rawr | 8.22.2014

rawr 8.22.2014 Vol. 5 No. 1

“we are the leaders of all�

page Mystery Skulls 5

Surviving Comic Con page 6 Lifesaving phone app

page 9 cover art by shane wellner | rawr

horoscopes the argonaut

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your work in rawr illustration photography mixed media paintings sculptures short fiction poetry non-fiction rawr is an alternative weekly publication covering art, culture, campus life and entertainment.

We are accepting all forms of art and creativity to be featured inside the publication, or on the cover.

Email: arg-arts@uidaho.edu

Aries 3/21 – 4/19

8.22.14

Taurus 4/20 – 5/20 It’s time to review that bucket list and scratch one off. Do something crazy and break out of the rut.

Gemini 5/21 – 5-21 Smoke getting to you? Build a campfire tomorrow night, place yourself downwind and hyperventilate until it feels like you’ve contracted black lung. After the healing process concludes, you will have developed gridiron lungs that scoff at wildfire season. You’re welcome.

Cancer 6/22 – 7/22 One of the most important lessons to learn in life is realizing when to make your exit. Keep that in mind during the next few weeks.

Leo 7/23 – 8/22 When boxing legend Muhammad Ali trained for a match, he

would boast out loud that he was the greatest. If you aren’t in your own corner, why should anyone else be there?

Virgo 8/23 – 9/22 I know the haters keep throwing shade on your grind, but the celestial powers foretell that the mixtape you’re about to drop will set the airwaves aflame, and you just might wake up in a new Bugatti.

Libra 9/23 – 10/22 You’ve been working your tail off, so you should probably start chasing it. Don’t let “The Man” make you forget the joys of summer romance.

Players and playettes, go forth now.

Scorpio 10/23 – 11/21 Things have been satisfactory, but realize there is a significant difference between surviving and thriving. Make

movie reel With the release of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” it’s time to look back at other bad reboots and remakes of nostalgic films and TV shows. There are so many films that fail to capture the essence of their source material and here is a countdown of some of the most mediocre and notorious offenders.

george wood | rawr

You’re in the thickets right now. Even though you didn’t pack a map or compass and you’re in bear country, you will find your way out if you continue bushwhacking. Scale the tallest tree you can find and pinpoint the horizon if hope dwindles.

novel. But that’s what makes the original superior to the remake.

The 1999 movie is like a million other horror movies and does little to differentiate itself. Plus, it suffers from CGI overload.

Less is more, and the original proves it.

Star Trek (2009)

Yes, critics and audiences praised the film.

It’s considered one of the House on Haunted andrew best Trek films ever, but on jens Hill (1999) there’s the problem. It’s rawr There is quite a differnot a Trek film. It’s a Star ence between the original Wars film with a Star film and the remake. While the re- Trek skin. J.J. Abrams’ reboot is a make goes all-out like a traditional fine action movie, but Trek isn’t horror film, the original seems less about the action. That’s why the like a horror movie and more like Star Trek, “The Next Generation” films fell flat and that’s why the an over-the-top Agatha Christie

2009 film fails as well. It’s all gloss and no substance.

The Omen (2006) Lacking the same punch as the original, this film feels tired and pointless. It’s bland, poorlyacted and cheaply made. The 1976 movie gave us an unforgettable horror experience — with great acting, stunning visuals, haunting music and a gothic atmosphere.

The remake gave us a poor and amateurish retread.

Get Smart (2008) Casting Steve Carell as CONTROL’s infamous Agent Maxwell Smart? It could work. Having Anne Hathaway as the seductive, yet intelligent Agent 99? Yeah, that fits. Putting Terence Stamp

a plan, commit to the plan and reap the rewards.

Sagittarius 11/22 – 12/21 The befriending of dolphins will be your only protection against the events foretold in your future.

Remember, only you have the capacity to save the world and be sure to pack some snacks on your quest.

Capricorn 12/22 – 1/19 Listen to more Wu-Tang Clan. It’s for the children.

Aquarius 1/20 – 2/18 You have all the aces, but the universe is saying to hold your hand a little longer. When you do throw down, the victory will be all the sweeter.

Pisces 2/19 – 3/20 Just keep swimming Pisces. Just keep swimming.

‘Reboots and remakes’

and Ken Davitian as Smart’s archnemeses Siegfried and Shtarker, with “Anger Management” director, Peter Segal, at the helm? No. You don’t even need to see the film to know it’s a massive failure.

Mission Impossible (1996) The film series may still be going — and improving along the way — but Tom Cruise’s initial outing in a strange concoction of a movie is nothing short of confusing and boring. The added insults to the show don’t help. Jim Phelps’ character is completely backwards, and where the show was about a group of specialized American agents working together to accomplish their missions, director Brian De Palma focuses solely on one-man army Cruise.

The only relation between the show and the film is the theme.

The Haunting (1999) This is one of the most insulting remakes ever put to celluloid.

Although this film and the “House on Haunted Hill” remake share very similar problems, they do not share the same source material.

The original “Haunted Hill” is campy — the original “Haunting” isn’t. The 1963 film adaption of Shirley Jackson’s novel tells an intelligent, gothic and legitimately creepy ghost story – without having to show any ghosts. With silly CGI ghosts aloft in a cartoony house, the remake is laughably and insultingly stupid.

Andrew Jenson can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

rawr

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RAWR REVIEWS

Roxanne’s review to be exact. A series of This is a review of my loud, grating noises later car. I know you are probaand we were stranded bly used to reading reviews with a blown engine. It is of books, movies, even muhard for three guys who sic. I am here to give you haven’t showered something totally in four days to get different. I think help on the side of my car deserves to the road but the be reviewed. She series of miracles has just as much that got us home character and story that day deserves as any movie. its own story.

My car’s name Roxanne used is Roxanne. She cy whitling rawr to score high on is a 2001 Subaru the reliability Outback, green, scale. Now, I am not so with ski racks and a lot of sure. A friend and I put a stickers. Extensive research new engine in her and I has determined that most don’t know how much I important attributes of a trust my own work. For car are: reliability, utility, now Roxanne scores one ability to defeat rugged broken piston out of four terrain and image, so those for reliability. are what we will cover in On to Utility. Roxanne this review. was purchased primarily Let’s start with reliability, as this also ties into how for her utility. With her seats folded down she Roxanne got her name. makes a great camper. She Roxanne only has 133,000 sleeps one ski bum very miles on her. This June I comfortably and stays drove her 10 hours to Red warm, even in the dead of Lodge, Montana to cover winter. Her capacity can the Beartooth Summer be stretched to two but I Session. Up until this point would only recommend Roxanne had been relativethat if you are really good ly reliable. She performed friends with the other guy well on the way to Red and if the Wal-mart parkLodge, coping adequately ing lot you are sleeping with Montana’s high speed in turns out to be way limits and her cargo of sketchier than you thought. smelly ski bums.

Roxanne has hauled Three hours into countless feet of lumber the drive home, disason her rack and a plethora ter struck and Roxanne of other construction maearned her name. terials in her cavernous The setting: a small posterior. Roxanne scores hill just east of Bozeman five air fresheners out of Montana. The soundtrack: five for utility.

Roxanne by The Police. The As a long time pickup players: myself, another truck driver, an important skier, an artist and a good aspect of any vehicle I purSamaritan who only identichase is Ability to Defeat fied himself as “Fresh.”

Rugged Terrain. Roxanne is As we crested the hill, all-wheel drive, she has detraveling at about 95mph cent ground clearance and The Police wailed at Roxshe doesn’t balk at mud. anne not to “turn on that red light.” As fate would I have only ever gotten have it my Roxanne chose Roxanne stuck once and to turn on her red light that was purely driver erat that very moment — ror. You can’t really expect the “check engine” light, any car to pull itself out of

a snow bank that reaches higher than the windows.

Roxanne scores four out of four bald tires for Ability to Defeat Rugged Terrain.

Finally we reach our last and most important attribute, Image. Some people buy cars based simply on Image. I personally think most of those people are lame but that is irrelevant.

In Moscow I sometimes struggle with the image my Subaru gives me. I feel like I should have a “Coexist” sticker and eat more organic food.

