Nose-y Play
Classic ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ takes stage at Campus Theatre SCENE insert Friday, February 5, 2010
News 1,2 Sports 3 SCENE see insert
Volume 95 | Issue 12
Sunny 54° / 33° ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
A-Train construction in Denton begins soon BY MORGAN WALKER Senior Staff Writer
The middle lanes of Loop 288 between Colorado Boulevard and Brinker Road will be closed Wednesday for three months as part of the A-Train’s construction. The construction will take place at the Denton Branch Rail Trail crossing, roughly between the two streets. Once completed, the train will run almost parallel with Interstate Highway 35E, crossing Loop 288. The A-Train construction in Lewisville is expected to be finished by the end of this year while the Denton portion will be complete by summer 2011, said Dee Leggett, marketing vice president of the Denton County Transportation Authority . “We felt that when we set the 2011 time frame that it was an attainable goal, so we don’t anticipate missing that date,” Leggett said. The train was implemented by the DCTA and will connect Denton to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit at Trinity Mills Road in Carrollton. The route will include five stops with two in Denton and three in the Highland Village and Lewisville areas. The $314 million project is locally funded, which allows DCTA to speed up the project, whereas federal funding would be “onerous,” Leggett added. However, the agency still continues to follow the rules
regarding the federal environmental process. The project was designed to the federal environmental standards so that DCTA would not impact the environment in a negative way. “Even though we decided to go with a local funding source, we still wanted to make sure that we are preserving the community standards that the National Environmental Policy Act preserves,” Leggett said. The Regional Toll Revenue Funding Initiative provides 80 percent of the project money. For the remainder of the money, DCTA receives a 5 cent dedicated sales-and-use tax from the cities of Lewisville, Denton and Highland Village. All of the designs for the A-train have been accepted by Denton. “We’ve been able to resolve all of the issues regarding the right of way and the relocation of utilities so we can make sure we’re not impacting the city’s water supply,” Leggett said. Leggett added that the A-Train will operate using diesel gas which allows DCTA to be able to afford the project. With diesel gas, the project costs $15 million per mile whereas electrification would cost $50 million per mile. Light rail typically operates in urban areas where the stops are closer together. “Because our stops are so far apart, you don’t really see the
The A-Train construction will cause lanes of traffic on Loop 288 to close starting Feb. 10. advantages of electrified rail like you do in the city areas,” Leggett said. Heavy construction on the A-Train in the Denton section will begin in the late spring or early summer but right now the DCTA is focusing on work in the Corinth area. Over the last few years, many students have complained
Tough defense leads Mean Green to victory BY SEAN GORMAN Senior Staff Writer
Playing the hottest team in the Sun Belt Conference, the UNT men’s basketball team used accurate shooting and tight defense to cool off the Florida Atlantic Owls in an 86-69 win. The victory helped the Mean Green (14-8, 7-5) stay tied for third place in the conference’s West Division and ended the Owls (12-11, 8-4) five-game winning streak. “This is arguably the best game we’ve played all season,” head coach Johnny Jones said. “There were some moments where we didn’t keep our defensive tenacity at the highest level, but it was a great team effort overall.” UNT has held its own against the best teams in the conference all year, improving its record to 4-2 against Sun Belt team-
scurrently in first place of their division. “Tonight was a statement game for us,” junior forward George Odufuwa said. “Of course we play hard during every game, but these kinds of wins are especially important.” Both offenses had trouble getting started, getting called for traveling five times and scoring a combined 10 points in the first five minutes. “I thought our defensive intensity was great at the beginning, and once we got Eric [Tramiel] involved down low, we did an excellent job scoring the basketball,” Jones said. UNT kept the FAU scorers in check and relied on senior forward Tramiel’s 13 firsthalf points to make a 19-7 run midway through the first half. “Good execution on our part
really helped us on both sides of the ball,” Tramiel said. “We knew they were a good team with a lot of momentum, but we stayed aggressive all night.” T ha n k s to 65 percent shooting and an emphatic dunk by Tramiel with less than a minute left, the Mean Green cruised into halftime with a 45-27 lead. “We shot the ball really well early on,” Jones said. “We got the ball to the post and put our players in good positions to score.” The Mean Green defense was at its best early on, surrendering a season-low 27 points to an Owls team that ranks second out of 13 teams in the Sun Belt in scoring offense, threepoint field-goal percentage and rebounding.
about the traffic on Loop 288, particularly when it was being widened. “Since we first moved here, 288’s been horrible and I used to take back roads to avoid it as much as possible,” said Edgar Castillo, a kinesiology graduate student. Castillo has lived at The Ridge apartments on Colorado
Boulevard for three years and said he drives to school every day. Rachel Emard, a hospitality management sophomore, who also lives at The Ridge, said she rides her bike to work because she doesn’t have a car right now. “Biking makes things a little difficult on 288 because people
PHOTO BY MORGAN WALKER/SENIOR STAFF WRITER
like to drive fast,” she said. She said she would like to use to A-Train once it’s finished to help her get to Dallas. “My mom lives in Dallas, so it’d probably be easier to ride the train to go see her than to have her come pick me up,” Emard said. More information can be found at www.mya-train.com.
Helping Out A Friend
PHOTO BY CLINTON LYNCH/VISUALS EDITOR
Jacob Green, a history sophomore, spent 20 days in the hospital recovering from a serious allergy infection that caused him to have surgery in his nasal cavity and part of his brain.
