Neon Photobooth by LASA Ezine

Dude, Veg-Heads Rock!

Mustache Mania: The new craze sweeping the nation

Recycling Sucks.

Neon Photobooth

Table of Fashion:

Check Out My Sexy Facial Hair (pg 4) Pretty Rave Girl (pg 8) Candy (pg 12) Boycotting the Slaughterhouse (pg 14) Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Recycle (pg 17) Guantanamo Bay (pg 18)

Art:

Drawing Galore (pg 20) An All Around Artist (pg 21) Faces of Austin (pg 22)

Cover: Mady B.

Contents Music:

Avenging Poor Yorick (pg 24) Mosh and Roll? Hell No (ph 28) Increase in Pirates Lowers Global Warming (pg 30)

Reviews:

Cell Top 5 (pg 36) Chris Cornell - Scream (pg 33) Lily Allen - It’s Not You, It’s Me (pg 34) T Mobile SideKick (pg 7) Yeah Yeah Yeah’s - It’s Blitz (pg 32) Zion I (pg 27) The Unusual Suspects (pg 39)

Photo By: Mady B.

eon PhotoBooth - Fashion

Check Out My Sexy Facial Hair as fads of the past are creeping into high fashion and the pop culture of the 21st century. By Mady B.

I have never in my life seen my fathers chin. It might be singularly

because a curtain of white blonde hair has always covered it. Facial hair is a curtain

and barrier for unwanted facial features, a self-esteem booster, as well as a style icon

through centuries. Facial hair has begun to re-emerge itself into pop culture. Mustaches have always been present but today there are more than ever before. Men adorn their face with facial hair, some rugged, some fancy, and some sophisticated. They enter a culture of mustaches, having a mustache almost a sign of superiority to their male counterparts. Young men around the world have begun to flaunt their ability to grow superb pieces of facial glory. Mustaches act not only as a stylish token to the new millennium, but a self esteems booster as well as magnet for the opposite sex. Mustaches just recently have become a gimmick for the hipster culture that is very obvious when you enter a record or vintage clothing store. Raynor Lewis a junior at Austin high already has a beard a grown man would be jealous of. His rusty colored beard envelopes his face. “I’m pretty proud of it, it has been a brother to me” he smiles to himself and strokes his beard. “It makes me feel like a bear… a grizzly bear!” Drew Keul is also a part of the mustache community. He works at a local coffee shop. He wears loose fitting clothes that radiate

Fashion - Neon PhotoBooth have been inspirations to both tattoos and parties. Drew himself believes he invented a mustache so frightening he had to shave it off after one day.

other people comparing my moustache to the shirt we concluded I have a ‘creepy crawler.” Beards have been the norm throughout history; shaving was such a hassle and it was not worth the time and money. Rumor has it that men started to shave just in world war one when gas masks were required. Facial hair in some places is still required. Taliban members are required to have facial hair or else they will not be accepted. Facial hair is a distinct quality; men who have always maintained the same facial hair like my father would not be the same people without their facial hair. Drew’s father maintained his facial hair except for one instance when he shaved it off. “He looked like a freak,” Drew said. I can’t fathom what my father would look like without his facial hair.

“[my beard] makes me feel like a bear... a grizzly bear” Drew likes to switch up his facial hairstyles; he switched from a bushy beard to a Chester A. Arthur (define) to a mustache though there was the “intermediate stage.” He kept the mustache and the side burns though however shaved a tiny strip between the sideburns and the mustache, “it was almost like a fuman-chu though a bit more puffy, I called it the KKK, it reminded me of a KKK member, it lasted one day because it frightened everyone.” Incidents like these have revolutionized facial hair. People now have shirts that have mustache identification charts, which can come in handy for people like Drew who have not yet identified their ‘staches. “I saw a guy at Lamberts the other night who had a ‘classify your mustache’ shirt. I asked if I could look at his shirt, and after a few minutes of me and some

Facial hair is an ultimate mechanism it is a shield from unfortunate facial features. Nasty chins, and pimply faces can easily be covered by facial hair. Facial hair is a style icon and a way to define yourself. My father himself would be unrecognizable without it. It defines people and determines whether they are attractive and also approachable. They have influenced both tattoos and clothing as well as put across a message.

Photo By: Mady B.

style his hair is medium length with the front a startling white, this gained him the nickname of drew the skunk. His mustache sits contently upon his upper lip. The rest of his face is covered in small dark stubble. He views his mustache as being “a good way to express your manliness without being shuavenistic, my mustache gives me an haire of sophistication, it is a sign of masculinity and just chalked full of style.” Which is very true; many men grow mustaches to express their masculinity as well as increase their style level ten fold. Facial hair is a good way to look much older than you actually are. Raynor is a prime example. He is just 17, though you wouldn’t know it when looking at him. “People think I look older. I have had people say I look older than 18, like 20 or 21.” Mustaches have been an identification tool for years. Many famous men have created the quota for mustache revolution. Hitler wore his infamous mustache, Stalin as well. Mustaches like the fu-man-chu, the porn star and the handlebar

Classify yo â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;stache 1

Drawings By: Mady B.

6. Friendly Mutton Chops 7. The Pencil 8. Soul Patch 9. The Chaplin 10. The Stalin

1. The Fu-Man-Chu 2. Chester A. Arthur 3. Dali 4. The Ali G 5. Handelbar

Fashion - Neon PhotoBooth

T-Mobile Sidekick 2008 Review Good: The T-Mobile Sidekick 2008 has eyecatching interchangeable shells great for all ages. The overall size of the device feels a lot better in the hand but the keyboard still feels great and non-cramped

By Chad L.

Bad: The trackball is imbedded into the phone so scrolling is a bit annoying especially if you have bigger fingers. I wish sharp had

included a flash and vanity mirror Overall: The sidekick 2008 doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a whole lot of new features from the LX, but it does offer a few new catching features. Its a great device especially for the younger or young adult age group.

The latest T-Mobile sidekick has had the most

code names to come, Sidekick Gekko, Aspen, 4, but its official name is the T-Mobile sidekick 2008. The most noticeable feature is the faceplates or shells.

You can go online and create your own custom shells with whatever you want on the back, and for 10 dollars a pop, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not bad at all. The jump keys continue not to have a backlight, which makes them hard to see in the dark, but after using the phone for a week or so, looking at the buttons is unnecessary. The loud speaker is embedded into the D-pad, the volume is great for both normal telephone conversations and speaker phone/music. The download catalogue is still avail-

able where you can purchase ringtones, themes, games, and applications. The supported IM clients are AIM, MSN and Yahoo messager. The HTML browser is easy to navigate with using the trackball but we wish T-Mobile had included 3G instead of quad band for quicker surfing. The music player keeps your tracks organized and transferring mp3s and mp4s is simple and easy. The keyboard is made out of the same rubber-plastic like material that was on the sidekick LX. 7

Photos By: Chad L.

Band / mode: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband)

eon PhotoBooth - Fashion

By Emma C.

Her Story Zarina’s got style, a killer music taste, she owns enough hair dye to paint a room, 8

and she’s always got a smile on her face. But what’s behind the cheerful grin?

In a world of sin and hatred, cruelty, dishonesty, and betrayal, there’s a spark of light, and we call her Zarina. She makes the boys’ heads turn, the girls envious, and the world anxious to see what comes next, but how does she do it? The real question is how does she keep her head up so high. Her bedroom at her dad’s house is a masterpiece in the making. Half the walls are freshly painted blood red and the other half a mix of light pastel blues.