Is it OK to be a conservative, pro-gun, pro-logging male and drive a Subaru Outback? Is it ok to drive a Subaru and shop at Walmart? Can I drive a Subaru to go deer hunting with my brother?

These are the questions that strain my relationship with, Roxanne.

In a liberal town like Moscow I sometimes feel like I am betraying the stereotype my car gives me, but put me anywhere skiers, climbers or bikers gather and I feel right at home. In a parking lot full of muddy, stickered up Subarus packed full of smelly people who love the mountains Roxanne fits right in. Four out of five liberal bumper stickers for image.

Now that we have completed this scientific review process it should be clear that Roxanne is a worthy and valiant vehicle. What she lacks in reliability and image she makes up for in utility and character. Hopefully I have made an honest woman out of her and she never needs to turn on that red light again.

Cy Whitling can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

claire whitley | rawr

Cheap chicken and rice claire whitley rawr I spend a lot of time staring into my pantry or fridge waiting for some cooked meal to magically appear. It usually doesn’t happen,

so I grab the easiest thing to cook off of the shelf. This time, I saw a Knorr instant fiesta side, and knew I had some chicken in the freezer.

So, the idea came to make chicken and rice, with a Spanish twist.

Claire Whitley can be reached at crumbs@uidaho.edu

A Crumbs Recipe Card Cheap chicken and rice with a twist Ingredients: • • • • • •

1 chicken breast, sliced into pieces 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 Knorr Spanish rice, fiesta side 1 McCormick Taco Seasoning packet 3 tablespoons water Red and black pepper, and chili powder for taste.

Directions: 1.

Prepare the Knorr side as directed on package 2. Cook chicken in 1 tablespoon oil until white all the way through 3. Add seasonings to the chicken 4. Add Taco seasoning and 3 tablespoon water 5. Simmer for five minute 6. Bon Appétit!

the argonaut

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8.22.14

Dreaming in Spanish studying the I’m wrong language. waitLuckily, after this realizaing at the airport in Madrid, tion I wake up in Nampa, Spain, for my suitcase, which Idaho, to the sound of Michael has three months of my life Bublé telling me it’s packed into it. An a beautiful day and I airport clerk is need to be at work in speaking Spanish at an hour.

90 words per second, trying to explain While this summer how my luggage was has definitely made somehow dropped my top 5 list with in the middle of the several off-trail hikes, Atlantic Ocean. rock climbing, cave emily vaartstra rawr But when I try to exploration, a train communicate with ride murder mystery him, something that I can dinner and rafting the Payette only assume is supposed to River, none of that excitement resemble Mandarin comes out compares to the anticipation of my mouth. Terror grips me of spending the semester in as I realize I spent all summer San Sebastián, Spain.

It seems like it was forever ago when I submitted the copious amounts of application papers and files to affirm my semester in the country I’ve wanted to visit since my freshman year of high school. Since then, I’ve wasted no time in telling anyone who will listen that I’m going to Spain and they are not.

The level of my sanity dropped significantly through this process. I went from holding up the line in the post office as I quadruple checked my visa application submission, to having heated conversations with myself in Spanish while mowing the lawn.

I’m pretty sure my fam-

ily is going dropkick me if I say one more ‘¿Por qué no?’

The kids at my daycare have already started plugging their ears when I enthusiastically dance around them singing “Bailando” and “Diez Mil Maneras” (That’s what they get for singing “Frozen” songs to me all summer).

Despite all the excitement for my semester abroad, there is still a small part of me which hasn’t quite grasped that in less than a week my feet are going to be walking the streets of Madrid and a week later they will be squishing sand on the San Sebastián beach.

The feeling that is most sur-

prising to me is how enthusiastic I am to actually be studying abroad. I can’t wait to step foot in Universidad del Pais Vasco and sit in my first Spanish class. Though I’m scared to death of not being able to understand a word the professor says, I’m excited for the opportunity to be completely submersed in another culture and language.

As I wait out these last few days, I’ll eat an early Thanksgiving dinner with my family, finish packing my suitcase and continue dreaming of Spain.

Emily Vaartstra can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

tate Moscow — they are simply trying to make it their home.

Traveling hundreds, even thousands of miles to this oasis among the wheat fields many students don’t know what to expect.

Every year another crop of freshman invade, eager to figure this college thing out.

Moscow should have figured it out by now, should have adjusted. It’s not like this is a surprise. If this is an invasion it comes with more warning than your average barbaric horde.

People like to live in the pleasant summer present though. Anticipating the first day of school is something that most people like to grow out of. As graduated adults many residents of Moscow try to forget their old scheduled lives, driven by semesters.

As summer slips into fall

Moscow leaps into a flurry of new activity. There are brash students and grumpy locals but eventually they will both fall back into a peaceful tempo.

Soon Moscow will settle into this new rhythm. Soon the dog will stop scratching at the welcome ticks. Until then freshmen will drive the wrong way on Jackson Street and locals will make crabby remarks about the university. Through it all, just remember, we’re all just ticks on the dog, some of us just stay here year round.

Cy Whitling can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

The students are coming Moscow adjusts to the yearly influx of students

those ticks are actually contributing members of society whose presence is a driving force in the dog’s economy.

Imagine those ticks are actually a very important Imagine a mellow middlepart of the dog’s existence. aged dog lying in the sun Also imagine that those all summer long. It ticks really aren’t that lives a dreamy ideal, bad, they don’t suck it is never in a rush, any blood, the dog never has to wait for actually really apprecianything. This dog ates them but it does spends its summer find their yearly return living the dream. a little annoying.

As the days get This metaphor is cy whitling shorter and the mornrapidly disintegrating rawr ings brisker, ticks but hopefully I have start to congregate on conveyed a sense of how the dog. many Moscow locals feel about At first they come in ones this time of year. Comments and twos but then, as if by like “The hordes are returning,” magic a whole horde of ticks, “Brace yourselves” and “Hide twelve thousand, to be exact, your kids” leap through once invades. The dog’s life gets peaceful neighborhoods. immensely less convenient Moscow knows it needs the and comfortable. students, Moscow knows it Now imagine that the dog loves the students but someis Moscow. Also imagine that times it forgets. The town gets

used to never waiting in line, it becomes accustomed to slow peaceful Friday nights and nearly empty supermarkets.

The school year always comes as a bit of a shock. One day you go to pick up groceries and the store looks like the inside of an anthill, swarming with busy little workers. You come back from vacation and go to the Farmer’s Market only to be met by lines only marginally shorter than the Mesozoic Era. School supply aisles usually populated with middle school families are suddenly filled with young adults looking for pencils and notebooks. Parking lots fill up with out-of-state plates and ramen sales leap through the proverbial roof.

The students sense none of that. They are in a state of transition, ticks that have left their dog and moved to another, waiting to be swollen and full of knowledge. The students aren’t trying to irri-

rawr

Man behind the mystery

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Palousafest one stop on the way up for emerging artist Mystery Skulls

hannah shirley r raww rar Luis Dubuc didn’t audition before Simon Cowell. He didn’t trek to a distant metropolis with a few sound bytes and a sales pitch for a producer. He wasn’t noticed by another artist while he performed in a bar or coffee shop.

Luis Dubuc just liked posting his music on Tumblr.

“From Tumblr, it definitely found its way onto Youtube channels,” Dubuc said. “I remember sort of waking up one morning, and I had so many emails. Someone had posted something, and people found it and started talking about it. It was on 4chan — they loved it.”

Almost overnight, Dubuc hit the No. 1 spot on the popular music sharing website Bandcamp. That, Dubuc said, was when he realized he had a following.

“I’m so lucky, it’s amazing,” Dubuc said. “When you’re making it, you never think it’s going to be number one anything — you’re just making music.”

It’s been a year and a half since Dubuc posted his EP on Bandcamp under the moniker Mystery Skulls. Since then, the Dallas native has signed with Warner Music Group, produced his debut album, which is slated to come out later this year, and completed his first tour across the U.S. When Dubuc performs at Palousafest, it will be his first time in Idaho.

He said he found his way to Moscow much in the same way he found his way into the music industry in the first place — someone clicked on his song, and liked it.

Dubuc’s story didn’t begin with a share, a like, a favorite, a view or even a few thousand, though. Music is a long-time pas-

Mystery Skulls | Courtesy

sion of his, and something he’s worked for since he was young.

