Osprey Spring 2010

Top Places to Have Sex in

Humboldt

Pg. 14

Dangerous Roads of the

Redwoods

Pg. 37

Why Choose

HSU?

Pg. 40

+New Music Aftermath of a

Pg. 7

Quake

FREE

Spring 2010

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Breakfast and Brunch

Salads and Lighter Fare

Build Your Own Panini

Greek Yogurt Parfait with Aunt Whitney’s Granola, Honey & Seasonal Fruit Compte $4.95

Curried Carrot Salad with Winter Greens, Pickled Red Onions, Golden Raisins & Balsamic Glaze $6.95

$7.95 Each

Poached Egg with Arcatian Bacon, Pork-Spiked Hollandaise Sauce & Fresh Herbs Single $5.95 Double $8.95 Spiced Apple Cake with Crystallized Ginger & Caramel Sauce $4.95 Biscuits & Homemade Breakfast Gravy Two $3.95 Three $5.95 Four $6.95

The Belgian Waff les Comes either Sweet or Savory

Lavender with Lemon Zest Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Savory Corn with Chiles Only $7.95

Soup Local, Seasonal, Cockle-Warming Love Cup $3.95 Bowl $5.95

Beverages

House-Brewed Iced Teas $1.95 Ginger-Lemongrass Soda $1.95 Kinetic Koffee 12oz. $1.50 16oz. $1.75 20oz. $2.00

House-Made Quiche du Jour w/o salad $5.95 w/salad $8.95 Farmer-Style County Potato Pie with Roasted Garlic, Herbs & Fromage Blanc w/o salad $5.95 w/salad $8.95 Smokehouse Baked Beans with Caramelized Onions & Pork Shoulder $4.95 Honey-Chili Beet Salad with Smoked Apples, Ethopian Barley, Winter Greens and Toasted Mized Nuts $6.95 Chipotle-Laced Coleslaw $3.95

Breads Whole Wheat Sourdough Walnut-Thyme Olive-Hearb Foccacia Cornbread with Ancho Fillings Smoked Pork Shoulder Braised Lamb Shank Smoked Turkey Sliced Chicken Breast Braised Beef Shortrib Arcatian Bacon Smoked Wild Mushrooms Accessories Chipotle-Laced Coleslaw Caramelized Onions Pickled Reds Onions Braised Greens Slow-Roasted Tomatoes Strip Bacon Bells &Whistles Smoked Tomato-Coriander Sauce Roasted Garli-Sherry Spread Cranberry Churney Curried Yogurt Dressing Barbecue Sauce

This is just a sample of our offerings. Come in for the full spread!

887 H Street Arcata, CA 95521 Right on the Plaza 707.826.0415

Letter from the editor: The Osprey magazine gives students a chance to create a magazine in a “real world” setting. It comes out once a semester, and, while it is primarily for students, we try to reach out as far as we can. To do this, students must work tirelessly to improve the magazine and increase its overall visibility. That’s why this semester we passed out stickers, threw a release party, created a Facebook fan page (become a fan), and redesigned our Web site (visit us at humboldt.edu/ osprey).

In a semester featuring more furloughs, sick students, and protests (see pg.

14), the staff and I worked our asses off to create a magazine that represented the student body of Humboldt State University and the surrounding communities. This issue is dedicated to all of our readers, and a special thanks to Sebastian Arietta, James Murphy, and Kenny Priest for all the extra help.

Enjoy your read,

Matt Hawk

Editor-in-Chief

Madison Dapcevich Managing Editor

Preston Drake-Hillyard Photo Editor

Jenn McElroy Layout Editor

Carly Matson Public Relations

Ashley Ward Copy Editor

Kelly Ackroyd Copy Editor

Alyssa Alvarez Ad Manager

Elizabeth Sorrell Ad Design

Deidra Boyer Distribution/Layout

Ray Lombardi Web Editor

David Dunbar Web Editor

Robert Gluckson Advisor 3

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Writers Monica Brommel

Allison Mayoral

Brandi Fleeks

Bernard Freeman

Haley Nessler

David Percival

Mallory Madison

Jacob Veigel

Photographers

Alex Gautreaux

Layout

Colleen Chalmers

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Tosh Kondo

Breanna Gomez

Nels Ferre

Katherine Monroe

Samantha B. Seglin

Elizabeth Wright

A Body of Work New Music...6 Summer Festival Preview...8 Movies that Flipped the Script...11 Still Capturing Memories...12 Taking a Stand...14 Severing the Financial Cord...16 A Klamath Way of Life...18 Political Puppets...22 When the North Coast Shakes...23 The Art of Tattooing...27 Use Your Hands...32 Crafting a New Legacy...34 Roads of the Redwoods...37 The Sweet Spot...40 Hooked on Humboldt...42 Invisible Disability...45 Life as a Skinny Bitch...48 Simple College Meals..52 The Explosion of Beer Pong...54

A Spin of the Globe...58 Cover design & table of contents by Jenn McElroy.

Staff photos by Samantha B. Seglin.

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New Music Reviews As Tough As Diamonds Words by Matt Hawk

One of the promo photos for the Deftones new album Diamond Eyes.| Courtesy of the Deftones

After another long wait for fans, the Deftones are back with a fire that hasn’t burned since the 90s. There was a time, however, that the band’s future hung in the balance.

In late November 2008, bassist Chi Cheng crashed his car. To this day he is still in a semi conscious state and fighting infections.

“We honestly thought that after this thing happened with Chi, why even carry on?” vocalist Chino Moreno said during America Online’s Creep Show. “But there are some things bigger and better for us, and we were lucky enough to get together and communicate and find something for ourselves.”

After the members of the Deftones made the decision to move forward without their brother, they found Sergio Vega (former bassist for Quicksand) to fill in for Chi. The band scrapped the album they had been working on for the past two years (Eros), hired producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Trivium, Stone Sour), and

KRFH Top Ten Playlist 1. Stylo ­­­− Gorillaz “Plastic Beach” 2. Summer Night − Lil Rob “12 18, Pt.1” 3. SleepyHead − Passion Pit “Chunk of Change EP” 4. Bad Romance − Lady Gaga “The Fame Monster” 5. Uprising − Muse “The Resistance”

in just two months a new record, Diamond Eyes, was complete.

“My favorite record is Around the Fur,” said Moreno.

“This record totally has that feel to it.”

The first tracks combine riffs from the early 90s with the soundscapes offered on the band’s last three albums. Songs like “Royal,” “CMND/CTRL,” and “You’ve Seen the Butcher,” are sure to instill devotion into even the casual listener of the band.

The pace of Diamond Eyes is quick and edgy in the beginning, but lulls you into a false sense of security.

The song “Risk” brings you back with the familiar riffing of guitarist Stephen Carpenter as Drummer Abe Cunningham once again glues all the pieces together.

DJ Frank Delgado adds in the final touches that gives each song depth.

The Deftones new effort does not disappoint, offering fans another album full of soothing savage beauty that it seems like only this band can create.

Radio Free Radio on KRFH.net 6. On Melancholy Hill − Gorillaz “Plastic Beach” 7. Sexy Chick − David Guetta ft Akon “One Love” 8. I Want You To − Weezer “Raditude” 9. HateF@#* − The Bravery “Stir In Blood” 10. You! Me! Dancing! − Los Campesinos “Hold On Now… Youngster”

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Badu Brings Back the Ankh Words by Carly Matson

With a more organic feel, the analog girl is no longer in a digital world. The Queen of Neo Soul redefines the genre once again with her new album New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh). Unlike the digitally and politically focused Part One (4th World War), Erykah Badu’s new album shines light on love, relationships and feelings.

In an interview with Billboard, Badu describes Part Two perfectly, “It feels like a hug.” The first single off the new record, “Window Seat,” is all about escaping the daily grind to focus on your self. Using body beats, a steady snare and a prominent piano underneath Badu’s soulful sound results in a smooth groove.

Badu turns up the funk on “Turn Me Away (Get MuNNy)” with strong bass, drums and a Theremin. The lyrics hover over the problems surrounding money and sex.

Finishing off the album is a 10-minute track with three movements. The first starts off slow and anchored with Badu stating, “I’m a recovering undercover over-lover.”

The final movement “But Not This Time” is Badu’s way of saying she’s done making the same mistakes when it comes to relationships and love. Backed up with a tranquil piano and uplifting echoes, it’s a calming and soft outro to her relatable and uplifting fifth album.

Run Lola Run Keep Up the Pace Words by Breanna Gomez

The lights slowly dim while the buzzing sounds of the Orange amplifiers and the screech of the guitars cause a mosh pit to twitch in excitement. A microphone touches the lips of vocalist Ivon as his words spread across the room like a plague. “We’re Run Lola Run,” he says. Raspy vocals fill the gaps between people and the beautiful harmony between guitars and bass shoots straight to the cerebrum hitting the temporal lobe. All that’s left now is an adrenaline rush.

Since the band’s first show in Eureka back in February 2009, Run Lola Run has made several visits since performing with local bands like Orchastrate The End, Moonlite Serenade and Murder He Wrote. “We plan to have a mini summer tour this year,” said Phil. “We’ll definitely be going up to Humboldt. It’s like our home away from home.”

Run Lola Run is yet to be signed to a record label, yet with such a large fan base on the West Coast, they refuse to sell their souls to the corporate world of

the music industry. “We do it for the music and as of now we’re just trying to have fun,” said guitarist Jesse.

This year is big as they eat, sleep, and record their upcoming album at The Sanctuary RekStudio in Los Angeles. The release date to their sophomore album Sleeping With Medusa, the follow up to the band’s first self-produced album Little High Little Low, is yet to be announced.

While on tour, the six-member band of Ivon, Jesse, Walter(Bass), Alex(Guitar), Isauro(Drums) and Phil(Synth/Keys) gained a larger fan base and debuted a few of their new songs. “I hope our loyal listeners keep on listening because our new album has a different sound,” says lead vocalist Ivon. “Its still Run Lola Run just a little more personal.”

Though its still in the works, Sleeping with Medusa is guaranteed to have the roots of the first self-produced album, but with a poetic twist and play of sound and lyrics. “We’ve been touring for about two years off...and we’ve

Vocalist Ivon and guitarist Alex get into their music.| Breanna Rodriguez-Gomez

grown in the process”, said Phil.

On the Humboldt County trip, “The trip was fuckin’ long, but it was well worth it once we got up there,” answered Walter. “The people were great and the environment at our show was almost as if we had never left [Los Angeles].”

Visit Run Lola Run @ myspace.com/runlolarun

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Summer 2010 Music

Festival Preview Words by Allison Mayoral | Layout by Elizabeth Wright and Madison Dapcevich

It’s summer. School is out, so let the adventures begin.

There is nothing more classic than a road trip and a music festival, so here are some that are worthy of your pressence. Grab some friends, ask your parents for some cash, hop in a car, and don’t forget the sunscreen!

MAYHEM MAYHEMFESTIVAL FESTIVAL

This traveling music festival will offer heavy metal, hardcore and freestyle motocross exhibitions.

Genre: Metal and hard rock

When: July 10 through August 14

Where: At an amphitheater near you

Who: Rob Zombie, Korn, Norma Jean, Five Finger Death Punch,

Atreyu, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, Hatebreed Cost: Depending on the location, around $30-$50 for a day of metal insanity.

WANDERLUST WANDERLUST FESTIVAL FESTIVAL

The combination of a music festival and yoga may seem like a crazy idea but if the backdrop is Lake Tahoe, this may turn out to be a zen filled weekend. Some of the best yoga teachers will be in attendance to show you how to perfect that downward dog pose. Plus Moby will be there to spread some feel good vegan dance vibes.

Genre: Indie electronica with a nice dose of yoga When: July 29 - August 1 Where: Squaw Valley - Lake Tahoe Who: Music: Moby, Brazillian Girls, Pretty Lights, DJ Dragonfly...

Yoga: Shiva Rea, Bar on Baptiste, Seane Corn...

Cost: Three Day Yoga and Music Pass- $375 Four Days - $450

REGGAE REGGAEON ONTHE THE RIVER RIVER

Reggae music and Humboldt County...is there anything else to explain?

Genre: Reggae When: July 17 -18 Where: Benbow Lake State Recreation Area - Humboldt County Who: Roots Underground, Sister Carol and Antibias Afrobeat Orchestra Cost: Weekend Pass - $85

Top Left: Festival goer cools off from the 100 degree heat of Joshua Tree Music Festival.| Preston Drake-Hillyard Middle Left: Dan Herrera helps the “Professor” reach the highest drums in the vendor section.| Samantha B. Seglin Bottom Left: Festival goerscelebrate good times and free love in the summer heat.| Samantha B. Seglin Left: The sun sets behind the Sasquatch Music Festival stage on the Columbia River Gorge.| Hollund Rudolph

THE LILLITH THE LILLITHFAIR FAIR

After an 11-year hiatus, the Lillith Fair will be revived. The all female festival that was founded by Sarah McLachlan in 1997 is back in full force. The lineup is looking pretty stellar, featuring women that are on top of their game. Girl power never sounded so good.

