KENTUCKY KERNEL MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2009
CELEBRATING 38 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
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PHOTO BY BENJAMIN BUKER | STAFF
Maryanne Edmundson (left) and Paige Hankla of Passion Fire perform at the Boomslang carnival outside Buster’s on Saturday night. Boomslang ran from Thursday morning until midnight Monday morning.
Marching to different beats Boomslang. Keeneland. National Equality March. UK football. No matter what the particular style, taste or fancy of any UK student, all were represented in a 72-hour window this past weekend. Whether it was betting on the ponies, cheering on the Cats, checking out new music or traveling to Washington D.C. to rally for equal rights, UK students made their marks both home and away — all marching to different beats.
Members of the UK football team walk off the field at WilliamsBrice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. after the Cats’ 28-26 loss on Saturday. PHOTO BY KENNY COLSTON STAFF
PHOTO BY ALLIE GARZA | STAFF
Casey Stechishin, left, and Chris Rosenbaum both watch as the horses they bet on lose the fourth race on Saturday at Keeneland. Stechishin and Rosenbaum, both students from EKU, drove in to experience Keeneland for their first time. "This is my first time at Keeneland," Rosenbaum said. "And this is my fourth loss." First issue free. Subsequent issues 25 cents.
PHOTO BY ADAM WOLFFBRANDT | STAFF
Lt. Dan Choi, left, walks with his partner, Matthew Kinsey during the National Equality March to fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ community in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. On Saturday, President Obama vowed to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy during an annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington Newsroom: 257-1915; Advertising: 257-2872
PAGE 2 | Monday, October 12, 2009
LITTLE MAN, BIG BROOM As I was covering Boomslang in Lexington over the weekend, one of my assignments was to cover the carnival. I arrived at the carnival early to a small crowd with little happening. Finally, two-year-old Solomon Berk caught my eye as he was trying to sweep the area of the parking lot in front of his mother's tent. The humor of his big hat, little boots and his unproductive, tireless effort was appealing to my eye. — SCOTT HANNIGAN
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Inside the Gosselin battle Missing cash! Terrified kids! Jon and Kate Gosselin’s feud heats up as the two plot to destroy each other. These days, enter the Gosselin home at your own risk. The $1.1 millionWernersville, Pennsylvania, mansion has become a war zone in the epic battle between divorces-to-be Jon and Kate. “She has been especially moody and angry,” says a source close to the mom of eight. “Kate’s been slamming kitchen cabinet doors, bedroom doors and car doors and everything else she can slam.” It seems the nights are hardest, the Kate confidant says. “She goes out driving for no reason after it gets dark and comes back looking like she’s been crying.” Not surprising, considering the escalating grudge match she and her ex have been locked into since their June split. On September 29, the same day TLC axed him from a major role for his “erratic” behavior and rechristened their show Kate Plus 8, Jon, 32, slapped a cease-and-desist order on the network, swearing to never again let them film their kids, twins Mady and Cara, 9, and their 5-year-old sextuplets, Aaden, -Joel, Collin, Alexis, Hannah and Leah, anywhere. Six days later, Kate, 34, dropped a bombshell of her own, accusing the former IT specialist of draining $230,000 from the family’s household-expense savings account. “This is an intense battle of the egos with neither side backing down,” a Jon insider says of the sparring pair. “They’re both determined to destroy the other at any cost,
whether they have the facts on their side or not. But the real victims are the children. They are confused and distraught and are acting out all the time in an effort to get attention from their parents.” Here, Us examines each side’s cruelly plotted battle tactics.
Grabbing the Cash How Jon Attacks Her “Jon wants Kate to lose everything and see her have to rely on him for support,” the Jon insider says. To that end, Kate argues, he violated a court order and ran off with their cash, leaving her with just $1,346 in liquid assets to feed their kids. (Jon told Larry King on October 1 that the two each made $22,500 an episode during the four years of Jon & Kate Plus 8.) “When you have left your children and their mother unable to pay for the roof over their head, it’s not acceptable,” Kate said as she choked back tears on Today October 5. “I have a stack of bills in my purse I can’t put in the mail.”
How Kate Strikes Back As soon as she received a phone call from her bank telling her about the balance, she made a call of her own to Hollywood attack-dog lawyer Marty Singer. (Celeb clients include California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Demi Moore.) On October 4, Singer, who charges up to $1,000 an hour, petitioned a judge that Jon replace the cash. COPYRIGHT 2008 US WEEKLY
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Horoscope To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 7 — So you think you want to be king (or queen) of the hill? Put on that crown only after you do the work. Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — You g et a chance to wrap up a project that’s been nagging you. Do it completely. Start something new tomorrow. Gemini (May 21-June 21) — Today is a 7 — Change is in the air, and long-distance communication confirms your intuition. Travel is possible. Take the train. Cancer (June 22-July 22) — Today is a 6 — Friction today keeps
Buy photos online. All photos that appear in the Kernel are available at ukcampusphotos.com.
you from peak performance. An older person shows you something you weren’t taught in school. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 6 — Starting today, be responsible for your self-image. Talk to yourself if you have to. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8 — Your personal needs take priority. Tell others exactly what you want and accept whatever they offer. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 7 — It seems like everything changes today. What you thought was firmly in place gives way to something even more magical. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 — Everything seems to be pretty well balanced today. This is good, as tomorrow you’ll start in a whole new direction.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 6 — The sands shift under your feet. Be ready to move in a new direction, knowing that good fortune awaits you.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
— Today is a 7 — Take advantage of every opportunity to tell others you love them. Wisdom grows as you show your feelings. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — You’ve been dragging your feet on a project. Now is the time to move ahead. Anything you do will have good results. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — By the end of the day you’ll be on a roll. In the morning you need to get the engines started. Find the right key.
(C) 2009 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Monday, October 12, 2009 | PAGE 3
UK falls 28-26 to South Carolina; Hartline injured in third quarter By Ben Jones bjones@kykernel.com
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rich Brooks leaned back in his chair, pulled his hat off and scratched his head. His face, burned garnet after a day in the sun and a difficult game, told the story of the Cats’ 28-26 loss to the Gamecocks even before his words did. “They all get tough,” Brooks said. “And this is very, very difficult. This is a game I felt we had a real shot at winning and we came up short.” In a back-and-forth battle, the Cats (2-3, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) found themselves with one too many obstacles to overcome. After starting the game without either of their top cornerbacks, repeatedly giving No. 25 South Carolina (5-1, 2-1 SEC) favorable field position on kickoffs, losing their starting quarterback and nearly evening the score in the closing minutes on a spectacular drive led by sophomore Randall Cobb, the Cats still found themselves one play short. For players like senior defensive tackle Corey Peters, who has seen UK come up just short against the Gamecocks time and time again, it was another verse of the same song. The Cats were close to the Gamecocks throughout the game and led often, but a handful of plays doomed them. “These losses are worse, in my opinion,” Peters said. “I’m so disappointed. It hurts so bad.” Three times, the Cats left points off the board when they could have gained an upper hand against the Gamecocks. Cobb dropped a pass in the first quarter that would have likely gone for a touchdown, Brooks called for a
fake field goal that failed in the third quarter and senior tight end T.C. Drake dropped another pass on the goal line later in the third. “Those are plays we have to capitalize on,” Cobb said. “Things didn’t go right like we wanted them to.” Junior quarterback Mike Hartline, in the midst of what might have been the best game of his career, left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury and did not return. Hartline completed 9 of 14 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers before being injured. Hartline will be evaluated Sunday or Monday, Brooks said, but will not play next week at Auburn and could miss more time than that. Fellow junior quarterback Will Fidler replaced Hartline but was underwhelming, completing 2 of 8 passes before being pulled in favor of Cobb, who ran for 64 yards while leading UK on a 70yard touchdown drive to come within a two-point conversion of tying the game. “It was definitely amazing,” Peters said of Cobb’s performance on the drive. “I don’t know where he found the energy.” Without starting corners Trevard Lindley and Paul Warford, the UK secondary gave up three touchdown receptions to South Carolina freshman receiver Alshon Jeffery, who finished with 138 yards. Gamecock returner Chris Culliver burned the Cats for 130 yards on three kickoff returns, setting South Carolina up with good field position for multiple drives. But after the game, no one could pin the loss on any one play or player. Peters, who racked up seven tackles and 2.5 sacks, both career highs, was quick to point out he missed a gap assignment
PHOTO BY KENNY COLSTON | STAFF
Junior quarterback Mike Hartline will miss next week’s game at Auburn and could be out longer with a knee injury, UK head coach Rich Brooks said Sunday. on a long run that set up South Carolina’s gameclinching touchdown. Brooks was proud of the way his team fought, but solemn after the loss. Even players like Cobb, who haven’t been in the program long enough to see some of UK’s other close losses against South Carolina, could
Injury Report Player
Pos.
feel how close the Cats were. “It’s really rough,” Cobb said. “To play like we played today and have opportunities to win games and not capitalize on those opportunities is rough. This series with South Carolina, we had chances last year and we shot ourselves in the foot. The same thing happened again this year.”