Fashion - Neon PhotoBooth

Photos By Emma C. and Sonora R.

Copious amounts of broken dolls, old school papers, and clothes spread across the stained wood floors. Zarina sorts through her tattered suitcase and pulls out blue and pink hair dye. Her living situation hasn’t been permanent since age two. Half the year is spent at her dad’s house in Lago Vista, half at her mom’s apartment in Austin, and holidays are split every which way. “I don’t remember much from the divorce, but what I do remember is

pretty bad. My mom would be crying and my dad yelled and threw things. After the divorce, my mom decided she wanted to be young and free again, so she left me with my dad who had no idea what he was doing. He gave me cookies for lunch and let me run around naked like a wild child. I remember one night I woke up asking my mom to make me a hot dog and I remembered she wasn’t there. I started crying and my dad had to come

calm me down, then make me a hot dog.” She dodges the assortment of her siblings’ old Barbie dolls and Lightning McQueen action figures scattered around the dimly lit playroom. The downstairs is completely Sonora’s because her five year old brother, eight year old sister, and step mom have recently moved out. “My step mother had mentally abused me for eleven years and I finally told my dad. She constantly cut me down and said she was a better moth-

er to me than my own mom, I would scream and cry until she either left or locked me in my room. My dad tried to get us to work things out and I tried to make him happy, but me and my step mom’s relationship was beyond repair. One day after one last time of her calling me worthless he told her to leave. Adios evil stepmother.” She rolls her eyes as she reaches the bathroom and lays the bottles of

Photo By: Sonora R.

eon PhotoBooth - Fashion

dye on the sink. Zarina has been dying her hair since the very beginning of middle school. The colors have gone from jet black to bleach blonde to electric pink to neon 10

blue and everything in between. “It’s kind of my signature thing. People always remember me by my hair.” She sits down on a cluttered sink, lacing a strand of

her bleach blond hair in pink hair dye. “I wish I could dye it rainbow, but my parents would freak. Once I’m out of here, I guarantee you my hair will be rainbow.”

Zarina searches through a pink Hello Kitty make up bag for her beat up pink iPod nano. “I listen to everything except Cute Is What We Aim For. I hate them. Their music has no originality, and his voice and the band’s sound just clashes.” Once the iPod is found, her thumb scrolls in circles over the iPod until she finds From First to Last, an alternative rock band with powerful vocals. “From First To Last changed the way I look at music. They influenced my clothing style and made me who I am today. Music in general is a big part of my life, it keeps me happy.” Emo’s, a popular concert venue for alternative and indie bands, is considered Zarina’s second home. “I go there almost every weekend. It’s where my parents met! No joke. I’ve met a lot of people there, including the bands that play. Last year at the AP tour I met Danger Is My Middle Name.

Fashion - Neon PhotoBooth We got to talking and started being friends. I actually went out with the guitarist for a while. Then last August I went to the Brokencyde and MILLIONAIRES concert and the chicks from MILLIONAIRES asked me to go have drinks with them. I said no, I mean I’m only fifteen.” She smirks then washes the pink dye out of her hair. The strand of hair looks brighter than a pink freezepop. She skips back into her room and rummages through her suitcase again, in search of an outfit. She pulls out a black and pink tutu, a hot pink and white To Write Love On Her Arms t-shirt, and old, beat up hi top converse. “My clothes fit my personality better than jeans and t-shirts or polos or something like that. It’s just another way to express myself. The model Hanna Beth is one of my inspirations because I like her clothing style, which is a mix of glam, indie, and amazing. She got noticed through her clothing. I want to be noticed like that. I’d love to be a model. I look at the pictures of these models, and I’m like, “Wow. She’s gorgeous.” and I want people to look at me like that. I’ve already started modeling. I mean I’m not going to be on the next issue of Seventeen any time soon, but I’ll get there.”

Zarina’s older brother got into trouble two years ago, leaving her parents in even bigger trouble. Child Protection Services ripped Zarina from her family and gave Zarina the choice of either living with a foster family or with a friend. She chose the friend option, packed up her life, and moved into the room right next door to mine. “It was so cool; I got to live

week at my Dad’s, one week my Mom’s, just like before.” Zarina knows she’s going to be a somebody, and she’s got her heart set on being a director or a famous piercer. “[I want to be] A director, because I hate how movies these days suck. Especially Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Twilight, and all horror movies. They’re done completely wrong. A piercer person because I can be like Kat Von D, just with piercings. I’m not sure how that works, but I can make it happen.” The final stage of Zarina’s routine is makeup. She wanders back into the bathroom and sets up her station: Black pencil eyeliner, two bottles of foundation, black and pink eyeshadow, lipgloss, mascara, and an eyelash curler. “I don’t leave the house without make up on. I like to cover up my little flaws; it’s my safety blanket. It’s kind of like art. I get to see how the colors work together and stuff.” She starts by putting foundation on, and then moves onto her eyes. Her hands move steadily as she moves the black pencil across her eye then her hand

”But hey, I’m still waiting for my happy ending.” with my best friend. My grades started going up, I lost excess weight from eating healthy, and I started feeling like I finally had a home. Then after 8 months, I finally went to court again, and I was torn apart.” Her big, hazel eyes begin to soften from their usual bright, excited glow. “The judge took me back to her chambers and told me living with a friend was no longer an option. If I couldn’t choose which parent to live with, she’d do it for me. She went back and talked to everyone else, then came back and told me to choose my living arrangements. I decided I would live one

quivers. “Crap,” she says while laughing,” I never do that.” It takes her another five minutes to fix the mistake, and then she moves on to the next eye. “This party better be spectacular,” Zarina smirks while applying lip gloss to her lips,”I spent almost ten minutes on my eyeliner.” “Even after everything, I still smile non stop. People always tell me they’re amazed of how happy I am. My friends keep me sane, they know exactly what to say when I’m feeling down,”Zarina smiles then adds,”But hey, I’m still waiting for my happy ending.”

Photo: ffffound.com

eon PhotoBooth - Fashion

Heart Candy

Courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival

Paper heart is all about love. Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up) doesn’t understand the lovey dovey emotion at all. She journeys across the United States making a documentary to find the meaning of love. She stumbles upon Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad) at a party and they instantly click. Yi grows on her understanding of love as Cera teaches her. The movie is subject to hit theatres on August 14, 2009.

photo by www.fashionista.com

Nail Candy

They’ve turned ketchup purple and green, made converse into high heels, and shaped waffles like Hello Kitty, but finally Revolon’s got a smart idea, scented nail polish. The nail dequor hitting the shelves this summer comes in eight different “types”: coconut, mango, papaya, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, passion fruit, and blueberry.

Courtesy of photobucket

Fashion - Neon PhotoBooth

L.A. Candy Now that Lauren Conrad has said good bye to The Hills, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on to her next career: writing a series of fictional books. 23 yearold Conrad signed on with HarperCollins The series is about a teenage girl who moves to Los Angeles and stars in a television show. Ring a bell? L.A. Candy is set to hit the shelves on June 16.