To see multimedia for this story, visit ntdaily.com. Read the story on Page 2.
See RESERVE on Page 3
Geography prof puts grant money toward new class Proposed class to begin in spring 2012 BY BRIANNE TOLJ
Contributing writer A n e x p e r i m e nt a l n e w geography class that may be offered in the spring of 2012 was int roduced to facu lt y and students at a Brown Bag luncheon from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday. Chetan Tiwari of the geology faculty was the recipient of a $ 5,000 2008-2009 CLE AR Learning Enhancement Grant
for the class. Tiwari said the goal for the proposed class is to introduce basic geography concepts w it hin a contextua l a nd interact ive env ironment that is not overly complicated. “I t h i n k t h is cla ss w i l l provide an applied, hands-on introduction to key concepts i n geog raphy. It w i l l a lso be a subtle introduction to G e o g r a ph ic I n f or m a t ion Systems a nd to t he k inds of quest ions t hat ca n be answered using GIS methods and tools,” Tiwari said. T he CLE A R Lea r n i ng En ha ncement Gra nt is
provided to teachers to offer ally mesh things with overi n nov a t i v e ne w c l a s s e s . lays, and get a better overview of these geographic The Geographic processes.” Information System For exa mple, is software that allows t he sof t wa re used users to manipulate d at a to c re ate a geog raph ic data to map show i ng t he create databases, predicted distribumaps and relationship tion of debris from charts, among other t h e 2 0 01 s p a c e things. CHETAN shuttle Challenger “ T h e G I S r e a l l y TIWARI comes into play when you’re crash. Lisa Nagaoka of the geognot looking just at one single source of data, but instead raphy faculty said the class you’re able to essentially bring would provide a better undertogether different geograph- standing of the Dallas-Fort ical layers,” Tiwari said. “Part Worth area. “R ig ht now people k ind of the GIS is its ability to actu-
of k now where places are, but t hey don’t necessa rily know what they are like,” she said. “So when you’re driving down the highway, because you have actually researched i n for mat ion about w here you’re living, you should be more familiar with it.” The class wou ld a im to make geography as interactive as possible as well as inform students about t he place where t hey live a nd surrounding areas. They will learn the abilit y to create, analyze and visualize in local contexts, Tiwari said. Michelle Farley, the instruc-
tional consultant with CLEAR, said the technology could be used in people’s studies as well as professionally. “ I ’m w o r k i n g o n m y doctorate degree in education so I could see being able to take the statistical information and making it userfriendly in presentations and conferences,” said Farley. Nagaoka and Bruce Hunter of t he Institute of Applied S c ie nc e s f a c u lt y he lp e d form t he CLE A R Lea rning Enhancement Grant proposal as well as content development. Nagaoka attended the luncheon.
NORTH TEXA S DA
ILY, Novembe r1
Campus Theatre raises the curtain on its production of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ tonight
9 VOLUME 95
, ISSUE
News
Page 2
Friday, February 5, 2010
Scott McBride, Rebecca Hoeffner & Melissa Boughton, News Editors
ntdailynews@gmail.com
Obama administration implements texting ban By A lex Cheatham
Staff Writer
Every commercial vehicle, including trucks, ta xis and buses, must now adhere to a federal ban on texting while driving. In late Januar y, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the ban, specified by an executive order from President Barack Obama, to be effective immediately. John D. Esparza, the Texas Motor Transportation Association president and CEO, said more than 15 percent of fatalities on the highway involved commercial vehicles in Texas. T he ba n proh ibit s t he sending or receiving of any text message by anyone driving a federally regulated vehicle to limit the amount of distractions drivers face. “The highways in Texas are unsafe because they’re so congested. Throw distractions like texting in the mix, and you’ve got a problem that won’t easily go away,” Esparza said. Mor e t h a n 4 m i l l i on commercial drivers will be subject to the new rule. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration took the lead on this ban, and Texas should be happy to have it, Esparza said. The administration is a federal agency charged with improving the
safety of commercial motor vehicles. Obama signed Executive O r d e r 1 3 51 3 , “ F e d e r a l Leadership On Reducing Text Messaging While Driving,” in October 2009. If drivers fail to follow the rules, they could be stuck with a hefty fine of up to $2,750. Esparza said texting while driving has a much broader effect than caused by commercial drivers alone, and that the 2011 session of the Texas L eg islat u re w i l l br i ng a n opportunity for those seeking a ban on texting for all drivers. He said he expects a number of bills on texting as well as phone use. According to t he sa fet y ad m i n ist rat ion’s Web, on average, drivers who engage i n send i ng a nd receiv i ng messages are distracted 4.6 out of every 6 seconds they’re on the road. That means an operator traveling at 55 mph won’t look up for the entire length of a football field. Drivers who text are 20 more times likely to end up in a crash than those who do not. Nevertheless, at least some drivers remain undeterred. “Te x t i ng i s a n add iction. Even though I get very distracted, and even hit curbs, it’s the number one way I communicate,” said Lauren
Photo by Martina Trevino/Photographer
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving. In Texas, cell phone usage is prohibited only in school zones. very harmful event,” Esparza said. “I can guarantee, it will take just one family to show up in Austin with a heartw rench i ng stor y about a fatal accident involving text messaging to do the job. There won’t be much opposition at all.”