Injury
Status
Mike Hartline
QB
MCL injury
Will not play
Trevard Lindley
CB
Ankle sprain
Doubtful
Paul Warford
CB
Quad strain
Questionable BEN JONES | STAFF
New mistakes but same old result for Cats in ‘tough’ loss to Gamecocks COLUMBIA, S.C. — Week by week, year by year, the same words can describe how UK football feels. Heartbreaking. Tough. Disappointed. After losing 28-26 to No. 25 South Carolina on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium, those same words were repeated. Heartbreaking. Tough. Disappointed. UK head coach Rich Brooks said them. Backup-turned-starting-quarterback Will Fidler said them. If you had asked junior quarterback Mike Hartline, injured on the opening drive of the third quarter and likely to KENNY miss at least next week’s game, you probaCOLSTON bly would have heard those same words. Kernel Heartbreaking. Tough. Disappointed. columnist Because that’s exactly what Saturday’s loss was. Despite prior beliefs about Hartline, it’s tough to see someone who was starting to put the pieces together get injured. It’s heartbreaking to watch a team playing without its top three corners midway through the game continue to hang in there. Being disappointed in some of the mistakes — both in penalties and play-calling — UK committed is natural. “We were in position to win this game,” Brooks said. “This was one of those wins we needed pretty badly and we failed to get it.” The penalty that brought back sophomore Randall Cobb’s big end-around was one of many mistakes limiting the Cats. A fake field goal Brooks tried was another. “Dumb call by me,” Brooks said. “ … We should have checked out of it, but we didn’t.” A lot of people can watch the game, look at the box score and the injury report and say the Cats were lucky to be within a two-point conversion of sending the game into overtime with even the possibility of winning it. They’ll see the injuries, the way the Cats responded and the fact that by the end of the game, a true freshman was
UK’s No. 1 cornerback and say “Hey, we’ll take the result.” Because that’s what UK always does. They challenge South Carolina and play them closely every year. Every year they lose. It’s always something. But usually, it’s because UK always causes that something. Sure, not having Hartline hurt, but was it the difference in the game? Not when UK showed it could still march down the field and score without him. “You don’t want your starting quarterback down, but someone else is there to fill in,” junior tailback Derrick Locke said. “No excuses.” That may be a good motto for UK to adopt — “No excuses.” Up at halftime, on the road and playing well, there are no excuses for losing by two points. Not when two or three good drives stalled. Mistakes turned first downs into third-andlongs. And when faking a field goal, UK tried to be fancier than needed. So now the Cats get to limp back to Lexington, thin at cornerback and with a coaching headache trying to decide what to do at quarterback. Brooks said Hartline isn’t likely to play at Auburn. “Everybody was hoping and wishing for a change,” UK head coach of the offense Joker Phillips said. “Well, we got a change. We can’t cancel the season though.” Phillips is right. UK has to play on, even in the tough Southeastern Conference. A three-game losing streak and a winless conference streak could turn into four straight losses. “We keep doing this, we’re going to keep losing,” Locke said. “I hope everyone is tired of losing. I am.” If the Cats want to end the heartbreaking, tough losses they’ll have to cut out the mistakes completely. If they can’t, just change the location every week, but not the results in the win/loss column. That will stay the same: Disappointing. Kenny Colston is a journalism senior. E-mail kcolston@kykernel.com.
Women’s soccer, Arkansas finish in scoreless tie By Alex Mackey sports@kykernel.com
In the 109th minute of a scoreless game, a header was put in the back of the goal that made it seem like the Arkansas Razorbacks had beaten UK in double overtime. But the luck of the UK women’s soccer team hadn’t run out and the referee waved the goal off since a Razorback was offsides. The game ended in a 0-0 tie when no one could score in the last minute. The Cats (4-6-4, 1-4-1 Southeastern Conference) tried to build momentum from their victory against No. 13 Louisiana State on Friday when they took on the Razorbacks (7-3-4, 1-3-2 SEC) at the UK Soccer Complex but again failed to get any offensive work done. The field was still sloppy from Friday’s game, which slowed the pace of play. The Cats had only 10 shots in 110 minutes of play, while the Razorbacks had 22.
“It was a typical Sunday battle against a team that had also got their first conference win Friday,” said assistant coach Michelle Rayner. The Cats, coached by Rayner, played their second game without UK head coach Jon Lipsitz, who has been sick. He was spotted sitting in the stands alone, but left as soon as the game was over.
“It was a typical Sunday battle against a team that had also got their first conference win Friday.”
MICHELLE RAYNER
UK assistant coach
The offense of the Cats could never get anything going. UK had one good look all day while the rest of the shots didn’t have a realistic chance at scoring. The Cats looked strong defensively until
the breakdown on the header in overtime. “When you play more than 90 minutes, things like that will happen,” Rayner said. Senior goalie Sydney Hiance said she was furious when the header first fell but once she saw that it was waved off she played the ball as fast as she could because she had limited time to get the ball back to her forwards. The Cats are in danger of missing the SEC tournament if they don’t get their scoring production up. Even after this weekend, they remain tied for last in the SEC East with Vanderbilt. The top four teams in the division make it to the SEC tournament. The Cats have five games left in their SEC season. They have two away games in the SEC against Alabama and Auburn before returning home to play Ole Miss in their final home game of the 2009 season. “We’re doing everything right, we really just need to finish,” Hiance said.
PAGE 4 | Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009 | PAGE 5
The meaning behind Boomslang
No boundaries at Boomslang
By current classification, the boomslang snake is the only member of its genus. ! Range - These snakes inhabit southern / subSaharan Africa ! Habitat - Mostly wooded grasslands, as they prefer treed areas ! Size - Adults average between 4' and 6' in length ! Diet - Mostly lizards and small birds (tree dwellers) ! Offspring - This snake lays eggs, between 10 and 20 per clutch ! Usually a bright green color.
Sight, sound showcased in festival art By Hope Smith features@kykernel.com
This weekend’s Boomslang festival wasn’t just about music acts and sideshows. Lexington was given the opportunity to experience thought-provoking and controversial art as part of the three-day community festival. To kick off the first day of Boomslang, a makeshift art gallery was organized at Limestone’s Hop Hop office area by local artists and UK alumnae Allison Crowe and Laura Holt. The team’s second show in Lexington brought in over a dozen local artists who displayed paintings, etchings, sculpture, prints and photos on exposed-brick walls and weathered wood floors to around a hundred Boomslang-goers and local art supporters. “We put this show together to bring community and art closer,” Crowe said. “I believe this is a showcase of the best of Lexington talent.” Across town, about 50 people filed into J. Allen studio for “Self-Told Lies and the Cosmic Truth.” A college student at the door welcomed the crowd by scribbling on a fake guest list and commenting on guests’ humorous tshirts and intriguing tattoos. The gallery-like hair salon was completely dark with the exception of hazy green lasers spanning the room. Spectators gathered in the back around a brown-papered canvas surrounded by standard rock band instruments. When the show started, four cloaked figures approached the instruments, while a fifth dark figure circled decrepitly around the canvas with a smoking skull in his clutches. Drone music shook the floor as a projection screen displayed mystery images on the screen and the shapes on the canvas began to change from skull to human and back to skull. Musical instruments collaborated to form synthesized sounds, which bassist Michael Lunsford said was “all in the movements.” “I got the idea for this show by being by myself a lot,” said Nick Larkey, performer and organizer of “Self-Told Lies.” “And we wanted to do the whole guest list thing to let people know that everyone participates, even people in line are a part of it.” On Sunday at Natasha’s Bistro & Bar, Jason Corder, a former Lexington resident visiting from Denver, performed his original “off the sky” presentation, which he told the audience would “get your brain all mushy.” Corder and guest percussionist Darren King used wind chimes, small drums, a xylophone and a guitar to produce soothing melodies correlating with obscure shapes on dual-projection screens in the intimate side room. Following Corder’s performance, Mark Hosler from California multimedia group Negativland, began his presentation by asking audience members if they had ever illegally downloaded music. The uproarious laughter told him “Yes.” Hosler discussed his group’s struggles with copyright infringement, namely with the band U2, and how art and the media can affect individuals globally. Negativland has taken snippets from thousands of film footage and audio clips over their many years together to create what Hosler calls “collages that your brain has to piece together.” “We are inspired by things we find and things people give to us, not our own music,” Hosler said. From leaking a phony press release that stated the group inspired a Minnesota boy to murder his family to allegedly using a U2 song illegally on one of its albums and videos, Negativland has angered many individuals. But causing discussion and provoking thought are part of Hosler’s mission. Jonathan Caldwell, a 26-year-old Cincinnati resident, has been listening to Negativland since he heard about its legal battle with U2. “We get almost all of our information from news and the media, so it’s nice to hear an alternative outlook,” Caldwell said.
PHOTOS BY SCOTT HANNIGAN | STAFF
Alex Johns lies on a bed of nails as part of the Boomslang carnival outside of Buster’s Saturday night.
PHOTO BY BENJAMIN BUKER | STAFF
Disappears plays on the backroom stage at Buster's on Saturday night during Boomslang.
Revealing lexington’s hidden gems By Katie Saltz and Roy York features@kykernel.com
If there ever was a time for the cultural floodgates to be broken down in Lexington, this past weekend was the spark to light that fire. "It seems to me that we're experiencing a real cultural renaissance, and a lot of things are starting to happen," said Ainsley Wagoner, general manager of WRFL. Boomslang was one of those things — a threeday music and art festival hosted by the UK student radio station. The event ran Friday through Sunday and encompassed music acts spanning all genres, art with no boundaries and circus acts that drew gasps of astonishment. While WRFL orchestrated the weekend’s events, Wagoner said the festival was an opportunity to merge Lexington's different facets. “I think that's one thing that Boomslang really banks on, is that a part of all this is also about how we connect with the community because of all these art shows, all these local bands, and the carnival kids, ” she said.