The 15th anniversary of Vans Warped Tour is driving in with style. The nation wide tour includes pretty, pop beats such as The Millionaires, Innerpartysystem, and 3OH!3, and hardcore screamo bands like Escape the Fate, Underoath and The Devil Wears Prada. There are currently 90 bands signed on to tour 46 U.S. cities. The tour starts on June 26th in Pomona, California.

Ear Candy

eon PhotoBooth

Photo from PhotoBucket

Boycotting The Slaughterhous

Billions of lives are lost every year thanks Breeding fined in to the meat eating habits of humans. By Gautam V.

There are more than 4.7 million vegetarians living in the United States. This number is increasing yearly due to the health benefits, greater efficiency, and environmental preservation caused by vegetarianism. The vegetarian lifestyle is an important pathway to a greener, more efficient, peaceful world in the future. If we choose vegetarian diets over omnivorism and meat consumption, we can live healthier, longer

lives with lesser impact on the world and environment. Our meat eating habit that we have maintained for thousands of years is falling apart. The world doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need people to eat as much as they please as we have begun to do lately, but by becoming vegetarian we will become more respectful of our surroundings, the animals that live with us on earth, and the environment. Many meat consumers may argue that be-

cause plants are living too, it is no better than eating cows, chickens, pigs, ducks, and all the other meats that are consumed. What they may not realize is that even though plants are living, they are (1) far more efficient than raising and eating animals, (2) they do not have a brain or conscience, thus meaning that they cannot feel the pain or the fear that animals feel when they are slaughtered, and (3) we do not technically kill the whole plant, we just

sows and her piglets contheir small pens

harvest the vegetables, fruit, leaves, and other parts of the plant, which the plant then grows back. You may continue argue that even though vegetables to provide many health benefits, you miss out on other items necessary for a healthy life style such as protein, vitamin B12, iron, and Omega 3 fatty acids, and, after all, meat just tastes better. Well, it depends what you choose to eat. For example, a vegetarian can acquire plenty of protein through con-

Neon PhotoBooth

se they are born, and are constantly kept pregnant to increase milk producChickens in “molting” stage

tion, and when that slackens off, they are slaughtered for their meat. They are also injected with artificial growth hormones to produce more meat. The calves are fed an anemia-causing liquid for 16 weeks and kept in a small wooden crate. One might think that they would have found better ways of using their time than abusing the health of defenseless babies. Breeding sows are kept in small containers that are just big enough to fit the pig, and when they have piglets, the piglet is taken away from its mother after just two weeks and the sow is impregnated again. Laying hens are kept in small wire mesh cages with up to 6 other laying hens. Next they are starved for up to fourteen days, a procedure called “molting,” which causes a boost in egg production when they begin to eat again. When livestock is transported from location to location or to the slaughterhouse, the

animals receive little to no food causing malnutrition and sometimes Photo: United Poultry Concerns

sumption of soy, tofu, and other diseases. All and lentils. Other ways of these health aids conof getting needed nutritribute to a longer life tion is through supplespan. I feel a lot safer ments. Becoming vegsticking to a vegetarian etarian can also expand diet, knowing that there the variety of foods you is a good possibility that eat allowing you to acI will live longer and with quire new favorites and better health than my just have more options brother who is two years for meals. my senior. The health benefits Another major arguof vegetarianism are ment for vegetarianism many and have been is that the animals suffer incorporated into many greatly when being prerecommended diets for pared for meat processweight loss. Vegetarians ing. According to Farm consume more vegetaUSA, the lives of livestock bles and fruits, and all are oftentimes miserable in all, a greater number and straining upon the of nutritious foods than the every-day meat lover. Vegetables provide a great source of calcium, potassium, dietary fiber, folic acid, as well as vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Potassium and dietary fiber help to control blood pressure and Photo: Care2 Cow still Alive at a slaughterhouse cholesterol levels respectively, folic acid animal. Farm USA is a makes it easier for your non-profit organization body to produce red that helps to promote a blood cells, and the more plant-based diet vitamins help your imto save animals and mune system to keep protect the environyou healthy. Other ment. They say that health benefits include many breeding animals reduced fat intake by go through impregnaapproximately 25%, low- tion multiple times, each er cholesterol levels, and impregnation soon after therefore less chance the previous one. Mothof heart diseases, heart er cows are separated attacks, cancer, strokes, from their calves when

death. The animals taken to the slaughterhouse are killed on the killing floor and processed by workers. Even though the U.S. Department of Agriculture has prohibited the slaughter of sick or injured animals for food - mainly to prevent the spread of E. coli, Salmonella, and Mad Cow disease - the rule is not enforced very often or often enough, says Meatout, an organization that encourages the eating of more vegetables and grains. The injured animals are killed to provide additional meat for production, and the consequences of not using meat of sick and injured animals is severe. In February of 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered an extreme case of these preposterous actions resulting in the recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef. That’s about 300,000

eon PhotoBooth

Photo: PetaDishoom

cows, or approximately 2 burgers for every American! Maybe now you will be able to better understand why the rules of slaughter are rarely enforced - the meat killed will cause business to decrease drastically because the significantly less amount of meat produced. All of this meat was recalled due to a California slaughterhouse processing sick and injured cows. At this particular slaughterhouse, they were reportedly using chains, electric shocks, forklifts, and even high pressure hoses to force the animals onto the killing the floor. I thought we were trying to conserve water, not use it for forceful methods of killing injured, defenseless, livestock. This shows just some of the torturous things that the animals have to suffer through just for people to eat a little piece of meat, and

all in exchange for a bite out of the consumer’s wallets. This information was displayed on the internet as well as newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Further investigation by the USDA revealed that some animals do not die when they are supposed to, and are still alive and conscious when they begin to process the body. Processing includes the skinning, gutting, dismembering, and blood draining of the animal. If still alive, the animal bleeds to death. It would be much more efficient to grow plants and crops, which not only would take less work, but would greatly reduce the chance of getting E. coli, Salmonella, and Mad Cow disease. With the number of infections of these diseases on the rise, wouldn’t it be much more wise to just

regulate which animals could be killed by enforcing rules? Or better yet, maybe just not consuming and producing as much meat as we do in America. The environment is hurt by the amount of meat production that occurs. This occurs because raising animals to make meat from takes a large amount of land and a lot of resources. The massive amounts of resources needed for this could be used much more efficiently. It takes approximately 2500 gallons of water to create one pound of beef, but only 25 gallons per pound of wheat. That’s a 100 : 1 ratio in terms of the amount of water used. Plus, with all of the talks about the rapidly declining amount of fresh water available, I don’t see the sense of heedlessly continuing down a path that is so detrimental to this world.

Resources could be saved by growing other vegetables and crops that are more nutritious, and waste less. With meat and animals, the parts that are inedible rot, but with crops, any inedible parts decompose and act as a natural fertilizer to the soil. The raising of meat also requires large expanses of land, which causes deforestation because the forests are getting cut down for more farm room. So far, approximately 260 million acres of forest have been cut down to provide space for farms to raise cattle, pigs, and other livestock. This adds to global warming and the land would have been better off being used for either forests (stay as forests) or crops. Further more, the livestock erodes top soil and makes the soil less profitable. Crops would reduce the amount of top soil loss and would at the same time provide a lot more food than livestock does in the same amount of area. If more people were to become vegetarian or reduce the amount of meat they consume, we could start to save the environment little by little. Next time you bite into that juicy sirloin or pork chop, think of the long process that it took to reach your dinner plate and ask yourself: Is it worth it? Cows at a slaughterhouse entangled in eachother

Neon PhotoBooth

DON’T RECYCLE!!! By Chad L.

