advanced the philosophy of existentialism, arguing that each individual must create meaning for his or her own life, because life itself had no innate meaning. 1987: Trans-Americas drive completed Canadian Garry Sowerby and American Tim Cahill completed the first trans-Americas drive on this day, driving from Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in a total elapsed time of 23 days, 22 hours and 43 minutes.

—The History Channel

Vanguard 4 | Arts & Culture October 22, 2009

ARTS & CULTURE

Arts Editor: Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com

Artistic professors abound: Lorraine Bahr Award-winning actress, playwright and director. She has taught acting and playwriting at Portland State, in Washington and at Oregon high schools, as well as the Well Arts Institute. She is a co-founder of the Sowelu Ensemble Theater in Portland. Her produced plays include A Life Alone, Bottomless, Count Time, The Great Escape of Charlie Stone and Live Nude Fear. Renee Mitchell Multimedia artist, playwright, poet and journalist. She has taught news writing at Washington State and Portland State University. While a metro columnist for The Oregonian, she earned the Ida B. Wells Bravery in Journalism Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Alexis Nelson Earned her MFA at Portland State. She has taught English as a second language to public high schools in France and is an adjunct writing professor at Portland State. Her personal essays have appeared in Spectrum, The Iowa Review and Oregon Humanities. Her book reviews and articles have also been published in The Oregonian and Portland Monthly. She was awarded the Iowa Review Award in 2008.

—www.literary-arts.org

Troubadour of

Roadie: Francis follows family into music.

All photos courtesy of Marc Gabor

nightfall

Robert Francis may have left high school, but he’s schooled in making hits Mark Johnston Vanguard staff

Robert Francis started his music career at an early age. Coming from a family of musicians, he decided early on that this was his calling. “I started playing when I was really young, around 9. Being in a musical family guided me through a life of music,” Francis said. “I dropped out of high school and hit the road with my sister’s band. I had just turned 17. When I was 18 I started recording my own stuff.” By the time he was making his own music, he had already toured and recorded in the family band, playing bass, so the transition was easy. His full-length debut, One By One was released in August 2007 by Aeronaut Records, and was nominated for a Shortlist Music Prize the same year. In true singer-songwriter form, he did everything himself. “For the first album, I arranged, recorded and produced it by myself. There was a lot of attention from various labels, so I did a few runs to satiate me in the meantime before I pursued a label and recorded the sophomore record.” To record his second effort, Francis approached Atlantic Records. After reviewing his impressive résumé, including tutelage under Ry Cooder and John Frusciante, they snatched him up. Since then, he has been touring and creating quite a buzz for himself. “I try not to make any plans to stay home for more than a month at the longest. I love being on the road,” Francis said. He has already been across the country and to Europe for a few stints. “Between American and international touring, I’m happy with both audiences. They’re different. European audiences are more

enthusiastic and easier to please. In the U.S., you never know what you’re gonna get.” As an artist, American audiences can sometimes be daunting to please, but Francis hasn’t really had to suffer a booing or walk outs just yet, and he counts his lucky stars. Francis is currently on the road with Noah and the Whale. He brought along his backup band, which consists of bass, drums and a pedal steel and keyboard player that has been at his side since he started over three years ago. After a two-week jaunt through the States, Francis will ship his band over to Europe for a severalcountry tour to include England, France, and Germany. “After that,” Francis remarked, “I’ll probably just hang out and enjoy the holidays, and start back out in January.” He definitely encompasses the persona of a wandering troubadour—happier on the road than at home. Before Nightfall, Francis’ sophomore effort, recently hit stores and has already been a smashing success through the iTunes Store and Amazon.com Music Store. Although he’s a bit young and naïve at just over 21 years old, Francis does understand the finer points of his craft and is savvy enough to hold his own in a world of lawyers and label executives. By being in charge of his music career he is ensuring to stay in charge of his destiny—and his money.

Robert Francis w/ Noah and the Whale Doug Fir Lounge 830 E Burnside St. Sun, Oct. 25, 6 p.m. $12

Hair: Apparently shirts that cover man-hair are hard to find.