Genre: Girls with guitars When: June-August Where: The traveling festival will make it’s way all over the U.S. Who: Sarah McLachlan, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Sherly Crow, The

Cost: tba

Go-Go’s, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones...

BONAROO BONAROO

Bonnaroo is more than a festival, it really is a lifestyle. Be prepared to stink, be offered countless amounts of drugs and party until Monday morning. It will be an experience you will never forget. You will also never be so happy to see a shower after the four days of tents and portable toilets. But seriously nothing beats listening to music in the humid Tennessee heat.

Genre: A mix of rock and roll and jam bands When: June 10-13 Where: Manchester Tennessee Who: Kings of Leon, Jay-Z, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder, Les Claypol, The Flaming Lips, Weezer, Dave Rawlings Machine, The Avett Brothers...

Cost: 4-Day Pass - $250 - no single tickets - either go big or go home. RV passes - $150.00

SASQUATCH SASQUATCH FESTIVAL FESTIVAL

Location, location, location. The background of the Gorge Amphitheater is the Columbia river flowing through cascading hills. If somehow MGMT can manage to play “Kids” as the sun sets, beautiful chaos will ensue.

Genre: Alternative rock When: May 29-31 Where: The Gorge Amphitheater - George, Washington Who: My Morning Jacket, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Passion Pit, Massive Attack, Public Enemy.

Cost: 3 Day pass - $170 Single day - $70 One price Regular Weekend Camping Pass - $99.00 Spring 2010

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Script

the

Movies that Flipped Words by Mallory Madison Layout by Matt Hawk

C

inema made its mark throughout the past decade. Now, with movies in high-definition 3D and the advent of Blue Ray technology, cinema has reached a new level. Today there are no boundaries when it comes to movies. Here are some films of the last decade, in no particular order, that shook up Hollywood and shattered the constructs of filmmaking.

Avatar (2009)

Gladiator (2000)

What it’s about − A handicapped war veteran (Sam Worthington) is brought to Pandora, a planet populated by the Na’vi, in order to obtain a precious material that is scattered throughout the land. Unfortunately, greed gets the best of this corporate company that has intentions of driving the native people out of Pandora.

Why it’s one of the best − “ It brought up a lot of good environmental issues,” said Humboldt State University Anthropology junior Jasmyn Bragg. "It made me think about the choices I make." Director James Cameron thrilled audiences with a dazzling 3D world that made it worth the most money you have ever spent on a movie.

He topped the box office record set by another movie of his, Titanic. This movie showed filmmakers what is possible in a cinematic world where there are no longer constraints.

What it’s about − After his young son and wife are brutally murdered by a dishonorable prince (Joaquin Phoenix), Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe) seeks bloody revenge and becomes a gladiator.

Why it’s one of the best − On top of winning many awards, including five Oscars, “Gladiator” has one of the best action sequences ever. With intense and very graphic and gory scenes, this movie set the stage for a decade of film that seemed to get bloodier, and bloodier.

Crash (2004) What it’s about? − Racism is present in every personit just takes a certain situation to bring it out. Several stories are mixed in this chaotic web of life in just a twoday period in Los Angeles.

Why it’s one of the best − A very emotional and gripping film that keeps you on edge for the entire movie. It won three Oscars including Best Motion Picture of the Year.

The movie sets the standard in Hollywood for scriptwriters and directors trying to combine the stories of several people into a larger one that unfolds as the movie progresses.

Superbad (2007) What it’s about − Two high school boys (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera) are on a quest to have sex before going to college.

Why it’s one of the best − This movie was simple and ridiculously funny. You get to see what it’s like for young men to crave sex so badly that they literally almost do anything to score. With its frank dialogue, the movie’s quotes jump right out at you.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) What it’s about − In 1944, during the fascist regime, the stepdaughter of a ruthless Spanish army officer runs away and finds herself in an odd and eerie fantasy world.

Why it’s one of the best − This movie won three Oscars including Best Make-up. The imagination of director Guiermo Del Torro vividly portrays the creatures in this movie. “The make-up in this movie was awesome. It also creeped me out a bit,” said Pre-Nursing senior Diana Meza.

www.humboldt.edu/osprey

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Still Capturing

Memories Words and Photos by Breanna Gomez| Layout by Katherine Monroe

Soccer practice takes place in Redwood Bowl.

View from the top of visitor bleachers

Bicycle Learning Center: The dopest place to fix your bike, the BLC is located across from the Hill Dorms and The Depot.

W

hen Polaroid introduced the Land Camera to the public in the 1950s it was an immediate sensation. People enjoyed seeing their photographs shortly after taking them, and it offered instant memorabilia of shared moments with loved ones.

The invention of instant cameras is credited to American scientist Edwin Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation. He invented the first commercial instant camera – the Land Camera – in 1947.

Though Land invented the camera, it was his daughter Jennifer Land who developed the idea when she asked why she couldn’t see the photographs of her family vacation instantly.

Unfortunately, on February 2008, Polaroid announced that it would stop production of instant cameras and film, causing a huge meltdown of loyal and enthusiastic Polaroid influenced photographers.

As a result, camera manufactures and suppliers boosted up the prices of their limited supply of Polaroid’s instant film. Prices range from $40-50.

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Inside of KRFH Radio Booth located in Gist Hall.

Little did we know, Fujifilm had its own line of instant cameras being sold in Japanese and Asian markets.

In October 2009, Fujifilm introduced the United States to their instant camera model Instax 210 along with a new Polaroid Film Wide format. The Fuji Instax 210 boasts wide photo format and retro vibrant colors, so every snap gives instant delivery of photos that have that classic Polaroid feel we all know and love. Polaroid Corporation isn’t far behind with their innovative digital instant camera – the Polaroid PoGo. It combines a borderless 2x3 built in printer with a digital camera that is targeted at younger generations.

Instant retro photos are fun to snap and watch develop. It doesn’t need to have a specific subject.

It’s more about the excitement as the photographer to see what you took and what cool effect occurred when taking the photo. With that said, I decided to go around campus and do just that…capture a few HSU memories.

Humboldt Bay view photographed from the top of Founder Hall steps.

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The band Montuckey performs on the HSU Center Quad Vertical Captions:

1. Student Artwork

displayed in HSU’s Art building.

2. Vibrant

rhododendron flowers located around campus.

3. Students practice slacklining skills outside of Seimens Hall

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Spring 2010

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Taking A Stand

Students seize the capital

By Preston Drake-Hillyard and Tosh Kondo On March 22, 2010, 15,000 people gathered in Sacramento to rally against higher education budget cuts. Protesters marched to the Capitol under the watchful eyes of motorcycle and mounted police.

Then students, legislators, and faculty members spoke from the Capitol’s east steps about how to save California’s colleges. Despite emotions running high, the protest remained peaceful.

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the

Severing

Cord

Financial

Words by Madison Dapcevich| Layout by Nels Ferre| Cartoon by Seb Arrietta

S

ocial Work sophomore Ian MacKelvie is a full-time student with a part-time job.

He gets through school with subsidized loans and government financial aid. MacKelvie knows first hand the importance of financial independence.

“It’s important to be financially secure in this society because money is the primary foundation for being able to function within it,” says MacKelvie.

Easier says than done. Money can be a pain in the ass. Debt, credit, interest and savings – the jargon goes on and on and it’s meaning is lost to most.

The habits you establish in college will carry into the future.

That means blowing $7 for a slice of pepperoni and a beer at Big Pete’s won’t always be the most economically savvy meal choice. But we’re in college so it’s acceptable, right?

Wrong. The U.S. is having a hard time economically.

Last December California unemployment was at 12.4 percent and it’s only expected to increase.

Don’t forget about school either. Budget cuts have already 17 16

resulted in 30 percent tuition increase last fall – full-time undergraduate fees went up from $3,354 to $4,026 for instate students, while out-of-state tuition went from $10,170 to $11, 160, the first increase since the 2004-05 school year So now, possibly more than ever, it is important to gain financial footing and prepare for the future. Creating a personal budget may sound intimidating but it could be one of the most crucial things in a young adult’s life. It can be done following three easy steps.

Assess Finances

First, figure out the inflow.

Think about how much money is in the bank including checking and savings accounts along with any sellable bonds or stocks.

Add to this amount any monthly

parental contributions. Don’t forget about the job you work so hard for.

Now it may appear you’re rolling in the dough until you take into account expenses. Tuition and fees, rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, gas, parking permits and the list goes on!

Remember that road trip to San Francisco? That counts too. Bear in mind any fun money you spend including concerts, movies, cigarettes, booze, clothing shopping – and pray to the maker that the outflow doesn’t exceed the in.

Determine how much money is spent a month by saving receipts and averaging them over a 12-month period.

Set Financial Goals

Next, it’s time to set financial goals. There are three types:

Ideally, if you can’t pay it, don’t owe it.

Business Administration major Peter Loeber short term, medium term and long term. Right now your biggest concern may be an upcoming concert but keep in mind that some day a new car might be in the picture.

“The earlier you start a credit or financial portfolio of yourself, the earlier loans, and houses become more possible and easier to grasp,” says Peter Loeber, full-time Business Administration junior and parttime bank teller. “Throughout college you should have one or two credit cards depending on income sources for paying them back.” Always pay at least the minimum payment per month and make sure to use cards strictly for the necessities. The faster debt is paid off the better the credit score.

So, imagine you’ve taken two credit cards and maxed out both.

Debt collectors are circling like vultures and all seems hopeless.

Loeber advises students who can’t make their minimum payments to seek help right away, either from the credit card company or bank itself.

Student loans offer a great source of money and often have a six-month grace period between graduation and payments. When it comes to paying off a student loan interest is taken just once of the lump sum rather than multiple interest payments.

“Ideally, if you can’t pay it, don’t owe it,” says Loeber.

Prioritize

Be honest when it comes to prioritizing. Separate the wants from the needs in order to meet monthly expenditures. Take control of finances and don’t let money rule you.

Be frugal. The best way to save your money is to learn how to get the best bargain, cut coupons, and know when something is not needed.

As a student debt is almost inevitable. With all the costs of living on your own without the comfort of steady income, student loans seem unavoidable, and getting out of debt is easier said than done. Department of Economics Chair Professor Erick Eschker offers some advice on how to dig yourself out of a deep debt hole.

“You must save and paying off debt counts as saving,” says Eschker. “The best strategy is to

pay off the high-interest loans first, typically credit cards. Pay off as much as you can. Student loans can typically be paid off last.” When you spend, only spend what you can afford. It may seem obvious but be sure not to let that new pair of jeans tempt you.

Growing up can be hard and the burden of money only makes it more difficult. Yet, with the right tools and knowledge you can make life easier and more financially comfortable for yourself and family.

“College students need to cut the umbilical cord,” says MacKelvie. “Every kid should get a job even if their life is run by their parents. It will provide them with some leverage.”

Remember there are several tools to better understand finances. The government offers many programs and grants to help further student education while the university has a Financial Aid office located in the SBS building.

Internet Scholarship Sites www.studentaid.ed.gov

www.scholarshipexperts.com www.collegeboard.com www.petersons.com www.supercollege.com

HSU Searchable Scholarship Engine:

FAFSA www.fafsa.ed.gov

www.humboldt.edu/banserv/finaid/schol.pl www.fastweb.com

Financial Aid Office (707) 826-4321

For a complete list of grants, campus-based aid and loans visit:

Spring 2010

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Words and Layout by Colleen Chalmers

Top: The Klamath River on the Yurok Reservation in Klamath, Calif.| Samantha B. Seglin Right: “Big Rock,” a traditional watering hole along the Klamath River.| Samantha B. Seglin

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he people who live along the Klamath River remember when the salmon were so abundant that the waters were crowded. But dams have so reduced the water—and the fish—that neighbors along the river can’t hear the water from a quarter mile away.

In the battle over water resources, hydroelectric dam owners, upriver farmers, and sport fishermen have all claimed rights over the river. Meanwhile, the Native Americans who have lived downstream for thousands of years find their way of life

threatened and their food supply devastated. Just this year, an eventual solution may have been agreed upon—begin tearing down the Klamath River dams.

Mavis McCovey, a medicine woman of the Karuk tribe, was born in the 1930s and grew up along the river. She remembers standing on a bridge overlooking the water, watching the salmon swim by. “You could stand there for hours when the salmon were running...the whole bottom of the river was black with salmon. They went on

It’s our way of life.

Mavis McCovey for days.” That was during her childhood up through her 20s.

The salmon are not healthy or abundant anymore—they haven’t been since the 1960s when the Iron Gate Dam was constructed, which is the southernmost of the hydroelectric dams built along the Klamath. “Now you’ll only see one or two if you’re lucky,” adds Mavis McCovey’s daughter, Beavi McCovey of the Yurok tribe.