You throw your bottle into the recycling instead of the trash, you’re cool right? You’re doing good for the environment!... not. Did you know that when you are “recycling” your plastic milk jars and water bottle containers, they’re just ending up in landfills? Or being shipped to China to be “processed”(burned)? Why would you burn carbon fuel to go burn plastic which is toxic to the environment that is supposed to make the world a better place? It’s just not making sense to me. Back in the mid-late 1900s, people used to use glass containers for more products like milk and jelly, the milk man would bring the milk in glass jars to your house, then once you were done, he would take the old one(s) and put a new one there. The glass containers would be cleaned then refilled to be used again. Whenever they would

break, they would be fired up and melted back to a new bottle. Also, looking back on those days, people didn’t even know what was happening to the environment, yet there wasn’t near as much trash around the street because you could get a couple of cents if you got some bottles, maybe even a dollar. I mean, why don’t we just switch back to glass? We can reuse glass bottles up to ten times before they even need to be recycled when they cost the same to make. When the bottles that we ship to China get there, about half are burned, and the other half is shredded to eventually change into clothing, which is then shipped AGAIN to the US to be sold. So were basically paying to wear our own garbage. For every 100 pounds of

product that is created, 3,200 pounds of waste is created. If you look at those numbers, for even pound of food, 32 pounds of waste is created. I know that this looks large at first, but if you think about it its not that far fetched. You have your food in a container, then usually the containers are packaged in more containers, so it seems like a never-ending chain of plastic wrap over more plastic. Also, we use raw materials, it cost X, but when we use recyclable materials, it cost 10x. We are trying to recycle everything, sure bottles are one thing, but used hospital syringes? That’s pushing it a little bit to the extreme. And eventually, we won’t be able to recycle anymore because all of the materials will be so reused. Now im not saying we shouldn’t recycle, we just need to figure out a smarter way to do it. If we look into using other resources for our food/drinks, we can make the world a better, cleaner place to live.

Photo By: Chad L.

Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle Think First.

Photo: Creative Commons

eon PhotoBooth

Guantanamo Nightmare By Mady B.

After recently being instated into the hot seat at the white house, President Obama is working hard to erase the filthy tracks made by previous president George W. Bush. His first act to redeem America was to close the government’s terrorist prison Guantanamo Bay. This request created a heated debate between the parties. With a simple signature Obama closed the military terrorist prison Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The prison its self is a violation to human rights, and the question of it closing is a great way to break the mold of the old, stale administration. The demand has brought 18 Drawing: Mady B.

out an outrage from the Republican Party whom have backed the torture camp from the beginning. Guantanamo bay or “Gitmo” started in 1987. It lies on the shore of Guantanamo, Cuba a funny coincidence because Americans have not been allowed to visit Cuba since 1977. The BBC reported the Bush administration classified the prisoners as “enemy combatants” and that the laws of the Geneva Convention do not apply (the Geneva Convention establishes international and humanitarian law). The prison used inhumane methods such as torture. When the Red Cross inspected the prison it was let slip that the

methods such as beatings, sleep deprivation, and locking prisoners within a cold and confined cell. Human rights activists argue that indefinite detention can also be classified with torture. In 2004 The Guardian a prominent newspaper in the UK reported that three British Muslim pictures who had not committed any crimes were released after three years of being detained for the sole reason that they got on the wrong truck. Before the men knew it they were taken straight to Guantanamo. The three years they spent in the prison were filled with intense torture. The FBI has reported methods such as sexual depreda-

tion, forced drugging, and religious prosecution are used within the prison. Human rights activists have a right to be outraged about the secret activities within the prison. It is fantastic that Obama had the moral compass to immediately demand the closing of the prison and to find a new method of holding the prisoners. “(The Guantanamo detainees are) some of the most hardened terrorists in the world.” Says The Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. The republicans believe that this means the prisoners of Guantanamo bay do not qualify for the basic human

Neon PhotoBooth rights guaranteed by the Geneva Convention. The problem with this becomes, how can one tell the terrorist from the innocent man? Well, the previous method of interrogations did a lot of good there. Torturing the information out of the prisoner is surely the way to go, especially when the victim is telling the truth and the soldier who is torturing them does not believe them. The prisoners are mostly Muslim men and some may be completely innocent. The New York Times did a study on how people in the US have began to stereotype any person who looks Middle Eastern as a terrorist. The terrorist stereotype is clouding the vision of the US interrogation officers who are supposed to remain neutral until vital evidence is given to point a certain way. The one snag is that President Obama’s plan now faces the question of where the prisoners are going to go after Gitmo is shut down. Obama said in a press release the options include putting

them on American soil and sending them to America’s allies. Though the question of putting dangerous terrorists responsible for 9/11 on American soil has brought up quite an uproar from the republican population. Obama stated on ABC 60 minutes The detainees are to be given free trial before the supreme court. Many of the Republicans fear greatly for the chance that some very feared terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohamed will be pardoned on a technicality, though he has admitted to taking part in 9/11 and believes that he deserves death the idea is preposterous. Because the detainees are being brought to American soil it doesn’t mean that they are going to be walking around. “I can’t think of any town or city in Missouri who wants to have hardened criminals, illegal combatants like Khalid Sheik Muhammad or Ab-

dul Zahedi coming into their community” Christopher Bond (the republican senator for Missouri) seems to believe that the prisoners of Guantanamo will be just wondering around his neighborhood shopping at his local grocery school. They are going to be held in high security prisons across the country 2.5 million people per capita are imprisoned in America, that is more than anywhere else in the world. Jon Stewert did a special on the closing of Guantanamo Bay. The Republicans are so afraid of “hardened criminals” have they ever thought about some of the people locked up in prisons around America? Jon showed a clip from the show “Lockup” on MSNBC it shows the daily life of American prisoners. One man especially got my attention “I took out the brain… and I took a bite out of it.” Jon then

goes on to say “I would put a good ole’ American born and raised brain eater against a terrorist any day.” American prisoners are not all rainbows and unicorns some of them are most likely on par with the detainees of Guantanamo. Plus, I assume, that the prisoners will not be held in flimsy, mediocre prisons, they are going to be held in state of the art, top security penitentiaries. So, regarding the question if America can hold the prisoners of Guantanamo, Yes! The problems with Guantanamo are evident not at first glance but once you analyze the situation and conditions the prisoners are under. Obama’s action to close the prison is a glowing beacon of hope for the future of how the rest of the world views Americans.

eon PhotoBooth - Art

Knights - May 13, 2009

shaping the clay, but was not into the planning or glazing. “I never had a knack for planning anything, and color has never been anything I enjoyed using in art, so I did not really enjoy the glazing.” Unfortunately, Daniel’s interest in clay sculpting was disrupted by his family’s move to America. He did not continue clay lessons for financial reasons and because he was already enrolled for drawing lessons. Daniel learned his drawing skills through various teachers, the first of which was his mother. She was his starting block and helped him push off his art career. “I have to credit my mom with teaching me the majority of the art skills I know. She was my critic who gave me advice that was simple, yet essential.” The steps that his mother taught him were to first draw contours, or outlines, of the subject being drawn, and then to complete the drawing by filling in the contours. “Basically, you progress from the least detailed to the most detailed,” he said. Daniel’s next teacher did not provide him with much opportunity to improve, and left him annoyed.