Somewhere between boring, middle-class and lesbian bohemian Melissa Hart talks about Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood By Wendy Shortman Vanguard staff

Author and University of Oregon professor Melissa Hart shares her story as a young girl learning of her parents’ divorce in Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood. Although she wants to live with her mother in her new bohemian neighborhood of Oxnard, Calif., she and her two siblings must live with their father in a boring, middle-class neighborhood. Hart’s father is granted primary custody mainly because her mother is a lesbian. Experiences and consequences of these decisions are learned as Hart is pulled in separate directions by her parents. Hart has been a freelancer for the past 20 years, and has taught journalism for five years at University of Oregon. She teaches classes such as memoir writing, feature writing, research methods and interviewing. Hart began freelancing at an early age for two local newspapers and has also written freelance essays, articles, and book reviews for various publications. Recently, she’s written pieces for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author’s first memoir, The Assault of Laughter, which was published in 2005, begins her story and discusses her life being raised with divorced parents, one of whom went on to have a relationship with someone of the same sex. Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood dives deeper into the social transition

that was happening at the time. “I knew I wanted to explore more eloquently and more in depth the fact that so many mothers who came out as lesbians in the 1970s and early 1980s routinely lost custody of their children,” Hart said. As in Hart’s situation, her father was granted primary custody of her and her two siblings, which only allowed them to visit her mother for two weekends a month. Her parents’ divorce changed the family’s situation. What was once guarded by the high status of her father—who lived in a “quiet, middle-class neighborhood”—was lost and she became exposed to a whole new world. In Gringa, she recounts this experience. “A lot of the book is me making fun of my own ignorance. I couldn’t see at the time that the culture offered to me by my mother and her family was actually vivid and unusual and exciting,” Hart said. Gringa not only tells her own story, but also the story of the fascinating world she became a part of. In her book, she addresses the issues of “gender, race, class and culture” that became part of her life in “multicultural Los Angeles,” Hart explained. She even talks about how she was seen as the minority in her new environment. “Anglo students were the minority in my high school, and my friends of other races jokingly referred to me as ‘gringa,’ ‘Casper,’ and just plain ‘white girl’,” Hart said. Hart seems to be thankful for the opportunities during her upbringing, now more than she may have realized in her younger years. “I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by people from vari-

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 5 October 22, 2009

Portland Art Museum In addition to China Design Now, here are the other exhibitions the museum is currently showing: Joseph Park: APEX July 18 to Nov. 15 Inspired by film noir and animation in his early work, Seattlebased artist Joseph Park’s recent paintings comprise a complex visual structure built upon reflections and foreboding narrative situations from a range of photographic sources. Meticulously realized in oil on panel, the six paintings from 2007 and 2008 that form the exhibition show the continuing development of this exciting Northwest artist. Curated by Bruce Guenther. Lessons: Learning life outside the norm.

ous cultures, and classes, and with members of the LGBT community,” Hart said. “In addition, my brother has Down syndrome, and so I spent a great deal of time with him, and later, worked as a counselor for adults with developmental and physical disabilities.” Her experiences have certainly changed the way she looks at herself and individuals for the better. “This exposure to so many different types of people allowed me to consider a variety of perspectives with enthusiasm and respect,” Hart said.

Word and Image/ Word as Image Aug. 22 to Nov. 29

Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood Reading and book signing featuring the author Powell’s Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

The exhibition focuses on four groups of works, beginning with late 15th- and 16thcentury prints, which tend to convey clear messages with a close correlation of text and image. This section includes a page from the renowned Nuremberg Chronicle, the most lavishly illustrated book of the late 15th century.

Spotlight on China The Portland Art Museum provides a unique multimedia look into the country’s art explosion

Other artists represented in the exhibition include Odilon Redon, Käthe Kollwitz, Georges Braque, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg and Jenny Holzer.