A lt houg h t here a re no c u r r e n t b a n s i n Te x a s r e st r ic t i ng d r i v er s f r om texting, 19 other states have implemented a ban drivers must follow. “It’s a no brainer. Texting is not a good idea while driving,” Esparza said.
expenses. la nce to a “I know hospita l to Ty l e r . H e ’s possibly in one of the have surgery bands playing on you at the show,” immediGreen sa id. ately.’” “He’s a good G r e e n friend of mine. wa s t ra nsHe said he had ferred to a few fa m i ly Bet h Israel m e m b e r s Medical w it h bra in Center i n problems that N e w Yo r k d id n’t m a k e w h e r e it out l i ke I doctors ran did. He didn’t tests on w a nt to s e e him. anything like “They ran t hat happen. t his t hing He just wanted up my nose, to act as soon prodding as possible.” t he inner Photo by Clinton Lynch/Visuals Editor G r e e n c av it y,” A benefit show for Jacob Green will take place this Saturday at Rubbergloves, where all proceeds will go toward helping s a id he w a s Green said. hu m b le d b y “It w a s to pay the expensive medical bills from his surgery. t he fact t hat extremely so many of his friends were painful.” The doctor told him he had down the face, and made a limited to acting on situa- going to be driving in from all an infection behind his eye chunky incision into the skull tions like this in emergency- over Texas to come support w it h a n abscess t hat t hey and removed it, and then did type settings only, which is him. “I feel proud to have friends needed to remove as wel l their business on the eyeball,” what happened to me,” Green as repair the backside of his Green said. “Then, they rein- said. “Because it was an emer- like that,” Green said. Elizabeth Sterling, an intesinus cavity with a sheet of forced t hat pa r t w it h t he gency, I would say get a job mesh metal. mesh metal, put my skin back with health insurance and act rior design freshman, said T he doctors decided to together. Eighty staples.” on your situations as quickly she was interested in going to per for m su rger y i m med ias possible. That’s the only the benefit Saturday night to ately, so Green was taken to ‘Back on track’ thing you can do. But if you help support the cause. “I think it’s really cool that Roosevelt Hospital, for surgery Green was hospitalized for can’t afford health insurance, with five different doctors on about 20 days, 10 days in New then I really have no words of his friend is doing this for him, and I would definitely Thanksgiving Day. York City and then 10 more wisdom.” “So what they did was they days in a hospital in Texas. Because Green was unable be interested in going and made a n i ncision, peeled “The first thing I wanted to to complete his classes from helping out w it h a n event do was to go back to normal. I t he fa l l semester, he wa s like that,” Sterling said. “If couldn’t do the normal things forced to take an incomplete the same thing happened to me, it’s cool to know that as a that I did right away,” Green in every class. “If I really put the pedal to student body, we can help.” said. “I couldn’t do sports or Sterl i ng sa id she ca n drink beer or anything like the metal this semester, I can sympathize w ith Green for that right away. I wanted to be back on track,” he said. the financial challenges he get back to that normal life.” faces. G r e e n h a d a d v ic e f or Concert for the costs Green’s friend Tyler Adams students concerning healthrelated emergencies like his. decided to set up a benefit “If you don’t have health show for Green to raise money insurance, you’re pretty much for the hospital and surgery
“I g uess we’ve just k ind of come to that point in our lives where we have to take responsibility for health stuff and health issues, so I can sympathize with this guy,” Sterl i ng sa id. “It’s k i nd of the first time that, individually, we’re having to think of t hese t h i ngs, f i na ncia l a spec t-w i se. E mer genc ies come up and they’re unexpected, so I think it’s great t hat t he students ca n pu l l together and his friends are active and inclined to help out in this way.” A s for h is relat ionsh ips w it h h is pa rents a nd g irlfriend, Green says the event has brought them closer. “I t h i n k it broug ht me closer to my parents,” Green said. “They were forced to f ly up there, Thanksgiv ing Day. They were up there by my side after surger y. I t h i n k we were k i nd of goi ng t h roug h a slu mp at that point in my relationship with them. It def i n itely broug ht us closer together. It def initely broug ht me a nd my g i rl f r iend clos er together in more ways than one, because now I live with her. We’re kind of constantly together. It’s a good thing.” A va r iet y of ba nds f rom Denton w ill be performing includ ing Ca r t w r ig ht, The Yo u n g a n d B r a v e , D u s t Cong ress, No Heroes, a nd Fire Nation. The concert is Saturday at Rubber Gloves Rehearsa l Studios at 411 E Sycamore St. T he doors open at 9 p. m. A l l proceeds w i l l go to helping Green.