Drawing: Daniel Chupin

Drawing Galore By Gautam V.

He wears thick glasses, and has curly and unkempt hair and wispy traces of a moustache. He has long limbs and a lanky body overall, casually dressed in dark blue jeans and an LBJ swimming polo. Daniel is an expert artist taught by an assistant professor at UT. Daniel Chupin is a sophomore at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, Texas. Daniel gained interest in art when he was a young child through reading of dinosaur books and other story and picture books. “The way they were illustrated made them seem so intimidating and interesting, and their world so vibrant and exciting. Maybe in an effort to try to transport myself to that 20

world did I draw them, although my own world seemed satisfactory enough.” Daniel prefers drawing to painting. “I have always paid meticulous attention to detail, and a pencil allows me to try and capture an object in all its complexity.” For him, painting is just too messy and too long of a process that does not allow for many details such as shading. “Shading done with a pencil always looked more convincing to me, and the medium permits the viewer to imagine the actual coloration [of a picture or drawing].” Daniel was raised in Russia, and took clay classes there. Clay was a medium he loved, and he would have gone into clay sculpting. He drew most of his entertainment from

“[She] insisted on me learning abstract art, and the fact that my aesthetic views did not comport with hers left me a bit humiliated: I was repeatedly told arbitrarily to put that black line over there because that looked better, without really understanding why.” After this teacher, Daniel switched to his next teacher, Timothy High. Timothy High, or Tim, is the Master of Fine Arts at UT, an associate professor, and draws and paints at the Terra Rosa Studio. Tim’s classes were very enjoyable to Daniel and he was able to work with the subject matter of his choice. “I loved his classes, which was back when I could work with chiaroscuro and paint charging knights to my heart’s content.” Daniel did not enjoy incorporating much color into his artwork, which explains his interest with chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is a type of drawing in which the coloration consists of different shades of one color. His illustrations mainly focused on dinosaurs, horses, knights, and tanks. He preferred drawing in his free time opposed to being in the studio. “I think the prospect of improvement is the real motivating factor—and, really, the real reason—for doing anything.”

Art - Neon PhotoBooth

An All Around Artist By Chad L. All Melissa Clark wants to do is “make things pretty to look at” but juggling the creative lifestyle of an artist and the constantly nagging job of mothering three children can make getting time to do the thing she loves most extremely difficult. It all started when she graduated from high school, her parents had paid for most things in her life like most do through high school, but for one she wanted to be independent and going to collage was the perfect opportunity to prove that she could be. She took a two year break after graduating and working at Savings and Loans. Since she loves to get up and talk with people,

that was the best suiting job for her, and would fulfill her intentions on making enough money to attend the Art Institute of Austin once she was ready financially. Melissa had always wanted to be an artist since she was a little girl. Once she got glasses, “on the car

from the Art Institute after attending for four years, she continued on with her passion for art. On a trip to Big Bend National Park, when “I was painting

“All I want to do is make things pretty to look at.” ride home I passed by a field that I had passed by hundreds of times before but since I could actually see it for the first time, I saw a tree that I liked across the field and all I wanted to do was go home and paint it.” After Melissa graduated

Mexico across the Rio Grande river when sand stuck to my painting which is what made me want to be a landscape painter” It showed her how to feel and see the painting, what brought it to life. When Melissa paints she feels like she chases the light in the picture, after painting for three to four hours straight, she’s brain dead, it is mentally exhausting she needs to much uninterrupted time to paint which you can imagine is hard to get while juggling mothering along with art.

When she is finished painting, there is always one little piece of the painting that is “so good you just want to eat it”, a little piece that can create a tree with the stroke of a brush, but leaving enough room for the readers mind to imagine things still. Melissa doesn’t get into the studio as much as she wants, but she manages to get in and work on some paintings here in there when not focusing on her family. If she could have any other profession, the only thing she could think of was becoming a sculptor, for instance is she went blind, because she can only image doing what she loves. 21

Photos: Chad L.

eon PhotoBooth Isabel,

Photo By: Mady B.

[ Insert

Katherine, 12

By Gautam V. and Mady B.

Favorite

Neon PhotoBooth Avery, 15

MGMT

Lyrics

Here

]

Of Austin Riley, 12

All Photos: Carl R.

Avenging Poor Who? Avenging Poor Yorick appeal to the masses with a fresh new sound and an interesting image. By Bradley Z. The sun was lowering on the late Sunday afternoon and for the first time in five hours, sweet silence overwhelmed the shady street. Without the sweet hum of warm amps or the sharp cracks of the snare, the eight people crammed into the tiny garage could finally hear themselves think. “Dude, I’m hungry,” Kyle said as he stepped out from behind the drum set and pushed his long, fero24

ciously curly hair out of his face,”Let’s go to Gatti’s.” With that the band of teenagers set down their instruments, tripped over the jungle of cords on the floor, and shoved themselves into the back of a tiny gold sedan. This is the typical end-of-practice ritual for Avenging Poor Yorick, a teenage band with a more than a teenage sound. Fronted by the onehanded guitarist and singer Carl Romines,

Avenging Poor Yorick has a longer list of achievements than many adult bands, and quite a few more stares. “It all started at Kealing [Middle School] when Carl and I decided to form a band,” drummer Kyle Duncan said. “At first it was just us, so we began accumulating members like Peter [Washington, guitarist and violinist], Marshall [Wilson, keyboardist], and Lily [Judge, bassist].”

And with that, Avenging Poor Yorick took off. Despite negative criticism from peers, Carl and the band persevered and quickly found fame after the band won the Second Annual Battle of the Kids Bands, hosted by The Paul Green School of Rock. Since then they’ve been getting steady gigs at a variety of venues, like playing on Fox’s Good Morning Austin. “I think the most important gig we’ve

Music - Neon PhotoBooth Band members Peter Washington, Lily Judge, former member Richard Morris, and Singer Carl Romines (Left to Right) practice in Carl’s garage

done at this point was playing on [Good Morning Austin],” Duncan said. “It really opened us up and a much bigger audience heard our music.” Avenging Poor Yorick’s unique mixture of pop, punk, and funk in addition to catchy hooks and very danceable songs set them apart from other teen bands. “Avenging Poor Yorick isn’t like other [teen] bands,” said Greg Romines, Carl’s father. “With other bands, you don’t get anything new after five minutes. With [Avenging Poor Yorick], the set never gets boring.” Despite their successes already, it hasn’t been all fun and games for Avenging Poor Yorick. Many adult bands don’t take teen bands seriously and there are a limited number of places that teen bands can play. “I feel like in Austin, there are a lot of [adults] who are weird about playing with kid bands,” Romines said. “We could tell that [adult bands] were

like, ‘What are these kids doing here?’ It really makes it difficult to get heard and to be taken seriously. We also can’t just walk into any bar and play. There a lot of places that don’t let teen bands play, so our selection is pretty limited.” But most of their troubles went away when Next Up U18, a program run by the Austin Chronicle to highlight the talented teen bands, heard of them from a parent at

around Austin,” Romines said. “There are so many Austin teen bands that have a lot of talent, especially bands like the Carson Brock Group and Indigo Fresh. It’s a lot of fun.” U18 has hugely increased the fame of Avenging Poor Yorick, and now they’ve started getting the attention of other programs and booking companies around Austin, ensuring that they’ll always have a