Don’t try this at home People often say they would walk through fire to get something they desire. Eric Myers will eat fire just to make you smile. Myers is a member of Ford Theatre Reunion, a circus band and performance group, who took the outdoor stage for the Boomslang carnival on Saturday in the Buster’s Billiards and Backroom parking lot. Myers used two burning batons to set lines of flames across his shirtless chest, cradled the blue blaze in the palm of his hand and extinguished the fire with his tongue. While it may seem crazy to some, this 22-year-old thinks making people happy is worth the risk. “The reason it's important to me and the reason that I do it largely is that I have literally seen hundreds of people today with ear-to-ear smiles,” Myers said. FTR began the show with their circus band during the Lexington Collaborative Fashion Group carnival-themed fashion show. Alex Johns, a 22-yearold Transylvania University graduate, plays clarinet and sings in the band, but her solo performance included $70 worth of nails, a bucket full of broken wine bottles and her bare skin. Johns crossed the runway in a tight-rope walk with a sea of shattered bottles with her naked feet. The shards crunched and popped under the weight of her body, but Johns reached the other side with seemingly unscathed soles. Johns gave the audience more of her daring antics by taking a rest from her show – lying on the tips of nails hammered through a wooden board, the skin on her back exposed to the
points of metal. Although the performers persistently warned audience members not to try these acts at home, group member Joe Harbison said trial and error drives the learning process. “The truth is, the way you learn is you just do it and cross your fingers,” he said. While some at the show averted their eyes, Ben Phelps, a UK agricultural economics senior, said he was curious to see the show after reading about the carnival. “I've never seen fire eating or walking on glass, laying on nails,” Phelps said. “It was an amazing show. (The) most unique thing I've ever seen.” Phelps said he was surprised the sideshow performers were all Lexington locals. “I never knew this was in Lexington,” he said. “I always thought stuff like this only happened in Vegas.” Johns said she thinks most people are unaware of the existence of the Lexington sideshow acts only because people aren't searching out unusual types of entertainment. “Passionfire, Sacred Fire, Girlie Girl Burlesque, Deadly Sins Burlesque — there are circus performers all over this town,” she said. “It's just nobody knows because nobody's paying attention.” Boomslang was just the kind of event that could change that attitude, Johns said, by highlighting all the hidden gems of Lexington. “Something that's great about a festival like this is it brings together a lot of acts that are performing all the time under one blanket name that people do pay attention to,” she said. Harbison hopes the publicity his group gained through Boomslang will encourage people to be more open-minded when choosing entertainment. “I think that people need to see stuff like this because there's nothing wrong with it,” Harbison said. “It doesn't really reach the mainstream sometimes because people think it’s going to be a lot more offensive than it is.” The diversity of the crowd is a factor Harbison believes is what makes the group so appealing. “We've done this show and frat guys are like 'Yes!' and then 85-year-old grandmothers are like 'Yes!' ” Harbison said. “Kids love it and punk rockers love it, everybody loves it, there's no reason not to. It's zany.”
Dressing for the occasion Forget Valentino. Forget Oscar de la Renta. It may not be haute couture, but on Saturday, local designers made their mark on Lexington’s fashion scene. The Boomslang carnival included a circus-themed fashion show organized by Sarah Jane Estes, an art studio sophomore. The event came together through collaboration between Estes and members of FTR.
PHOTO BY SCOTT HANNIGAN | STAFF
The Black Angels perform at Buster’s Saturday night.. Black Angels guitarist Christian Bland talked about the importance of festivals. “It’s really important to play at (festivals) just because more people get to see you.”
“Sarah Jane wanted to do a carnival-themed fashion show, so we said, ‘Well then let’s do it — what can we do to make this more visually appealing, what can we do to make this a full carnival?’ ” Johns said. Estes and other designers were already working with FTR on their carnival when WRFL approached the fashion show planners and offered to combine forces. WRFL made the show a focal point of the all-day event in the Buster’s parking lot. “We were really blessed to get the interest of WRFL,” Estes said. The designers, including Lamin Swann, Nani, Soreyda Benedit-Begley, Jamie McIntosh and Jordan Cox, agreed to a carnival theme for their pieces. “I was really inspired by carnival and circus animals,” Estes said. “We planned everything from the circus clothing to the circus music, the carnival colors and the animal (themes).” Every designer brought a unique take on the theme to the runway. From a leopard print body suit with a transparent cutout around the middle, to a multi-colored skirt resembling a circus tent, designers danced between the subtly of the pieces and making bolder statements with their designs. “The pieces represented every aspect of art seen in this town,” Estes said. Estes said events like Boomslang help young designers to get publicity, since there is currently no venue for extreme fashion in Lexington. Estes hopes to create a place for the fashion-hungry to get their fill from local designers instead of turning to major cities. “We’re creating a brand so we can represent Kentucky,” Estes said. “Our main goal isn’t to move away to New York. We want to be the face of design to Kentucky.”
Small town sound One band's casual is another band's crucial. For some local acts invited to play at Boomslang, the festival was an opportunity to rock with the big acts and gain exposure. Local musicians stepped onstage along with veteran international groups to prove small bands are teeming with musical talent and are itching to break onto the national scene. Shows were spread across Lexington at venues such as Al's Bar, The Void Skateshop, Natasha's Bistro and CD Central, who hosted musicians before and after the main shows at Buster's. Lisa Walker of the band Wussy performed at CD Central with bandmate Chuck Cleaver on Saturday. Walker said the festival shows over the weekend were an opportunity for students to get out of their usual music routines and find something new. "I think the kids who would go to Kings of Leon (who performed at Rupp Arena Saturday) would go to Boomslang and find a lot of music they would like," Walker said. "The nice thing about this festival is it mixes local, regional, national and international acts ... It brings out people who didn't know there was so much in their backyard." Headliners such as Mission of Burma, The Black Angels and Os Mutantes may have brought the crowd to Buster's, but Lexington brought its own thunder to the stage Tiny Fights, a Lexington-based “cosmic electrorock” group, who played on Buster's alternative stage following headliner Faust on the main stage, said they usually played for small bars and house parties. Jamie Adkins, bassist for Tiny Fights, said playing in the same venue as larger acts was an awesome experience, but he would have liked to have seen his band have a more central role. “I wish that Tiny Fights would have played on stage with Faust last night,” he said. Other Tiny Fights members were pleased with the festival as a whole and joked about the experience. “Faust was a great opening act for Tiny Fights,” said Adam Dickinson, who plays the guitar and uses a computer to synthesize sounds for Tiny Fights. “We hope they can play with us again. (They are a) pretty good little band.” All jokes aside, local bands invited to play at Boomslang said the festival was an integral part of the growth of Lexington culture. Big Fresh, a Lexington-based band offering a sound “like progressive Beatles with synthesizer," said they were grateful to be asked to play at an event as large as Boomslang. "This is the kind of place that Lexington needs, really needs," said Evan Belt, flugel horn player for
Eric Myers of Lexington performs with flaming batons as a part of the side show acts of Boomslang on Saturday night. PHOTO BY SCOTT HANNIGAN STAFF
Big Fresh. "I think it can thrive." Peter Prescott, drummer for headliner Mission of Burma, a band formed in 1979, said the explosion of local and experimental music over the years was encouraging. "When we started out, it was a barren wasteland of (bands like us)," said Clint Conley, bassist for Mission of Burma. "Now we're probably a lot more conservative than a lot of the bands here." Almost every band said exposing new people to different types of music was important for Lexington to grow as a center for musical expression. Adkins said now is the time to begin supporting local artists through festivals and venues like Boomslang to further the growth of local acts. “I spoke with four people last night who saw Tiny Fights that had never heard us before, and they liked us,” Adkins said. “So, if you can touch four people, I guess that's good.”
When all is said and done As Sunday night's events were heating up, Boomslang co-coordinator James Friley said he was not disappointed with the overall turnout for the Buster's main stage shows, but he had hoped for more attendance. "Ticket sales could have been better," Friley said. Around 600 people attended Buster's on Friday night, and he estimated about 350 on Saturday. Numbers for Sunday's attendance could not be acquired by press time, although Friley predicted a large turnout to see the "legendary" band Os Mutantes. Friley said he thought an unbalanced distribution of the bands was the reason Saturday's crowd was smaller. Friday's lineup was overbooked, causing smaller bands to push back their showtimes. Friley said the music continued at one after-party until 5 a.m. Saturday. "I think Friday was better. Saturday's lineup just wasn't as strong," he said. While Saturday held a smaller crowd inside the venue, the outdoor carnival drew a crowd he hadn't expected — and in temperatures of 49 degrees. "The carnival was a huge success," he said. "It was weird, even at 11 p.m. there were still 100 people outside watching the burlesque show." Boomslang didn't start heavily advertising until about two weeks before the festival began, Friley said, and more online marketing might have helped boost sales. "It was not enough time to get 1,000 people in here," he said. "But I'm not disappointed." Friley said for a future festival he wouldn't book
any after-parties because they ran so late into the morning, but he considered the overall weekend to be a success. "There is still so much excitement, even as it's over, people are still super pumped," he said. "I think it was awesome because everyone keeps saying it was awesome."
Boomslang top five Fire Show — Passionfire performed in
Buster’s parking lot on Saturday. Their acts included flaming hula hoops, fire eating and a guest contortionist. From a girl balancing a chalice full of flames on her head to the hula hoopers swirling their hips in a ring of fire, this act inspired the most ooh’s and aah’s from the crowd. Ford Theatre Reunion — This circus band/sideshow group of local twenty-somethings awed the crowd with acts such as walking on broken glass, a musical performance featuring a kazoo orchestra and “the human blockhead” hammering six-inch steel nails into his skull. Wussy — This gem was not part of the Buster’s acts, but played a Saturday day show at CD Central. For those who caught the folk-rock act, they were lucky to hear Chuck Cleaver pick a storm on his electric guitar while Lisa Walker sang in her part-Lucinda Williams-part-Jenny Lewis lilt. Mission of Burma — A veteran post-punk rock group, this band was the highlight of Friday night and, for some, the best show of the weekend. Mission has a rock ‘n’ roll core in an experimental shell with noisy guitar driving the movement. Their show made you grateful they reunited in 2002 after a 19-year hiatus. Buster’s Saturday Night — Although it had lower attendance numbers, Buster’s Saturday show ran smoothly because fewer bands were booked. Saturday took the focus off the big bands and provided a variety of entertainment from the alternative stage to the outdoor stage, but still put talented headliners on the main stage.