Thompson, a UNT alumni. “I feel like [an accident] couldn’t happen to me.” Courtney Birnberg, a sociology junior, said she agrees with the legislation. “It’s a good idea to have a ban on texting, even though, to a certain extent, people will
still do it. I wouldn’t like it, and I’m not really sure I’d follow it,” Birnberg said. Esparza said he was confident a statewide ban on texting could become law. “Texting is a big problem for everyone. It’s one of the distractions that can lead to a
Friends of UNT student raise money for medical bills By Jessica Paul Staff Writer
Jacob Green had reason to be more thankful than most last Thanksgiving. T he h istor y sophomore spent the better half of the holiday under surgery for five hours in New York City. His swollen eye had origi na l ly been d iag nosed a s allergy-related. “It seemed like they were putting a Band-Aid over the problem,” he said. But when Green got to New York du r ing T ha n k sg iv ing break, he said his eye swelled shut completely. “Extremely painful, headache, really bad. Worse that I’d ever experienced,” he said. “I kind of put it off for a few days, and finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.” Emergency care Green went to a free health cl i n ic recom mended by a f riend because he did not have health insurance. There, doctors ran a scan on him. “W hat t hey showed was that there was a hole on the inner skull behind the sinus cav it y,” Green sa id. “T he doctor brought me in after he did the CAT scan and he was pointing out a black spot. He was like, ‘You see that? That should all be white. That’s bad, this is very serious. We’re going to take you by ambu-
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S C E N E
MOVIE: ‘Dear John’ stars talk about romance and their new film
Page 3
MUSIC:
FOOD:
SCHNOZ: Campus Theatre raises the curtain on ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’
Page 4
Unicorn Lake Diner has good food, zero atmostphere
Page 5
OSCAR: Find out who got nominated for film’s biggest award
Page 6
Denton band Midlake’s third album gets four stars
Page 7
Friday, February 5, 2010 Justin Umberson, Sports Editor
Sports
Page 3 ntdaily.sports@gmail.com
Track and field team heads to Lubbock for Tech Invitational By Bobby Lewis
Contributing Writer Cont inuing on its road to the Sun Belt Conference C ha mpion sh ip, t he U N T track and field team heads to a familiar venue. The Mean Green will compete in the Texas Tech Invitational on Saturday in Lubbock, where it has been for two of three meets so far this season. “T he pu r p o s e of t h i s weekend is seeding for the conference championship,” Watkins said. This meet will be important for UNT distance runners, as it will be the first weekend all of them run, including the team’s top distance runner, junior Patrick Strong. On t he women’s side, Watkins said this weekend will be important for sophomore mid-distance runner Sara Dietz, who will be participating in her first indoor meet. Earlier this season at the Texas Tech Invitational on Jan. 22 and 23, the Mean Green had five top-three finishes. It also received its first victory of the year, courtesy of sophomore sprinter Keyth Talley. Talley, who was named the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Performer of the Week for the second-consecutive week for that performance, has set the school record in the 60-meter dash (6.69) and tied the school record in the 200-meter dash (21.27) this season. He will be competing in the 55-meter dash, the 200-meter
dash and the 4x400-meter relay tomorrow, and he has high expectations for the meet. “The 200 should go down again,” Talley said. “Actually, all three should fall.” Freshman high jumper Suzy Prikryl gave the Mean Green another high finish at the invitational, finishing second in the high jump only to Texas Tech junior Kelsey Lloyd. Lloyd was named All-Big 12 in the high jump after the 2009 indoor season. This time, Prikryl said, she thinks she can win if she is able to reach her goal for the meet. “I want to get 5-feet-8-1/2inches — that should win,” Prikryl said. At the Texas A&M Invitational on Jan. 16, the Mean Green’s first indoor meet of the season, both the men and women finished 13th out of the 15 competing schools. With only the Texas Tech Open and the Sooner Open II left before the conference championship, Watkins said he knows how important this meet is, so he plans to trot out his best relay teams. The meet will take place at the “Bubble,” Tech’s Athletic Training Center, which is one of only two of its kind in the world because of its inflatable membrane roof. The Texas Tech Open is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Saturday morning with the men’s long jump leading things off.
Photo by Ryan Bibb/Photographer
Junior guard Richard Thomas works around Florida International Thursday night. UNT took the lead early in the game winning 86-69.
Reserve players help to cage Owls Continued from Page 1
Photo by Christena Dowsett/File
Senior pole vaulter Christal Brewster broke both the indoor and outdoor season school records in 2009.
“We’re continuing to improve on the defensive side of the basketball,” Jones said. “There was a sense of urgency from the guys all night.” A 17-6 run by FAU brought them to within seven, but after Jones subbed in five bench players, the momentum shifted back in UNT’s favor. “Our second unit did a great job giving us back the confidence we needed after their run,” Odufuwa said. “After they did their part to slow them down, we were able to come in and close the game out.”
With five players in double figures, the Mean Green stayed ahead with relative ease and held on to win. “It was a great team effort all around,” Tramiel said. “We didn’t let them back into the game and took advantage of every chance we had.” Odufuwa and Tramiel set the tone in the paint, helping UNT outrebound the Owls 37-21. The Mean Green looks to avenge a loss earlier in the year when they travel to Miami to face the Florida International Golden Panthers at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Tennis team looks for revenge against Red Raiders Mean Green returns to scene of last year’s loss By Eric Johnson Senior Staff Writer
An angry and inspired UNT tennis team will look to take out its frustration on No. 73 Texas Tech (3-0) at noon Saturday. The Mean Green (2-2) was disappointed when it could not overcome Oklahoma on Wednesday in a 7-0 loss, but the team will get a chance to erase that loss against a Tech team that beat it 6-1 last spring. “We were ravaged by the flu last year against them. That match is no indication of what we are capable of,” head coach Sujay Lama said. “We are not
happy with how our match ended against OU, and we are going to use that anger against Tech.” Lama will make no changes to his lineup, and he will rely on his team’s passion to make the difference against the Red Raiders. “We don’t like the way this feels, and we believe that we are the better team,” senior Catalina Cruz said. “We all want this and no one is going to just give it to us, so we have to get mad and we have to go out and take it.” The only player to earn a victory for the Mean Green against the Red Raiders last season was junior Narine Kazorava, and 10 days after returning from a shoulder injury, the team will need her
to return to form. “Narine is making improvements, but she is still not back to where she was,” Lama said. “Saturday will be a fight, and we need all of our weapons. With her at 100 percent it only makes us that much more dangerous.” With another nationally respected program on the horizon, there has been no wavering from Lama in his belief that the Mean Green will be a nationally ranked program in the near future. “All it takes is that one signature win to build that belief in a team,” Lama said. “I witnessed that first hand at Illinois. It took three or four years to get there, but once you do get there, it can completely change a program.”