Joel Gaddis Vanguard staff

China is a country defined by transition. It still stands in the long shadow cast by Mao Zedong, former dictator from 1949 to 1976, but is moving rapidly into a new light. In this ever-shifting cultural and economic landscape, a wide vista of vibrant, cutting-edge art has been revealed. This month, and throughout the rest of the year, the Portland Art Museum is hosting China Design Now, an exhibit that features contributions from a dizzying array of modern Chinese visionaries. Originally housed in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the show has now made its way to the West Coast. It represents work from three of China’s most populous coastal cities: Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. The exhibit is divided up according to geographic location, and each locale reflects the salient themes of its design environment. For example, Beijing is subtitled as the “Future City” and focuses on architecture and urban planning, while Shanghai, the “Dream City,” is concerned with fashion and lifestyle. In this way, visitors can get a sense

for the distinctive character of each place and the design movements that have grown there. One of the more intriguing aspects of the exhibit is its inclusion of a wide variety of media. In order to present a complete portrait of modern Chinese design, the work on display includes everything from clothing and CD covers to sculpture and skateboards. The result is an immersive and authentic environment that covers a lot of ground. The Shanghai-based design firm Super Nature is one of the many art collectives represented at China Design Now. Among other things, Super Nature creates highly conceptual installation pieces that often emphasize interactivity and a reconnection with the natural world. Interestingly, this sentiment is typically expressed through state of the art computer technology. Their Rabbit Wonderland, for instance, consisted of a series of large, glowing LED sculptures erected in Shanghai. The sculptures featured a number of interactive elements, such as lights that would react to the sound of a human voice.

Featuring works by artists from Albrecht Dürer to Ed Ruscha, this exhibition examines the relationship between word and image in prints over the course of more than 500 years, from the Renaissance to today. Comprising nearly 70 works, the exhibition is assembled from the permanent collection of the Portland Art Museum and local private collections.

Artistry: Letting cultural influences enter the city through crafted exhibits.

This spirit of synergy would seem to be infectious, as the presence of China Design Now in Portland has set off a series of congruent functions in the artistic community. Throughout October, advertising firm Wieden+Kennedy has been hosting some showings that serve as offshoots of the main exhibit. The Goldsmith Gallery is offering up Jelly Generation, a show that displays the work of 30 young, upand-coming Chinese artists. Among them is mixed-media artist Quail Egg, whose colorful designs include old newspaper print and Polaroids. In viewing local artistry, the impact that China Design Now has had on Portland’s creative populace reveals just how influential and inspiring the exhibit is. Young designers from around the world will be looking to China as a guiding light.

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Raphael: The Woman with the Veil Oct. 24 to Jan. 3, 2010

China Design Now Portland Museum 1219 SW Park Ave. Oct. 10 through Jan. 17 $15

Jelly Generation Goldsmith Gallery 412 NW Couch St. Oct. 9 through Nov. 1 Free

This single-painting exhibition brings one of the most important paintings of the Renaissance to Oregon for the first time. This extraordinary work is on loan from the Medici Collection of the Palatine Gallery at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy, and comes to Portland after more than a year of negotiations. Portland Art Museum 1219 SW Park Ave. 503-226-2811 info@pam.org —portlandartmuseum. org

Vanguard 6 | Sports October 22, 2009

Sports Editor: Robert Britt 503-725-4538 sports@dailyvanguard.com

Baffling “sports” from around the world Shin kicking Shin kicking is part of the Cotswold Games, a 400-year-old tournament that claims to be the oldest Olympiad in the world—and, because of the absence of synchronized swimming, it may also have a valid claim to be the best. There’s rarely a sport more perfectly summed up by its name. Shin kicking is a contest between two fighters as to who can knock the other down by the simple, honest method of kicking the shit out of one another’s shins.

Bossaball (aka trampoline volleyball) Bossaball is a variant of volleyball, but with elements of soccer, gymnastics and capoeira (a Brazilian martial art) thrown in. All of it is played on a souped-up bouncy castle, producing something that is mindblowingly awesome. Seriously, why isn’t this shit in the Olympics?

Freestyle walking (aka skateboarding without a skateboard) Freestyle walking and “free running” seem to be sports for people who bought the clothes to dress like Bam Margera, but didn’t have any money left to buy a skateboard. So they go jumping off rails and fences using only their feet.