“I was into music growing up like anybody else,” Dubuc said. “I liked metal, and hip hop, and whatever else was on the radio in the nineties. I got into punk rock, and I was a drummer in garage bands with my friends … long story short, I got into music the normal way, just like anybody else.”

Dubuc doesn’t have a single, favorite genre — he is what he calls an equal opportunity listener. This was helped in part by working at a record store through high school,

When you’re making it, you never think it’s going to be number one anything, you’re just making music.”

Luis Dubuc

where Dubuc was exposed to a deluge of different styles and artists. Mystery Skulls is the product of decades of growth, development and exploration.

It’s an indie pop, electronica, dance anthem project — it’s funky, it’s dirty and it’s tangible, according to Dubuc.

Now that he’s settled into his style, Dubuc said he hopes Mystery Skulls will be a longterm project. He’s already collaborated and received guidance from artists he admires such as Nile Rodgers of Chic, Avicii and Adam Lambert.

“I just started — of course

I’d like to make it as big as I possibly can,” Dubuc said. “I would love to make music that influences people to make their own music. Obviously at some point I listened to music and was inspired to learn to play it, so if I can pay that forward in some way and make great music doing it, I’d love to see that.”

Mystery Skulls will be performing at Palousafest at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Theophilus Tower Lawn.

Hannah Shirley can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

The Fanboy's Unofficial Guide to San Diego Comic Con Bradley Burgess rawr

e’re all fans of something.

Whether it’s Doctor Who, W Avengers, or even — God forbid

— Twilight, everyone has a passion. But for all fans, the ultimate badge of your dedication and honor to your fandom of choice is San Diego’s exclusive nerd convention, Comic Con. When it began in 1970, the con-

vention was exclusive to comics.

But now, the Con has expanded to include television, films and anything else that has a fan base.

2014’s annual convention was Con number three for yours truly, so over the years, I’ve acquired a few tips and tools of the trade to share with fellow nerds, whether they plan to attend or not.

1 Tip #1: Be Prepared The Boy Scouts were wise when they coined this phrase. Anything goes at Comic Con. Walking the floor is like entering Nerdvana. Over there, there’s a battle suit from “Pacific Rim.” The other way, there’s “Breaking Bad” star, RJ Mitte. You never know what’s going to happen, so prep accordingly. Make sure you’ve got everything you need: phone, wallet, camera and the occasional autograph able item. If you know your favorite star from the CW will be signing, bring something for them. For example, this year, former Pink Power Ranger Alison MacInnis stopped by, so I brought my “Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue” DVD set I won on eBay and got her to sign it. Things like that will go a long way.

2 Tip #2: Do Your Research The official Comic Con event schedule doesn’t show up until two weeks from the day the convention starts. That does not leave you a lot of time to plan the adventure. When the schedule does arrive, study it like a madman. Don’t just skim the webpage, look carefully. Nothing hurts more than forgetting that Brain K. Vaughan, writer of the insanely awesome Marvel comic series “Runaways,” had a panel on a day where you had nothing else to do.

Also to remember: The event schedule is only

for panels. Autograph sessions, booth giveaways and offsite events are not included in the schedule. To find out what else is going on, do some research. There’s no shortage of SDCC info on the blogosphere. My personal favorite source of info is the Unofficial SDCC Blog. They post updates almost every day leading up to the convention and the information they post reveals a lot. Like their Facebook page for every bit of news you can gather.

3 Tip #3: Prepare For Disappointment As fun as Comic Con is, it’s not all roses. Almost everything there is a first come, first serve basis. Just because you got a badge doesn’t mean everything at the convention is at your fingertips. The two biggest rooms that house panels can hold a total of 11,500 people, but depending on how big the fandom is for the panels in these rooms, it’ll be a madhouse to get in. For example, this past year, “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” were two back-to-back panels, leading to a literal fan frenzy to get in. I was caught in the position of sitting through two back-to-back panels for two

of my favorite shows “Agents of SHIELD” and “The Originals.” If you get a spot in either room, that’s a miracle in and of itself. The same could be said for autograph drawings, which are just as brutal, if not more so. The odds are incredibly good that you will be in line all day for the drawing for the cast of “The Vampire Diaries” and come up short ­— which is actually a true story in the case of my sister. The point is that Comic Con is an incredibly selective and varied experience for the attendees and not everyone will get to do everything they want. If you’re a first time attendee, set your expectations at a reasonable level.

4 Tip #4: Pace Yourself It’s impossible to do it all at Comic Con. Believe me, you are going to want to schedule a few breaks in between the fun. If there are a good eight panels all day that you wish to attend then so be it, but there is such a thing as Comic Con fatigue. Most SDCC attendees start their day at 5 a.m. in the morning to secure a good spot in line, so odds are that after an entire day of panels and celebrity sightings, they collapse onto the bed at night. If that’s the case for you, set aside some time for a breather, no matter how brief.

5 Tip #5: Count Your Blessings Over 150,000 people attend Comic Con every year. And if you’re one of them, that’s a big deal. You get the opportunity to meet celebrities, see exclusive footage and collect awesome merchandise. Bask in that. Appreciate it. Enjoy it.

Bradley Burgess can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

illustration by shane wellner | rawr

the argonaut

8

Plan ahead and eat cy whitling crumbs School is here and the days of working full time and eating large are gone. As Moscow fills back up, it is time to pinch pennies and tighten belts. One great question stands before all of us: “Should I have money or should I eat?”

College is a time of change and compromise, when our appetites stand between our wallets and financial security.

In the crazy hustle of college life it’s tempting to skip cooking and just eat out, which is a great way to spend all of your money on food and not on awesome spring-break road trips.

The key to saving money on food is being prepared. Plan your meals. If you wing it you will spend a fortune on snack foods. I am here to offer some quick and easy tips designed to help you stay alive and save money.

Let’s start with breakfast. It is tempting to skip breakfast but the cereal boxes say that it’s the most important meal of the day, and who are we to question their unbiased wisdom? Instead think creatively.

Throw some granola in your yogurt and call it a parfait.

Make breakfast burritos the night before and heat them up in the microwave. Don’t lie to yourself, you won’t have time to cook in the morning, you’ll be busy trying to make it to class on time.

For some people one of the hardest parts of transitioning to college life is not having their mom pack their lunch every day. I realize it can be a hard fact to deal with, but don’t compensate by wasting money on fast food.

Pack your own lunch.

Contrary to what your friends tell you, brown bag lunches are cool. For the price of one fast food lunch you can buy a week’s worth of PB&J supplies and maybe even some cookies and carrots to add in.

Plan ahead, schedule out

8.22.14

y a id s

Fr ctoid a F

Amazon’s profits for its entire existence are still less than what ExxonMobil takes home every 2.5 weeks.

Public petitions to the White House website have included requests to build a Death Star, open a Jurassic Park and send a U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Westeros.

Daytime naps help to improve your memory and cut the risk of heart disease.

danlin li | rawr your meals, buy all of your food at once and then stick to that schedule.

Dinner is a wild card. By this point most of us are tired and hungry. We want food in our mouths and we want it now. Be strong, don’t succumb, there are plenty of low budget options.

While most cheap meals (ramen, PB&J, bread and water) lack protein, hotdogs are an affordable addition. Throw some cut up hotdogs or an egg in your ramen. Fry slices of hotdog and make a sausage sandwich.

I wouldn’t recommend put-

ting hotdogs in your PB&J, but if you are feeling classy you can throw some hotdogs and bread crumbs on a box of macand-cheese and call it gourmet pasta.

Remember, college is a time of compromise. Going with ramen now means tacos on the beach later. Just make sure to plan ahead and avoid impulse eating and you will be well on your way to that trip of a lifetime.

Cy Whitling can be reached at crumbs@uidaho.edu

John Adams once wrote “one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.”

Americans could save 25 million trees each year by recycling 10 percent of their newspapers.

Source: wtffunfact.com

rawr

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Hangin’ out An app made for the college freshman claire whitley rawr It all started at the University of Southern California with a pen and a trusty notebook.

Three years ago, the pen and paper turned into a mobile app called Hangtime where viewers can see all the local events around town and campus.