Mavis McCovey grew up in Orleans. Throughout her childhood, she trained as a medicine woman for her tribe.

She went to the College of the Redwoods and worked as a community health representative and a nurse, while raising a family with her husband. In 2009, still living in Orleans, Mavis McCovey shared her story and co-authored an autobiographical book with John Salter, an anthropologist who focuses on issues regarding the Klamath River, among other tribal, cultural, political and environmental projects. Their book Medicine Trails is published

by Heyday Books.

There are three major Humboldt County tribes sustained by the Klamath River: Karuk, Yurok, and Hupa. The river originates in Klamath Lake in Oregon and runs southwest through California into Humboldt County. “At its healthiest, it once

had the third highest salmon population in the California river system,” reports Sara Borok, an associate fisheries biologist working at the California Department of Fish and Games.

The Karuk people consider the river to be their livelihood.

Mavis McCovey says that when they pray, they first pray for the river and the fish, and then for the people. Salter says, for thousands of years, salmon have allowed the Karuk and other tribes to store a supply of food, which will last them through the winter and allow living in fixed villages. Their way of life has been drastically altered due to the dams along the river and the laws that limit fishing, he says.

Honoring salmon is a sacred part of life for the Karuk. Mavis McCovey and her family fished for

Spring 2010

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All my life, growing up, I’ve always been able to hear it. I can’t sit here and hear the river anymore. salmon each fall and spring when the river was a productive body of water. “The greatly reduced number of fish affects the spiritual ceremonies that celebrate the relationship between the fish and the people,” Salter explains.

Iron Gate Dam sits 190 miles up the river, where it blocks access for salmon to swim over 100 more miles. Confining the salmon to only 190 miles of river prohibits them from properly migrating.

Borok says that juvenile salmon are physiologically supposed to make it to the ocean to mature before returning to the Klamath to spawn.

Due to the lack of water coming through the Iron Gate Dam, there is often not enough water to provide a high enough flow for the salmon to reach saltwater. When it comes time for the mature salmon to return from the Pacific Ocean, they have a nearly impossible time getting back nto the river to spawn, as the water level is too low and too warm.

That struggle to migrate often proves to be fatal. “When there is low water, the fish get congested into pools and just like kids in a kindergarten class, disease spreads rapidly,” Borok says.

Salter says the Klamath heating up is due to the dams, as they do not allow the flow of water that rivers are naturally inclined to ex21 20

hibit. The warmer stagnant water greatly degrades the entire river.

Salmon need cooler temperatures to survive, and Borok says that salmon will generally be unable to migrate upstream when the temperature reaches 72 degrees.

Mavis McCovey recalls, “It used to be so cold, you might spend about five Mavis McCovey in front of her home in Orleans, Calif. She minutes in there.” lives less than a quarter mile away from the river and can no longer hear it.| Colleen Chalmers Beavi McCovey says, “Now you can spend a whole afternoon.”

Salter explains.

The Klamath has For the Karuk, Yurok and Hupa long been a battlefield for a fight over water resources and salmon people, it is not about money. It is about the dams killing the river rights. For many years, the battle and their way of life. “We’ve got has raged between farmers who to tear them down as fast as posneeded more water, other fishersible,” Beavi McCovey says, “The men who wanted full range of river’s got to flow.” the river, and Native Americans Just this year, things may have fighting for the salmon and the changed.

On Feb. 18, 2010, Caliprosperity of their river. For much fornia Governor Arnold Schwarof the duration of the battle, the zenegger, Oregon Governor Ted upper basin where the farmers Kulongoski and Secretary of the reside received the most allotment of water for irrigation, Borok Interior Ken Salazar signed the Klamath River Basin Agreement. says, with much of the lower PacifiCorp Chief Executive Officer basin being ignored.

The dams are owned by one of Greg Abel and Yurok and Karuk tribal chairmen were also particithe world’s richest men, Warren pants in signing agreements to Buffett, a billionaire investor. He get rid of the dams, eventually. owns PacifiCorp utility, where the The first dam may come down energy from the hydroelectric in ten years. Should all the dams dams is allocated. “Buffett is be demolished, it would be the after all a businessman,” says largest dam removal in history, Salter. PacifiCorp doesn’t want to Salter says. Borok explains that lose the revenue they make from their electricity. Another huge fac- the agreements brought “many folks who would never sit in a tor is the cost of dam demolition and debris removal, which in total room together before” to actually begin working towards somefor all the dams is estimated to be in excess of one billion dollars, thing, though she does know

The Iron Gate Dam squats 190 miles up the river, blocking off much of the water downstream.| Samantha B. Seglin

that the necessary funding is not really in place.

Local videographer Thomas Dunklin, with a background in geology and fisheries restoration, produces documentary video on salmon issues. His work about the Klamath River is intended to translate and visualize the issues for decision makers and tribal members. Dunklin was present for the signing of the agreements. “It’s a huge step forward.”

There is now a willingness to work together that was not there before, he explains, and that before the agreement was signed, the expected time to begin taking out the dams was never.

Not everyone shares his hope.

Beavi McCovey says her brother thinks the river’s already dead.

Starting dam demolition in 10 years is too long to wait, Beavi McCovey says, and compromising is not good enough anymore. “If

we compromise one more time, it’s just giving up.”

“The river could heal itself, and it would bring back healthier fish and they would be able to spawn better, and there would be more fish, but I don’t think it will ever get back to what it was when I was a child,” admits Mavis McCovey. But she does know it is not too late to save the Klamath. Mavis McCovey feels that the dam removal would stop the deterioration of the river, but that it needs to be done right now in order to save the river and the salmon population. “The river does heal itself, there is clean and pure water coming into it, so it can get better.”

As smoked salmon is served, Mavis McCovey emphasizes how much their life is centered around the river. “Life didn’t change that much. It’s changed drastically from the way we live and the way we think, but the river hasn’t changed. It’s still our center,” she says, “It’s our way of life.”

Living less than a quarter mile from the river, the McCovey family can no longer hear the sound of the water from their home. The deterioration of the river has altered the flow of water so drastically that it no longer sounds like a river. Beavi McCovey explains that when they make up songs and dances, “we go and sit by the water and the song comes to us.” Natives that rely on the river to sustain their way of life can no longer hear the river’s song. “I miss the river. I’ve always been able to hear it,” Beavi McCovey says, “I can’t sit here and hear the river anymore.”

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P olitical Puppet s (and the coporations who buy and sell them)

Opinion and Layout by Matt Hawk

Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people’s masters.

-- Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States

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here are those in America who have always felt that the people do not control the country. Sure, we elect officials to office, but who runs this place. It is no secret that corporations have always funded political campaigns in order to tug a few political strings in their favor, but there was always a limit on the amount of money corporations could contribute.

On Jan. 21, 2010, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates by allowing unlimited campaign contributions from corporate entities. The Supreme Court’s supreme logic − corporations are set up as individuals so they have the First Amendment right of free speech to funnel as much money as they want into the shifting winds of politics.

Now corporations don’t even have to contribute money to a campaign to influence it, says David Cobb, the campaign director for Democracy Unlimited Humboldt County. “They can just threaten to give money to someone else who will play by their rules,” he says. With this new pound of the gavel, the court has essentially legalized corporate bribery.

A former Green Party candidate in the 2004 presidential race, Cobb says corporations are not humans and they don’t have inherent and inaliable rights. So why do we put up with them? Well, it’s simple − corporations run our lives. When America first set up corporate charters it did so with strict 22

regulations focusing on the protection of the public interest. Over time, regulations were stripped away, and in 1819, the courts gave corporations the gift of immortality and individuality.

Today, corporate culture permeates every corner of America turning its citizens into consumption junkies, and that is how it has been for a while. Lobbyists ride around Washington with one thumb up a company’s ass and another up a politician’s, and we are sick of it.

There is a little bit of a silver lining to this shitcovered storm unleashed by the Supreme Court.

Now that we can see exactly who is pulling the strings and how hard, we can fight back. We can fight back by not voting for politicians who take corporate campaign contributions. We can fight back by using our voice and writing letters to the editors of our local newspapers, or calling into our local radio station. We can fight back by supporting and amendment to the constitution that strips corporations of their individual rights.

There is a national reaction being led out of Humboldt by Cobb and Democracy Unlimited. Call him at 707.269.0984 and join the folks at movetoamend.org. Cobb calls this one of those clarifying moments in U.S. history. “You have to ask yourself ‘Which side am I on?’ Most agree this [Supreme Court] decision is a bad one.”

A Look Back at the Eureka Earthquake

Words by David Percival Layout by Katherine Monroe

The Eureka Bar and Grill sustained so much damage in the earthquake it became a safety hazard. The building was scheduled for demolishion until historic building renovator Kurt Kramer purchased it with a plan to give it new life.| Alex Gautreux

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s Lizz Nestler assisted an elderly couple at Bath & Body Works in Eureka’s Bayshore Mall, she had no idea that the forces below her feet were about to reawaken from some kind of geologic hibernation. “I heard a boom and for a split second I thought it was thunder or somebody driving into the mall,” recalls Nestler, the store’s co-manager. “Then the second part came and it was like being on a boat, a very unsteady wave.” With a barrage of glass products hurdling to the floor around her, Nestler’s leadership reaction kicked in and her main concern became the welfare of employees and customers.

Thirty seconds of intense shaking later, her and everyone else on the North Coast had just experienced what would soon become collectively known as the “6.5 Eureka Earthquake.”

That was Jan. 9, 2010. Nestler can still vividly

recall the frightening moment when everything started shaking. “It was a very stressful situation.

I’m from Wisconsin, so I can see a tornado coming or feel the weather change hot or cold,but this was just a normal Saturday.” Fortunately, she made it out unscathed and the store has since rebounded fast, despite a considerable list of damaged products including broken candles and shattered lotion bottles. The store’s floor is still in the process of being replaced after oil-based products damaged it beyond repair.

Other businesses across Eureka have also cleaned up relatively quickly in the months following the earthquake. Ken Norman’s Old Town Antique Lighting could have suffered much more damage than it received considering that his business is housed in unreinforced masonry. “There were www.humboldt.edu/osprey

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Left: Most of the buildings in the earthquake survived suffering only minor damage.| Alex Gautreux Right: Some, like this house on Humboldt Hill, didn’t fare so well.|Yelena Kisler

sounds of smashing glass, and the chandeliers (all hanging 7 feet, from a 14-foot ceiling) were swinging wildly together in conflicting waves, knocking into each other like a turbulent sea in a storm,” he recalls. Miraculously, of the many antique glass shades on his hanging chandeliers, only one broke. Norman estimates that his business suffered only about $1500 of damage. He still needs to have several broken windowpanes repaired, as well as a crack in the plaster ceiling, but to walk into his shop today is to hardly believe that a powerful earthquake ever hit.

We can’t discuss earthquake activity without considering the invaluable role of Dr. Lori Dengler, professor and chair of the Humboldt State University Geology Department and ultimate local 25 24

Wanna know more about earthquakes on the North Coast?

Visit HSU’s Shaky Ground Web site humboldt.edu/shakyground authority on all things quake and tsunami. Recognized internationally for her contributions to the study of seismic hazards and mitigation, Dengler’s interest in the subject is contagious if not a bit reassuring. She believes that while it’s important to prepare for the next big one, it’s also important to remember that the vast majority of local buildings were built with quakes in mind. “I’m not too worried,” says Dengler.

“The fact of the matter is that the way our buildings are constructed

means they do really well in strong ground shaking.” Although the area suffered considerable economic damage, overall we have been very fortunate, she said. “We had more than $20 million worth of damage, but no catastrophic collapse, just chimneys down and houses off foundations,” says Dengler.

Among the structures in downtown Eureka that didn’t fare so well in the shaking is the historic Eureka Bar and Grill. It’s one thing to read articles and see photographs of the long derelict building, but to visit it in person is something else. Looking at the faded, indecipherable painted lettering and the three floors of weathered red brick where touches of emerald green moss flourish atop mortar, it is hard to deny the inexplicable charm

A few of the most damaged structures in Eureka: • Old Town Bar and Grill • The marquee on the historic Eureka Theater • Bayshore Mall • Lloyd Building • Eureka Post Office • An apartment building on H Street of the 100-year-old structure. It adds some kind of necessary aura of mystery and importance to this town. But then a bright orange sign catches your eye.

“Caution Hard Hat Area,” the sign reads.

A clean, well-dressed man steps out from the interior of the building. His name is Kurt Kramer and as a historic building renovator he is the guy responsible for sparing the local landmark from all but certain demolition after its unstable state was deemed too dangerous to be left standing. “We have a roof that is a mess; we need to patch holes in the grout. There is a lot of technical detail involved at this stage,” says Kramer. But he and his crew of architects and engineers are up for the job. “This is certainly a building that can be salvaged. Right now we’re doing clean up, drawing plans, and making discoveries. I just walked into a room that I didn’t even know existed.”