Photo by Martina Trevino/Photographer
Sophomore Paula Dinuta follows through as she slams back a deep-court shot during practice Wednesday.
MovieSCENE
Friday 2.5.2010
3
‘Dear John’ stars talk about first loves BY JESSICA PAUL
States. I think it’s a beautiful thing because you know it’s real.
Staff Writer
In “Dear John,” Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried star as a young couple in love torn apart by Tatum’s loyal involvement with the Army. Seyfried’s character, Savannah, writes a letter to Tatum’s character, John, that begins an emotional journey of trying to find true love amid their chaotic lives. Tatum and Seyfried discuss the film, young love and what every guy should do for the love in his life.
Q:
Q:
You both play pretty important roles that are representative of what many couples are going through with the war in Iraq and everything. How do you feel about playing these roles, and how have these roles had an impact on you? Tatum: It for sure had an impact on me. This is my third soldier role now. “GI Joe” was more of “Star Wars.” It was “Star Wars” and “XMen.” It really wasn’t a representation of a real soldier in real life, but “Stop Loss” was. And I’ve gotten to know a lot of soldiers, and some of them are my best friends now. It’s in no way, shape or form in my head at all that what I do makes me understand a soldier, because I don’t think me or anybody else that is not in the armed forces will ever know what it’s like to be a soldier. Talking to those soldiers, I’m surrounded by SF guys, special forces. In talking to them, that was one of the things that they said: It’s just the patience and the knowing that you’re going to go back. You’re surrounded by danger, but you try not to think about that. You just keep thinking I get to go back in two months and three months and four months or however long it is. And just getting anything in the mail just makes your day. I can’t imagine being away from the person I love for that long. Two weeks is ridiculously long and it’s painful. I seriously am awed by
people that do it … . I love what soldiers do, and I obviously didn’t go into the military, so I don’t think I could do it. Seyfried: I always had an appreciation for soldiers to begin with, and now I really appreciate the sacrifices they are making and also leaving their loved ones as well. That’s a whole other story. Not only are you risking your life, but you’re risking what you have here in the
How was preparing physically for this role different than other films in the past, like “G.I. Joe” and “Step Up”? Tatum: I think this film, in general, I have a lot more — just in general kind of relation to it, I read the book and there’s a lot of emotion in the film. You knew that we were going to digging our fingers down into it. “G.I. Joe,” there’s not a lot of emotion. It’s a lot of explosions and stuff, and it was a great change of pace to just to get to sit on a beach with somebody and actually look them in the eye and have a real conversation. So we did a lot of preparation. We had about two weeks to sit and rehearse and just really hang out with each other and get into the vibe of South Carolina in general, which is just beautiful—Charleston is such a romantic city—and just be with each other.
Q:
This movie is about young
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love. How do you think this relates to college students? With a growing popularity of couples getting married earlier, do you think people will identify with the characters? Tatum: I hope so. I do, I really do. I think that this is about that first love that you have. I hope people think of their first loves. It’s really important, once you find someone that you care about, to really take care of them and hold on to them as hard as you possibly can. I think
in a society today with over a 50 percent divorce rate, it’s rare to find love and to make it work. Seyfried: Yes, especially that young. I’ve had such good experiences in my life with my partners that I can connect to each and every one. I can remember back to the times when I really felt loved and reflect that in the film. It’s pretty amazing. Everything has inspired me and influenced me in my life, yes, I’ve just been really lucky.
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SchnozSCENE
Campus Theatre sets stage with classic ‘Cyrano’ By Lori Lee and Graciela R azo Staff Writer and Senior Staff Writer
With elaborate backdrops, a custom-made horse carriage and fully rotating set, the stage at the Denton Community Theatre is set for the opening night of “Cyrano de Bergerac.” A group of local actors and artists will present the classical play of one of history’s most unsightly characters through director Brad Speck’s own vision, beginning tonight. Speck, a 1979 UNT theater alumnus, said the play is usually done in a more stylized way but that he wanted to work with classical methods of set design— employing turntables, sliding platforms and hand-painted backdrops to recreate Paris the way it was written by Edmond Rostand in 1897. “I’ve loved this play since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to put it on,” Speck said. “This has been a very interesting and intricate puzzle I have put on.”