Creator of Hangtime, Karl Jacob, said that when he arrived at USC, he was the only one from his entire town. He knew no one and knew nothing about the new town he was living in.

Jacob would go around campus and ask people what events were going on around town or where interesting things were happening and catalog them in a notebook.

“I became known as the guy to go to if you wanted to find things to do,” Jacob said.

After he graduated and moved on to advise many companies, including Facebook, Jacob decided to create Hangtime. He said the app gathers all the Facebook events going on around a particular campus, including other events such as concerts, museum openings, art shows, bowling tournaments and more.

Jacob said Hangtime is more of a discovery app that allows people to hunt through the list of hundreds of events they could be interested in, rather than only having a list of four events to choose from.

The app is aimed at incoming college freshmen because Jacob believes that one of the hardest things for someone new to do is figure out what’s

going on around campus.

“The first priority is ‘where is my dorm room,’ ‘where are my classes,’ but the very next thing is ‘what am I going to do socially?’” Jacob said. “And for college students this information is very limited, and they have to get details by word of mouth. So basically the events you know about are based on who you happen to know on campus.”

Jacob said Hangtime gives users a feed of events that are going on, and lists almost everything that is going on around is a huge leg up versus the school newspaper or calendar of events.

“Because of my experience in college, we wanted to make sure we solved that problem for college students,” Jacob said.

However college students aren’t the only ones using the app. According to Jacob, people in large cities and other countries use Hangtime to find out events that are going on around them. Travelers can use Hangtime to help find events and places around new cities, Jacob said.

He believes that Hangtime will help incoming college students find interesting things to do and help them meet new people as well as help students figure out what is going on in their new environment.

“I think it is the best way to connect to the events that are going on around campus and your friends that are going to them,” Jacob said.

Claire Whitley can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

danlin li | rawr

LETTUCE BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU, OUR STORIES ARE FRESH AND PUN FREE* *Completely untrue, puns are grape

Certified fresh every Friday with The Argonaut or online at uiargonaut.com

the argonaut

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8.22.14

The Search for Paradise – Part 1 melody pond rawr The voice, the wretched voice from his childhood, droned continuously through the line. Unconsciously, he had ceased listening; his pale grey eyes focused with rapt attention on a peculiar spot decorating the ceiling. The spot itself was nothing interesting, just a normal, mundane spot. However, the fact that there was even a spot over his desk was the interesting part. He normally cleaned so meticulously, without even leaving a speck of dust on the carpet.

With a silent sigh, he lifted his head from the back of the chair upon which it had been resting. The phone still pressed to his ear, he stood and wandered his way towards the bookshelves adorning the opposite wall. Gold lettering shone in the light from his desk lamp, looking like sharp, little pieces of wealth. The volumes, mostly - no, solely - law books, were resting quietly, unaffected by the screeching voice of an unhappy mother on the phone with her son.

“Sean Conway!”

Hearing his name called so sharply made his eardrums ring.

“Hm?” he asked, rubbing away the intrusive chiming. He made a mental note to see an audiologist when he returned, fearing that he might have a damaged cochlea.

A sigh crackled through the phone. “Have you even been listening to me?”

Of course not. It was all stuff he had heard before ‘You won’t be young forever, you know.’

‘There are some nice ladies out there.’ ‘For God’s sake, you’re thirty-one and still unmarried!’

Need he hear more?

“Of course, Mother,” he lied, running a hand through his naturally white hair. It wasn’t that he had gone gray early; it was just what he was born with.

White hair, pale eyes, and ivory skin. Throughout school, and

even up into law school, he had picked up the nickname, Ghost.

He liked it, really. Even the media called him the Ghost Lawyer.

It was catchy and provided an interesting sort of fame.

Her nagging voice interrupted his wandering thoughts.

“Then do me this one small favor: get married.”

He rolled his eyes. Why did she always insist like this? Marriage is not something to take lightly. Besides, he was still searching for the one woman, the infamous soul mate that is written about in fairy tales. He wanted to meet that woman before he married anyone.

“You need to just go out there and find yourself a nice girl,” his mother continued.

What he needed was a vacation. Luckily, he had enough vacation days saved up so he could take the next month off, if he so chose. He ran through a list of places. Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Sicily. Then, somehow, his mind settled on Fiji. Yes, he would be sure to go to Fiji…

Sean stared out of the small window. He had never really been fond of airplanes, but the view they offered once in the sky could not compare to anything in the world. However, while on the ground, it was like sitting in a car stopped at a red light. Bland, boring, and with nothing to look at except angry people bustling by.

There was a small commotion next to him. Glancing towards the aisle, he saw a younger woman. Her red hair reminded him of the cherries people put on top of sundaes.

It was loosely braided over her shoulder, appearing only just long enough to do so, as if she had only recently decided to let it grow out. Her face, smooth and pearly, was turned down in puzzlement. The sea-green eyes flicked from the small purple suitcase by her side to the overhead compartment. He imagined he could see steam coming out of her ears as her mind worked ferociously. Then, making him jump, she threw a

danlin li | rawr

backpack onto the seat next to him, lifted the small case, and shoved it into the compartment with a satisfied huff.

Her face, now brightened by a smile, turned towards Sean.

The expression in her eyes held a kind of self-confidence he had never experienced. She looked as though nothing in the world could scare her, let alone stop her.

“Sorry about that,” she apologized brightly, picking up her bag off the seat and plopping down in its place.

Sean forced an understanding smile.

“I’m Alice,” she chimed, extending a slim hand.

He glanced warily from her hand to her face, wondering what kind of ulterior motives drove her to introduce herself.

Did she find him handsome or something? The thought brought a genuine smile to his face, as he introduced himself.

“Sean,” he replied, shaking her hand gently.

Her grin glistened in the sun from the open window. “It’s a pleasure, Sean.”

He mumbled some kind remark, unsure why he was even speaking to her. This woman, whoever she was, had made him break one of his cardinal rules for travelling: Never tell anyone your real name. In fact, he almost never told anyone except clients his name, real or otherwise. He was always wary, believing everyone had some criminal intent. He was, after all, a prosecutor, trained to never trust what people say, but only what you find out yourself.

Throughout the loading of passengers and luggage, the chipper Alice made attempts at drawing Sean into conversation.

Sometimes it worked, but as soon as he realized what he was doing he would clam up again.

He eventually heard her sigh. It was such a defeated sound.

With something pulling at his mind, he turned his grey eyes in her direction, wondering what was wrong. He quickly chided himself. It wasn’t his problem. He barely knew her anyway, so why should he care that she sounded so dismal? Yet, despite everything, he wanted to know why she had sighed so dejectedly, why she had laughed so well earlier, or even the reason behind her smiling upon first meeting him. He found himself wanting to know the little things that made this woman who she was. But why?

Why did he feel connected to her, even after so short a span of time? His thought ran deep and long. So long, that he was only brought back by a soft tap on his shoulder. The grey eyes focused on Alice’s cheerful face, then upon the stewardess standing in the aisle.

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Events calendar Friday, Aug. 22 8:30 a.m.- University Convocation in the Kibbie Dome 11:30 a.m.- Univeristy Lunch in the Commons Plaza 7:30 p.m.- Complete Works of William Shakespeare at Kenworthy

Saturday, Aug. 23 8:00 a.m. - Moscow Farmers Market on Main Street 8:30 a.m. - Serving Your New Community (SYNC) on the Tower Lawn 9:00 a.m. - Saturday Morning Cartoons at Kenworthy 5:30 p.m. - Palousafest 2014 on the Tower Lawn 7:30 p.m. - Complete Works of William Shakespeare at Kenworthy

Sunday, Aug. 24 6:30 p.m. - LGBTQA Ice Cream Social in the Student Diversity Center

Monday, Aug. 25 Fall classes begin

Wednesday, Aug. 27 12:00 p.m. - Daytime Distractions

Thursday, Aug. 28

danlin li | rawr

De R O W of th K

E E W

“Flibbertigibbet, /flib-er-tee-jib-it/” A chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

Example: “Anne was a bit of a flibbertigibbet when she moved in.”

8:00 p.m. - Vandal Entertainment Presents Hypnotist Matt Grisham 8:00 p.m. - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at Kenworthy

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8.22.14

Welcome back to the Commons!