I am perched at the end of the bar, my notebook and pen resting in front of me, while I wait for Jesse Elliot, of These United States, to finish his game of pool. He’d offered to start the interview when I first arrived at Al’s Bar, but asked if I’d mind if he finished a “very important game.” I can see the pool table from the bar, and I’m able to look on as Jesse plays Cutthroat against one of the bartenders and a little person. This is the nature of Boomslang. There are no boundaries between fans and bands, schedules are loosely followed and it’s impossible to predict what you are going to see next. The day before my interview with Jesse, I found myself driving through a part of Lexington in which I’d never been; an industrial center surrounded by construction equipment MATT and mounds of gravel. Eventually, I would MURRAY find Buster’s buried amongst the surrounding Kernel warehouses, thanks in large part to the hectic columnist workers loading and unloading their gear. It was late afternoon, but thick clouds and rain created the illusion of nightfall. I had arrived two hours before the shows were scheduled to begin on Friday, but the downtime was not short of entertainment value. With the roar of a sound-check blaring behind me, I sat at a giant spool of a table and nursed a ginger ale, while WRFL volunteers raced around wrapping up last minute projects. Eventually the pieces seemed to fall into place, albeit an hour behind schedule, and Atlas Sound took the main stage at Buster’s. As Atlas Sound, or Bradford Cox, stomped away at his foot pedal, layering acoustic loops atop one another, the crowd was motionless — except of course the twenty-something man in front of me who pulled a tape deck from his satchel and plugged it into an outlet at the base of a nearby pillar. He was making a bootleg, a practice not uncommon at events such as this. Later that evening I watched as he threw a suitcase on the ground and opened it, proudly showcasing his hundreds of bootleg tapes to a group of onlookers. Atlas Sound seemed to notice the crowd’s stoicism as well. While he unsuccessfully attempted to tune guitar, he looked up to the small crowd and expressed his displeasure. “I can’t read you guys at all. You’re like a f***ing 1987 issue of ‘The Economist.’ ” It was a trend that would continue throughout the festival, as crowds seemed to study the music, unable to express their enjoyment until it was over, at which point they would roar into applause. When I got home that night, my ears were ringing and my head was pounding. Event coordinator Saraya Brewer had told me, “never a dull moment.” She wasn’t lying. Saturday afternoon, after a 20 minute search for a parking spot, I arrived at the Boomslang Carnival held in the lot next to Buster’s. Swimming through the sea of burlesque girls and sideshow acts, I made my way to the stage to watch the carnival-themed fashion show. I was interrupted by a call from Kyle Hunt of the Black Angels informing me they’d just gotten in to town and our interview may be a little behind schedule. As I was about to hang up, he asked if I knew where they were supposed to unload their stuff. Their van pulled up moments later, but the caution tape blocking off the lot hadn’t been taken down. I ran over to the tree around which the tape was looped and feverishly unraveled it in an attempt to calm the traffic that had built up behind the band. It wasn’t until after their soundcheck that Black Angels guitarist Christian Bland met me in the billiards room of Buster’s for the interview. “That tape was wrapped around that tree like a hundred times,” he said as he shook my hand and took a seat at the booth. The Black Angels are no strangers to big music events. They’ve played at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, but Bland said there is something special about the smaller, multi-venue festivals. “I think this feels more like SouthBySouthWest to me, you know, a big festival but in smaller venues. I actually prefer that, I mean big festivals are fun but not as intimate,” Bland said. Bland said he has been able to see SouthBySouthWest, a large music festival in The Black Angel’s home state of Texas, grow over time but emphasized that growth often comes with a consequence. “It’s weird but I guess that’s the nature of what happens with most festivals. SouthBySouthWest was homegrown in Austin but then after 15 years, corporate people saw how popular it was so they wanted to get involved and ended up taking over, and sadly it kind of takes away from the creativity of the whole thing.” After we finished our interview, I braved the cold to see what had drawn a crowd to the carnival outside. I arrived just in time to wriggle with discomfort as a man drove two 6-inch nails into each of his nostrils, and then allowed a volunteer to pull the nails back out. Despite the warm air and music attempting to lure me inside, it was impossible to look away from the circus-style sideshow that went on in that parking lot for the next 45 minutes. The show ended, breaking my entrancement, at which point it was time to head to Al’s Bar for my interview with Jesse. Jesse has just finished his game and takes a seat next to me at the bar. He complains about spending the early part of the day at a Meineke in Louisville as he waited for the brakes on the band’s van to be repaired. The bartender asks if he’d like a beer. “Yeah, can I get one of those bourbon flavored beers? Which I guess is just bourbon,” Jesse said. Half of the original members of These United Sates are from Lexington. So the band is familiar with the town. “We’ve played here a time or two, but we’re at the level now where there are always people who haven't heard us, who we want to win over in some sense,” Jesse said. I ask him if the band has been working on a new album. Jesse smiles and takes a sip of his drink before answering. “I lost the laptop that the entire album was on, lost the next album and the next few after that, so it breaks my heart and I try not to think about it everyday but I do anyway, somehow. I'm kind of slowly reconstructing some of the songs that I had ready to go for that album,” he said. I can’t tell if the pain on his face is comedic or genuine. My guess is a little bit of both. As he finishes his story, I realize it’s the blurred boundaries that make Boomslang special. Artists aren’t afraid to loiter in the crowd with fans because they are fans themselves, perhaps because they too never know what they are going to see next. They don’t care about the money or the fame. They care about the art. So please, just give Jesse his laptop back. Matt Murray is a journalism junior. E-mail mmurray@kykernel.com.
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Monday, October 12, 2009 | PAGE 5
The meaning behind Boomslang
No boundaries at Boomslang
By current classification, the boomslang snake is the only member of its genus. ! Range - These snakes inhabit southern / subSaharan Africa ! Habitat - Mostly wooded grasslands, as they prefer treed areas ! Size - Adults average between 4' and 6' in length ! Diet - Mostly lizards and small birds (tree dwellers) ! Offspring - This snake lays eggs, between 10 and 20 per clutch ! Usually a bright green color.
Sight, sound showcased in festival art By Hope Smith features@kykernel.com
This weekend’s Boomslang festival wasn’t just about music acts and sideshows. Lexington was given the opportunity to experience thought-provoking and controversial art as part of the three-day community festival. To kick off the first day of Boomslang, a makeshift art gallery was organized at Limestone’s Hop Hop office area by local artists and UK alumnae Allison Crowe and Laura Holt. The team’s second show in Lexington brought in over a dozen local artists who displayed paintings, etchings, sculpture, prints and photos on exposed-brick walls and weathered wood floors to around a hundred Boomslang-goers and local art supporters. “We put this show together to bring community and art closer,” Crowe said. “I believe this is a showcase of the best of Lexington talent.” Across town, about 50 people filed into J. Allen studio for “Self-Told Lies and the Cosmic Truth.” A college student at the door welcomed the crowd by scribbling on a fake guest list and commenting on guests’ humorous tshirts and intriguing tattoos. The gallery-like hair salon was completely dark with the exception of hazy green lasers spanning the room. Spectators gathered in the back around a brown-papered canvas surrounded by standard rock band instruments. When the show started, four cloaked figures approached the instruments, while a fifth dark figure circled decrepitly around the canvas with a smoking skull in his clutches. Drone music shook the floor as a projection screen displayed mystery images on the screen and the shapes on the canvas began to change from skull to human and back to skull. Musical instruments collaborated to form synthesized sounds, which bassist Michael Lunsford said was “all in the movements.” “I got the idea for this show by being by myself a lot,” said Nick Larkey, performer and organizer of “Self-Told Lies.” “And we wanted to do the whole guest list thing to let people know that everyone participates, even people in line are a part of it.” On Sunday at Natasha’s Bistro & Bar, Jason Corder, a former Lexington resident visiting from Denver, performed his original “off the sky” presentation, which he told the audience would “get your brain all mushy.” Corder and guest percussionist Darren King used wind chimes, small drums, a xylophone and a guitar to produce soothing melodies correlating with obscure shapes on dual-projection screens in the intimate side room. Following Corder’s performance, Mark Hosler from California multimedia group Negativland, began his presentation by asking audience members if they had ever illegally downloaded music. The uproarious laughter told him “Yes.” Hosler discussed his group’s struggles with copyright infringement, namely with the band U2, and how art and the media can affect individuals globally. Negativland has taken snippets from thousands of film footage and audio clips over their many years together to create what Hosler calls “collages that your brain has to piece together.” “We are inspired by things we find and things people give to us, not our own music,” Hosler said. From leaking a phony press release that stated the group inspired a Minnesota boy to murder his family to allegedly using a U2 song illegally on one of its albums and videos, Negativland has angered many individuals. But causing discussion and provoking thought are part of Hosler’s mission. Jonathan Caldwell, a 26-year-old Cincinnati resident, has been listening to Negativland since he heard about its legal battle with U2. “We get almost all of our information from news and the media, so it’s nice to hear an alternative outlook,” Caldwell said.
PHOTOS BY SCOTT HANNIGAN | STAFF
Alex Johns lies on a bed of nails as part of the Boomslang carnival outside of Buster’s Saturday night.
PHOTO BY BENJAMIN BUKER | STAFF
Disappears plays on the backroom stage at Buster's on Saturday night during Boomslang.
Revealing lexington’s hidden gems By Katie Saltz and Roy York features@kykernel.com
If there ever was a time for the cultural floodgates to be broken down in Lexington, this past weekend was the spark to light that fire. "It seems to me that we're experiencing a real cultural renaissance, and a lot of things are starting to happen," said Ainsley Wagoner, general manager of WRFL. Boomslang was one of those things — a threeday music and art festival hosted by the UK student radio station. The event ran Friday through Sunday and encompassed music acts spanning all genres, art with no boundaries and circus acts that drew gasps of astonishment. While WRFL orchestrated the weekend’s events, Wagoner said the festival was an opportunity to merge Lexington's different facets. “I think that's one thing that Boomslang really banks on, is that a part of all this is also about how we connect with the community because of all these art shows, all these local bands, and the carnival kids, ” she said.