Staying loyal to Rostand’s vision The play tells the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, a brave soldier and
well-known poet recognized by his large, grotesque nose, played by Denton actor Buster Maloney, and his pursuit of the woman of his dreams, Roxane, played by Denton actress Polly Maynard. “It’s all about hope, love, dreams and inadequacies with Cyrano,” Maloney said. All of the characters are real people t a ken f rom h istor y portraying events that actually happened, except the romance between Cyrano and Roxane, who were actually cousins. Actors will speak in a conversational style and will work on a stage specifically created to match Rostand’s original idea of intricate, detailed scenery, Speck said. “Every play should be a unique thing,” he said. “The difficulty of putting on this play is one of the reasons why the show doesn’t get done often, because it’s a challenge technically and artistically.” Complex set design began as soon as auditions were completed six weeks ago. Artists created five different sets to bring on and off the stage throughout the play. The director said although many
Photo by Martina Trevino/Photographer
Joshua Scott Hancock applies Buster Maloney’s prosthetic nose and mustache before Monday’s dress rehearsal at the Campus Theatre. Maloney plays the title character, Cyrano de Bergerac, in the Denton Community Theatre production of the Edmond Rostand classic. community theaters would not normally attempt such a large production, he wanted to put on a daring play. “I only want to do hard things, and these lines are some of the prettiest lines ever written,” Speck said.
Challenging roles to play
Photo by Martina Trevino/Photographer
Helen Exel, a retiree, helps Elizabeth Sesler, a psychology senior, into her costume for Monday’s dress rehearsal. Sesler has the role of Lise, the baker’s disloyal wife.
With only six weeks to memorize lines, staging positions and getting into character, assistant director and fight scene choreographer Michael Brittain said, even though the play was a difficult project to pull off, once the stage transforms into the world of Cyrano, it no longer becomes work. “You get the chance to be someone else and be a part of a world you’re not normally a part of,” Brittain said. “But I really like how the story is what holds the history of Cyrano together.”
Finding who the actors were in their roles was another challenge for the cast, Maloney said. Dressed in a wig, mustache and a curved prosthetic nose, Maloney said his role as Cyrano was the most difficult part he has ever done. Speaking in the play’s poetic tone and re-learning how to fence for the fight scenes were his biggest challenges, Maloney said. He tries to find something of the character in himself to help him get in touch with the role, he said. “A lot of it is getting the feel for the character,” Maloney said. “I discover the character and then that’s how I portray it to the audience.” As Cyrano proclaims, “for a great nose indicates a great man” during opening night, the dream of Speck as well as the original vision of Edmund Rostand will be portrayed by more than 40 actors on stage. Speck said he has high hopes
for opening weekend of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” especially because of its debut during the Valentine’s Day season. “It has something for everybody: battle scenes, sword fights, love scenes and romance,” Speck said.
Show Times 7:30 p.m. Friday Feb 12 7:30 p.m. Saturday Feb 13 2 p.m. Sunday Feb 14
Tickets $17 Adults $15 Seniors (62 and older) $10 Children and students
Location Campus Theatre 214 W. Hickory St.
FoodSCENE
[ ] Food Snobs
By
Unicorn Lake Diner 2900 Wind River Lane Denton Charlie R all and Melissa Boughton
Staff Writer and Assigning Editor Secluded across the street from the Denton Cinemark, the Unicorn Lake Diner is less than convenient to access, but it makes a decent stop for a quick breakfast or lunch. The staff is immediately friendly and helpful when you enter, especially for a seat-yourself place, but the ambiance is dead and cold. It’s a simple design with some checkered tables and a pick-up
Unicorn Lake Diner Cleanliness Service Affordability Atmosphere Food Quality cou nter, a nd a lt houg h it is awkwardly designed, it definitely has a diner feel (minus the cluttered walls and neon-signs). Ceiling fans whirl cold air over an open room, making the diner feel nowhere near cozy. The staff anxiously greets you and will stay on top of your every need throughout the entire meal. The tables are decorated with fresh flowers that add to the dull atmosphere. The small tables feel crowded when dining with more than one. The menu is simple with the standard two-egg breakfasts and sandwiches or burgers for lunch. Despite the uniformity of the standard diner menu, the place
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does offer a wide select ion f or br e a k f a s t . Everything from eggs, omelets, burritos, and chor i z o a nd yog u r t parfaits — the choices are sure to please just about anyone. Un for t u nately, t he diner doesn’t offer anything as unique as its name. Nevertheless, the kitchen was hasty and the food was good. They serve a traditional, but fresh and tasty, club sandwich with warm fries. The Cordon Bleu sandwich came highly recommended by the staff. The grilled chicken breast sandwich included ham with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and a Dijon mayonnaise sauce that was mouth-watering. The bun tasted like homemade potato bread. The sandwich, as a whole, was delicious and filling. If you are looking for a sandwich but want a different take, the Cordon Bleu is definitely for you. The macaroni and cheese is also
[Cooking with Katie]
Photo by Melissa Boughton / Assigning Editor
The club sandwich with a choice of a side is just one of many choices from Unicorn Lake Diner & Bakery, a sit-down type of cafe with healthy salads, deli sandwiches, bakery pastries and desserts. a good choice when looking for a side other than fries. The cheesy goodness will melt in your mouth and leave you asking for more. The bill was a little steep for such a simple meal that you can get almost anywhere, but it’s not out of reach. The Cordon Bleu includes a
choice of one side for $7.95. Add a drink and you’re looking at a full, filling meal for just less than $10. Overall, the place is enjoyable but lacking in charm. Having only been open for five months, the Unicorn Lake Diner has a lot of potential and room to grow.