Idaho commons: 885 . 2667 info@uidaho.edu

Student Union: 885 . 4636

www.sub.uidaho.edu

rawr 8.22.2014 Vol. 5 No. 1

“we are the leaders of all�

page Mystery Skulls 5

Surviving Comic Con page 6 Lifesaving phone app

page 9 cover art by shane wellner | rawr

horoscopes the argonaut

2

your work in rawr illustration photography mixed media paintings sculptures short fiction poetry non-fiction rawr is an alternative weekly publication covering art, culture, campus life and entertainment.

We are accepting all forms of art and creativity to be featured inside the publication, or on the cover.

Email: arg-arts@uidaho.edu

Aries 3/21 – 4/19

8.22.14

Taurus 4/20 – 5/20 It’s time to review that bucket list and scratch one off. Do something crazy and break out of the rut.

Gemini 5/21 – 5-21 Smoke getting to you? Build a campfire tomorrow night, place yourself downwind and hyperventilate until it feels like you’ve contracted black lung. After the healing process concludes, you will have developed gridiron lungs that scoff at wildfire season. You’re welcome.

Cancer 6/22 – 7/22 One of the most important lessons to learn in life is realizing when to make your exit. Keep that in mind during the next few weeks.

Leo 7/23 – 8/22 When boxing legend Muhammad Ali trained for a match, he

would boast out loud that he was the greatest. If you aren’t in your own corner, why should anyone else be there?

Virgo 8/23 – 9/22 I know the haters keep throwing shade on your grind, but the celestial powers foretell that the mixtape you’re about to drop will set the airwaves aflame, and you just might wake up in a new Bugatti.

Libra 9/23 – 10/22 You’ve been working your tail off, so you should probably start chasing it. Don’t let “The Man” make you forget the joys of summer romance.

Players and playettes, go forth now.

Scorpio 10/23 – 11/21 Things have been satisfactory, but realize there is a significant difference between surviving and thriving. Make

movie reel With the release of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” it’s time to look back at other bad reboots and remakes of nostalgic films and TV shows. There are so many films that fail to capture the essence of their source material and here is a countdown of some of the most mediocre and notorious offenders.

george wood | rawr

You’re in the thickets right now. Even though you didn’t pack a map or compass and you’re in bear country, you will find your way out if you continue bushwhacking. Scale the tallest tree you can find and pinpoint the horizon if hope dwindles.

novel. But that’s what makes the original superior to the remake.

The 1999 movie is like a million other horror movies and does little to differentiate itself. Plus, it suffers from CGI overload.

Less is more, and the original proves it.

Star Trek (2009)

Yes, critics and audiences praised the film.

It’s considered one of the House on Haunted andrew best Trek films ever, but on jens Hill (1999) there’s the problem. It’s rawr There is quite a differnot a Trek film. It’s a Star ence between the original Wars film with a Star film and the remake. While the re- Trek skin. J.J. Abrams’ reboot is a make goes all-out like a traditional fine action movie, but Trek isn’t horror film, the original seems less about the action. That’s why the like a horror movie and more like Star Trek, “The Next Generation” films fell flat and that’s why the an over-the-top Agatha Christie

2009 film fails as well. It’s all gloss and no substance.

The Omen (2006) Lacking the same punch as the original, this film feels tired and pointless. It’s bland, poorlyacted and cheaply made. The 1976 movie gave us an unforgettable horror experience — with great acting, stunning visuals, haunting music and a gothic atmosphere.

The remake gave us a poor and amateurish retread.

Get Smart (2008) Casting Steve Carell as CONTROL’s infamous Agent Maxwell Smart? It could work. Having Anne Hathaway as the seductive, yet intelligent Agent 99? Yeah, that fits. Putting Terence Stamp

a plan, commit to the plan and reap the rewards.

Sagittarius 11/22 – 12/21 The befriending of dolphins will be your only protection against the events foretold in your future.

Remember, only you have the capacity to save the world and be sure to pack some snacks on your quest.

Capricorn 12/22 – 1/19 Listen to more Wu-Tang Clan. It’s for the children.

Aquarius 1/20 – 2/18 You have all the aces, but the universe is saying to hold your hand a little longer. When you do throw down, the victory will be all the sweeter.

Pisces 2/19 – 3/20 Just keep swimming Pisces. Just keep swimming.

‘Reboots and remakes’

and Ken Davitian as Smart’s archnemeses Siegfried and Shtarker, with “Anger Management” director, Peter Segal, at the helm? No. You don’t even need to see the film to know it’s a massive failure.

Mission Impossible (1996) The film series may still be going — and improving along the way — but Tom Cruise’s initial outing in a strange concoction of a movie is nothing short of confusing and boring. The added insults to the show don’t help. Jim Phelps’ character is completely backwards, and where the show was about a group of specialized American agents working together to accomplish their missions, director Brian De Palma focuses solely on one-man army Cruise.

The only relation between the show and the film is the theme.

The Haunting (1999) This is one of the most insulting remakes ever put to celluloid.

Although this film and the “House on Haunted Hill” remake share very similar problems, they do not share the same source material.

The original “Haunted Hill” is campy — the original “Haunting” isn’t. The 1963 film adaption of Shirley Jackson’s novel tells an intelligent, gothic and legitimately creepy ghost story – without having to show any ghosts. With silly CGI ghosts aloft in a cartoony house, the remake is laughably and insultingly stupid.

Andrew Jenson can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

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RAWR REVIEWS

Roxanne’s review to be exact. A series of This is a review of my loud, grating noises later car. I know you are probaand we were stranded bly used to reading reviews with a blown engine. It is of books, movies, even muhard for three guys who sic. I am here to give you haven’t showered something totally in four days to get different. I think help on the side of my car deserves to the road but the be reviewed. She series of miracles has just as much that got us home character and story that day deserves as any movie. its own story.

My car’s name Roxanne used is Roxanne. She cy whitling rawr to score high on is a 2001 Subaru the reliability Outback, green, scale. Now, I am not so with ski racks and a lot of sure. A friend and I put a stickers. Extensive research new engine in her and I has determined that most don’t know how much I important attributes of a trust my own work. For car are: reliability, utility, now Roxanne scores one ability to defeat rugged broken piston out of four terrain and image, so those for reliability. are what we will cover in On to Utility. Roxanne this review. was purchased primarily Let’s start with reliability, as this also ties into how for her utility. With her seats folded down she Roxanne got her name. makes a great camper. She Roxanne only has 133,000 sleeps one ski bum very miles on her. This June I comfortably and stays drove her 10 hours to Red warm, even in the dead of Lodge, Montana to cover winter. Her capacity can the Beartooth Summer be stretched to two but I Session. Up until this point would only recommend Roxanne had been relativethat if you are really good ly reliable. She performed friends with the other guy well on the way to Red and if the Wal-mart parkLodge, coping adequately ing lot you are sleeping with Montana’s high speed in turns out to be way limits and her cargo of sketchier than you thought. smelly ski bums.

Roxanne has hauled Three hours into countless feet of lumber the drive home, disason her rack and a plethora ter struck and Roxanne of other construction maearned her name. terials in her cavernous The setting: a small posterior. Roxanne scores hill just east of Bozeman five air fresheners out of Montana. The soundtrack: five for utility.

Roxanne by The Police. The As a long time pickup players: myself, another truck driver, an important skier, an artist and a good aspect of any vehicle I purSamaritan who only identichase is Ability to Defeat fied himself as “Fresh.”

Rugged Terrain. Roxanne is As we crested the hill, all-wheel drive, she has detraveling at about 95mph cent ground clearance and The Police wailed at Roxshe doesn’t balk at mud. anne not to “turn on that red light.” As fate would I have only ever gotten have it my Roxanne chose Roxanne stuck once and to turn on her red light that was purely driver erat that very moment — ror. You can’t really expect the “check engine” light, any car to pull itself out of

a snow bank that reaches higher than the windows.

Roxanne scores four out of four bald tires for Ability to Defeat Rugged Terrain.

Finally we reach our last and most important attribute, Image. Some people buy cars based simply on Image. I personally think most of those people are lame but that is irrelevant.

In Moscow I sometimes struggle with the image my Subaru gives me. I feel like I should have a “Coexist” sticker and eat more organic food.