SPORTS

Phillips hits hard Transfer from New Mexico State making a big impact at Portland State Rosemary Hanson Vanguard staff

Outside hitter Whitney Phillips knows how to play volleyball. Her love for the fast-paced sport drew her to the game, and her desire to live in an urban environment brought her to Portland. The 20-year-old junior transfer from Scottsdale, Ariz., has been an athlete since seventh grade, when she began playing volleyball. She grew up watching her neighbors play and began getting involved, but it was the speed of the game that she says kept her on a court and not on another playing surface. “I played softball in high school… it was too slow of a pace for me,” she said. “I have a short attention span. [In volleyball] you always have something to do with every play.” Initially scouted by the Viking volleyball team during her senior year at Desert Mountain High School, Phillips decided to attend New Mexico State for two years before eventually relocating to Portland. And her choice to move here has been a good one for Vikings volleyball. Phillips leads the Big Sky Conference with 4.68 kills per set and ranks sixth in the NCAA in the same category. She also leads the conference with her 5.08 points per set, putting her 16th in the nation. Due in part to her play, the team is in a three-way tie for first place with Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado going into the second half of conference play. Before coming to Portland State,

Phillips was joined at New Mexico State by her twin sister, Kelsi, and both women played for the school. However, transfer eligibility rules kept Kelsi off the court for games, and they only practiced together. Whitney said she enjoyed playing volleyball with her sister again. “We grew up playing together, so it was fun,” she said. After two years at New Mexico State, Phillips decided it was time for a change, and she traded the Southwest for the Northwest. She is happy with the move, and said she particularly likes the atmosphere of the campus. “I needed a change from the college town I came from,” Phillips said. “The girls here are great…they have really helped make the transition easier.” The biggest change—she said while laughing—was “all the rain.”

Associate head coach Jeff Mozzochi said the team is happy to have Phillips. “She’s a skilled player, and the competitiveness and energy level she brings is consistent, even at practice. We knew she would fit in with what we have going with our program,” he said. Phillips is a modest athlete and, to some extent, soft spoken. Of her leadership style, Mozzochi said, “She won’t yell at the girls. She leads by example.” It is not hard to see the example she sets. This season, Phillips has led the team in kills in 17 out of 19 games, chalked up seven doubledoubles and has gone over 20 kills in six matches. Last year, a Viking only broke 20 kills once. Mozzochi said Phillips is an all around athlete that has, “All the parts of her game…she’s one of the best.” Despite moving to Portland to

get closer to an urban environment, Phillips is not the typical downtown woman. She lives outside the city, with one of the reasons being that she wanted a large backyard for her dog, Koda. Off the court, her main interests are down to earth. “I love just going outdoors, exploring and hiking,” she said. Phillips is a finance major, though she is not certain about a specific career goal. In the near future, she is hoping to go back home to Arizona in the summer, where she wants to train and find an internship. Vikings volleyball is thrilled she found her way out of the desert heat and into the Portland rain. A strong offensive player, she not only brings skill as an athlete but also leadership as a teammate. “She’s everything we hoped for,” Mozzochi said.

Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard

Rodrigo Melgarejo/Portland State Vanguard

Killer: Phillips has performed amazingly since transferring to Portland State. She currently leads the Big Sky in both kills per set and points per set.

Ferret legging (aka stuffing a ferret in your pants) Imagine, if you can, standing in a barn in a small village on the moors of North Yorkshire, England. In the barn, there are a lot of dour-looking gentlemen standing around you, glowering, drinking ale and smoking pipes. Oh yeah, you’re shirtless, and your trousers are securely tied around your ankles. There’s a fellow in front of you holding two ferrets. These two small, carnivorous and weasel-like beasts with sharp claws and teeth are squirming, and they look pissed off and really, really hungry.

in brief Officiating in last week’s football game between first-place Montana and Eastern Washington was reviewed by Big Sky officials, according to a statement released by the conference. “The officiating in Saturday’s EWU-UM game was not up to the standards we expect and require,” said Doug Fullerton, commissioner

for the Big Sky Conference. Independent observers and Doug Toole, the conference’s director of football operations, reviewed the game film and found two calls made against Eastern Washington “particularly troubling.” A player from Eastern Washington was called for delivering a late hit out of bounds in the fourth

Then, the fellow with the ferrets gives you the nod. You pull your trousers out and he throws the ferrets in, pulling your belt tight afterwards. That’s basically the idea of this. When you can’t take any more, you whip your trousers down, freeing the ferrets, and spend the next few weeks trying to piece together your shredded pride. And genitals.