Perhaps few people have followed the news on the Eureka Bar and Grill more closely than Monica Gawera. After all her business, the

Rustic West Trading Co., sits in the shadow of the neglected landmark. “We were closed for 29 days and the building was red-tagged because of the proximity to the Bar and Grill,” says Gawera.

In those 29 days, the Bar and Grill’s fate was yet to be determined, as was a date when the Rustic West Trading Co. could be allowed to resume operation.

While 507 pieces of pottery and ceramics broke in the quake, the major problem was the lengthy closure of the business. “Loss of income from that time was the worst thing. We have 21 vendors, a few are retired and it’s their only income,” says Gawera. Only recently have they been given the go ahead to open shop again, making them among the last local businesses to bounce back.

Gawera remains optimistic about the future and is grateful for the support of loyal customers and nearby businesses.

With all the talk of quake-related damage in Eureka, it’s easy to wonder how HSU and surrounding community fared so well and whether the area is safe in the event of future seismic activity.

One important reason Arcata buildings performed especially well is due to their distance from the more intense ground shaking in Eureka, but HSU director of Plant Operations Tim Moxon reveals why campus buildings fare well in earthquake country. “The CSU has a seismic review board that has surveyed all of the campus buildings and modeled several of them. These seismic models include the use of computers to analyze how structures react in an earthquake with ground movement in differ-

ent planes. “Over the years we have done a number of seismic upgrade projects on campus to address the most worrisome dangers, including retrofitting Siemens Hall and Harry Griffith Hall by strengthening concrete pillars and shear walls.” The campus owns no unreinforced masonry structures like those found in Old Town Eureka. According to Moxon, no windows broke and what little damage existed was restricted to books tumbling from shelves in the library.

The Eureka Earthquake got everyone’s attention, rattled nerves, and tossed stuff around. It serves as an essential reminder to the full potential of our seismically active region. Are we in store for a more devastating earthquake in the future, one that could truly bring this county to its knees?

Professor Dengler believes that depends on the willingness of communities to prepare for such disasters. “Know what to do during an earthquake – drop, cover, and hold-on if you’re indoors. Secure your space and reduce hazards,” says Dengler, “and know if you live, work, or play in a tsunami hazard zone. If you do, the ground shaking is your warning to evacuate.”

+Emergency preparedness kit • Canned foods and a can opener • Necessary medication • Flashlights/lanterns and batteries • Bottled water • Sturdy shoes • Thermal blankets • Protective outer clothes • Sleeping Bag Spring 2010

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•Glass Art • Hookahs •Vaporizers • Clothing •Disc Golf Accessories •Local Glass Pieces

HUMBOLDT GLASSBLOWERS

INC. NOW IN TWO LOCATIONS Arcata

815 9th Street 822-7420 26

Eureka

214 E Street Old Town

Artist and owner of Ink Addiction James Kerr tattoos a traditional Mexican sugar skull for client MartÍn Pińeros.| Samantha B. Seglin

Words by Jacob Veigel | Layout by Deidra Boyer

I always wanted to do art for a living and this was the only art form I could stomach the rest of my life.

Tattoo Artist Travis Thompson

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attoos have always been used for cultural identification, or worn by sailors and the outcasts of society. Recently, tattooing has become more recognized as an art form and is used by many for self-expression.

Lydia Leblanc and Damien DeNolf own local Arcata tattoo shop Ancient Art. DeNolf has

been in the tattoo industry for 17 years and his wife Leblanc for almost six years. DeNolf, born in Wisconsin, left home at the age of 15 to join a traveling carnival. This is when he began to get tattooed. The carnival was his first exposure to tattoos. He found his way into the business by working at tattoo expos where he met many well-known artists.

Leblanc is from Montreal, Canada, and received her Ph. D in Women’s Studies from Emory University, in Atlanta. She collected tattoos throughout her life and eventually got her apprenticeship in Southern California. The first tattoo she got was a bat about the size of a quarter. She walked into the tattoo shop and 27

Tattoos keep me in touch with reality.

Duke Austill asked for a spider on her shoulder. When she explained all she had was twenty dollars, they said, “You only enough for one of these bats,” and they pointed to the wall. When she returned home her mom didn’t believe it and began trying to rub it off.

DeNolf and Leblanc say they feel rewarded by tattooing, especially when they give a customer that perfect tattoo. “It is the best when the client comes in with an idea and

comes back to see what I have drawn up, and it is exactly what they had envisioned or dreamed about.”

One of the most memorable tattoos that DeNolf performed was a simple rose on the arm of an 80-year-old woman. “The woman came in and explained to me that she always said she would get a tattoo and was now going through with it,” he says. “You could tell she was just checking one off her bucket list.”

The art of tattooing is one of the fastest growing art forms. Historians trace tattooing back to ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. Some tattoos date back to around 5000 years ago. According to

Artist Ewok Loktree at Ink Addiction works on the outline of an ornamental design.| Samantha B. Seglin 28

Merriam-Webster, the word “tattoo” entered into English usage in 1777; it meant inked images in skin. In 1769, Captain James Cook recorded the word ‘tatau’ in his diary while he was on an expedition in the South Pacific. The Tahitian word ‘tatau’ meant to mark or strike.

Travis Thompson is a 24-year-old tattoo artist originally from San Diego. He mainly works in Portland, and his shop, Jackalope Custom Tattoo, is located next to the famous Burnside Skate Park. He got his first tattoo of a Christ fish on the inside of his lip at the age of 16 in his friend’s garage. He became so intrigued with the art form he began tattooing at the age of 17.

“I always wanted to do art for a living and this was the only art form I could stomach the rest of my life.” He believes that this passion for this art form came from his biker dad and surfer uncle, who each had several tattoos. Their positive outlook on tattoos may have shaped him in to the artist he is today. After seven years in the industry, Thompson’s body is almost completely covered with tattoos.

Some he regrets, mainly the tattoos of girl’s names.

A few years ago Thompson performed his most memorable tattoo at a tattoo convention. It was a full chest piece, but it was not the tattoo itself that was special to him. It was the fact that he collaborated with two other artists

over a period of six hours.

In front of a tattoo shop in San Diego, cigarette butts litter the ground and overflow the ashtray in the corner. A red and blue florescent sign says ‘Tattoos,’ and hangs in the front window. Several people outside smoking, most of them covered with an array of tattoos.

Some have skulls or skeletons, and others have portraits of people and intricate scenes of the ocean. Once in the front door, the walls have several paintings – to the left, a huge portrait of a giant Octopus, to the right are two smaller pictures of Frankenstein and a painting of a heart wrapped in razor wire.

Inside the tattoo shop, Duke Austill yells out, “Hey Travis!” Back home in San Diego for a few days, Thompson emerges from one of the back rooms. He greets Austill with a handshake and says to follow him back to his office. Inside are murals of various green monsters and a big painting of a giant red octopus underwater.

Hanging on each side of the octopus are pictures of past tattoos. One is a portrait of Bob Marley and the other of Bruce Lee, both of which done on a rib cage. Among the clutter is a certified health certificate from the California Health Services. According to the California Health and Safety Code, all artists must register with the county health department.

Also, the facility must be inspected and pass health code.

Austill is a 22-year-old student at California State University of San Marcos in San Diego.

His tattoo collection covers his upper arms, each leg, and rib cages. His last name arches over his belly button and across his stomach.

Austill believes that tattoos give him reference points for his life. “I get them because if it is something that means this much to me now, I can only imagine what it is going to mean to me down the road. It keeps me grounded in what’s important. Tattoos keep me in touch with reality,” says Austill. “Each one of my tattoos means something to me. The majority of the people out there only get inked because they think it makes them look “cool,” that’s why you see so many barbed wire arm bands and other things of that nature.”

Bizzzzzzzzz, bizz, bizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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Left: Duke Austill shows off his Bob Marley tattoo. Today tattoos are a form of art and culture.| Courtesy of Travis Thompson Right: Like any artform, tattoo artists have a set of tools to craft their work. | Elizabeth Sorrell

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Thompson’s heart rate begins to rise in anticipation as he plugs his tattoo gun in. Trendy rock music plays while he covers his table that holds his ink with plastic wrap. He lays out several small cups to hold the different colors of ink, and then he starts to squirt black ink into two of them and fills the rest of them with a variety of different colors. Reaching into a drawer he pulls out a container of Vaseline and scoops a big blob with his fingers.

In one swift motion he slaps it down next to the ink. He takes a bottle filled with half water and half alcohol and starts to spray down the chair to prepare for the next client.

Using a generic stick of deodorant, Thompson

takes a stencil of three sea turtles riding a wave that is drawn on ink paper and sticks it to Austill’s body. When he pulls it off an ink outline of the tattoo is left for him to follow. The biggest turtle represents Austill, and the two smaller turtles his nephews.

After a quick look in the mirror to make sure placement is right, Austill sits in the chair and waits anxiously to begin.

Then the bizzzzzzz, bizzzzz of the tattoo gun starts again. The needles get closer to his skin and Austill’s anticipation peaks. Then it happens, the needles puncture his skin and as the artist drags the tattoo gun across his skin. As endorphins rush through Austill’s entire body, he closes his eyes and prepares for the pain-filled journey ahead.

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Photo by Allyson Riggs & Nicole Jean Hill

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Use Your Hands

Look at your hands. Trace the lines of your palm into your fingerpringts, the only ones like them. We are all unique individuals and our hands are proof. We use them every day. Some of us use our hands to build instruments, while others use them to create art.

The U.S. Census states that Humboldt County is home to more artists per capita than anyother county in California. Brian Sproul was one of those artists. After surviving a car crash with a drunken motorist, Sproul spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair using his hands to trash andrepedit trinketsestium, into sculptures.

Dubbed Horrible Spiders Gallery Berum exerspedtransform estissim sit fugitin explibustio ea qui The as duntur anit perio et, etTatin utArcata, quid est latibus, nonseque sus, Sproul filled his house from floor to ceiling with his maniacal creations.

His art captivates youripsum corepuditam enaut pellant laut ullandis quunt que doluptate offic tem volorescit, sed ea commo officto conseque sequistia cus, senses by cultivating a wild sense of imagination in every detail. dus evel inum nobitat usant, officipsunt moloreium iderfer ionsequi doloria derchilicid qui a dolut isin coribus, omnis ipsam, ut volentibus In April 2008, Sproul died left the full contents of tatiosae his house to eos the Art Department of quiamusam eate doluptior molum is ullanditat eum eatem et, ullenimi, quidand minullo reperume volupta con esecuptur sundeli Humboldt State University where most of it will live on through future exhibits. aut pa voluptaecat reraecuptas ilisquid et ut aped eos ad que volorum litiore perores ditatqui tem ut maio earunti umquibus, idia sit id Sproul's imagination love for creation lives on past continues to show usre, illam aut as exerovit ut etur aut et vidit eatem sin reicae.

To estiand simin cumquae que modiam quoshis iumdeath eum and untur aut laborumquodi what is possible when we use our hands. reptas sum il mo doluptatia ipsant.

Working With Our Hands

Crafting a New American Legacy Words by Bernard Freeman | Layout by Madison Dapcevich and Elizabeth Wright

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History of an Iconic Sound

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banjo rests on Ian Davidson’s lap as he plays through the old tune Foggy Mountain Breakdown in his home in Manila. The wood finish, curves and pearl fret markers retell a song first written in 1949. Davidson has been a professional banjo maker in Humboldt County for most of the last decade, but this particular banjo is his. It’s an acoustic/electric hybrid and it sounds wonderful.

While most banjos are designed for the picking sound made popular in the film Deliverance, the open-ended possibilities beyond the common conception of the instrument are the inspiration behind Davidson and his friend Colin Vance’s woodshops.

The 32-year-old Davidson crafts banjos with a progressive player in mind. The frustration of using a mic on his banjo during live performances inspired him to create his acoustic/electric hybrids. They feature electric guitar pickups and wiring, yet his instruments remain loud and tonal enough to be played acoustically. “It was mostly a result of me wanting a certain kind of instrument that didn’t exist,” says Davidson.

Plugged into a guitar amp, his banjos leave behind many of the troubles with microphones, lousy PA systems and sloppy sound technicians without an acoustic background. By avoiding the

The banjo has crafted its own American legacy through various genres, performers and styles of production. It maintains a symbolic link to Appalachian culture, yet its sound and structure originates in Africa. Slave ships brought five-stringed hallowed out gourds to America in the seventeenth century, but it wasn’t until the 1840s with Virginianative Joe Walker Sweeney that it became popular in performance.

Taking the instrument and influence from the slaves that his father owned, Sweeney toured the United States and Europe in the 1840s. He dyed his face black with shoe-polish or burnt cork and played old-time banjo in minstrel performances.