Is it OK to be a conservative, pro-gun, pro-logging male and drive a Subaru Outback? Is it ok to drive a Subaru and shop at Walmart? Can I drive a Subaru to go deer hunting with my brother?

These are the questions that strain my relationship with, Roxanne.

In a liberal town like Moscow I sometimes feel like I am betraying the stereotype my car gives me, but put me anywhere skiers, climbers or bikers gather and I feel right at home. In a parking lot full of muddy, stickered up Subarus packed full of smelly people who love the mountains Roxanne fits right in. Four out of five liberal bumper stickers for image.

Now that we have completed this scientific review process it should be clear that Roxanne is a worthy and valiant vehicle. What she lacks in reliability and image she makes up for in utility and character. Hopefully I have made an honest woman out of her and she never needs to turn on that red light again.

Cy Whitling can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

claire whitley | rawr

Cheap chicken and rice claire whitley rawr I spend a lot of time staring into my pantry or fridge waiting for some cooked meal to magically appear. It usually doesn’t happen,

so I grab the easiest thing to cook off of the shelf. This time, I saw a Knorr instant fiesta side, and knew I had some chicken in the freezer.

So, the idea came to make chicken and rice, with a Spanish twist.

Claire Whitley can be reached at crumbs@uidaho.edu

A Crumbs Recipe Card Cheap chicken and rice with a twist Ingredients: • • • • • •

1 chicken breast, sliced into pieces 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 Knorr Spanish rice, fiesta side 1 McCormick Taco Seasoning packet 3 tablespoons water Red and black pepper, and chili powder for taste.

Directions: 1.

Prepare the Knorr side as directed on package 2. Cook chicken in 1 tablespoon oil until white all the way through 3. Add seasonings to the chicken 4. Add Taco seasoning and 3 tablespoon water 5. Simmer for five minute 6. Bon Appétit!

the argonaut

4

8.22.14

Dreaming in Spanish studying the I’m wrong language. waitLuckily, after this realizaing at the airport in Madrid, tion I wake up in Nampa, Spain, for my suitcase, which Idaho, to the sound of Michael has three months of my life Bublé telling me it’s packed into it. An a beautiful day and I airport clerk is need to be at work in speaking Spanish at an hour.

90 words per second, trying to explain While this summer how my luggage was has definitely made somehow dropped my top 5 list with in the middle of the several off-trail hikes, Atlantic Ocean. rock climbing, cave emily vaartstra rawr But when I try to exploration, a train communicate with ride murder mystery him, something that I can dinner and rafting the Payette only assume is supposed to River, none of that excitement resemble Mandarin comes out compares to the anticipation of my mouth. Terror grips me of spending the semester in as I realize I spent all summer San Sebastián, Spain.

It seems like it was forever ago when I submitted the copious amounts of application papers and files to affirm my semester in the country I’ve wanted to visit since my freshman year of high school. Since then, I’ve wasted no time in telling anyone who will listen that I’m going to Spain and they are not.

The level of my sanity dropped significantly through this process. I went from holding up the line in the post office as I quadruple checked my visa application submission, to having heated conversations with myself in Spanish while mowing the lawn.

I’m pretty sure my fam-

ily is going dropkick me if I say one more ‘¿Por qué no?’

The kids at my daycare have already started plugging their ears when I enthusiastically dance around them singing “Bailando” and “Diez Mil Maneras” (That’s what they get for singing “Frozen” songs to me all summer).

Despite all the excitement for my semester abroad, there is still a small part of me which hasn’t quite grasped that in less than a week my feet are going to be walking the streets of Madrid and a week later they will be squishing sand on the San Sebastián beach.

The feeling that is most sur-

prising to me is how enthusiastic I am to actually be studying abroad. I can’t wait to step foot in Universidad del Pais Vasco and sit in my first Spanish class. Though I’m scared to death of not being able to understand a word the professor says, I’m excited for the opportunity to be completely submersed in another culture and language.

As I wait out these last few days, I’ll eat an early Thanksgiving dinner with my family, finish packing my suitcase and continue dreaming of Spain.

Emily Vaartstra can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

tate Moscow — they are simply trying to make it their home.

Traveling hundreds, even thousands of miles to this oasis among the wheat fields many students don’t know what to expect.

Every year another crop of freshman invade, eager to figure this college thing out.

Moscow should have figured it out by now, should have adjusted. It’s not like this is a surprise. If this is an invasion it comes with more warning than your average barbaric horde.

People like to live in the pleasant summer present though. Anticipating the first day of school is something that most people like to grow out of. As graduated adults many residents of Moscow try to forget their old scheduled lives, driven by semesters.

As summer slips into fall

Moscow leaps into a flurry of new activity. There are brash students and grumpy locals but eventually they will both fall back into a peaceful tempo.

Soon Moscow will settle into this new rhythm. Soon the dog will stop scratching at the welcome ticks. Until then freshmen will drive the wrong way on Jackson Street and locals will make crabby remarks about the university. Through it all, just remember, we’re all just ticks on the dog, some of us just stay here year round.

Cy Whitling can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

The students are coming Moscow adjusts to the yearly influx of students

those ticks are actually contributing members of society whose presence is a driving force in the dog’s economy.

Imagine those ticks are actually a very important Imagine a mellow middlepart of the dog’s existence. aged dog lying in the sun Also imagine that those all summer long. It ticks really aren’t that lives a dreamy ideal, bad, they don’t suck it is never in a rush, any blood, the dog never has to wait for actually really apprecianything. This dog ates them but it does spends its summer find their yearly return living the dream. a little annoying.

As the days get This metaphor is cy whitling shorter and the mornrapidly disintegrating rawr ings brisker, ticks but hopefully I have start to congregate on conveyed a sense of how the dog. many Moscow locals feel about At first they come in ones this time of year. Comments and twos but then, as if by like “The hordes are returning,” magic a whole horde of ticks, “Brace yourselves” and “Hide twelve thousand, to be exact, your kids” leap through once invades. The dog’s life gets peaceful neighborhoods. immensely less convenient Moscow knows it needs the and comfortable. students, Moscow knows it Now imagine that the dog loves the students but someis Moscow. Also imagine that times it forgets. The town gets

used to never waiting in line, it becomes accustomed to slow peaceful Friday nights and nearly empty supermarkets.

The school year always comes as a bit of a shock. One day you go to pick up groceries and the store looks like the inside of an anthill, swarming with busy little workers. You come back from vacation and go to the Farmer’s Market only to be met by lines only marginally shorter than the Mesozoic Era. School supply aisles usually populated with middle school families are suddenly filled with young adults looking for pencils and notebooks. Parking lots fill up with out-of-state plates and ramen sales leap through the proverbial roof.

The students sense none of that. They are in a state of transition, ticks that have left their dog and moved to another, waiting to be swollen and full of knowledge. The students aren’t trying to irri-

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Man behind the mystery

5

Palousafest one stop on the way up for emerging artist Mystery Skulls

hannah shirley r raww rar Luis Dubuc didn’t audition before Simon Cowell. He didn’t trek to a distant metropolis with a few sound bytes and a sales pitch for a producer. He wasn’t noticed by another artist while he performed in a bar or coffee shop.

Luis Dubuc just liked posting his music on Tumblr.

“From Tumblr, it definitely found its way onto Youtube channels,” Dubuc said. “I remember sort of waking up one morning, and I had so many emails. Someone had posted something, and people found it and started talking about it. It was on 4chan — they loved it.”

Almost overnight, Dubuc hit the No. 1 spot on the popular music sharing website Bandcamp. That, Dubuc said, was when he realized he had a following.

“I’m so lucky, it’s amazing,” Dubuc said. “When you’re making it, you never think it’s going to be number one anything — you’re just making music.”

It’s been a year and a half since Dubuc posted his EP on Bandcamp under the moniker Mystery Skulls. Since then, the Dallas native has signed with Warner Music Group, produced his debut album, which is slated to come out later this year, and completed his first tour across the U.S. When Dubuc performs at Palousafest, it will be his first time in Idaho.

He said he found his way to Moscow much in the same way he found his way into the music industry in the first place — someone clicked on his song, and liked it.

Dubuc’s story didn’t begin with a share, a like, a favorite, a view or even a few thousand, though. Music is a long-time pas-

Mystery Skulls | Courtesy

sion of his, and something he’s worked for since he was young.