“Avenging Poor Yorick isn’t like other bands, the set never gets boring” McCallum High School and sent them a Myspace message. “[U18] started getting us gigs at Threadgill’s, and we got to play with other teen bands

stage to play. “We are signed up to play at South By Southwest with U21, another Next Up program,” Duncan said. “It’s really exciting, hopefully we’ll be able to take [Avenging Poor Yorick] a lot farther.” Margaret Moser, senior staff writer in the Music Department of the Austin Chronicle, director of the Austin Music Awards, founder of Next Up, and the woman responsible for putting Avenging Poor Yorick on the map, firmly believes that they Carl Romines onstage in 2007

are “one of the finest teen bands in Austin.” “They sold me on the strength of one song, “Cassanovian Man Slut,” she said. “That song told me a lot about the band and their understanding of pop rock music. Their ear for hooks and melodies is extremely well-developed, and they write songs that are radio-friendly and very danceable. The band is also blessed with very talented musicians and a charismatic lead singer.” Besides Avenging Poor Yorick, the members have quite a few other endeavors, most of which are musical. Duncan is in the McCallum Marching Band, Washington is in the LBJ Orchestra in addition to writing and recording songs for other bands and as solo efforts. Romines, however, does the most outside of school. He is a varsity bowler and acts in many musicals and plays, such as Rent and Speeding Motorcycle, both produced by McCallum and independently. “I’m really into musical theater,” Romines said. “I think that music communicates to a wider audience than just straight acting because music is one of the basic forms of art. When I’m onstage playing guitar, I am acting, I’m performing. When I’m onstage 25

eon PhotoBooth - Music in a musical I’m using music to my advantage. I prefer acting more because I can do it more often and you can’t really have music without acting.” While they have come very far and impressed many of the right people, Avenging Poor Yorick is by no means done. The members hope to stick with it as long as possible.

Avenging Poor Yorick is currently writing more material and they hope to cut a demo soon. “I really like the pop rock feel of [Avenging Poor Yorick],” Romines said, “but I want to make it a little more keyboard based and increase the edge on the sound. More synths, More rock.” “We certainly want to stay very fun and

“We have to, you know, take her out on a date first, then see where things go.” “We have to, you know, take her out on a date first, then see where things go,” Romines said. “But hopefully all the way. Hopefully we’ll score something big.”

upbeat,” Duncan added. Despite the band’s obvious talent, the members aren’t bogged down by their previous success. “I want to pursue

Meet the Band Carl Romines - Lead Vocals, Guitar - Started playing in 6th grade and also stars in many Theatrical productions. Peter Washington - Guitar, Violin, Backup Vocals - Is a member PA System and is a long time violinist. Lily Judge - Bass, Backup Vocals - The newest member happens to be the only one who enjoys playing bass. Marshall Wilson - Keyboards - The resident keyboard master also happens to be quite the tuba player. Kyle Duncan - Drums - In addition to laying down the beat in APY, he is part of the McCallum Drumline. a career in music, but I realize that the music industry is not about talent but about luck,” Washington said. “There could

have been a band as good as The Beatles that didn’t make it just because they weren’t lucky enough. If I don’t get lucky, I’ll pursue a [different] career.” Whether or not Avenging Poor Yorick becomes a household name or not, the few who have had the pleasure to hear one of the most exciting teenage bands in the Austin area won’t forget the amazing feats of the one-handed guitarist, the cocky attitude, or the amazingly fresh combination of pop and punk that they brought to the table.

MC Zumbi is the rapper of the hip-hop group Zion I. He used to be known as just Zion, but changed to Zumbi because the name “Zion” was oftentimes confused with Zion I (which is both AmpLive and Zumbi). Zumbi came from the name of a Brazilian AmpLive is the producer as abolitionist. Zumbi creates rhymes with socially conscious lyrics well as DJ for Zion I. He that enhance Amhas remixed tracks from pLive’s sound Radiohead, MGMT, and Linkin Park. His production mixes. techniques include mixing of instrumentation and sample sounds. AmpLive works with MC Zumbi to create Zion I’s hip-hop duo.

Zion I By Gautam V.

Zion I is a rising Oakland (Calif.) based underground hip-hop duo formed in 1997 by producer and DJ AmpLive and MC Zumbi. Their songs mainly deal with social issues such as violence, drugs, money, music, and life. Their 2009 album titled The TakeOver features mixes of Zumbi’s raps, live instrumentations, and creative beats. My favorite song from this album is Coastin’ because of it’s catchy, moving chorus, and instrumentals, especially its unique beats and rythms. Other enjoyable songs are DJ DJ, Antenna, and In The Mornin’. MC Zumbi’s lyrics are poetic and creative, and sometimes insightful. Overall, this album is a great set of songs which show off Zion I’s unique sounds and talent.

THE TAKEOVER: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The Taking Geek to the Beat TakeOver DJ DJ Antenna Cage Bird Part 1 In The Mornin’ (cage bird part 2) 8. Radio 9. Gumbo 10. Country Baked Yams 11. Coastin’ 12. Juicy Juice 13. Peppermint Pattie 14. Bring In The Light 15. Legacy

AmpLive’s 2008 Rainydayz Remixes album made up of 8 tracks, all remixes of songs from Radiohead’s In Rainbows Album.

Both Photos from photobucket

eon PhotoBooth - Music

Mosh and Roll? Hell no. 28

The glamourous hobby of moshing is rather dumb, kids..

Music - Neon PhotoBooth

By Emma C. Imagine you’re at an I Set My Friends on Fire concert. Lead singer, Matt Mihana is peacefully singing about nausea and murder when suddenly Nabil Moo, the guitarist and vocalist, initiates a screaming battle with himself. The group of sweaty, repulsive seventeen year old guys next to you start to push, snarl, and thrash. You, being an innocent bystander, get sucked into the mosh and next thing you know, you’re in the hospital getting your nose put back in its place! The upside? You weren’t set on fire. Last I heard, people go to shows to listen to the music. While they’re enjoying the music, people tend to dance, crowd surf, and jump around. These things aren’t bothersome for the most part, but when I’m separated from my friends, shoved, moved to the back of the crowd, or pushed into the pit, we’ve got a problem. Spring Break in Austin is like a non-stop concert. Yesterday I went to see an alternative band called The Used. My friend and I, being exhausted from the day, were at the back of the crowd. The lead singer, Bert McCracken, is the kind of guy who doesn’t give a s#!&; he does whatever he wants. His attitude hyped up

the crowd and a circle mosh began. I love circle moshes. They make perfect sense and aren’t painfully invasive. A circle designated for these friendly fellows? What more could you want? My best friend and I went to a mostly acoustic show in San Antonio. The music was great but the crowd, not so much. The first three bands were indie, undiscovered bands and the crowd was a little too anxious for the two headlining bands. The band playing at the time, The Honorary Title, is a two-man band consisting of a piano, acoustic guitar, and two microphones Hardly a moshing band if you ask me. Jarrod Gorbel, the lead singer, noticed the unpleasantness of the crowd and said, “Hey, can you guys stop pushing? The people in front look like they’re going to start foaming by the mouth so I think you guys should back up and just chill.” The fifteen year old boy standing next to me responded by

you haven’t been to a show with ukuleles, acoustic guitars, and bongos. There’s a severe inconvenience of mosh pits. Moshers like to dwell in center front of the crowd. If they’re not even watching the band play, then why should they be where the people who actually want to watch the show want to be? Moshes can take place at the back of the crowd and they’ll have as much space as they please. They can still hear the music just fine ever since those handy things called speakers came out and hey, people won’t get pissed off at you!

tening to their fave band. If you really want to let your anger out, get a gym membership and kill that punching bag. Go join a wrestling team or get some anger management pills, but stay away from messing up the face of the innocent, thirteen year old girl next to you. You’re just being annoying.