Don’t try this at home People often say they would walk through fire to get something they desire. Eric Myers will eat fire just to make you smile. Myers is a member of Ford Theatre Reunion, a circus band and performance group, who took the outdoor stage for the Boomslang carnival on Saturday in the Buster’s Billiards and Backroom parking lot. Myers used two burning batons to set lines of flames across his shirtless chest, cradled the blue blaze in the palm of his hand and extinguished the fire with his tongue. While it may seem crazy to some, this 22-year-old thinks making people happy is worth the risk. “The reason it's important to me and the reason that I do it largely is that I have literally seen hundreds of people today with ear-to-ear smiles,” Myers said. FTR began the show with their circus band during the Lexington Collaborative Fashion Group carnival-themed fashion show. Alex Johns, a 22-yearold Transylvania University graduate, plays clarinet and sings in the band, but her solo performance included $70 worth of nails, a bucket full of broken wine bottles and her bare skin. Johns crossed the runway in a tight-rope walk with a sea of shattered bottles with her naked feet. The shards crunched and popped under the weight of her body, but Johns reached the other side with seemingly unscathed soles. Johns gave the audience more of her daring antics by taking a rest from her show – lying on the tips of nails hammered through a wooden board, the skin on her back exposed to the
points of metal. Although the performers persistently warned audience members not to try these acts at home, group member Joe Harbison said trial and error drives the learning process. “The truth is, the way you learn is you just do it and cross your fingers,” he said. While some at the show averted their eyes, Ben Phelps, a UK agricultural economics senior, said he was curious to see the show after reading about the carnival. “I've never seen fire eating or walking on glass, laying on nails,” Phelps said. “It was an amazing show. (The) most unique thing I've ever seen.” Phelps said he was surprised the sideshow performers were all Lexington locals. “I never knew this was in Lexington,” he said. “I always thought stuff like this only happened in Vegas.” Johns said she thinks most people are unaware of the existence of the Lexington sideshow acts only because people aren't searching out unusual types of entertainment. “Passionfire, Sacred Fire, Girlie Girl Burlesque, Deadly Sins Burlesque — there are circus performers all over this town,” she said. “It's just nobody knows because nobody's paying attention.” Boomslang was just the kind of event that could change that attitude, Johns said, by highlighting all the hidden gems of Lexington. “Something that's great about a festival like this is it brings together a lot of acts that are performing all the time under one blanket name that people do pay attention to,” she said. Harbison hopes the publicity his group gained through Boomslang will encourage people to be more open-minded when choosing entertainment. “I think that people need to see stuff like this because there's nothing wrong with it,” Harbison said. “It doesn't really reach the mainstream sometimes because people think it’s going to be a lot more offensive than it is.” The diversity of the crowd is a factor Harbison believes is what makes the group so appealing. “We've done this show and frat guys are like 'Yes!' and then 85-year-old grandmothers are like 'Yes!' ” Harbison said. “Kids love it and punk rockers love it, everybody loves it, there's no reason not to. It's zany.”
Dressing for the occasion Forget Valentino. Forget Oscar de la Renta. It may not be haute couture, but on Saturday, local designers made their mark on Lexington’s fashion scene. The Boomslang carnival included a circus-themed fashion show organized by Sarah Jane Estes, an art studio sophomore. The event came together through collaboration between Estes and members of FTR.
PHOTO BY SCOTT HANNIGAN | STAFF
The Black Angels perform at Buster’s Saturday night.. Black Angels guitarist Christian Bland talked about the importance of festivals. “It’s really important to play at (festivals) just because more people get to see you.”
“Sarah Jane wanted to do a carnival-themed fashion show, so we said, ‘Well then let’s do it — what can we do to make this more visually appealing, what can we do to make this a full carnival?’ ” Johns said. Estes and other designers were already working with FTR on their carnival when WRFL approached the fashion show planners and offered to combine forces. WRFL made the show a focal point of the all-day event in the Buster’s parking lot. “We were really blessed to get the interest of WRFL,” Estes said. The designers, including Lamin Swann, Nani, Soreyda Benedit-Begley, Jamie McIntosh and Jordan Cox, agreed to a carnival theme for their pieces. “I was really inspired by carnival and circus animals,” Estes said. “We planned everything from the circus clothing to the circus music, the carnival colors and the animal (themes).” Every designer brought a unique take on the theme to the runway. From a leopard print body suit with a transparent cutout around the middle, to a multi-colored skirt resembling a circus tent, designers danced between the subtly of the pieces and making bolder statements with their designs. “The pieces represented every aspect of art seen in this town,” Estes said. Estes said events like Boomslang help young designers to get publicity, since there is currently no venue for extreme fashion in Lexington. Estes hopes to create a place for the fashion-hungry to get their fill from local designers instead of turning to major cities. “We’re creating a brand so we can represent Kentucky,” Estes said. “Our main goal isn’t to move away to New York. We want to be the face of design to Kentucky.”
Small town sound One band's casual is another band's crucial. For some local acts invited to play at Boomslang, the festival was an opportunity to rock with the big acts and gain exposure. Local musicians stepped onstage along with veteran international groups to prove small bands are teeming with musical talent and are itching to break onto the national scene. Shows were spread across Lexington at venues such as Al's Bar, The Void Skateshop, Natasha's Bistro and CD Central, who hosted musicians before and after the main shows at Buster's. Lisa Walker of the band Wussy performed at CD Central with bandmate Chuck Cleaver on Saturday. Walker said the festival shows over the weekend were an opportunity for students to get out of their usual music routines and find something new. "I think the kids who would go to Kings of Leon (who performed at Rupp Arena Saturday) would go to Boomslang and find a lot of music they would like," Walker said. "The nice thing about this festival is it mixes local, regional, national and international acts ... It brings out people who didn't know there was so much in their backyard." Headliners such as Mission of Burma, The Black Angels and Os Mutantes may have brought the crowd to Buster's, but Lexington brought its own thunder to the stage Tiny Fights, a Lexington-based “cosmic electrorock” group, who played on Buster's alternative stage following headliner Faust on the main stage, said they usually played for small bars and house parties. Jamie Adkins, bassist for Tiny Fights, said playing in the same venue as larger acts was an awesome experience, but he would have liked to have seen his band have a more central role. “I wish that Tiny Fights would have played on stage with Faust last night,” he said. Other Tiny Fights members were pleased with the festival as a whole and joked about the experience. “Faust was a great opening act for Tiny Fights,” said Adam Dickinson, who plays the guitar and uses a computer to synthesize sounds for Tiny Fights. “We hope they can play with us again. (They are a) pretty good little band.” All jokes aside, local bands invited to play at Boomslang said the festival was an integral part of the growth of Lexington culture. Big Fresh, a Lexington-based band offering a sound “like progressive Beatles with synthesizer," said they were grateful to be asked to play at an event as large as Boomslang. "This is the kind of place that Lexington needs, really needs," said Evan Belt, flugel horn player for
Eric Myers of Lexington performs with flaming batons as a part of the side show acts of Boomslang on Saturday night. PHOTO BY SCOTT HANNIGAN STAFF
Big Fresh. "I think it can thrive." Peter Prescott, drummer for headliner Mission of Burma, a band formed in 1979, said the explosion of local and experimental music over the years was encouraging. "When we started out, it was a barren wasteland of (bands like us)," said Clint Conley, bassist for Mission of Burma. "Now we're probably a lot more conservative than a lot of the bands here." Almost every band said exposing new people to different types of music was important for Lexington to grow as a center for musical expression. Adkins said now is the time to begin supporting local artists through festivals and venues like Boomslang to further the growth of local acts. “I spoke with four people last night who saw Tiny Fights that had never heard us before, and they liked us,” Adkins said. “So, if you can touch four people, I guess that's good.”
When all is said and done As Sunday night's events were heating up, Boomslang co-coordinator James Friley said he was not disappointed with the overall turnout for the Buster's main stage shows, but he had hoped for more attendance. "Ticket sales could have been better," Friley said. Around 600 people attended Buster's on Friday night, and he estimated about 350 on Saturday. Numbers for Sunday's attendance could not be acquired by press time, although Friley predicted a large turnout to see the "legendary" band Os Mutantes. Friley said he thought an unbalanced distribution of the bands was the reason Saturday's crowd was smaller. Friday's lineup was overbooked, causing smaller bands to push back their showtimes. Friley said the music continued at one after-party until 5 a.m. Saturday. "I think Friday was better. Saturday's lineup just wasn't as strong," he said. While Saturday held a smaller crowd inside the venue, the outdoor carnival drew a crowd he hadn't expected — and in temperatures of 49 degrees. "The carnival was a huge success," he said. "It was weird, even at 11 p.m. there were still 100 people outside watching the burlesque show." Boomslang didn't start heavily advertising until about two weeks before the festival began, Friley said, and more online marketing might have helped boost sales. "It was not enough time to get 1,000 people in here," he said. "But I'm not disappointed." Friley said for a future festival he wouldn't book
any after-parties because they ran so late into the morning, but he considered the overall weekend to be a success. "There is still so much excitement, even as it's over, people are still super pumped," he said. "I think it was awesome because everyone keeps saying it was awesome."
Boomslang top five Fire Show — Passionfire performed in
Buster’s parking lot on Saturday. Their acts included flaming hula hoops, fire eating and a guest contortionist. From a girl balancing a chalice full of flames on her head to the hula hoopers swirling their hips in a ring of fire, this act inspired the most ooh’s and aah’s from the crowd. Ford Theatre Reunion — This circus band/sideshow group of local twenty-somethings awed the crowd with acts such as walking on broken glass, a musical performance featuring a kazoo orchestra and “the human blockhead” hammering six-inch steel nails into his skull. Wussy — This gem was not part of the Buster’s acts, but played a Saturday day show at CD Central. For those who caught the folk-rock act, they were lucky to hear Chuck Cleaver pick a storm on his electric guitar while Lisa Walker sang in her part-Lucinda Williams-part-Jenny Lewis lilt. Mission of Burma — A veteran post-punk rock group, this band was the highlight of Friday night and, for some, the best show of the weekend. Mission has a rock ‘n’ roll core in an experimental shell with noisy guitar driving the movement. Their show made you grateful they reunited in 2002 after a 19-year hiatus. Buster’s Saturday Night — Although it had lower attendance numbers, Buster’s Saturday show ran smoothly because fewer bands were booked. Saturday took the focus off the big bands and provided a variety of entertainment from the alternative stage to the outdoor stage, but still put talented headliners on the main stage.