“I was into music growing up like anybody else,” Dubuc said. “I liked metal, and hip hop, and whatever else was on the radio in the nineties. I got into punk rock, and I was a drummer in garage bands with my friends … long story short, I got into music the normal way, just like anybody else.”

Dubuc doesn’t have a single, favorite genre — he is what he calls an equal opportunity listener. This was helped in part by working at a record store through high school,

When you’re making it, you never think it’s going to be number one anything, you’re just making music.”

Luis Dubuc

where Dubuc was exposed to a deluge of different styles and artists. Mystery Skulls is the product of decades of growth, development and exploration.

It’s an indie pop, electronica, dance anthem project — it’s funky, it’s dirty and it’s tangible, according to Dubuc.

Now that he’s settled into his style, Dubuc said he hopes Mystery Skulls will be a longterm project. He’s already collaborated and received guidance from artists he admires such as Nile Rodgers of Chic, Avicii and Adam Lambert.

“I just started — of course

I’d like to make it as big as I possibly can,” Dubuc said. “I would love to make music that influences people to make their own music. Obviously at some point I listened to music and was inspired to learn to play it, so if I can pay that forward in some way and make great music doing it, I’d love to see that.”

Mystery Skulls will be performing at Palousafest at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Theophilus Tower Lawn.

Hannah Shirley can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

The Fanboy's Unofficial Guide to San Diego Comic Con Bradley Burgess rawr

e’re all fans of something.

Whether it’s Doctor Who, W Avengers, or even — God forbid

— Twilight, everyone has a passion. But for all fans, the ultimate badge of your dedication and honor to your fandom of choice is San Diego’s exclusive nerd convention, Comic Con. When it began in 1970, the con-

vention was exclusive to comics.

But now, the Con has expanded to include television, films and anything else that has a fan base.

2014’s annual convention was Con number three for yours truly, so over the years, I’ve acquired a few tips and tools of the trade to share with fellow nerds, whether they plan to attend or not.

1 Tip #1: Be Prepared The Boy Scouts were wise when they coined this phrase. Anything goes at Comic Con. Walking the floor is like entering Nerdvana. Over there, there’s a battle suit from “Pacific Rim.” The other way, there’s “Breaking Bad” star, RJ Mitte. You never know what’s going to happen, so prep accordingly. Make sure you’ve got everything you need: phone, wallet, camera and the occasional autograph able item. If you know your favorite star from the CW will be signing, bring something for them. For example, this year, former Pink Power Ranger Alison MacInnis stopped by, so I brought my “Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue” DVD set I won on eBay and got her to sign it. Things like that will go a long way.

2 Tip #2: Do Your Research The official Comic Con event schedule doesn’t show up until two weeks from the day the convention starts. That does not leave you a lot of time to plan the adventure. When the schedule does arrive, study it like a madman. Don’t just skim the webpage, look carefully. Nothing hurts more than forgetting that Brain K. Vaughan, writer of the insanely awesome Marvel comic series “Runaways,” had a panel on a day where you had nothing else to do.

Also to remember: The event schedule is only

for panels. Autograph sessions, booth giveaways and offsite events are not included in the schedule. To find out what else is going on, do some research. There’s no shortage of SDCC info on the blogosphere. My personal favorite source of info is the Unofficial SDCC Blog. They post updates almost every day leading up to the convention and the information they post reveals a lot. Like their Facebook page for every bit of news you can gather.

3 Tip #3: Prepare For Disappointment As fun as Comic Con is, it’s not all roses. Almost everything there is a first come, first serve basis. Just because you got a badge doesn’t mean everything at the convention is at your fingertips. The two biggest rooms that house panels can hold a total of 11,500 people, but depending on how big the fandom is for the panels in these rooms, it’ll be a madhouse to get in. For example, this past year, “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” were two back-to-back panels, leading to a literal fan frenzy to get in. I was caught in the position of sitting through two back-to-back panels for two

of my favorite shows “Agents of SHIELD” and “The Originals.” If you get a spot in either room, that’s a miracle in and of itself. The same could be said for autograph drawings, which are just as brutal, if not more so. The odds are incredibly good that you will be in line all day for the drawing for the cast of “The Vampire Diaries” and come up short ­— which is actually a true story in the case of my sister. The point is that Comic Con is an incredibly selective and varied experience for the attendees and not everyone will get to do everything they want. If you’re a first time attendee, set your expectations at a reasonable level.

4 Tip #4: Pace Yourself It’s impossible to do it all at Comic Con. Believe me, you are going to want to schedule a few breaks in between the fun. If there are a good eight panels all day that you wish to attend then so be it, but there is such a thing as Comic Con fatigue. Most SDCC attendees start their day at 5 a.m. in the morning to secure a good spot in line, so odds are that after an entire day of panels and celebrity sightings, they collapse onto the bed at night. If that’s the case for you, set aside some time for a breather, no matter how brief.

5 Tip #5: Count Your Blessings Over 150,000 people attend Comic Con every year. And if you’re one of them, that’s a big deal. You get the opportunity to meet celebrities, see exclusive footage and collect awesome merchandise. Bask in that. Appreciate it. Enjoy it.

Bradley Burgess can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

illustration by shane wellner | rawr

the argonaut

8

Plan ahead and eat cy whitling crumbs School is here and the days of working full time and eating large are gone. As Moscow fills back up, it is time to pinch pennies and tighten belts. One great question stands before all of us: “Should I have money or should I eat?”

College is a time of change and compromise, when our appetites stand between our wallets and financial security.

In the crazy hustle of college life it’s tempting to skip cooking and just eat out, which is a great way to spend all of your money on food and not on awesome spring-break road trips.

The key to saving money on food is being prepared. Plan your meals. If you wing it you will spend a fortune on snack foods. I am here to offer some quick and easy tips designed to help you stay alive and save money.

Let’s start with breakfast. It is tempting to skip breakfast but the cereal boxes say that it’s the most important meal of the day, and who are we to question their unbiased wisdom? Instead think creatively.

Throw some granola in your yogurt and call it a parfait.

Make breakfast burritos the night before and heat them up in the microwave. Don’t lie to yourself, you won’t have time to cook in the morning, you’ll be busy trying to make it to class on time.

For some people one of the hardest parts of transitioning to college life is not having their mom pack their lunch every day. I realize it can be a hard fact to deal with, but don’t compensate by wasting money on fast food.

Pack your own lunch.

Contrary to what your friends tell you, brown bag lunches are cool. For the price of one fast food lunch you can buy a week’s worth of PB&J supplies and maybe even some cookies and carrots to add in.

Plan ahead, schedule out

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Fr ctoid a F

Amazon’s profits for its entire existence are still less than what ExxonMobil takes home every 2.5 weeks.

Public petitions to the White House website have included requests to build a Death Star, open a Jurassic Park and send a U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Westeros.

Daytime naps help to improve your memory and cut the risk of heart disease.

danlin li | rawr your meals, buy all of your food at once and then stick to that schedule.

Dinner is a wild card. By this point most of us are tired and hungry. We want food in our mouths and we want it now. Be strong, don’t succumb, there are plenty of low budget options.

While most cheap meals (ramen, PB&J, bread and water) lack protein, hotdogs are an affordable addition. Throw some cut up hotdogs or an egg in your ramen. Fry slices of hotdog and make a sausage sandwich.

I wouldn’t recommend put-

ting hotdogs in your PB&J, but if you are feeling classy you can throw some hotdogs and bread crumbs on a box of macand-cheese and call it gourmet pasta.

Remember, college is a time of compromise. Going with ramen now means tacos on the beach later. Just make sure to plan ahead and avoid impulse eating and you will be well on your way to that trip of a lifetime.

Cy Whitling can be reached at crumbs@uidaho.edu

John Adams once wrote “one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.”

Americans could save 25 million trees each year by recycling 10 percent of their newspapers.

Source: wtffunfact.com

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Hangin’ out An app made for the college freshman claire whitley rawr It all started at the University of Southern California with a pen and a trusty notebook.

Three years ago, the pen and paper turned into a mobile app called Hangtime where viewers can see all the local events around town and campus.

