Buzz Magazine: Jan. 26, 2012 by Buzz Magazine

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week of Janurary 26, 2012

I.D.E.A. STORE 4 eric benson 8 count chocula: origin 10

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VOL10 NO4

JANUARY 26, 2012

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hair day?

IN THIS ISSUE CRAFT TIME!

Perfect time to get your senior picture taken.

THE WAY OF THE BLADE HOUSE SHOWS MAIZE

Restaurant review

UNDERWORLD 9

FOOD & DRINK Were you a fan of Jasmine’s column last semester? “Refrigerator Recipes” is back for another round! Check it out on readbuzz.com every Friday.

MUSIC Check out reviews for the new records by The Big Pink and Little Brutes, and then get mad because you disagree with our opinions!

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Check out the Arts tab on readbuzz.com to read about local theater and dance, as well as interviews with local artists!

MOVIES & TV

illioyearbook.com 217-337-8314 Illini Media 512 E. Green Champaign Did you see the Oscar nominations? Well, we did. We wrote up a bunch of snubs and they’re online now! buzz

The local forecast

COMMUNITY Finding that special someone who’s worth your time can be hard. This week, relationship columnist Erin tells you how to distinguish between a Keeper and a Creeper. Check it out online!

Spurlock’s latest exhibit (with live demonstration!)

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Appointments Available January 23rd to February 4th

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CALENDAR

Your guide to this week’s events in CU

EDITOR’S NOTE DYLAN SUTCLIFF

For the past couple of days, I’ve seen something that kind of cheeses me off. At around 11 a.m., a police car parks in the middle of Green Street outside of Starbucks while the occupant buys a cup of coffee. As far as I can tell, if any other car parked directly in the middle of the street for minutes at a time, that same police officer would probably give the car a ticket, or a local business would get it towed. Let’s take a step back for a second. Personally, I don’t take too much stock in rules or restrictions. At some point in high school, I realized that the activities I had been taught to avoid or refrain from doing weren’t necessarily for my well-being but instead were put in place to slow down the chaos that inherently exists in life. Since, I have made sure to assess each situation’s bearing on my life and others. If the outcome does not affect either negatively, I bypass the rule and do what I want. I do not believe this is the right answer in this particular case. If a person parks in the middle of the street to get coffee, that’s their decision, and while it may not be necessarily legal, it doesn’t necessarily cause any harm. However, when the person in question is a police officer, everything changes. I don’t really like cops — not as people, but as an institution. Their place in our society is necessary, as humanity cannot rely safely on the honor system, but with a badge, car and gun comes a certain amount of moral responsibility that should surpass normal civilians. If a cop takes advantage of the law, then how can he/ she condemn any person who does the same? Who watches the watchmen? Seeing that police car parked in the middle of Green Street gets me thinking: Why is this person able to do something normal people cannot? The fact of the matter is that he, as a person, legally cannot, but no cop is going to bust a comrade. It’s this kind of abuse of power that gives police a bad name and is the subject of oh so many major films. I admit this is a minor infringement, but come on, dude. Park somewhere other than in the middle of the damn road like the rest of us.

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JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

GRIPES

TRACY WOODLEY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

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YEAR OF THE DRAGON by Avani Chhaya

BUZZ STAFF

COVER DESIGN Michael Zhang EDITOR IN CHIEF Dylan Sutcliff MANAGING EDITOR Peggy Fioretti ART DIRECTOR Olivia La Faire COPY CHIEF Drew Hatcher PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Sean O’Connor IMAGE EDITOR Peggy Fioretti PHOTOGRAPHERS Sean O’Connor DESIGNERS Lucas Albrecht, Michael Zhang MUSIC EDITOR Adam Barnett FOOD & DRINK EDITOR Samantha Bakall MOVIES & TV EDITOR Nick Martin ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Tracy Woodley COMMUNITY EDITOR Amy Harwath CU CALENDAR Joyce Famakinwa COPY EDITORS Sarah Alo, Casey McCoy ONLINE EDITOR Jessica Bourque DISTRIBUTION Brandi and Steve Wills PUBLISHER Lilyan J. Levant