You may argue moshing lets people get out their anger while lis-

saying,”What? Has he never been to a show before?” Well sir, apparently 29

eon PhotoBooth - Music

Increase in Pirates Lowers Global Warming

ter

Cos tumes, LLC

By Brad Z.

Everyday, millions of people guide their grimy ships into the still waters of the Pirate Bay and point their loaded cannons at the thick walls of justice. They peer from the crows nest into the town, searching for their target. At last, after browsing through the buildings, they fire, destroying the livelihoods of the people within. They rush in, steal the loot, and return to their old, broken down ships, only to do the same again the next day. Does this sound like you? Well, if you’ve ever copied a cd for a friend or downloaded an album from the Pirate Bay, that’s exactly what the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, thinks of you. But pirating music is not going to financially ruin musicians. In fact, the benefits for the artists far outweigh the inconvenience for the labels.

So, what exactly is Piracy?

Piracy, either the physical swashbuckling kind or the digital variety, is simply stealing. It sounds harsh when put that way, but it’s true. Digital piracy is downloading or copying music, video, or other copyrighted content without paying for it. According to the RIAA, pirating music is destroying musicians. They claim that approximately 2.6 billion songs are pirated each month, and because of this, they’ve started cracking down on piracy. Since 2004, they’ve sued about 2000 people for music piracy.

Has anything been done to stop it?

Because of all this piracy, many digital music vendors have adopted a “necessary evil,” called Digital Rights Management, or DRM. DRM is a technology that attempts to prevent people from making copies of music. The most obvious example is Apple’s Fairplay, which lets you put music on 5 different computers and ipods. This technology, however, is not fool proof. By recording the

analog sound coming out of your speakers, you can create copies of the music free of any sort of DRM.

But isn’t piracy taking away the artist’s main income? Nope. In fact, the opposite is true. According to a Harvard study in 2006, the bottom 75% of artists, which are the upcoming and relatively unpopular artists, actually profit from piracy. The only way for them to get popular is to get their music out, and if there’s a $15 price tag on it, few people will bite. Sharing their music significantly widens their audience, many of whom will purchase concert tickets, merchandise, or new albums, which will help them out tremendously. One example of an artist pushed into stardom is the Arctic Monkeys, a punk from Sheffeild, England. They were rela-

PirateB

1. Lost - Seaso Episode 13 2. Heroes - Sea Episode 23 3. Bride Wars

Music - Neon PhotoBooth tively unknown until their few dedicated fans started giving away bootlegs of their shows for free. This lead to widespread popularity and, eventually, lots of people willing to buy their music. The top 25% of artists actually had a decline in album sales in recent years. This is most likely due to the fact that the music of these popular acts is already well known and freely distributed much more.

ample, Mark Stewart, a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, wrote custom Valentines Day songs for $215. Another creative way to get money is presented by Josh Freese, the drummer for Nine Inch Nails. He lets the fans choose how much they pay, and depending on how much, he offers various “prizes” in addition to the music, such as dinners, t-shirts, a car wash, or even one of his drumsets.

It seems like the top 25% is getting the short end of the stick.

Haven’t they started cracking down on piracy?

They aren’t, actually. For the most part, artists make money from people buying tickets to concerts and buying merchandise. The money from the album sales goes to the labels and the technicians that recorded the music. The top 25% has such a huge fan base, the profit from the shows will more than make up for the drop in album sales. In addition, musicians are starting to become even more creative and “tapping into the net” for money. For ex-

Well, yes. The current largest torrent tracker, The Pirate Bay, was recently sued for “assisting copyright infringement.” They lost the first trial and the four founders of the site will spend a year in jail and wer fined millions of dollars. In addition, the RIAA has sued thousands of college students for copyright infringement.

Is it safe to pirate?

For the most part, yes. It is possible to be caught and possibly sued, the chances are

MethodsofPiracy 1. Create a Physical Copy

Simplyripthemusicoffofacdandburnitonto a blank disk.

2. Direct Download

Downloadtheentiresong/album/softwareoffof a single server. Most of these come from free onlinestoragesites,suchasMegaUpload.com

3. P2P

Abbreviationforpeet-to-peer,thisisthemost commonmethod.Thisusuallyinvolvesdownloadingaclient-sideapplication,searchingforfiles throughaspecializedsearchengine,andthen downloadingthefilesfromtheotherusers.In thecaseoftorrentclients,youdownloadsmall piecesfromseveralotherusers.Examplesinclude LimeWire, BitTorrent.

very, very slim, especially if you are behind a proxy.

So should I pirate or not?

There is one final hurdle, though: Piracy is illegal. There’s no getting around it. But if you

don’t have a problem with breaking the law, then go ahead, it’s not going to hurt the artists. Plus, pirates have been proven to lower global warming.

Bay’s Most Popular

on 5,

ason 3,

8. House - Season 5, 4. Fast and Furious 4 Episode 21 5. The Univited 6. South Park - Season 13, Episode 6 9. The Wrestler 10. Scrubs - Season 8, Episode 7. Nothing But The Truth 31 15

eon PhotoBooth - Reviews

It’s Bliss Mady B.

The New York punk band Yeah Yeah Yeah’s has taken a turn towards the disco scene in their third, and newest album It’s Blitz! The new sound not only works, but it has generated a fantastic and original third album. The album delivers a mix of heart breaking ballads and throbbing songs that should boom from the speakers of an underground club. “Off With your Head/ Dance till your dead” sings Karen 32

O in the second track on the album: “Heads Will Roll.” The synth beats pulsate from the background. Other songs that are dance floor worthy are “Zero”, “Dragon Queen”, and “Faces.” In the song “Shame and Fortune” guitarist Nick Zinner’s distorted riffs overwhelm the background and create an almost hypnotic feeling. The album is also equipped with the heart breaking ballads like “Little Shadow.” “Run, run, run

away/ Lost, lost, lost my mind/Want you to stay/ Want you to be my prize.” That is the chorus from my personal favorite on the album the heartbreaking “Runaway.” The song begins with a choppy and disconnected melody echoing from a piano the melody then begins to come together as stings are added and the song begins to swell into a haunting ballad. YYY has proved themselves not only able to create

a great electronic album, but it also reveals that the band has developed as songwriters. The songs say little but YYY has channeled an ability to radiate heart and emotions. YYY has lined themselves up with dance artists like TV On The Radio and The Talking Heads. This album is a new direction and a step forward for Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I look foreward to listening to their future albums.

Reviews - Neon PhotoBooth

Bradley Z.