Creator of Hangtime, Karl Jacob, said that when he arrived at USC, he was the only one from his entire town. He knew no one and knew nothing about the new town he was living in.

Jacob would go around campus and ask people what events were going on around town or where interesting things were happening and catalog them in a notebook.

“I became known as the guy to go to if you wanted to find things to do,” Jacob said.

After he graduated and moved on to advise many companies, including Facebook, Jacob decided to create Hangtime. He said the app gathers all the Facebook events going on around a particular campus, including other events such as concerts, museum openings, art shows, bowling tournaments and more.

Jacob said Hangtime is more of a discovery app that allows people to hunt through the list of hundreds of events they could be interested in, rather than only having a list of four events to choose from.

The app is aimed at incoming college freshmen because Jacob believes that one of the hardest things for someone new to do is figure out what’s

going on around campus.

“The first priority is ‘where is my dorm room,’ ‘where are my classes,’ but the very next thing is ‘what am I going to do socially?’” Jacob said. “And for college students this information is very limited, and they have to get details by word of mouth. So basically the events you know about are based on who you happen to know on campus.”

Jacob said Hangtime gives users a feed of events that are going on, and lists almost everything that is going on around is a huge leg up versus the school newspaper or calendar of events.

“Because of my experience in college, we wanted to make sure we solved that problem for college students,” Jacob said.

However college students aren’t the only ones using the app. According to Jacob, people in large cities and other countries use Hangtime to find out events that are going on around them. Travelers can use Hangtime to help find events and places around new cities, Jacob said.

He believes that Hangtime will help incoming college students find interesting things to do and help them meet new people as well as help students figure out what is going on in their new environment.

“I think it is the best way to connect to the events that are going on around campus and your friends that are going to them,” Jacob said.

Claire Whitley can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu

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LETTUCE BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU, OUR STORIES ARE FRESH AND PUN FREE* *Completely untrue, puns are grape

Certified fresh every Friday with The Argonaut or online at uiargonaut.com

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The Search for Paradise – Part 1 melody pond rawr The voice, the wretched voice from his childhood, droned continuously through the line. Unconsciously, he had ceased listening; his pale grey eyes focused with rapt attention on a peculiar spot decorating the ceiling. The spot itself was nothing interesting, just a normal, mundane spot. However, the fact that there was even a spot over his desk was the interesting part. He normally cleaned so meticulously, without even leaving a speck of dust on the carpet.

With a silent sigh, he lifted his head from the back of the chair upon which it had been resting. The phone still pressed to his ear, he stood and wandered his way towards the bookshelves adorning the opposite wall. Gold lettering shone in the light from his desk lamp, looking like sharp, little pieces of wealth. The volumes, mostly - no, solely - law books, were resting quietly, unaffected by the screeching voice of an unhappy mother on the phone with her son.

“Sean Conway!”

Hearing his name called so sharply made his eardrums ring.

“Hm?” he asked, rubbing away the intrusive chiming. He made a mental note to see an audiologist when he returned, fearing that he might have a damaged cochlea.

A sigh crackled through the phone. “Have you even been listening to me?”

Of course not. It was all stuff he had heard before ‘You won’t be young forever, you know.’

‘There are some nice ladies out there.’ ‘For God’s sake, you’re thirty-one and still unmarried!’

Need he hear more?

“Of course, Mother,” he lied, running a hand through his naturally white hair. It wasn’t that he had gone gray early; it was just what he was born with.

White hair, pale eyes, and ivory skin. Throughout school, and

even up into law school, he had picked up the nickname, Ghost.

He liked it, really. Even the media called him the Ghost Lawyer.

It was catchy and provided an interesting sort of fame.

Her nagging voice interrupted his wandering thoughts.

“Then do me this one small favor: get married.”

He rolled his eyes. Why did she always insist like this? Marriage is not something to take lightly. Besides, he was still searching for the one woman, the infamous soul mate that is written about in fairy tales. He wanted to meet that woman before he married anyone.

“You need to just go out there and find yourself a nice girl,” his mother continued.

What he needed was a vacation. Luckily, he had enough vacation days saved up so he could take the next month off, if he so chose. He ran through a list of places. Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Sicily. Then, somehow, his mind settled on Fiji. Yes, he would be sure to go to Fiji…

Sean stared out of the small window. He had never really been fond of airplanes, but the view they offered once in the sky could not compare to anything in the world. However, while on the ground, it was like sitting in a car stopped at a red light. Bland, boring, and with nothing to look at except angry people bustling by.

There was a small commotion next to him. Glancing towards the aisle, he saw a younger woman. Her red hair reminded him of the cherries people put on top of sundaes.

It was loosely braided over her shoulder, appearing only just long enough to do so, as if she had only recently decided to let it grow out. Her face, smooth and pearly, was turned down in puzzlement. The sea-green eyes flicked from the small purple suitcase by her side to the overhead compartment. He imagined he could see steam coming out of her ears as her mind worked ferociously. Then, making him jump, she threw a

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backpack onto the seat next to him, lifted the small case, and shoved it into the compartment with a satisfied huff.

Her face, now brightened by a smile, turned towards Sean.

The expression in her eyes held a kind of self-confidence he had never experienced. She looked as though nothing in the world could scare her, let alone stop her.

“Sorry about that,” she apologized brightly, picking up her bag off the seat and plopping down in its place.

Sean forced an understanding smile.

“I’m Alice,” she chimed, extending a slim hand.

He glanced warily from her hand to her face, wondering what kind of ulterior motives drove her to introduce herself.

Did she find him handsome or something? The thought brought a genuine smile to his face, as he introduced himself.

“Sean,” he replied, shaking her hand gently.

Her grin glistened in the sun from the open window. “It’s a pleasure, Sean.”

He mumbled some kind remark, unsure why he was even speaking to her. This woman, whoever she was, had made him break one of his cardinal rules for travelling: Never tell anyone your real name. In fact, he almost never told anyone except clients his name, real or otherwise. He was always wary, believing everyone had some criminal intent. He was, after all, a prosecutor, trained to never trust what people say, but only what you find out yourself.

Throughout the loading of passengers and luggage, the chipper Alice made attempts at drawing Sean into conversation.

Sometimes it worked, but as soon as he realized what he was doing he would clam up again.

He eventually heard her sigh. It was such a defeated sound.

With something pulling at his mind, he turned his grey eyes in her direction, wondering what was wrong. He quickly chided himself. It wasn’t his problem. He barely knew her anyway, so why should he care that she sounded so dismal? Yet, despite everything, he wanted to know why she had sighed so dejectedly, why she had laughed so well earlier, or even the reason behind her smiling upon first meeting him. He found himself wanting to know the little things that made this woman who she was. But why?

Why did he feel connected to her, even after so short a span of time? His thought ran deep and long. So long, that he was only brought back by a soft tap on his shoulder. The grey eyes focused on Alice’s cheerful face, then upon the stewardess standing in the aisle.

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Events calendar Friday, Aug. 22 8:30 a.m.- University Convocation in the Kibbie Dome 11:30 a.m.- Univeristy Lunch in the Commons Plaza 7:30 p.m.- Complete Works of William Shakespeare at Kenworthy

Saturday, Aug. 23 8:00 a.m. - Moscow Farmers Market on Main Street 8:30 a.m. - Serving Your New Community (SYNC) on the Tower Lawn 9:00 a.m. - Saturday Morning Cartoons at Kenworthy 5:30 p.m. - Palousafest 2014 on the Tower Lawn 7:30 p.m. - Complete Works of William Shakespeare at Kenworthy

Sunday, Aug. 24 6:30 p.m. - LGBTQA Ice Cream Social in the Student Diversity Center

Monday, Aug. 25 Fall classes begin

Wednesday, Aug. 27 12:00 p.m. - Daytime Distractions

Thursday, Aug. 28

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De R O W of th K

E E W

“Flibbertigibbet, /flib-er-tee-jib-it/” A chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

Example: “Anne was a bit of a flibbertigibbet when she moved in.”

8:00 p.m. - Vandal Entertainment Presents Hypnotist Matt Grisham 8:00 p.m. - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at Kenworthy

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Welcome back to the Commons!

Idaho commons: 885 . 2667 info@uidaho.edu

Student Union: 885 . 4636

www.sub.uidaho.edu