I am perched at the end of the bar, my notebook and pen resting in front of me, while I wait for Jesse Elliot, of These United States, to finish his game of pool. He’d offered to start the interview when I first arrived at Al’s Bar, but asked if I’d mind if he finished a “very important game.” I can see the pool table from the bar, and I’m able to look on as Jesse plays Cutthroat against one of the bartenders and a little person. This is the nature of Boomslang. There are no boundaries between fans and bands, schedules are loosely followed and it’s impossible to predict what you are going to see next. The day before my interview with Jesse, I found myself driving through a part of Lexington in which I’d never been; an industrial center surrounded by construction equipment MATT and mounds of gravel. Eventually, I would MURRAY find Buster’s buried amongst the surrounding Kernel warehouses, thanks in large part to the hectic columnist workers loading and unloading their gear. It was late afternoon, but thick clouds and rain created the illusion of nightfall. I had arrived two hours before the shows were scheduled to begin on Friday, but the downtime was not short of entertainment value. With the roar of a sound-check blaring behind me, I sat at a giant spool of a table and nursed a ginger ale, while WRFL volunteers raced around wrapping up last minute projects. Eventually the pieces seemed to fall into place, albeit an hour behind schedule, and Atlas Sound took the main stage at Buster’s. As Atlas Sound, or Bradford Cox, stomped away at his foot pedal, layering acoustic loops atop one another, the crowd was motionless — except of course the twenty-something man in front of me who pulled a tape deck from his satchel and plugged it into an outlet at the base of a nearby pillar. He was making a bootleg, a practice not uncommon at events such as this. Later that evening I watched as he threw a suitcase on the ground and opened it, proudly showcasing his hundreds of bootleg tapes to a group of onlookers. Atlas Sound seemed to notice the crowd’s stoicism as well. While he unsuccessfully attempted to tune guitar, he looked up to the small crowd and expressed his displeasure. “I can’t read you guys at all. You’re like a f***ing 1987 issue of ‘The Economist.’ ” It was a trend that would continue throughout the festival, as crowds seemed to study the music, unable to express their enjoyment until it was over, at which point they would roar into applause. When I got home that night, my ears were ringing and my head was pounding. Event coordinator Saraya Brewer had told me, “never a dull moment.” She wasn’t lying. Saturday afternoon, after a 20 minute search for a parking spot, I arrived at the Boomslang Carnival held in the lot next to Buster’s. Swimming through the sea of burlesque girls and sideshow acts, I made my way to the stage to watch the carnival-themed fashion show. I was interrupted by a call from Kyle Hunt of the Black Angels informing me they’d just gotten in to town and our interview may be a little behind schedule. As I was about to hang up, he asked if I knew where they were supposed to unload their stuff. Their van pulled up moments later, but the caution tape blocking off the lot hadn’t been taken down. I ran over to the tree around which the tape was looped and feverishly unraveled it in an attempt to calm the traffic that had built up behind the band. It wasn’t until after their soundcheck that Black Angels guitarist Christian Bland met me in the billiards room of Buster’s for the interview. “That tape was wrapped around that tree like a hundred times,” he said as he shook my hand and took a seat at the booth. The Black Angels are no strangers to big music events. They’ve played at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, but Bland said there is something special about the smaller, multi-venue festivals. “I think this feels more like SouthBySouthWest to me, you know, a big festival but in smaller venues. I actually prefer that, I mean big festivals are fun but not as intimate,” Bland said. Bland said he has been able to see SouthBySouthWest, a large music festival in The Black Angel’s home state of Texas, grow over time but emphasized that growth often comes with a consequence. “It’s weird but I guess that’s the nature of what happens with most festivals. SouthBySouthWest was homegrown in Austin but then after 15 years, corporate people saw how popular it was so they wanted to get involved and ended up taking over, and sadly it kind of takes away from the creativity of the whole thing.” After we finished our interview, I braved the cold to see what had drawn a crowd to the carnival outside. I arrived just in time to wriggle with discomfort as a man drove two 6-inch nails into each of his nostrils, and then allowed a volunteer to pull the nails back out. Despite the warm air and music attempting to lure me inside, it was impossible to look away from the circus-style sideshow that went on in that parking lot for the next 45 minutes. The show ended, breaking my entrancement, at which point it was time to head to Al’s Bar for my interview with Jesse. Jesse has just finished his game and takes a seat next to me at the bar. He complains about spending the early part of the day at a Meineke in Louisville as he waited for the brakes on the band’s van to be repaired. The bartender asks if he’d like a beer. “Yeah, can I get one of those bourbon flavored beers? Which I guess is just bourbon,” Jesse said. Half of the original members of These United Sates are from Lexington. So the band is familiar with the town. “We’ve played here a time or two, but we’re at the level now where there are always people who haven't heard us, who we want to win over in some sense,” Jesse said. I ask him if the band has been working on a new album. Jesse smiles and takes a sip of his drink before answering. “I lost the laptop that the entire album was on, lost the next album and the next few after that, so it breaks my heart and I try not to think about it everyday but I do anyway, somehow. I'm kind of slowly reconstructing some of the songs that I had ready to go for that album,” he said. I can’t tell if the pain on his face is comedic or genuine. My guess is a little bit of both. As he finishes his story, I realize it’s the blurred boundaries that make Boomslang special. Artists aren’t afraid to loiter in the crowd with fans because they are fans themselves, perhaps because they too never know what they are going to see next. They don’t care about the money or the fame. They care about the art. So please, just give Jesse his laptop back. Matt Murray is a journalism junior. E-mail mmurray@kykernel.com.
OPINIONS Monday, October 12, 2009
KERNEL EDITORIAL BOARD Kenny Colston, editor in chief Austin Schmitt, asst. opinions editor Melissa Vessels, managing editor Ben Jones, sports editor Allie Garza, managing editor Megan Hurt, features editor Wesley Robinson, opinions editor The opinions page provides a forum for the exchange of ideas. Unlike news stories, the Kernel’s unsigned editorials represent the views of a majority of the editorial board. Letters to the editor, columns, cartoons and other features on the opinions page reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of the Kernel.
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Student housing plan comes down to city being irresponsible ■ KERNEL EDITORIAL Students are finally being exposed to some of the city's legitimate arguments against their habitation of residential areas around Lexington, at least that’s what they want you to think. According to a Monday Kernel article, Lexington Fire Marshal James Branham said in a random inspection of about 14 houses in residential neighborhoods around campus, 12 houses had violations and seven houses had "serious" violations. Additionally, the fire department will be looking for zoning code violations where overcrowding is an issue. Students need affordable housing. In a lot of cases, that affordable housing is the housing that is the least maintained, unkempt residential property. This is a problem that has and will continue to exist as long as the post-secondary education system does. Yet, the timing of these investigations is curious to say the least. If the problem all along was the condition of the housing, why did the city not just come out and say, "We are looking out for students and their living conditions." And why is it just now becoming a problem? When proprietors built and remodeled, or the city re-zoned its property, the city knew exactly what was going on, or at least it should have. They distribute the permits and licenses necessary for contractors to perform their jobs; so how did this get by them? It’s not like all of these houses and apartments just popped up yesterday—this is something that is far from a new issue. Student Government President Ryan Smith said the university is involved with the housing proposal and the recent fire safety inspections to some degree, but its involvement “boils down to” interpretations of whether or not the public feels UK is responsible for the supervision of students off campus. One question that has arisen over the course of the debate is UK's involvement in the process. UK has only so much student housing, and in the current economic situation, UK cannot build on campus to accommodate more students. But that is as far as UK’s involvement is mandated. This is an issue for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Now that the smokescreen is starting to clear, the housing issue is starting to look less like irresponsibility by students, and more like irresponsibility by the city. Sure, students need to do a better job cleaning up and keeping late-night noise down, and the permanent residents that make up the city deserve to be respected, but that isn’t the main problem. Students have been scapegoated as rowdy, uncontrolled children, which to some extent is true. However, the negligence of the LFUCG has allowed housing to deteriorate to the point where it is illegal to house students in these homes as it currently stands. Not only must honesty prevail, but LFUCG must be held accountable for its missteps to prevent taking the situation to the slums.