Minstrel performances lost marketability after the Civil War but in the late 18th Century the banjo became one of the largest retail instrument in the country. Musicians began to incorporate its sound into jazz and classical styles. The old-time music that Sweeney popularized found a national audience through the emergence of radio.

Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys established a presence among the emerging sounds of the Nashville radio program The Grand Ole Opry. In 1945, Monroe hired North Carolina banjo player Earl Scruggs.

Scruggs’ popularized a three-finger picking style of quick notes with little sustain that defined banjos sound for many listeners. The 1972 release of Deliverance, featuring an inbred boy playing a banjo with Scruggs’s picking style, married the banjo’s persona to bluegrass culture.

Ian Davidson works on sculpting the body to one of his hybrid electric/acousitc banjos. With the exception of the fretboard, Davidson crafts his banjos straight from scratch including the wiring and hardware as well as final coat of finish. | Tosh Kondo

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all the woodwork himself. He adds the wiring and knobs along with the final process of wood finishing.

“I don’t want to corner myself into a place where I have to make a whole bunch of mediocre stuff,” says Davidson about his banjos.

Each banjo’s appearance is defined by the choice of wood.

His black korina banjo highlights the dark grooves from in the wood.

It sits comfortably Colin Vance reaches to close the banjo case.| Tosh on his lap with a Kondo rest for his right knee, closer to an I don’t want electric guitar thanthe typically circular banjo. A slightly amber to corner ash wood banjo standing on the wall has the uncommon myself into a characteristic of a hollow-body place where I frame with a sound hole like an acoustic guitar. have to make a Davidson’s electric banjo carves its own niche making whole bunch of its marketability weighted on potential buyers trusting the mediocre stuff. concept and the craftsman.

Ian Davidson After a year of self-employment, use of an instrument microphone building his shop and defining his tone, Davidson plans to sell he can play with a drummer the finished products under Ian without feedback, apply effects Davidson Instruments. Much of pedals, and adjust his volume. his success will rely on marketing He uses one of his creations as a to a crowd interested in the member of the Humboldt County electric banjo’s conveniences. gypsy-jazz act, The Absynth But with most independent Quintet. artisans producing bluegrass With the exception of the banjos, he stands alone in initial fret board, Davidson does

handcrafted hybrids.

Fellow banjo maker Vance rents out the extra workshop on Davidson’s property. After quitting Wildwood Music in 2007, 28-year-old Vance found success in creating a banjo with an open back and goatskin head that provided a resonating old-time sound. He has already made a name for himself in the banjo community.

Without the bluegrass criterion of recreating Scruggs’ sound, he owns the leeway to let each instrument feature its own tone.

Since the instruments are so idiosyncratic, his own personality becomes a part of his sales pitch; potential purchasers weigh his original artistic touches and woodwork as well.

After three years of travelling to old-time music festivals with his band Striped Pig Stringband, setting up booths, making social connections and creating a website, Vance has sold 25 Vance Banjos. Along with repairs, he makes a living off of his craft.

Vance and Davidson share similar goals: make a living off their work, have the freedom to adjust, and craft a sound that is unique and appropriate for their customers. Their skills, personality, and marketability relate to their ability to shape a new sound for an old instrument.

As Foggy Mountain Breakdown rings out from Davidson’s garage, his banjo sits comfortably on his right knee. Strong enough in sound and professionalism to avoid being a gimmick, the hybrid resonates an appropriate push toward a banjo with few limitations.

Roads of the Redwoods Words by Brandi Fleeks | Layout by Nels Ferre

Massive redwoods, winding two-lane roads, high-risk weather conditions, deer and rockslide areas are all obstacles that drivers encounter on the way into Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity Counties. Penetrating the ‘Redwood Curtain’ can prove tricky as Interstate 101, Highway 299, and Highway 96 all have areas that require extra diligence when negotiating them. Year after year people are injured and lives are lost due to inattentive driving.

Visibility is low while crossing a bridge near Chezem Road about 15 minutes east of Blue Lake on HWY 299. | Preston Drake-Hillyard

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ome students are apprehensive about driving the 101 and 299. “I feel anxious when I drive on the 101,” says Sophomore Environmental Science major Karina Arellano. She drives back and forth from Los Angeles and understands that it requires a little more attention. “People just need to drive slower,” she says. “When it’s raining it’s easier to skid. I think speed is the big issue.

Freshman Child Development major

Shemicka Bluitt pointed specifically to the twolane area of the 101 at Richardson Grove State Park. “It’s scary in the redwoods,” she says. “There are only two lanes and no lights. I try to hurry and get out of there.”

The California Highway Patrol and Caltrans report that the majority of traffic collisions are not due to the roads themselves, but instead to driver’s actions while behind the wheel. Speeding, focusing 37

Roads meander between steep cliffs and the Trinity River on HWY 299. Rockslides are common along this stretch making for hazardous and unpredictable conditions| Preston Drake-Hillyard

If people have to drive those roads, they shouldn’t do it alone.

Environmental Science major Karina Arellano on things other than driving, and driving intoxicated are behaviors that lead to collisions. “Roads aren’t dangerous, inattentive drivers are dangerous,” says Caltrans Transportation Officer Clark Davis. “If drivers would turn their cell phones off and stop fumbling with the iPod while they’re driving, a lot of accidents can be avoided.”

About 50 people die driving each year in these three counties. According to the most recent Statewide Integrated Traffic System update, there were a total of 496 fatal traffic accidents in 39 38

Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties between 1999 and 2008. Highway 101 is the most traveled road in the tri-county area and as such, it is the highway where the most accidents happen. In 2008, there were 2290 collisions in Humboldt County alone, 23 of them fatal; 691 of them had injuries sustained.

Road conditions after rain are also a major contributor to accidents. Davis says drivers tend to be more careful while it’s raining, but when the shower ends, drivers are more likely to

have an accident. “As soon as it stops coming down, they step on the gas,” he says. “Accident rates go up when the ground is still wet after the rain.”

Poor vehicle care, such as worn tires and brakes, contributes to the likelihood of getting in an accident. The legal minimum tire tread depth in California is 1/32 of an inch in any two adjacent grooves at any location of the tire.

Vehicles with bald tires are more likely to hydroplane on a wet road and be involved in an accident.

They are also more likely to have a blowout while driving at high speeds.

Davis advises drivers to prepare. “They should plan ahead, check the weather before they leave, and make sure they take care of their vehicle maintenance before they start a trip,” he says.

“They should put a blanket in the trunk in case they need to pull over and take a nap, and drink

Left: Snow often falls on the highway making driving conditions hazardous. Right: Speckled along the shoulders of HWY 299 are memorials marking the sites of fatal accidents.| Preston Drake-Hillyard

their coffee if they have to b on the road for extended periods.”

Don’t swerve when faced with a deer caught in the headlights.

“Hit the deer. If it’s the driver or the deer, the deer will lose,” says Davis. “The car may sustain some damage, but no one has ever died because of hitting a deer, and it’s better than ending up in a ditch or wrapped around a tree.”

Distracted drivers account for a larger portion of traffic accidents in and around the tri-county area, according to the California Highway Patrol. Unexpected curves and turns can catch drivers off-guard if they are preoccupied with other things while

driving. “People get caught up in sightseeing, looking at herds of elk and up at the redwoods that they don’t see the curve ahead of them or the debris in the road,” says CHP Officer Paul Dalen.

In 2009, Dalen recorded 932 collisions in Humboldt County, excluding Garberville, with 14 fatalities. According to Dalen, the primary cause of many accidents is unsafe turning maneuvers, and the leading cause of fatality is not wearing a seatbelt. Dalen lists the most common causes of accidents as driving at an unsafe speed, using unsafe turning movements such as over-correcting, followed by driving under the influence of a controlled

Hit the deer. If it’s the driver or the deer, the deer will lose.

substance, and lastly, pedestrian caused accidents.

Driving the appropriate speed is important for traffic safety. Drivers have a tendency to drive faster than the speed limit, especially when they are in a hurry, or late for work or appointments. The best way to avoid speeding is to leave early when possible. This gives you extra time to get where you need to be without rushing and potentially being involved in an accident.

“My advice to drivers would be to drive sober,” says Dalen.

“Don’t speed and give 100 percent of their attention to driving and always wear seatbelt.”

“If people have to drive those roads, they shouldn’t do it alone,” suggests Arellano. “They need someone with them to keep them awake, especially at night.”

Caltrans Transportation Officer Clark Davis Spring 2010

39

The

Sweet

Spot

Survey reveals the greatest places to do it in Humboldt County Words and Layout by Nels Ferre| Cartoons by Seb Arietta

10. In a Car

Not the most exciting answer, though a car is a classic in any location, and you don’t even need to step out of yours to see the scenery this county has to offer. The respondents of the survey mentioned specifically VW Van’s and Volvo’s as the specific vehicles of choice in Humboldt County.

We recommend: Tuning your dial to 90.5 KHSUFM (because nothing sets a mood like a little bit of National Public Radio).

H

umboldt County hosts a limitless array of beautiful places where most anyone would feel comfortable getting intimate. Not that we at the Osprey wish to promote inappropriate or indecent acts in public places, yet we do believe that if two consenting adults want to express their desire for each other they will have the maturity and decency to do it in a private and unobtrusive manner.

We took to the streets and asked over 200 people, mostly HSU students ages 18 to 63 their favorite spots to have sex. All respondents were anonymous and asked only to identify their age, gender and whether they were student or faculty.

Of the respondents 54 percent were male while 46 percent were female. 198 identified as students, three as staff, two as teachers, and one as other.

We received a widespread and eclectic mix of answers ranging from the conservative and traditional to the hilarious and downright insane. From this poll, we pulled out the top answers and offer them to you as the greatest places to ‘seal the deal’ in Humboldt County.

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9. Rooftops

The most popular rooftop mentioned in the survey was on top of the depot. Though the top of the J and BSS were also mentioned along with a few downtown businesses. It is a great view and the effort it takes to get on top of these roofs definitely makes this one worthwhile.

What to watch out for: Slipping. A little fun with a great view is nothing to break your back over.

8. Redwood Bowl

After midnight, the Redwood Bowl is not a bad choice at all. Go ahead and follow in the tradition of countless students before you and make some fond memories to remember your college experience by. If you are opposed to artificial turf, survey respondents also recommended the bleachers and the softball field.

What to watch out for: The University Police. You might want to bring a blanket and devise a story if you need it, (“I swear officer, we were just looking at the stars.”)

7. HSU Library

SHH! Don’t say it too loudly but nothing breaks up some stressful hours of cramming for an exam quite like…well…you know.

What to watch out for: Hopefully this is obvious…

6. Any River in the County

In the summer, the river is a great place to relax and have a drink. Whether it is the Mattole, Van Duzen or Mad River. They are all nice. We don’t need to tell you that there are an infinite amount of secluded spots.

We recommend: Renting a canoe and finding a nice place to stop. Take some food, have a picnic and make a day of it.

5. The Dorms

It’s not the location that makes this one important it is the tradition. Respondents in the survey also added that doing it in the dorm showers and on squeaky beds only enhances the experience.

What to watch out for: Killjoys. Inevitably somebody will knock on your door and complain that the whole hall can hear you. Don’t give them any attention. In fact, don’t be afraid to get louder.

4. In a Redwood Tree

Getting into a redwood tree is no easy task, but that doesn’t stop it from topping the lists of several of our respondents. These trees aren’t everywhere, so your time in Humboldt County might be your only time to try this one.

We recommend: Getting friendly with a forestry major.

3. The Woods

The Community Forest and Redwood Park were the most popular answers, followed by the Edge of the World up on Fickle Hill and then Fern Canyon north of Orick. Though worth it for the innuendo, The Avenue of the Giants did not receive much attention.

We recommend: Going out there in the rain. If you’re fetishes include Xena The Warrior Princess or Jurassic Park, then this needs no explanation.

2. The Beach

If this survey were compiled with only singular answers, this top 10 would have been mainly beaches and forests. The most popular beaches were Luffenholtz (technically a Point) closely followed by Moonstone and then Strawberry Rock.

College Cove and Patrick’s Point also got a fair amount of responses.

What to watch out for: Sand and wind of course. Maybe pet owners, and their pets respectively.

1. Your Bed

Your bed is the nest of which you have spent years customizing to your specific tastes. There is no risk and it is generally where you are most comfortable. Of course this is why everyone says it is the best spot. Your bed was the most popular answer by nearly twice as much as the runner-up.

We recommend: Not taking our recommendations. Do what sounds interesting, fun and comfortable to you. These top 10 lists are always subjective to personal tastes anyways. www.humboldt.edu/osprey

41

Hooked on

Humboldt Words by David Percival | Layout by Matt Hawk

Despite the notoriously rainy and earthquake prone location, Humboldt State University continues to attract students from all over the map. But what are some of the reasons why they decide to pursue their studies here? Is it the marijuana? The small-town charm? Or maybe the unique academic programs?