—www.cracked.com Rodrigo Melgarejo/Portland State Vanguard

Official review: The Big Sky this week reviewed several calls made during a conference football game.

quarter. Yet, the review found that he was illegally blocked in the back by a member of the Montana squad, which caused him to collide with the Montana player out of bounds. In the third quarter, an Eastern Washington wide receiver received an unsportsmanlike conduct call for slowing down on his way to the end zone, but the review also found that call to be an error. “We don’t normally comment on officiating, nor do we plan to regularly do so in the future. However, there are cases where it is warranted, and this is one,” Fullerton said. Picked to finish second in the Big Sky Conference media poll is the Portland State men’s basketball team, according to a statement released by the league. The two-time conference postseason champions were also predicted to finish fourth in the coaches poll. The Vikings finished the regular season in second place last year, but won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament

for the second straight year. Portland State comes off backto-back 23-10 seasons and is looking to be the first team in the conference to win three consecutive postseasons since Weber State in 1978-80. This season will be head coach Tyler Geving’s first year at the helm since taking over for Ken Bone. Geving has been with the program for four years, and was associate head coach for two years. Broadcasted online will be every game of the Trail Blazers’ 15game KGW television schedule, according to a statement released by the team. The feed will stream live and in high-definition, and be available at a cost of $3.99 per game or $39.99 for the entire season. The feed will include the KGW broadcast with Mike Barrett and Mike Rice, real-time stats, live blogging, fan feedback and a fantasy basketball application that allows viewers to choose their starting five.

etc.

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Monday, October 19, 2009

Edited by Will Shortz

HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERSʼ WEEK

Note: All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Bernice Gordon, 95, of Philadelphia, had her first Sunday crossword published on January 23, 1955. Her first weekday puzzle appeared three years earlier. She is the oldest known puzzlemaker in the newspaperʼs history.

Across 1 Home 6 If A > B and B > C, then A > C, e.g. 11 ʼ60s hallucinogen 14 Subtraction from a bank account 15 Cage or Penn 16 Teardropʼs starting point 17 Film directorʼs sound? 19 Massachusettsʼ Cape ___ 20 Nun from Ávila 21 “Goodness gracious!” 23 Genetic letters 24 Bard of ___ 26 Birth control advocateʼs fury? 33 Architect Saarinen

34 Old photo tint 35 How some mailorder packages arrive, for short 37 Puts on 38 Barcelonaʼs home 39 Amount between all and none 40 U.S.N. officer 41 Coin toss call 42 1998 Disney film set in China 43 Jazz pianistʼs court appearance? 46 X-ray vision blocker 47 Letter after wye 48 Bamboo-eating animal 51 Words of longing 56 55-Downʼs cold war foe 57 Comedianʼs parents?

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE B A S E S T

O P T S T O

� R A T E D

T I R E S

S A I R � � R I � R A V I O N E S I R N T A R O I N A N � S T A

U R T L E L � O O L E D O W N E � I B R A N � O I N O � R A G U A L I T P N I � U G E N O N � A O S I R T T U � E A I R R S T E

E I G G � D T P G � I E L S T T � B L � O E P

V O I R

I N V O I � � E E N D S N � E R E E D O L N E

L I E A W A � E

S A R D O N � �

B L A R E S

A L � � D S

18 21

41 43

11 16

60 Ullmann from Norway 61 Submit oneʼs tax return via computer 62 Horses with speckled coats 63 Wages 64 7/4/1776 and 12/7/1941, e.g. 65 This, that and the ___ Down 1 Foofaraws 2 Alternative to suspenders 3 News item listing surviving kin 4 Branches off 5 Everlasting 6 Ladʼs mate 7 Eight: Prefix 8 Classic muscle car 9 Charged particle 10 Onetime center of Italian violin manufacture 11 Edward who wrote humorous verse 12 Working well together, after “in” 13 Say no to 18 Derrière 22 Where London is: Abbr. 24 Venomous, as a snake 25 Conceited 26 Ancient Persian 27 “Get ___ Little Dogies” 28 Get the soap out