Speaker understands region’s political issues ■ LETTER TO EDITOR I am responding to the letter, "Choose New Speaker on Middle East Peace," in which the writer questions the wisdom of inviting former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to UK to speak on the Middle East. Olmert knows intimately the diplomatic and military context of Israel and the Middle East. He served in the Golani brigade of the Israeli Defense Forces and was a military correspondent, was elected to the Knesset, held several cabinet posts, was Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993-2003, joined the centrist Kadima party in 2006, and was prime minister from 2006-09. With such vast experience, he knows better than most the place of Israel in the Middle East and the current prospects for peace; he himself endorsed Israel's Gaza pullout in 2005 and led Israel's participation in the Annapolis Conference in 2007, in which Israel officially endorsed the two-state solution for the first time. Olmert represents a centrist view within Israeli political life. If we are unwilling to listen to him, we are in fact saying that we do not wish to listen to anyone from the Israeli or Jewish mainstream. The indictment of Olmert demonstrates the accountability of every political leader in Israel's democratic and open society. No other country in the Middle East comes close to Israel in the high standards that its legal system applies to all citizens no matter how highly placed. In our system of justice, we presume that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Finally, if we are to condemn Olmert and Israel for possible war crimes, then we would need to condemn virtually every country engaged in war, including our own. As a sovereign nation, Israel has to make its own decisions about protecting its citizens. We must give Israel the right to defend itself. David R. Wekstein, Ph.D. Professor of Physiology, College of Medicine
WILLIAM KILUBA, Kernel cartoonist
Diversity can only enhance university I have lived in Kentucky for almost nine years, and while I have become quite accustomed to Lexington and Louisville, one of the main reasons I still feel like a visitor is the cultural climate of the area. I was born in Tacoma, Wash., in an area with completely different ethnic deWESLEY mographics. Don't ROBINSON believe me? Fly into Kernel the Seattle-Tacoma columnist Airport and take a look at how diverse it is as you enter the city—it's a night and day difference compared to Lexington or Louisville, the state's two most diverse cities. On the other hand, my mom, from Arkansas, and my dad, from South Carolina, so their upbringing included experiencing the end of Jim Crow and the arduous task of integration. Their parenting reflected a more cynical view of race relations than I or my two siblings have. As a result of the vastly different environments that we were socialized in, my siblings and I have a hard time understanding why their worldview stood where it did. I didn't understand where they were coming from at all, until they split and our newly composed family, excluding my dad ended up in Kentucky. I had spent my life amongst such a relatively diverse population, to the point where race, color and ethnicity wasn't something that I really even noticed. Fast forward to Kentucky and you have a major contrast. Not everyone in Washington, or in the more culturally varied areas of the U.S., embraces diversity and not everyone in Kentucky looks at race relations like its 1865, but the difference would astound you. With frequent regularity I am one of very few people of color wherever I am as opposed to being part of a naturally inclusive population that thrives on its diversity. It's commonplace for people to have a diverse group of friends where I am from, whereas in Kentucky, I tend to be like that one black friend that comedians refer to in the social commentary portion of their acts. My friends have made statements that I am "different" from other black people, to which I reply, exactly what are black people supposed to be like? I'm placed in a role
where people probe into the way I dress, talk, eat, think, in addition to the age-old question about the way my hair looks and grows. From the strangers, or people outside of my group of friends, I get strange looks and comments from people who look at some of the friends that I have with such a mortified and confused look as if we are totally different species — and that's just not from people that don't look like me. At UK the goal of diversity is to break down the barriers so when people look at each other they can make that organic connection that heats up the melting pot that is this country. Roughly two-thirds of my life has been spent in environments in Washington and California, where such diversity existed, and it's no coincidence some of the best schools, highest rates of education, largest industries and many other great aspects of the U.S. have dwelled in that part of the country. While statistics may not suggest an overwhelming difference in the raw numbers and percentages between the two states as a whole, there is a palpable feeling of cultural awareness when you make a trip to Washington. A recent letter to the editor questioned UK's ability to assist students in broadening our horizons and experiences through diversity. I would say creating an environment where a culture of inclusion is the norm is the best start. UK has preached diversity between blacks and whites for too long and the scope of its actions speaks to tolerance and not acceptance. Hiring faculty and staff whose sole focus is to work on diversity empowers students to come together and create groups that advocate for such broadening experiences. Nobody is losing anything by improving diversity. At UK, as it should be anywhere else there are diversity issues, the goal is to empower individuals who have lacked a voice. The idea is to have people consciously thinking about one another so that when you have a meeting, you don't just get pizza for meat eaters. When there's a new construction project on campus, you make sure it’s handicap accessible or when you recruit for athletics, you have an individual that can identify with the players that are being sought after. We have a unique opportunity at UK to rub elbows with some of the best and brightest in the country in a relatively care-free environment, void of a lot of societal pressures that our
parents lived with where family would disown you for socializing with another race or racially-invoked violence would leave you scarred for life. Cross boundaries, break down barriers, make yourself uncomfortable for a change. Take the time to meet somebody new that's different from you in one way or another. I cannot promise you'll enjoy it or leave the experience with an all-encompassing feeling of multiculturalism, but I can’t emphasize enough how much your view of life will change if you sincerely sit down and take the time to get to know people. Wesley Robinson is a Spanish senior. E-mail wrobinson@kykernel.com.
Perecent of the population that is Black Kentucky
7.7 3.7
Washington
12.8
U.S
0
3
6
9
12
15
Percent of the population that is Asian American 1
Kentucky Washington
6.7 4.5 0
U.S.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Percent of the population reporting two or more races 2.4 Kentucky 9.8
Washington
15.4
U.S
0
5
10
15
20
Percent of the population that are white persons but not Hispanic 87.8
Kentucky
75.5
Washington
65.6 0
U.S 20
40
60
80
100
Information courtesy of U.S. CENSUS BUREAU GRAPHS BY KELLY WILEY | STAFF
Health care debate needs increased campus activism When I arrived at the urgent treatment center last Thursday, I was unsure just what had been causing my cough, chills, body aches and feverishness. Of course, I had an inkling of what it might be, but I didn’t know for sure. By the time I left, I had RICHARD been definitively BECKER diagnosed with Kernel H1N1, more popcolumnist ularly known as “swine flu.” As I left, prescriptions for antiviral and anti-nausea medications in hand, I handed over my health insurance card and was required to pay a mere 10 percent of the cost of the visit out-of-pocket. The rest, fortunately, was covered by my insurance policy. I highlight this encounter because of its unfortunate rarity. Too many college students of all walks of life have little to no pro-
tection, outside of the basic services provided by the university, from catastrophic illness like influenza or more chronic, lifethreatening conditions. As a result, too many will be put in a position of either bankruptcy or having to drop out of school. This is because at the same time that their healthcare costs are skyrocketing, so too are their tuition rates at this and other putatively “public” institutions. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, those aged 19-29 account for 13 million of the some 30 million Americans who don’t have health insurance. That’s approximately four million college students who have no choice but to pay out-of-pocket when confronted with massive healthcare bills. A study funded by the Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Chickering Group in 2002 also found that uninsured students are far less likely to finish their post-secondary education than their insured peers for the obvious reason I stated
above: they are forced by these circumstances to leave school at least temporarily, if not permanently. The solution to this is obviously comprehensive health insurance reform, but if there’s a student movement on UK’s campus calling for such reform, I haven’t heard about it. Perhaps the reason for such deafening silence is that those privileged enough to have health insurance don’t care enough to speak out for their peers without insurance. On top of this, those without health insurance don’t exactly have the time for much political activism outside of the responsibilities made necessary if they are to go to school and be able to pay for healthcare and other living expenses. It doesn’t have to be this way. Political activism doesn’t necessarily require a full-time commitment and it doesn’t require one to be personally and dramatically affected by the issue at hand. Voting is not the only duty of a good citizen; one must also be engaged in the issues of the day and be-
come intimately involved in the business of governing. Thus, the very least a concerned citizen can do beyond voting is contact the appropriate elected officials for the issues he or she cares about and speak out to that official. U.S. Rep Ben Chandler, D-Sixth District, sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and will be one of many members of Congress who will have to vote on whatever health insurance reform bill comes up for a vote in both houses of Congress. Thus far, Chandler has been reticent on health reform aside from the typical conservative Democratic boilerplate. He has avoided taking a stance on either the president’s reform principles or on the specific provision of a “public option.” The public option would provide an optional government insurance program to compete with private insurance and lower costs. What could possibly explain Chandler’s wishy-washy behavior
in this debate? According to the non-partisan watchdog site OpenSecrets.org, a site which monitors money in politics, Chandler’s 2008 campaign fund included $72,050 from “health professionals.” And in his 2010 re-election campaign fund, Humana, Inc. is among his top five contributors. The data should speak for themselves. So what can you do, you ask? Call Congressman Chandler at (202) 225-4706 and tell him to support real comprehensive health insurance reform. Not only do we need his vote, but we need his voice. It takes a lot for citizens’ voices to drown out the volume of cold hard industry cash, but it’s certainly possible if enough of us join together. Take a moment today and call him. Do it for yourself, do it for your fellow students, do it for a family member or do it for our nation. But do it. Richard Becker is a history senior. E-mail opinions@kykernel.com.
Monday, October 12, 2009 | PAGE 7
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UK group walks for equality, gay rights
Todd Belok, left, a student at George Washington University in D.C., kisses his boyfriend, John Lobb, a student at American University in D.C. during the NoH8 Youth March on Saturday. Belok was kicked out of the Naval ROTC at GWU because he was seen kissing his boyfriend. Belok's life dream was to be in the Navy, but was stripped due to the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, he said.
Protesters cover their mouths with tape for the silent NoH8 Youth March in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. The NoH8 Youth March is part of the NoH8 Campaign, a grassroots initiative against Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution of California to ban same-sex marriage. Story and photos by Adam Wolffbrandt awolffbrandt@kykernel.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The streets of D.C. were shut down Sunday afternoon to make way for the nation’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community and its allies. Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Washington for the National Equality March with rainbow flags and “boys need husbands too” signs held high. The procession stretched several miles, ending at the Capitol Building.
Molly Dunn, a gender and women’s studies junior, said she came to Washington as an observer rather than a participant. She said she is unsure about her sexuality and is attracted to people based on personality rather than gender. “I think people really want to label everyone and put them in a certain category,” Dunn said. “I don’t want people to label me based on who I’m sleeping with.” Her partner, Eli Gross, an arts administration junior and director of UK’s OUTsource program, said she was at the march to fight for equal
rights. Gross said she thinks marriage rights are not the biggest problem the LGBT community faces, but it is one of the largest barriers to public acceptance. At the Capitol, protesters rallied, listened to various speeches and demanded equal rights for all citizens, regardless of sexual preference, from President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. After Obama’s speech Saturday evening about changing the ban on gays serving in the military, many protesters had mixed feelings about whether Oba-
ma addressed all equality issues. D.C. resident Laura Wood and her partner Melissa Mahony felt the Defense of MarProtesters gather for the National Equality March to fight for equal riage Act was adequately rights for the LGBT community in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. covered. “Everyone was a little too would be this many people on the capitol for equality. excited after Obama’s here,” Wood said. “It’s really “I’m here not only for speech,” Wood said. “He was fantastic.” myself and my future, but great with the ‘don’t ask, Wood is engaged to Ma- I’m here fighting for my gay don’t tell’ policy, but he was hony. They plan to solidify uncle, for my lesbian cousin, not as enthusiastic about oth- their marriage within the next for every kid who has been er gay rights.” year, determined the laws picked on in school for being Wood said she has seen with gay marriage will different,” said Michael several protests and rallies change. Canales, a student at Elizacome through Washington, No matter where they bethtown (Ky.) Community but never one that had such a stood with their own sexuali- College. “I’m here marching turnout. ties, students with UK’s to make sure everyone is pro“I had no idea there OUTsource program marched tected.”