H

SU admissions counselor Romi HitchcockTinseth meets her fair share of prospective students. “Students are very worried about budget issues, but we’re faring in a way that is considerably more positive,” she said. “You still know your professors on a first-name basis. Handson experience in all disciplines is a huge draw for students.”

Nathan Abel of Capron, Ill., came to Humboldt with schools of fish swimming in his mind. “The university has one of the best fisheries programs around,” he said.

While some people come to the area to escape big city life, the Fisheries junior found the big city waiting for him in Humboldt. “Capron is a village of 1000 residents, so the school body here definitely outnumbers the place I’m from. I get a break from Illinois’ wintertime and it’s cheaper to go here than Illinois State University,” Abel says. It was ultimately between California and Wisconsin, and California 43 42

sounded better. “I was wrong. Just kidding,” he joked.

Zoology senior Nora Chatmon could no longer ignore her burning desire to relocate far from familiar surroundings. “I lived in Virginia for my entire life, and visiting other places made me want to see and experience more of the world,” says Chatmon. She envisioned the entire state of California as nothing more than one big sea of urban sprawl and was surprised to discover Humboldt County.

“I went to the Humboldt website to check out the school and liked what I saw. It was a quiet-looking place – lots of trees and beautiful mountains.”

Chatmon was also eager to feed her passionate interest in animals.

HSU’s Zoology program was just the thing she was looking for. With a dream major within sight and thousands of miles between her and her hometown, Chatmon knew the school was right

Graphic by Jenn McElroy

for her. “When I was accepted I flew to California for H.O.P., and a few months later I moved into the dorms as a new student.”

Some students seem to have been attracted to the unique and subtle qualities of Humboldt life.

People like Brett Dery from Dallas, Ore. “I came to the area because it’s a microcosm, a place unlike Oregon or the rest of California,” he said. “It’s a nice neighborhood school where the town interacts with the campus.” He’s discovered such interaction in community events like the weekly farmer’s markets out on the Arcata Plaza, one of his favorite places to browse organic goods and immerse himself in the

local culture.

The Marine Biology junior also acknowledges that the university’s close proximity to the ocean and the Coral Sea Research Vessel were big draws for him. Does the campus and whole area in general meet his expectations? “Yes, definitely.”

Kalli Brettrager of Palmer, Alaska, originally had no intentions of venturing down into the lower 48 when first considering her choice of schools.

“I never wanted to come to California for school,” laughs the Marine Biology junior, determined to avoid hurling herself into the hustle and bustle and crowds typically found in Southern California. “But I Spring 2010

43

...it’s a microcosm, a place unlike Oregon or the rest of California.

Marine Biology major Brett Derry

talked to a professor in Alaska and they mentioned Humboldt, and when I started looking into it I realized the Marine Biology program was good.” She soon realized that the region was not quite as “SoCal” as she initially feared. The friendly community vibe, mild weather, and nearby beaches sealed the deal for Brettrager. Not even the thick haze associated with a certain annual celebration could dissuade her from attending. “The day I came to visit with my mom just happened to be 4/20, but even that didn’t make me change my mind.”

At Iowa State, Kayla Meyer had to make a decision. She was in the spring semester of her fourth year and she had to choose between taking part in an internship or participating in a national student exchange. She 44

Top: Marine Biology major Kali Brettrager poses by whale bone.

Middle: Zoology major Nora Chatmon came to HSU from Virginia.

Bottom: Fisheries major Nathan Abel riding his unicycle through the Redwood Community Forest just behind Humboldt State University.| All by Alex Gautreaux

chose Humboldt. “Some students who are older than me came here last year and they liked it too.” More importantly for Meyer, a Landscape Architecture senior at Iowa State, is the opportunity to immerse herself in the unique, natural lay of the land in Humboldt County. “As someone who enjoys studying landscape, I definitely wanted to see the redwoods,” she says. Her decision to leave was made all the easier by the thought of being able to escape the brutally cold winter and snow.

Oceanography freshman Elias Murray enjoys being reminded of home without actually being there. “This down-to-earth place with its friendly atmosphere reminds me of Colorado. It’s not fast-paced like Southern California,” he says.

Murray, who hails from the foothills of West Denver, says that the big trees in Humboldt also remind him of what he loved about home and helped make his decision to attend the school.

But while he’s glad that both areas share similar small-town qualities, Murray is grateful that he can leave some aspects back home.

“I grew up with the same people since first grade. Pretty much all of my friends go to Colorado State University and the University of Colorado and I didn’t want to have to see the same people every day.”

Invisible Disability Layout by Deidra Boyer

Words by Monica Brommel

Left and right: Brommel walks her dog Sam to class. She has to get there early so she can get him comfortable. Middle: Sam sits at attention as Brommel prepares for class.| Tosh Kondo

I

remember the day my disability almost cost me my life. I approached a set of train tracks, and the cars on either side of me were stopped at a red light. When the light turned green I moved forward, but I noticed the cars next to me didn‘t move. I couldn‘t see any reason for their hesitation. As I looked to my left I saw a train only 100 feet away blaring its horn.

The sound rattled my bones and the trembling of the tracks vibrated my car.

I hesitated from fear, but my foot pounded the gas pedal, causing my car to jolt across the tracks. My trembling hands gripped the steering wheel, my eyes wide with panic. My

only thought was, “I didn’t hear the train.”

When you meet me what you will see is a “normal looking” 30-year-

old female with a service dog. But there’s more to me than what you see. My major is Journalism with a minor in both Art and Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation.

I design and sell my own jewelry, volunteer, and I do not condone animaltested products. I laugh a lot, stress over homework and recycle obsessively. I’m also hearing-impaired and have a Hearing Service Dog. So, how did I become hearingimpaired? I contracted the airborne Meningitis virus at six months old.

The fever was so severe I was in and out of comas and thought to be dead several times. The result was major hearing loss and a severely

www.humboldt.edu/osprey

45

Sam lies at her owner’s feet while Professor Vicki Sama hands back graded quizes.| Tosh Kondo

47 46

weakened immune system. Medication and exercise every day help to maintain my body’s health.

I live in two different worlds – the hearing world and the deaf world. I have, at best, 70 percent hearing in my right ear, but absolutely none in my left ear. This classifies me as “hearing-impaired,” not deaf.

Many people find this confusing because my disability isn’t visual. I read lips, watch body movement, and if possible I’ll stand with the person speaking to me on my right side.

At times my hearing loss is like living in the Twilight Zone. I’m just lost somewhere in the middle.

People talking, children playing, and traffic blend into a menagerie of noise. I have difficulty distinguishing where sounds are coming from and from how far away.

At Humboldt State University, the Student Disability Resource Center provides assistance for my disability. One of the tools avail-

able to me is the Assisted Listening Device. I use this device in class, and it consists of a microphone the professor wears to transmit his or her voice to a device I wear with an earphone. It helps to amplify what they are saying if I can’t read their lips or they are a long distance away.

This device has given me the freedom to choose where I sit in class, and, like Sam, it has given me the confidence to do

my best.

I’ve encountered a few professors who were uncomfortable when I asked them to wear the ALD. They ask if the class will be able to hear them through the microphone or if they will be recorded. It can be uncomfortable to re-explain the purpose of the device in front of everyone.

The Student Disability Resource Center Educational Resource Specialist Linda Parker works at the SDRC on campus. The SDRC serves approximately 400 students with disabilities, per semester, and has one of the largest populations in the California State University system, per capita. “The most common disability we assist with is individuals who experience neurological processing deficits or Learning Disabilities,” says Parker. This means individuals pro-

cess information differently in their auditory, visual or kinetic abilities.

The SDRC assists students with other disabilities as well, such as mobility limitations, visual impairments, mental health, ADHD and seizures. The assistance offered can be temporary or long-term.

Not everyone who is disabled wants to rely on the SDRC. Elyse Jansson, a 20-year-old HSU Psychology major, suffers from a genetic disorder called nail-patella. It affects the women in her family and causes joints and nails to grow malformed.

When she walks her tendons stretch and get easily inflamed due to her narrow hips. Internal problems such as kidney failure, a fast metabolism and hypo-glycemia cause discomfort daily. She was diagnosed to have scoliosis, but because she hangs from a bar in her apartment, which stretches her back muscles, she is able to avoid the disease.

A longer than average tailbone is another side effect of Jansson’s disorder. Sitting for a long time in class causes back pain so she’ll move around as much as possible.

“I don’t use the SDRC because I want to be independent and show myself I can handle daily life without assistance, that is, until I absolutely need it,” she says.

Jansson works on campus for the maintenance department. She refrains from telling her employers about her disability because she doesn’t want to be mistreated. “They might think I can’t do the job and it would give them the mentality that I need extra consideration,” she says.

My dog Sam

My close call with that train happened before I had my dog Sam. He turned six last fall, but his personality grows everyday. Sam is trained to use his own ears to listen to sounds my ears no longer pick up on. I trust him to listen for people or cars approaching us from behind, someone shouting my name, or my phone ringing. He has given me the confidence and security to be able to live life as normal as I can.

It’s Sam’s job not to be obvious with his alert signals. I use subtle signs and words to command him, which also limits causing distraction to others around us. Sam will communicate with me by whining, nudging me or standing up.

Service Dogs aren’t only used for those who are blind, have seizures or are immobile in a wheelchair. An estimated 35 million Americans are hearing-impaired and use Service Dogs, which are trained to respond to sounds such as a smoke alarms, a baby crying, doorbells, alarm clocks or a phone ringing. They will alert their owner that these sounds have occurred.

When I have Sam with me I’m able to relax, and focus on what I’m doing rather than worrying about all the sounds I’m not hearing. Sam has shown me there isn’t anything I cannot do, but that things take a longer time when he is with me.

It’s a strenuous routine for a person with a disability to get ready for his or her day. For me, I have to make sure I have batteries for the ALD, food and water for Sam, firstaid items, Sam’s rain jacket, a blanket for the floor, and doggie bags.

It’s a lot to carry along with my own school items, yet Sam’s things are just as important for him. Allowing him a bathroom break before each class eliminates the need for him to

go outside during class. I lay a blanket on the floor for Sam in class and he knows this is his place. It’s what I call his boundary.

It takes me a few minutes to give the ALD to the professor, put Sam’s blanket down and unpack my books, so I get to class early. After class, I wait for people around us to leave so I can repack our items and not be in the way. It only takes a few moments but they can add up, especially if I have a class directly after. If Sam is sick and needs to visit the vet then I have to miss class and try to catch up afterward.

A question I get asked often is can someone put a vest on his or her dog so it can travel everywhere like mine does. NO! It’s a felony offense to impersonate being disabled.

You need to have a documented disability, the dog at choice has to go through rigorous training, certification, evaluations, and have a professional trainer. The process costs a lot of money and the Service Dog of choice needs to perform a job task that relates to your disability. It is a lot of work and stress for both you and the Service Dog. The average work career of a Service Dog is seven years and the responsibility is a lot for an amateur to take on.

When people ask, “Would you go through this opportunity all over again with Sam?” I respond, “Absolutely!” The doors Sam has opened

for me would have stayed closed had I chosen to keep myself invisible and isolated due to fear of not hearing.

Lynn Johnson, a parking supervisor for Field Operations at HSU, raises Guide Dogs. Johnson’s family has participated in socializing and training Guide Dogs for over 16 years. Teams of trainers, such as Johnson’s, interact with the community to help these dogs in training become immune to everyday noises and places they wouldn’t otherwise experience. When people approach, speak to or allow a pet dog to interact with a Service Dog they interrupt the focus needed for the job being performed.

“The treatment disabled people receive is all in regards to respect,” Johnson says. “The community is very supportive of Service Dogs, but occasionally an individual needs to be educated about what’s appropriate to ask a disabled person and what isn’t.”

I’ve experienced a lot of goodhearted people at HSU who make me forget I have a disability. They open doors, make extra room in class for Sam to lie down, and get to know me as an individual. But with the good comes the generally naïve.

There was a professor who designated a seat in the corner of the room so that neither Sam or I would be a distraction to the other students in class. Security personal denied me access to the Eureka Courthouse because they didn’t believe I had a disability. “Only blind people have Service Dogs,” said one of the guards.

When I talk to others who are disabled they all agree. When it comes to what we want the public to know about us is that what we are is disabled. Who we are is intelligent, creative and amazing individuals.

Spring 2010

47

What does it take to be skinny?

Life as a

Words by Haley Nessler | Layout by Deidra Boyer

O

n January 27, 2010, I began following the lifestyle outlined in the pop-culture diet book Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The diet itself is simple enough to understand--hardcore veganism with no refined sugars, artificial sugars, alcohol, or caffeine. The book emphasizes the need to eat fresh fruit for breakfast, a salad with vegetables and nuts for lunch, and a heavier dinner consisting of a lot of protein.