Super Bowl Edition
By Katie Grivna / Senior Staff Writer
Chocolate Nutty Mini-Football Treats As friends and family gather around the sofa and the big screen for Sunday’s big Super Bowl XLIV football game, this recipe is sure to please the stomach and the eyes. This recipe makes a chocolate-peanut butter version of the Rice Krispies Treat I found the recipe on a box of Rice Krispies cereal over the holidays. When melting the marshmallows and butter, make sure to use a really large bowl, because the directions call to add six cups of the cereal to it. The melted marshmallows, butter and peanut butter create a caramel-like consistency that is difficult to spread evenly throughout the cereal. When forming the treats into football-shaped treats, make sure your hands are slathered with butter or else the mixture sticks to you, instead of itself. To make the football shape, place a gob of the cereal into the palm of your hand and form a kind of sphere where the tips of your fingers and the bases of your hands are touching. With the icing, add laces to the footballs and stripes at the ends. Don’t be afraid to eat your realistic and decorative handiwork.
Ingredients: 10 oz. of marshmallows 3 tablespoons of butter Half-cup of peanut butter 6 cups of Cocoa Krispies Decorative frosting
Directions: 1. In a large bowl, melt the butter and marshmallows for two minutes in the microwave. Remove and stir the combination, and microwave it for another minute. 2. Stir in the peanut butter, mixing until it is well combined and smooth. 3. Next, add the cereal, swirling often to make sure the gooey marshmallowpeanut butter mixture is evenly coated.
Photo by Clinton Lynch / Visuals Editor 4. Let the concoction cool for about five minutes. 5. With butter-coated hands, form the treats into footballs. 6. Add laces and stripes with the icing and serve.
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OscarSCENE
Academy unveils 2010 Oscar nominees Best Picture “Avatar” “The Blind Side” “District 9” “An Education” “The Hurt Locker” “Inglourious Basterds” “Precious” “A Serious Man” “Up” “Up in the Air”
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart” George Clooney, “Up in the Air” Colin Firth, “A Single Man” Morgan Freeman, “Invictus” Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side” Helen Mirren, “The Last Station” Carey Mulligan, “An Education” Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious” Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Director
Matt Damon, “Invictus” Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger” Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station” Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones” Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Penelope Cruz, “Nine” Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air” Ma g g ie Gy l len ha a l, “C r a z y Heart” Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air” Mo’Nique, “Precious”
James Cameron, “Avatar” Kat hr y n Bigelow, “The Hur t Locker” Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds” Lee Daniels, “Precious” Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
“District 9” “An Education” “In the Loop” “Precious” “Up in the Air”
Best Original Screenplay “The Hurt Locker” “Inglourious Basterds” “The Messenger” “A Serious Man” “Up”
Best Animated Feature “Coraline” “Fantastic Mr. Fox” “The Princess and the Frog” “The Secret of Kells” “Up”
To see multimedia for this story, visit ntdaily.com.
Photo Credits • • • • • •
Jeff Bridges photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures Sandra Bullock photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures “Up in the Air” photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures “Inglourious Basterds” photo courtesy of Universal Pictures “Up” photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar Kathryn Bigelow photo courtesy of Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times/ MCT • Oscar statue illustration courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences • Mo’Nique photo courtesy of Lionsgate Films • Christoph Waltz photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
MusicSCENE
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Denton band simplifies sound on third album BY GRACIELA R AZO Senior Staff Writer
Denton band Midlake has received waves of new fans from all over the music spectrum with each album release. Its latest “The Courage of Others,” will guarantee more admirers and recognition with its darker, wintry sound of gloomy vocals and simplistic music. For newer Midlake listeners, it may take a listen or two to fully appreciate the organic nature of lead singer Tim Smith’s brooding voice, but the
monotone streams inspire the overall snowy ambiance of the album. “The Courage of Others” begins smoothly with its single “Acts of Man,” a slow-paced number with purring flutes and lost-in-thought lyrics while Smith contemplates atrocities he sees people doing to one another. This song shows the slightly new direction the band took with its newest venture, swapping keyboards for crystal-clear guitar strums. Smith dwells, “And when the acts of man/Cause the ground to break open/Oh let me inside/Let me inside
not to wait.” The baroque yet simple composition of songs continues on, strung together by Smith’s lyrics. They are not cliché, overdone or too cryptic to connect with. Its eloquence is in perfect harmony with the soft drumming from McKenzie Smith and tone of the singer’s voice. However, the leisurely pace of the album should not be taken as boring. The band incorporates a sense of impending interest in each of the songs, escalating Smith’s demure vocals into impassioned yearns.
A high point of the album is guest singer Stephanie Dosen, who brings an innocence to the serious nature of “Bring Down.” The latter part of the album brings in no smoke or mirrors, just the continuing effortless premise of nature with images of landscapes backed by Eric Nichelson’s guitar hums and Paul Alexander’s bass depths. As a whole, “The Courage of Others” does have a slightly pessimistic tone with barely any hope in sight, but it takes a more introspective
route rather than a negative one. Although Midlake took a different approach to its sound on “The Courage of Others,” the character of the band is still felt from beginning to end. The band strayed away from its past sounds, progressing toward a more sophisticated and mature method, but never forgot the aloof, naturalistic form that got it off the ground.