It’ll Make You Scream

The first thing that ran through my head when I heard Scream was the same as many other fans of Chris Cornell: “WTF?” Chris Cornell, the man who’s iron pipes powered the amazingly influential Soundgarden during the rise of Seattle-based grunge bands, pioneered all of alternative rock music as we know it today, and went on to front

one of the greatest supergroups of all time, Audioslave, made... a dance album. Cornell completely disregarded his fans of the past 20 years and teamed up with the chart-topping producer Timbaland. The result is less than stellar. Not to say it’s a terrible album. Its just completely unexpected, and will mean almost nothing to the

fans of his previous work. If you bought this album for the thick riffs of Soundgarden and Audioslave, you will be disappointed. If you bought it for the thought-provoking, lyric-savvy Cornell, you might be in luck. Once you get past the initial shock and the extremely mediocre track “Part of Me,” it’s actually quite enjoyable and full of musical

moments. Since the days of Soundgarden, Cornell’s insistence on repetition has been on the rise, and Scream is no exception. Though Scream sounds considerably “faker” than other Cornell works due to the many layers of synths, courtest of Timbaland, the songwriting is still solid and should offer at least a little entertainment value.

It’s Not Me, It’s You. Track List 1. Everyone’s At It 2. The Fear 3. Not Fair 4. 22 5. I Could Say 6. Back to the Start 7. Never Gonna Happen 8. F*** You 9. Who’d Have Known 10. Chinese 11. Him 12. He Wasn’t There

By Emma C. British singer Lily Allen transformed from a rebellious, bittersweet teenager to a glamorous misfit. It’s Not Me, It’s You combines Allen’s new outlook on the world with her stuck up attitude towards society and a side of love. It’s Not Me, It’s You has everything you’ll 34

need in a love story. The tenth track, Chinese, sings “I don’t want anything more Than to see your face when you open the door/ You’ll make me beans on toast and a nice cup of tea/ And we’ll get a Chinese and watch TV.” The ninth track “Who’d Have Known” is about

the simplicity of love with slow background music. There’s no smiling in this album, but Allen perfects the get the hell out of my life feeling with the tracks “Never Gonna Happen” and “F*** You.” With lyrics like “F*** you very, very much/ Cause we hate what

you do/ And we hate your whole crew/ So please don’t stay in touch” we know Lily Allen’s pretty pissed and you should stay away. Although the album doesn’t pop like “Alright, Still”, “It’s Not Me, It’s You” has got sweet, simple beats and a killer voice. It’s definitley worth the $18.98.

JERRY

Come on, draw some circles...

1. 2.

4. 2.

3. 5.

3. 4.

Cell Top 5 What Do They Do? 1. 1. HTC Touch Pro

Touch Flo 3D Windows Mobile 6.1 3.2 Megapixel Camera

2. Palm Treo Pro

High Resolution Touch Screen Windows Mobile 6.1 2.0 Megapixel Camera

3. Samsung Instinct

GPS Sprint TV 2.0 Megapixel Camera Black/Pink Color

4. LG Lotus

Sprint One Click QWERTY keyboard 2.0 Megapixel Camera Black/Purple/Red Color

5. Palm Centro

Sprint Mobile Broadband with Power Vision QWERTY Keyboard 1.3 Megapixel Camera

1. T-Mobile G1

Android Platform Real Web Browsing 3.2 Megapixel Camera Black/Bronze/While Color

2. Blackberry Curve 8900 Blackberry OS Real Web Browsing 3.2 Megapixel Camera

3. Samsung Memior

High Resolution Touch Screen 3G 8 Megapixel Camera

4. Motorola Zine

High Resolution Screen EDGE & WiFi 5 Megapixel Camera

5. T-mobile Sidekick 2008 Real Web Browsing Swivel Screen 2.0 Megapixel Camera Customizable Shells

1. Samsung Omnia Windows Mobile 6.1 8GB Internal Memory 5.0 Megapixel Camera 2. Samsung Saga Highâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;res Touch Sensitive TFT Display Optical Mouse 2,0 Megapixel Camera 3. LG Dare Enhanced screen with QWERTY Keyboard HTML Web Browser 3.2 Megapixel Camera

1. Samsung Impression 3.2 in Touch Screen HTML Browser 3.2 Megapixel Camera 2. iPhone 3G Touch Screen Apple App Store 2.0 Megapixel Camera Black/White Color

3. Samsung Epix Voice Guided GPS Windows Mobile 6.1 2.0 Megapixel Camera 4. Blackberry Bold Push Email Blackberry OS 2.0 Megapixel Camera 5. Pantech Matrix Pro Dual Slider Degisn Windows Mobile 6.1 2.0 Megapixel Camera

4. HTC Touch Windoes Mobile 6.1 HTC Touch FLO 3D 3.2 Megapixel Camera 5. Blackberry Storm Global Phone 8GB Micro SD card preinstalled 3.2 Megapixel Camera

eon PhotoBooth

The Unusual Suspec The

Brad Brad was raised by a family of bears in the rolling hills of Austin, TX. Brad has hair that resembles the fields of Ireland... on fire. His skin is an iridescent pink that shines in the darkness. Brad enjoys sitting in fields and playing guitar, he dreams of becoming a super hero in the form of water. His number one goal is to live off the streets of Austin TX., namely as a homeless person, but since he is an employee at Neon Photobooth his goal can not be realized just yet. he is an inspiration to the bear population and petting him is strongly encouraged.

Mady Mady, the resident super-blond at NeonPhotobooth (though Chad is catching up in a hurry), isn’t a perpetuator of the blonde stereotype, though she is insane. But it’s not the lip-glossing, shopping, chuahaha-purse carrying type of blond insaneness. Oh no, she’s a new breed. Mady perfected her arts in the South American rainforests as a todler, and upon moving to Austin, Texas, she finally found a new habitat that fits her well (she couldn’t deal with the frizzy hair). Now she enjoys running around like a mad woman screaming at the top of her lungs. Most of LASA knows her quite well. (Un)Fortunately.

Photos By: Chad L. and Mady B.

cts

Neon PhotoBooth

masterminds behind the magazine

Chad Chad’s favorite type of music is techno, he’s been into it for about 3 years and his love for the genre is growing. He’s been a swimmer since he was born, swimming on swimteams for 9 years through the summer and first year and high school. Cell phones are more of an accessory then a device, he gets new phone every month or two. He loves to wear clothes from Pac Sun that reflect his bright style. His hair changes color every 2 months from dark brown to neon pink to bleach blond. Bracelets are the last thing to notice, but he always has them on and there always colorful.

Emma Emma likes to meow at people, go to concerts, take pictures, text, listen to loud music, and walk to far away places. She’s usually wearing her friends’ clothes. She watches Scrubs and Desperate Housewives obsessively. She draws with crayons and colored pencils other everything. Emma organizes the clothes in her closet by color. Summer is her favorite month because there’s no school and she can sleep a lot.

Gautam

Gautam is this one kid residing in Austin, Texas, who also attends the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. This kid has black curly hair, that somehow metamorphisizes into a brownish color because of the chlorine that kills his hair from swimming. He enjoys playing tennis, cello, and blasting music into his brain (via the ear channels) with his amazingly awesome headphones. Hip hop and rap are his favorite genres of music, and he often comments on how Brad G. is going to become a rapper in the future. In this beautiful magazine, he wrote the articles about how vegetarianism is awesome, the kid who’s extremely good at drawing, the Zion I album review, and the photo story.