I wanted to observe the physical and psychological changes the female body goes through while on this diet, which gained a celebrity endorsement when a photographer snapped a picture of Victoria Beckham holding the book. The book became a New York Times bestseller in 2007. Snacks are allowed sparingly, and can be found on an approved junk food list in the book. Exercise guidelines are not clearly laid out, but are considered necessary to achieve the goal of skinniness. Implementing this diet, however, is another story.

I kept a daily journal throughout my five weeks on the diet in order to compare my experiences to the expert advice of a dietician and psychologist.

48

Day 1 I just went grocery shopping in order to properly begin my all-vegan, no processed sugar, no alcohol, and no caffeine adventure. $108 later, I am ready to begin this experiment. I don’t know if I’m nutrient deprived, hungry, or what, but all I’ve thought about today is food. More specifically, what I can’t have. I’m sure I’m only thinking about it because I’m adjusting to this new lifestyle—I mean, I don’t usually obsess over food all day.

I think the mindset of a dieter depends on their sources for motivation. I am motivated to experience what it’s like to live the Skinny Bitch way, and honestly to publish my story in the magazine you hold in your hand. I’m motivated to (potentially) begin a healthier lifestyle, if I can believe the back jacket of the book.

I am not motivated, however, to actually become vegan. And I’m sure as hell not motivated to give up coffee.

Day 8 I don’t know if they are diet related— maybe it’s the caffeine withdrawal—but I had the worst headache and lack of energy today. I’ve made sure to drink a ton of water, but it does not replace a nice latte and a scone.

I’ve also been a little angry, mostly when I think of what I can’t eat, which is quite often. A friend invited me out for drinks tonight, and I had to say no. I had to throw away my yogurt, cheese, and almonds, which for some reason had powdered milk listed as an ingredient.

Dairy is really in EVERYTHING. One of the things that bothers me most about Skinny Bitch is that it proposes veganism as the only way to get skinny, and skinny is a lifestyle choice. Shouldn’t veganism be the lifestyle choice? Why not strive to be healthy, rather than skinny?I’ve already found that I’m encouraging myself not to eat.

Any diet that limits meals to one food group is bogus.

Dietician Jonna Kitchen Humboldt State University student Nicole Cowan thinks the word ‘skinny’ is a negative one. “People call me skinny, and they say it like it’s a bad thing.

‘Oh, she’s too skinny.’ I think of myself as ‘thin.’”

Cowan says she didn’t like Skinny Bitch because not only did it place too much emphasis on being skinny, but it also suggested donating blood as a way to lose weight.

Dr. Jennifer Taylor, a psychology professor at HSU, says to be mindful of who defines skinny. “It is a cultural term that is quite ironic—weight used to be a sign of wealth, and skinny a sign of poverty.

Now, if you can afford to go to the gym and buy vegan food, you’re on a higher economic scale.”

About 10 to 15 percent of your physical condition can be controlled through diet and exercise, says Taylor. That leaves 85 to 90 percent of your physical appearance up to genetics. Then, when a woman tries to diet to reach her cultural perceptions of

skinny, she feels like a failure and buys more products to help her pursuit of the seemingly unattainable. Skinny is a booming consumer industry.

When America was suffering through the Great Depression, skinny was a fad. During the post-World War II boom, fuller figures were in vogue. The skinny fad, however, made a comeback in the 1960s during a time of great social upheaval and change.

Taylor says one of the largest cultural challenges modern society faces is the retooling of perception.

Society places too much emphasis on self-moderation based on the perception of others. It is a vicious cycle—the constant reliance on the opinions of others justifies the skewed perceptions of oneself and one’s unhealthy choices.

The dietary guidelines laid out in Skinny Bitch are simple to understand, yet difficult to follow: veganism, combined with no refined sugars, caffeine, or alcohol will lead to skinniness. But how www.humboldt.edu/osprey

49

so ut it. Honey, something without even thinking abo t die and s thi rb, ng cu rti the sta to ce honey I’ve had honey twice sin Well, I have kicked the so...a product of bees. s, ou ici del so , ing um unass I am moving along. hunmfortable, and extremely I was moody, and unco . day f a all hal he ate dac and hea in e ble s ravenous. I gav wa I .

Yesterday, I had a horri cks sna d ove ppr of I forgot my diet-a the huge, sugary hunks gry. I was at work, and okie Capers—you know, Co yal Ro m fro ad bre d piece of lemon poppy see and brown sugar. but laden with granulated an, veg is It ad. bre ike cake-l tly ed and my mood significan ion my headache disappear est ing of s ond sec ee I kid you not, within thr als much? improved. Sugar withdraw Another e Burt’s Bees chapstick. us ’t can I : all of on ati devastating realiz Then I came to the most bees. Am I doomed? product of those damned

Day 15

Day 23

I am consistently overeating. Not by any typical dietary standards, but by Skinny Bitch standards. I’m trying to introduce my body to a vegan diet before I begin restricting too much, which means that I’m eating almost twice as much as the pre-planned meal guide in the book allows. Yesterday, I ate 1400 calories. I am 5’10”. I can’t imagine eating significantly less.

50

necessary is it to take one’s diet to this extreme?

Do people who want to be skinny—or even just healthy—really need to follow this diet as if it’s the only path to skinny salvation?

Dietician Jonna Kitchen doesn’t think so. or even just healthy—really need to follow this diet as if it’s the only path to skinny salvation?

Dietician Jonna Kitchen doesn’t think so. She says you can be a healthy vegan or a healthy omnivore—the key is to choose healthy, whole foods, regardless of your food preferences. “Limiting processed foods is much healthier than eliminating animal products,” says Kitchen, adding that, despite the message conveyed in Skinny Bitch, it is not harmful for humans to eat meat products. “Humans have been eating meat since the beginning,” she says.

In regards to vegetarianism and veganism, there are a few health concerns that should be closely monitored. Vitamin B12 and iron are readily found in animal products, and are difficult to obtain from vegetables and grains. Melissa Halas-Liang, a spokesperson for the California Dietetic Association, adds that calcium, vitamin D, and essential fatty

Simply watching yo ur calorie intake ca n help you lose weight.| Alex Gaut reaux

acids can also be more difficult to obtain in these diets.

What about eating fruits for breakfast, salad for lunch, and a heavier dinner? How healthy is that?

“Any diet that limits meals to one food group is bogus….Ideally, we are eating small, frequent meals that contain a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats,” says Kitchen. She goes on to say that just eating fruits for breakfast and a salad for lunch is not good for brain power.

Halas-Liang says if only fruit is eaten for breakfast, people will be much hungrier later on in the day and will likely end up overeating—which is unhealthy. “Breakfast is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle,” she says. Throw in a lunch of salad to this dietary equation, and Halas-Liang says that it would be challenging to eat like this on a long-term basis.

So, how bad is sugar? It seems there is some truth behind the claims regarding sugar in Skinny Bitch. According to the American Heart Association, women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day, whereas men should consume no more than nine. The key, says Kitchen, is to consume sugar in moderation. The same goes for

Day 28

I’ve been finding it really difficult to keep up with the restricted diet throughout the day.

The veganism was difficult at first, but I think I’ve gotten used to it fairly quickly. The problem is that I try to follow the meal guidelines in the book, and I make it until around 5 p.m. when I get out of school. Then I fall apart.

I’m so hungry that I eat a small snack, which turns into a big snack, and suddenly I’m eating a huge amount of food in preparation for the next ravenous day.

I’m still within my daily calories to lose weight, but nowhere near the amount of calories the book would have me eat. I’ve been keeping track of my calorie intake and exercise on an online weight loss site called MyFoodDiary.com, and it’s been a huge help.

I’m determined to get better at this. Every day I don’t make it, I feel like a failure, which makes me want to eat more soy ice cream and unsalted pretzel rounds.

But I have a lifestyle that is inconsis tent with the guidelines in Skinny Bitch.

I work, lows. me to

wake up at 5 a.m. most days to go to and I need to eat more than the book alI have a body type that will never allow be as skinny as the book seems to want .

This may sound defeatist, but I’m really quite happy. If anything, following this diet has taught me how I don’t want to be obse ssive over my weight and constantly thinking about what I can eat and how I can be skinn ier.

Skinny Bitch is a good read, and it cont ains some interesting information, but life has to be about more than being skinny. Life shou ld be about being healthy and happy by my own standards, not the standards of two wom en from the modeling industry.

Day 35

I resent this book. Today is my final day on the diet, and I have become so obsessed with the notion of being skinny that I can hardly think of anything else. I shouldn’t have to count ounces, grams, pieces constantly. I shouldn’t be looking in the mirror and wondering if I’m skinny enough yet, if I’m meeting someone else’s standards.

Have I lost weight? Sure, I’ve lost about 10 pounds, and I probably would have lost more if I had been able to follow the diet more strictly.

alcohol and caffeine. It is not necessary to give up any of these substances completely.

With all of the dietary parameters laid out in Skinny Bitch, it can be easy to forget the underlying dietary philosophy: veganism. Halas-Liang says studies have shown a correlation between veganism and a decreased risk of heart disease, lower “bad” cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and decreased rates of hypertension as well as type 2 diabetes. Vegetarians and vegans typically have a lower body mass index and overall cancer rate than non-vegetarians.

There are health benefits to veganism, and there is some truth behind the “Sugar is Satan” chapter in the book. But overall, is this a healthy lifestyle and dietary choice?

“I wouldn’t recommend this diet,” says Kitchen.

“What works is mindful eating, listening to hunger and fullness cues, changing one’s lifestyle to move

more and eat less, eating whole foods and limiting processed foods- especially sugars, and maintaining a healthy, realistic weight. Balance, variety and moderation are the overarching nutritional goals for a healthy way of eating.”

In regards to the future of skinny, Taylor mentions that the fashion industry did take a big hit on anorexia, yet men are still favored by a double standard. Women are expected to be slim and healthy, whereas it is acceptable for men to be overweight and slovenly. Just look at any television show such for evidence of this double standard.

Skinny Bitch uses a lot of frank, harsh language that offers no apologies for its tone, and no mercy for its followers. Is this bullying into the “ideal of skinny?”

“Absolutely,” says Taylor. “But it is important to remember that every person has volition.”

Spring 2010

51

Simple College Meals Words by Allison Mayoral | Layout by Madison Dapcevich and Elizabeth Wright

F

ast and cheap meals of Ramen noodles and greasy pizza are always available to stuff into our college-aged mouths. Just a walk through the Humboldt State Depot during lunch time and the throngs of students in line for burgers, burritos and pizza are proof that grease is the key to curb a quick hunger. So why put effort into actually cooking something that is good for you?

“It’s just easier to grab something that’s already made,” said Natural Resources major Hannah Rainwater, “I know how to bake, but I don’t really like chopping stuff up.” But, it is possible to have a well-balanced diet and be a college student.

“Does making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich count?” asked Danny Finley. Like many of students, Finley is on his own for the first time. “It’s weird not having a hot meal every night, not having a mom around to make me food sucks sometimes, but what are you gonna do about it?” said Finley.

The lack of a set-eating schedule may throw off healthy eating habits when running from class to class and whole grains and complete proteins are the last things on your mind. Yet, cooking healthy is easier than you think. Impress some friends and try some of these fast and healthy recipes.

Cheese Pita Pizza • • • • •

Pita bread Crushed canned tomatoes Provolone cheese slices 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the cheese on first, then add crushed tomatoes, no one likes a soggy pita. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of oregano on top of the sauce, and bake for 3-5 minutes or until it looks golden brown.

Variations: You can pretty much put whatever toppings you like, but here is one more suggestion.

52

Pesto Pizza • 2 tablespoons of store bought pesto • Fresh mozzarella • Diced plum tomato • Salt and pepper

Spread pesto on pita. Sprinkle fresh mozzarella and add tomatoes to top it off. A little salt and pepper could never hurt. Cook for 10 minutes on a baking tray, or if you like a crispy crust put the pita directly on the oven rack.

Mexican Fiesta Baked Tortilla Chips Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut tortillas into eighths; place them on a non-stick baking sheet and bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes. Give them a mix 5 minutes in. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.

Easy Salsa This salsa is fat free and tastes great on anything from tortilla chips to baked potatoes.

• • • • • •

1 can diced tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1 jalapeno 1/4 purple onion The juice of 1 lime 1 clove of garlic

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and “bam” you have salsa. Add salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate for best flavor.

Veggie Tacos • • • • • • • • •

1 tablespoon olive oil ½ yellow onion - diced 1 garlic clove - finely chopped 1 zucchini – diced in ¼ in cubes 1 yellow squash – same as zucchini 1 cup mushrooms – roughly chopped 1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper Salt and pepper

Heat oil, and add onion and garlic until a light golden brown color.

Add vegetable and chili powders and sauté for 5 minutes. Serve with a side of Spanish rice and black beans. Warm up some tortillas. Spoon veggie mixture into tortilla and top with shredded cabbage, salsa and cheese. Now all you need is a Tecate beer with a wedge of lime and let the fiesta begin.