Rapper Lil Wayne attempts ‘Rebirth’ as rock star, fails BY RON JOHNSON Staff Writer
When the self-proclaimed “best rapper alive,” Lil Wayne, announced he was working on a rock album, many people said it made sense. The 27-year-old New Orleans native has expressed his love for rock ‘n’ roll, citing Nirvana and Led Zeppelin as some of his favorite bands. He has flirted with the genre in countless songs, including his multi-platinum album “Tha Carter III.” His infamous lifestyle of sex (he claims he lost his virginity at age 11), drugs (he’s been busted for drug possession numerous times on his tour) and violence (yeah, he’s been shot at, too) also seem to give evidence that the record would solidify Wayne’s transition from rap star to rock star. But “Rebirth” finds Wayne getting close, but not quite close enough. The first track of the album is monotonous and borders on annoying. On “Ground Zero,” his auto-tuned vocals and his forced rock ‘n’ roll “accent” seems out of place over the simplistic guitars and crisp drums. In fact, the song doesn’t seem to be worthy of another play until Wayne starts to do what he does best: rap. It seems that most of the songs on the
album follow this trend. Wayne tries to humor the listener by giving his best impression of a band singer and then thanks the listener for listening by rapping an outstanding verse (“Call me crazy/ But I been called worse/It’s like I have it all/But what’s it all worth?”). One of the most memorable songs on the album, “On Fire,” doesn’t even seem to fit in the album. Producers Cool and Dre sample Amy Holland’s “She’s On Fire,” originally on the “Scarface” movie soundtrack, to make the song sound like a previously unreleased mixtape track. “Drop the World” is found appro-
priately mid-way through the album. It’s the diamond in the rough. Lil Wayne can be heard at his best with verses such as “My word is my pride/But wisdom is bleak/And that’s a word from the wise.” As good as Wayne’s two verses are, Eminem delivers the highlight of the album. The Slim Shady’s rap starts off sorrowful with sentimental acoustics. Marshall Mather’s rap soon boils into complete rage and ends up tearing the song to shreds. The last half of the album takes a turn for the better as Wayne leaves the singing to the professionals like Young Money artists Shannell (“Runnin’”) and
Kevin Rudolf (“One Way Trip”). The last decent song on the album is the Nicki Minaj collaboration “Knockout,” which almost sounds like it could be on a blink-182 record. Nicki Minaj is a rising rap artist, but she suits the punk beat surprisingly well with a hard-hitting verse. When Wayne announced this project, he should have called it “rock-influenced,” because this is
not a true rock album. The beats mesh well with his nasally and cackling raps, but when Wayne tries to play rock star, it’s hard to take him seriously. If Wayne ever wishes to achieve that authentic rock-star status, he might want to try a re-do.
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Friday 2.5.2010
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EntertainmentSCENE
Comedian discusses ‘Important Things’ in life Opinion By A ntonio Nogueras Contributing Writer
Comedian Demetri Martin’s show “Important Things with Demetri Martin� began its second season
Thursday night on Comedy Central. The former “Daily Show� contributor sat down for a conference call with college students from around the country on Monday. Here are his thoughts on film vs. television, his balance of immature and classy humor, and putting the sketch in
sketch comedy. For the latest edition of “Important Things,� the show transported from New York to California, giving Martin a more relaxed approach to the creative process. The comedian compared working on the show to having two final exams every week, one of many scholarly analogies the Yale graduate made throughout the interview. The show balances — though some critics disagree — pre-filmed sketches and stand-up comedy, including some of his doodles. The drawings make up a signature part of his shtick where he brings his more absurd concepts to life (such as a “Paradoxasaur,� a creature that exists only if you don’t believe in it, such as a smart, attractive woman who’s interested in you). In August, Demetri starred in Academy Award-winner Ang Lee’s
“Ta k ing Woodstock,� which focused on the man who brought the concert to upstate New York. The film was met with mixed reviews and burned out quickly at the box office. The season premiere of “Important Things� marks his return to television. He said he prefers the control he has on his show to the pre-written script on film. But he does enjoy having more time to prepare on the set of a film. The second season has a bigger budget and gives him more time for his social life. On the show, he has less time to improvise, which takes him out of his stand-up comfort zone, but he
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Songs About Girls Compiled by Kip Mooney
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�My Girl,� The Temptations �West End Girls,� Pet Shop Boys
�Girls, Girls, Girls,� Jay-Z
Jay-Z - The Blueprint
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�Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl,� Broken Social Scene �A Girl Like You,� The Smithereens
�American Girl,� Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers �Brown-Eyed Girl,� Van Morrison
Photo courtesy of Comedy Central appreciates his niche audience, a more passionate and “intelligent� bunch. Martin, who won a Writers Guild of America award as part of Conan O’Brien’s writing bench, tries to strike a balance between highbrow and lowbrow jokes. Influenced by Monty Python and, more clearly, by the deadpan Steven Wright, Martin does so deftly, alternating more high-concept humor with cheap but hilarious one-liners. Martin originally went to law school after college, but dropped out a year shy of graduation to pursue comedy. From middle school on, he aggressively lobbied for the position of president in clubs to fulfill his love of public speaking. He cited his father, a Greek Orthodox priest, as a major influence on his foray into comedy. In fact, his family has played a significant part in his role as a comedian: his mother and grandmother appeared alongside him in his first Comedy Central special. “Important Things with Demetri Martin� airs at 9 p.m. Thursdays on Comedy Central. To read a Q&A with band Set Your Goals, visit ntdaily.com.