No. 0914

51 58

Puzzle by Bernice Gordon

29 Caught sight of

30 Dabbling ducks 31 Bacteria in a breakout 32 Not italic

36 Chinaʼs ___ Xiaoping 38 Chronicle

39 Itʼs guaranteed to hit the mark

Apartments for Rent

41 Dealt with, as an 51 Capri, for one injury 52 Sras. : Mexico :: ___ : France 42 Eminent conductor 53 Opposite of nah 44 Antiquated 54 French department 45 Basso Pinza 55 56-Acrossʼs cold 48 Solid parts of war foe orange juice 58 Three ___ kind 49 Itʼs east of Europe 59 Sch. near Harvard 50 Armada

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Todayʼs puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

Studio! Great Specials Now! St, 350 sq ft available NOW! $630/month. Get 1 1/2 months free with 12 month lease! AND free parking for a year! 1 month free rent with a 9 month lease or 1/2 month free rent with a 6 month lease! MAX line, bus lines, shopping, dining, cafes, grocery, Portland State University near by. Parking, storage, fitness and laundry facility and bike room! www. PortlandTowers.com 503-228-9651

Beauty/Health/ Fitness Brazilian Wax Special About Face & More (11th & Columbia) is offering Brazilian waxing for $35 during the month of October. 503-224-8623

Help Wanted Driver/Assistant Needed Hiteax incoporation is seeking a responsible individuals for full time/part time driving/ assistant positions. Must be at least 25 years old with experience and Class A CDL required. Home every night. Competitive wages and full benefit package. Interested candidates should resume to hiteaxincor@live.com

Vanguard Etc. | 7 October 22, 2009

CALENDAR Today PSU American Marketing Association meeting 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. SBA, room 160 Oregon College of Oriental Medicine admission seminar Noon to 2 p.m. SMSU, room 329

Friday Indians Thinking: Imagining Indigenous Futurisms 2 p.m. SMSU, room 298 Pumpkin Carving with the Vietnamese Student Association 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. SMSU, room 323 Computer Action Team: Braindump 5:30 p.m. Engineering Building, room 102 Anime Club Costume Ball 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. SMSU, room 355

Saturday Campus Rec: Spooky Saturday 10 a.m. to noon Peter Stott Center Kaibigan: KAPATID Launch Day 10 a.m. SMSU, room 327 Campus Residence Life: A Grimm’s Fairy Tale Haunted House 8 p.m. to midnight Montgomery Hall $3 admission is donated to charity KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2009 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

Each row and each column ● must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

numberswithintheheavily ● outlinedTheboxes, called cages, must combine using the given

operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

Fillinsingle-box ● cages Freebies: with the number in the top-left corner.

attn: student groups

YOU NEED A NEW LOGO The Graphic Design Center at Portland State University is a student-operated business available to student organizations as well as the general public for various aspects of design work.

Contact: Phone: 503-725-4468 Web site: http://www.gdc.pdx.edu Blog: http://graphicdesigncenter.blogspot.com

Pricing: University fee-funded student groups: 5 free hours (per term), then $25 an hour Other PSU departments and organizations: $25 an hour Organizations outside of PSU: $75 an hour

Wanted • Wanted Copy Editor

To place an event: Contact vgcalendar@ gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, Smith Memorial Student Union, room 115.

Send résumés to editor@dailyvanguard.com

Comic Artist

Send résumés to arts@dailyvanguard.com

Wanted • Wanted The Vanguard Rolling back prices to nothing!

POP CULTURE ARTS & CULTURE

Portland’s own Beggar’s Opera

For your ghoulish senses: haunted activities near PSU “A Grimm’s Fairy Tale” Haunted house sponsored by Residence Life. Oct. 24 and Oct. 25 8 p.m. to midnight $3 admission for charity Montgomery Hall 1802 SW 10th Ave.