Turkey Burgers • • • • •

Spanish

1-pound ground turkey 1 package dry onion soup mix Salt and pepper Olive oil 4 - whole grain hamburger buns

In a medium bowl, combine the ground turkey, onion soup mix and salt and pepper. Form 4 patties and in a large nonstick skillet, heat enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook until the juices seep out of the burgers, 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Serve with whole grain buns and your favorite condiments and don’t forget the lettuce, tomato and onion.

Brown Rice • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil • 1/4 yellow onion – finely chopped • 1 garlic clove – chopped • 1 cup brown rice • 2 cups vegetable broth • 3 tablespoons tomato sauce

In a medium saucepan, heat up the olive oil. Add brown rice and stir constantly for five minutes until the rice is golden brown. Add chopped onion and garlic and stir for a couple more minutes. Add vegetable broth and tomato sauce.

Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover for 45 minutes.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries • • • • •

2 sweet potatoes Olive oil Salt and pepper Paprika Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4-inch long strips. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on baking sheet. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Spring 2010

53

Beer Pong

Explosion!

Words and Layout by Matt Hawk

Hitting tables in garages and kitchens around the world, the game of beer pong has exploded, and there is no college town where the game isn’t played. But does a competition of healthy drinking lead to healthy habits?

S

tanding at one end of a table in his kitchen, Adrian Brown arches his arm back under a light adorned with beer boxes serving as lampshades. The 21-year-old communications senior from Los Angeles steadies his aim and then tosses a white ping-pong ball toward a red Solo cup perched at the other end of the table. The ball flies straight in.

On a typical Friday night, Brown’s Arcata house might be like any other house in the

country that is rented out to a 21-year-old college man. After a week of schoolwork, it is time to relax and drink some beers with some buddies. At about 10:00 p.m., everyone moves to the kitchen, sets up a table, and continues to prepare for a game that involves shooting a ball into a cup – beer pong.

There are many variations adopted by each house that plays the game, but a standard way to play is to set up 10 cups per team and fill them with three to four beers each side. Each team then shoots a ball per person, and if someone makes a

cup then someone on the other team drinks it. “It’s a good way to get drunk,” says Brown. “You can get drunk cheap too.”

Beer pong began in the 1960s as a drinking game where people used ping-pong paddles to hit the balls into cups. The paddles disappeared in the 80s, and in the past five years the game has exploded all over the nation and parts of the world bringing with it its own lexicon of words such as explosion, rebuttal, and re-rack. Why has such a simple game come to replace other popular drinking games such as Quarters?

Brown says it’s the competition and the simple learning curve that attracts anyone who can throw a ball into a cup. “Everyone can play,” he says. “It’s so basic. Even if it’s a small party you can play.”

The competition is so fierce, psyching one’s opponent out is part of the fun.

After taking

There is a sensationalism about beer pong now.

UPD Officer John Packer

a lead in the second game of the night, Brown and his teammate start to worry as the other team hits two in a row and begins to mount a comeback.

Brown starts heckles the shooter. He randomly shouts loud noises and waves his hands in front of the cups hoping to distract the other team. It works, and his team is still alive. “It’s all in good fun,” says Brown.

Like anything involving copious amounts of alcohol, beer pong is not all fun and games.

There are some negatives, such as the inevitable hangover. Humboldt State University Police Officer John Parker deals with his fare share of drunken college students on campus. “There is a sensationalism about beer pong now,” he says. “There is definitely a mystique about it and everything that’s attached to it, such as t-shirts, glasses, hats…That’s what makes it detrimental to a campus community, the fact that it is targeted to ages 21-25.” Parker says that beer pong is also targeted to those who will soon play the game.

What about all of that cup sharing? It can’t be healthy to swap cups with so many people at a party. HSU Dr. Jay Davis says that drinking out of the same cup can certainly spread infectious agents such mononucleosis and oral herpes, but cautions that the real impact of alcohol on sexually transmitted diseases is that it reduces inhibitions.

“People engage in behavior they might otherwise

Wanna know more about beer pong Visit bpong.com

Spring 2010

55

avoid,” he says. “So it is that they drive too fast (about half the automobile accidents are attributed to alcohol), and engage in sexual practices (like unprotected sex) they might otherwise not do.”

Another issue with beer pong is that of consumption and alcohol poisoning. Parker says he does find that people who have been playing beer pong drink more because the pace of the drinking is not dependant on the person it is dependant on the game. “With beer pong you can’t drink just one beer,” says Parker.

While beer pong may promote excessive drinking, contribute to underage consumption, and lower inhibitions, in his six years of work at HSU Parker hasn’t noticed a spike in drinking behavior on campus.

He says that all California State Universities have these problems.

“It’s somewhat of an expected thing in college culture. I did it when I was in school.”

Brown says beer pong might contribute to excessive drinking, though he adds that it is all in good fun. “It’s a game that gets you drunk and social.” He has seen his fare share of trouble caused by alcohol.

Once, on Halloween in Isla Vista, The goal of beer pong is to get the ball in the other team’s cup. If you want to keep he drank a fifth of vodka wearing things sanitary, fill the cups with water, and instead of drinking out of re-used cups a baby costume and ended up in everytime you have to drink, down a third of your beer. | Tosh Kondo jail for the night with 70 other guys wearing ridiculous outfits. Yet, other playing beer pong. “I think I’ll keep playing for a few than a few noise complaints, he has steered clear years after school, until I move down back to L.A. of the law when playing beer pong. and get my shit together,” says Brown. “Right now, Right now, Brown is content spending nights I’m just fucking around, meeting new people.”

Beer Pong Lexicon

Explosion: When a team shoots both of its balls into the same cup the other team must then drink all other cups touching that cup.

Re-rack: You may choose to re-rack at the beginning of each turn, but you can only have two, or you can play where you re-rack when there are six, four, three, and two cups left.

Rebuttal or Redemption: At the end of the game there is one chance left.

Players on the team trying to stay alive keep shooting untill both miss.

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A Spin of the Globe A story about new perspectives and first time travels.

Words by Madison Dapcevich | Layout by Madison Dapcevich and Elizabeth Wright

S

chool makes me antsy. After so many weeks of classrooms, lectures and papers my body aches for spontaneity. So, one blustery day in the Sunset dorms my friend Kelley helped me to pull out a globe. We closed our eyes and spun. My finger landed on a small portion of Europe and within ten minutes we booked international tickets for spring break.

Ημέρα 1 (Day 1) First Impressions

Athens, Greece smelled like the rainforest café.

If you’ve ever dined there you could instantly recognize the musty, fog smell haunting your nostrils.

Vespas and motorcycles create havoc in the street.

Everything is miniature, the bigness of the states is easily missed.

The bus takes Kelley and I to a small, cobblestone area of town found in the shadow of the Acropolis known as the Plaka. It is a mishmash of culture showcasing Roman, Turkish and Middle Eastern influences. The name translates roughly to “Old Athens,” and it hosts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Vehicles have

been outlawed from the narrow, winding alleyways and now the only traffic to watch out for is tourist feet and Vespas. This was where our hostel was located.

Kelley, an art major at Humboldt State University, served as my personal art history tour guide.

The Ancient Greeks displayed their art through architecture, and Two examples of this include the Ancient Agora and the Parthenon.

Ancient Agora marks the beginning of the democratic system. It was built as a place of assembly for meetings, lawsuits and to satisfy other political agendas. Constructed in the 6th century it even housed its own drainage system.

The Parthenon is perhaps the most iconic of all ancient Greek structures. It sits atop a high hill overlooking Athens. Construction began in 447 BC in honor of the Greek goddess Athena, protector of the city.

A vista on the island of Corfu overlooks the Albanian coastline.| Preston Drake-Hillyard

59 58

A warm, sunny day on the Plaka turned into a rainy Mediterranean monsoon, and became, at only 18, my first wine tasting tour.

Ημέρα 2

spirits − Absinthe. The green drink was given the nickname in part because of its psychoactive properties. It has a high percentage of alcohol and, needless to say, we got drunk. Despite overdramatized movie depictions, the drink doesn’t always result in a crazy, Euro-trip style trip, but rather just an elated drunk. The herb thuros acts as a muscle relaxer and made our limbs tingly while the wormwood had little affect. We were disappointed when we didn’t get a visit from the green fairy.

The many drinks of Greece

Greece is perhaps the oldest wine producer in the world and if age has anything to say about knowledge then the Greeks are Vino Einsteins.

Wine in Greece is unlike any other in the world.

A warm, sunny day on the Plaka turned into a rainy Mediterranean monsoon, and became, at only 18, my first wine tasting tour. Our first stop appeared to be a humble wine shop, except inside wine bottles were stacked from floor to ceiling on shelves that were backlit by neon lights.

The menu presented had enough a wine selection to intimidate even the snobbiest of Sonoma winos and for about 30 Euros ($45 USD) we got our choice of four wines. I chose the fruitiest of wines, a chocolate-coffee flavored red and a raspberry merlot.

After, our wine tour turned into full-blown alcohol extravaganza when Kelley and I moved onto Ouzo. Ouzo, ouzo, everywhere! The traditional Greek drink reeks of black licorice and tastes as if a whole stick had been melted down into a clear, poignant alcohol that crinkles nostrils and burns the throat on its way down.

Kelley and I then decided to indulge ourselves in a bit of Green Fairy − the most notorious of all

Ημέρα 3

Aggressive Euro Men

Even halfway across the world certain things never change. Some men just don’t know when no means no. The most eye − opening experience was not the ancient architecture or even the country landscape surrounding the city, but rather the crazy camera man. Kelley and I were basking in the outside sun when there came a short stout Euro man asking to snap our photo.

He looked like a mole with his skin so dark, and he wore round Ben Franklin-like spectacles. At first we anticipated camera theft, but rather than take off with Kelley’s Cannon he sat down next to us and struck up a conversation. Mole Man insisted that European men are famous for their ability to go on for hours, and I’m not talking about jogging. He had no shame in demonstrating with his fingers the variety of positions he was capable of.

Not only did he attempt to give me a “Greek kiss” and lift Kelley in the air by her butt, he then began to ask about our relationships. To get rid of him we went along with our usual ploy − the men in our lives are 6’4” American football players who could Spring 2010

59

Above: A view from the Acropolis overlooking the city of Athens.| Madison Dapcevich Right: The city streets of Greece are cramped with scooters and cars packing alleyways.| Preston Drake-Hillyard

easily kick a mole man’s ass.

We thought our experience with overly flirtatious European men had come to an end for the day. Walking back to the hostel we heard husky voices shouting to us, “Beautiful girls! Oh Beautiful Amerikis!” We turned around to see two men coming after us on a vespa.

Ignoring them we continued to walk around a corner thinking they would get the hint. They continued on their vespas. We took another corner.

They still followed. I was fed up. These men just don’t seem to get it. I frustratingly shouted to them, “Leave us alone!” And they did. I found that confidence and assertion is the best remedy for crazy, aggressive men.

Ημέρα 4

Greek Islands

Being one of the most “touristy” things to do, a Greek island tour is also the most entertaining.

Our first stop was the island of Hydros. Perhaps 60

the most cliché tourist trap of an island, it was absolutely the most adorable place I’ve ever seen.

There are no cars on the island so we rode donkeys through the cobblestone alleyways while being led by an old Greek woman who spoke English, French and Italian.

The plump tan grandmother told us the story of how she came to be the first woman donkey-leader on the island and, despite many hardships, had raised seven children and twelve grandchildren independently.

Aegina was the next island we visited and it was like a scene Stacked wine barrels showcase a variety of Greek wines.| Madison Dapcevich from Mamma Mia. We walked along the docks of the little seaside city while peeking in through sailboat windows and watching the fisherWelcome back to America men as they tied their lines and brought in fishing As my Grecian holiday came to an end, I found gear. myself conflicted. Sad that it went by so fast, but While there were many a tourist café, I inthrilled to have had such a wonderful experience. dulged in an authentic Greek fish restaurant. The These memories will be with me the rest of chef plucked live squid from his fish bucket, then my life and this experience has again been an eye chopped and fried it into a makeshift meal of opening one. As I continue to travel the world and calamari. It was like a time portal to a Greece that’s meet new people it becomes more and more apparbeen lost through tourist traps and American influent that there is so much yet to be discovered. We ences. are young, impressionable and, if we’re smart, we Despite their beauty, the islands have lost their should remember that life is always a lesson that true character. No longer just a way of life, the we should never stop learning from. people have adapted to better suit the liking of tourSometimes it pays to be spontaneous. So, I ists from all over the world. dare you to grab a globe, give it a hard spin and see where you wind up next.

Ημέρα 5

Important Greek Words Ya

Ochi

Signome

Hello

No

Excuse me

Ne

Efaresto­­

Yasso

Yes

Thank You

Goodbye www.humboldt.edu/osprey

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