Second Sunday promotes health for Kentuckians By Erin Shea news@kykernel.com
Lexington was on the move to become healthier as it held its second annual Second Sunday event downtown on Main and Short streets. The event was a “day of exploration,” said Diana Doggett, Kentucky Second Sunday Coordinator and Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent for Fayette County. “It is a challenge to everyone to get out there and be active,” Doggett said. “Our state is sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Second Sunday is a non-profit, statewide-organized movement, encouraging Kentucky residents to make a change to a healthier
lifestyle. All over Kentucky, communities are shutting down streets for bike rides, walks and other physical activities. Activities included group exercise, senior physical activities, spinning classes, dancing, bike polo, basketball, volleyball, street tennis, martial arts and yoga. Second Sunday provided children’s play areas and organized walks and bike rides. These activities were sponsored by 75 different organizations. All the money went to pay for the closing down of the streets downtown. The event’s main sponsors included UK HealthCare, the Family and Consumer Science Extension of the School of Human Environmental Sciences and Windstream Communi-
cations. Doggett said Kentucky is the first state in the U.S. to hold an event similar to Second Sunday. Fifty Kentucky counties were involved last year, including approximately 12,000 people statewide. This year, 103 counties were involved, though participation was expected to be much higher. Doggett said more Second Sundays in Lexington will continue in the future. More local businesses have promised they will pay for police escorts for safety for bike riders around town. Dr. Richard Lofgren, vice president of health care operations for UK HealthCare, said the great thing about Second Sunday is
people can come out and experience different kinds of exercise, and see what interests them and what they would like to continue doing. “This is the sickest group of people I have ever met, and behavioral changes could easily make these people healthier,” Lofgren said. Although Second Sunday was a community event, Lofgren said the university, especially UK HealthCare, will act as a catalyst to promote the event to the community. “We hope people will be excited about this, and that the state of Kentucky is seen as a leader in making a change to healthier lifestyles,” Lofgren said.
Students warned of armed robber UK Alert sent a message to the student body through the phone alert system at approximately 10 p.m. Sunday night. Just before 9 p.m., an individual reported to UK Police that a man in his mid- to late-30s confronted him on a sidewalk near the Student Center, said UK Interim Police Chief Maj. Joe Monroe. The suspect pulled a knife on the victim and demanded his money and book bag. The victim complied, and the suspect was seen fleeing near Administration Drive on foot. The suspect is described as a white male, 6 feet 1 inch tall. The suspect has shoulder-length wavy, dark hair, has a full beard and is wearing a dark baggy coat and blue jeans. — LAURA CLARK
PAGE 8 | Monday, October 12, 2009 During "Sex Week @ UK’s” final event, men came together to march downtown in women's high heels during "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes," a march against rape, sexual assault and gender violence on Sunday. PHOTO BY SCOTT HANNIGAN STAFF
Men in heels walk through downtown for final ‘Sex Week @ UK’ event By Sarah Likens news@kykernel.com
Chanting “One more mile!”, a group of men threw aside their tennis shoes and wore high heels as they walked down Main Street. The last event of the very first “Sex Week @ UK” took place in downtown Lexington where a number of men volunteered in a march to support the awareness and prevention of rape, sexual assault and gender violence. The march took place while the streets were closed off for Second Sunday, a statewide day of physical activity. Lori Clemons, a family studies junior, said her human sexuality professor offered his students points if they encouraged people they knew to participate in the march. “I think a bunch of guys walking down Main Street in high heels really caught people’s attention, and will definitely help get the idea out there,” Clemons said. Lexington resident and participant Jason Plowman said the experience was painful.
“Halfway through the walk my ankles started going out,” Plowman said. “I was all wobbly and didn’t have anyone to hold on to. Some of the guys out there seemed to be in a lot of pain.” Men had the option of bringing their own heels or paying to have a pair provided. Tricia Telles, a co-coordinator for “Sex Week @ UK” and a journalism and Spanish junior, was excited a number of people from the streets decided to participate in the march as soon as they learned what was going on. Another co-coordinator for the event, Barrett Gargala, was surprised by the turnout of the event, and said sex weeks in the future will include many of the same events, as well as some new ones, to get even more supporters to attend. “We didn’t expect for it to be half as big as it was. All of the events were packed,” said Gargala, a family studies senior. “We’re all so thrilled that so many people wanted to learn about their sexuality and to help promote awareness for sexual violence.”
Fire marshal, mayor address fire code, safety issues in near-campus housing By Laura Clark
lclark@kykernel.com
During the last two weeks, the Lexington Division of Fire and Emergency Services randomly inspected houses in residential neighborhoods around campus, said Mayor Jim Newberry at a news Newberry conference on Friday. The inspections were part of National Fire Prevention Week and provided a “real example of how important (Fire Week) is,” Branham Newberry said.
Lexington Fire Marshal James Branham said about 14 houses were inspected. Inspectors discovered violations in 12 houses, seven of which had “serious” violations. Branham said violating houses had either padlock-secured doors or nonfunctioning bedroom smoke detectors. Newberry said in addition to inspecting houses for fire code violations, the fire department would be looking for violations of zoning codes. He said if overcrowding issues were discovered during inspections, necessary measures would be taken. “We will work with the council to identify and change zoning laws,” Newberry said. Newberry said areas will continue to be monitored, and more properties will be investigated for violations. In addition to Newberry and Branham, Student Government President Ryan Smith and representatives of the Lexington Police Department were
present at the conference. Smith said the inspections had taken a priority over the current Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Housing Planning Committee’s housing proposal, but he was not speaking for the mayor or the council. “The zoning regulations that (Newberry) brought up kind of hinted at a lot of things,” Smith said. “But it’s more just enforcing a law that’s already on the books.” Smith said the university has been involved with the housing proposal and the recent fire safety inspections to some degree, but its involvement “boils down to” interpretations of whether the public feels UK is responsible for the supervision of students off campus. “Students choose to live off campus for a reason,” Smith said. “They have the freedom to live off campus and live their own lives … and shouldn’t be subjected to university oversight.”
News of Apple Store traveling faster than bookstore’s readiness By Tommy Stuart news@kykernel.com
Room is being made for the state’s second Apple Store. The Apple Inc. store will open in the UK Bookstore by the first week of November, bookstore director Sally Wiatrowski said, although students seem eager to have the store open sooner than that. Wiatrowski said response to the store’s opening was immediate, and even a bit of a problem. “Rumor got out too soon that Apple was coming,” Wiatrowski said. “People started coming in before we could move any products onto the floor.” The new addition to campus will provide UK students, faculty and staff the option to buy products from Apple-certified UK Bookstore employees instead of driving an hour and a half to the Apple Store in Louisville’s Oxmoor Mall, which opened in September 2007. Four employees of the bookstore will receive full training that takes approximately 160 hours and can be completed at home via the In-
ternet, Wiatrowski said. Employees will not receive extra pay for the additional training, but are generally enthused by the prospect. “I’m not intimidated at all,” said bookstore tradebook manager Jessica Bradford. “I’m looking forward to the training.” Apple products will be priced educationally, with the exception of products such as iPods. Wiatrowski said students would be allowed to buy only one type of product per year to prevent customers from reselling discounted products for profit. According to an Oct. 5 Kernel article, the UK Bookstore will record what equipment the buyer purchases. According to an informal survey of about 30 students conducted by the Kernel, less than a dozen have used Apple Mac computers. However, the responses to the UK-only store have been numerous and positive. “Everyone seems very excited to have an Apple Store here on campus,” said Apple Campus Representative Justin Risner, a UK alumnus. Risner has been an Apple representative since January 2008.
Section of South Limestone reopens Monday morning after weekend construction By Brittany Hedges news@kykernel.com
By the time this paper hits newsstands, construction in front of the UK Hospital area should be complete. Work on the new pedestrian walkway on South Limestone is right on schedule, said project manager John Callahan. “Construction is great, we’re ahead of schedule,” Callahan said Sunday afternoon. “We were able to work right “Construction is great, through the rain, since there we’re ahead of schedule. was no lightning or high wind.” We were able to work Construction on the walkway began Friday at 6 p.m. right through the rain ... and the project is due to be completed Monday at 5 a.m. JOHN CALLAHAN project manager The construction company erecting the structure is Midwest Steel, Inc., based in Detroit, Mich. A 32-man crew is working on the project, with 16 men working every shift. “It’s a very complex project because of the shape of the walkway,” Callahan said. The walkway will span South Limestone and link the new hospital to the parking garage across the street. Three cranes are being used to erect the structure, which will weigh more than 400,000 pounds at completion. “We still have to tie in the bay, erect more on the parking garage and finish the towers in the hospital,” Callahan said. No information concerning the next step of the overall walkway project or when it will be completed was available.
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Despite weather, weekend track draws large crowd By Margaret Stinnett and Laura Clark news@kykernel.com
Rain, cold weather, the Boomslang festival and even a UK football game could not keep Lexington’s Keeneland race track empty.Keeneland’s opening weekend got off to a slow start Friday because of the “terrible” weather, with more than 11,000 attendees, said Jim Deering, the track’s admissions department manager. However, Deering said Saturday's turnout was much better, with 21,936, up from attendance on last year's opening Saturday, which was 19,535. But not every Keeneland experience
means walking through the ticket gate. Tailgating before Keeneland’s races is a tradition for students, Lexington locals and out-of-state visitors alike. UK alumnus Kyle Hettinger called the tradition the “best of Kentucky.” Hettinger, who earned his degree in arts and political science will soon move to Taiwan, and chose to spend his last weekend in the country at Keeneland. “Keeneland tailgating is absolutely beautiful,” Hettinger said. “It's everything I think Kentucky symbolizes.” Across the almost 1,000-acre Keeneland complex, a majority of empty vehicles in neat rows lined the property. Surrounding every
few cars, however, groups of people could be found sitting in open trunks, playing cornhole and standing amidst numerous cases of alcohol scattered in the grass. Most of these vehicles’ speakers blared the UK versus South Carolina football game, and when UK scored a touchdown, cheers resounded from the parking areas and joined those from within the grandstands, where the game was broadcast on one of the Jumbotron screens. Tailgating outside the race track usually involves drinking, but underage drinking is harder to spot, said Keeneland security guard John Cartner. “When we have to break up fights, that is
when we find out their ages,” Cartner said. Keeneland security said six arrests were made Friday and two of those arrests were due to underage drinking. Stacy Trenkamp, a first year graduate student in merchandising and textiles, has been tailgating for years. Trenkamp said conflicts are rare, but underage drinking happens at Keeneland. However, communications senior Matt Burunoff, who took off work on Saturday to attend the opening races, said tailgating at Keeneland is an event he and his friends never miss. “(Tailgating) is a huge deal, a great deal,” he said.