“Spooky Saturday” Activities will include family swimming, climbing, pumpkin painting, face painting and floor painting. Oct. 24 10 a.m. to noon, Free The Peter Stott Center 930 SW Hall St.

All photos by Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard

Anita Kinney Vanguard staff

Portland is a city where many different facets of culture exist side by side. Strip clubs stand mere blocks from city hall and the auditorium where the state ballet performs. Musical adaptations of Star Trek sell out theaters days after David Byrne performances. In a city full of theater groups and nonprofits of all shapes and sizes, it’s no surprise that Portland is home to Opera Theater Oregon, a nonprofit devoted to making opera accessible by performing affordable, contemporary versions in relatively intimate spaces. Opera Theater Oregon’s current production, The Beggar’s Opera, promises to be another welcome addition to their 2009–10 season (which includes one of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen operas re-scripted as a Baywatch episode, and a new live score accompanying Mario Bava’s 1961 film Hercules Vs. Vampires). Based on John Gay’s landmark 1728 opera of the same title, The Beggar’s Opera mocks local politicians and celebrities. Local writer Stephen Marc Beaudoin collaborated with musician Michael Herrman on this Portland version of Beggar’s Opera. Herrman fronts Buoy LaRue, a local rock band heavily influenced by chamber music. The show will be performed this weekend at the Someday Lounge, and next weekend at The Woods in Sellwood—a new performance space housed inside a renovated funeral parlor that Beaudoin claims “still smells like formaldehyde.”

The Beggar’s Opera, according to Beaudoin, is a “show within a show.” The cast plays a group of homeless characters who put on The Beggar’s Opera. They’ve taken over the theater space as a way to get the message out, so they perform the show as sort of a ritual.” The play follows its hero, Mack “The Guitar,” a rising Portland pop star. Mack is dating Polly Peachum, a Reed College freshman with a fondness for hallucinogenic drugs, whose mother runs a series of porn stores called “Peachum’s and Cream.” Mrs. Peachum is having an affair with Randy Lockett, a policeman modeled after Randy Leonard. Lockett’s daughter, Lucy, is based on local pop star Storm Large— she has ascended to Portland stardom after an early life on the streets. “I’m just so sick of hearing Storm Large’s name every five minutes,” Beaudoin said of his choice to base a character on the singer. “Plus, she’s an easy target, because she’s, like, a cult figure. What John Gay did in the original was send up sort of cult figures of society, and say, ‘You know what, although we idolize these people and although we’ve developed this cult of personality around them, they’re just human, and as messy and disgusting as everyone else,’” Beaudoin said. Beaudoin’s decision to include Randy Leonard has a similar explanation. “Of all the politicians on city council right now, he’s the easiest to lampoon,” said Beaudoin, citing Leonard’s accessibility, working-

Beaudoin creations: Letting us know that if you live your life in public—look out.

class background and “genuinely dumb” decisions during his time on city council. Beaudoin worked with Herrman to select songs from Gay’s original Beggar’s Opera, which contains over 70 pieces of music. “We went through and chose about 20 of our individual favorites. My job was to not only rearrange the airs of the original that we decided to keep, but also write wholly new pieces for the show based on Stephen’s lyrics,” Herrman said. “Opera Theater Oregon and Stephen both wanted the sound of my band, which is a six-piece chamber-pop band with violin, piano, viola, upright bass and guitars. The concept for the music

Opera: Where gang signs reign supreme.

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 8 October 22, 2009

was to kind of follow that instrumentation, and write Buoy LaRue-style songs, but with the lyrics that were part of the story,” Herrman said. The Beggar’s Opera promises to be a uniquely Portland take on a classic work.

Someday Lounge 125 NW Fifth Ave. Oct. 22–25 at 7 p.m. The Woods 6637 SE Milwaukie Ave. Oct. 30–31 at 7 p.m.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 literary masterpiece, this film will be playing at the 5th Avenue Cinema. Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Free w/ PSU ID, $3 otherwise 5th Avenue Cinema 510 SW Hall St.