TALK TO BUZZ

Fresh starts are appreciated — nay, welcomed with open arms — especially when New Year’s resolutions cannot get off the ground. Need another chance to start training for a big race, to muster the courage to audition for that play, or to simply remind yourself of your strength? Say no more because the Chinese New Year has just kicked off the year of the dragon. In Chinese culture, dragons represent power and luck, and it is the most popular year to be born into. The Chinese New Year, which coincides with the Lunar New Year, is celebrated with throngs of family members and with the first new moon that graces the night sky. Janis Man, a senior in Education, said she celebrates the new year with a family dinner. Moving from Hong Kong 12 years ago makes it difficult to celebrate with little family around, she said. The traditional dishes for a family dinner on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day are intended to convey messages of prosperity in the new year, Man added. A dish of noodles, for instance, is meant to signify a long, prosperous life. Another dish resembling a crispy, Chinese funnel cake is one of Man’s favorite snacks, which her aunt makes every New Year’s. Man added that people dress up in costumes to put on a lion dance, based on a traditional legend. The villagers adorn an elaborate lion costume to scare off the monster that was plaguing the village every New Year’s Eve. Firecrackers in Chinatown, money in red envelopes from the elders, traditional lion dances and family visits celebrating the new year are what characterize this celebratory event, she said. “It means a lot to people in countries that celebrate it.”

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» Dirty Dancing: It’s hard for me to openly admit how much I love this movie, since I usually avoid and dismiss sappy romance movies (particularly those from the 80s). But I feel that Dirty Dancing truly is a classic and a really fun movie. It’s got a great love story, Patrick Swayze, Ferris Bueller’s older sister and tons of cheesy lines to remember and quote at random moments. But the best part, of course, is the music. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack features awesome tracks from The Ronettes, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, and Otis Redding. And who can forget the timeless hit “The Time of My Life,” which has become one of the most iconic songs in recent film history? The dancing is exciting and sexy and makes you wanna take a salsa class. Who can forget that first, awkward merengue between Baby and Johnny? Or the scene when they first kiss? Dirty Dancing is legendary, and I suggest you all come over and watch it.

SEAN O’CONNOR PHOTO EDITOR

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» My spring schedule: I’m sitting on my dream schedule right now. My poetry class is taught by a super swell english doctor named Phillip. He has gauges, which thrills me. My film class is a rich analyzation of a Hitchcock, Altman, or Scorsese movie per week. I know 75% of the people in my history of photography class. I’ve never had pretty girls initiate conversation with me in college, but so far it’s happened to me twice in my sociology lecture. My project this week in my photography studio is to go planking. I don’t wake up before 11 a.m. The only problem I’ve had is trying to fit in an English class focused entirely on Alan Moore.

MICHAEL ZHANG DESIGNER

GRIPES

» Smelly Roommates: Last Saturday, one of my roommates, whom I will not name (hint: he/ she wrote a “like” for this week), took the most unearthly shit in our shared bathroom. It was 4 a.m. in the morning, and I go into the bathroom to be greeted with the most ungodly stench I’ve ever had the displeasure to encounter in my 20 years of being alive. It smelled like a rotting carcass filled with rancid Taco Bell meat. It turns out this unnamed roommate had just had Mongolian Beef from Chopstix. It was so bad that I almost wished our toilet was still clogged just so that he would’ve gone to the gas station to do it (which we were actually doing when our toilet was clogged last month). Moral of the story: If you eat Mongolian beef from Chopstix, take your dump to the gas station and not my bathroom. buzz

crafty creations

The How-To Guide on Monstrously Colorful Art Projects

by Avani Chhaya

am the farthest thing from a Suzy Homemaker. My sewing is most likely at the remedial level, while my knitting abilities and arts ‘n crafts skills are disastrous. On my best day, I get caught in explosions of gold flakes of glitter and webs of hot glue. That hardly stops me in my pursuit of everything and anything artsy. While scouring Pinterest, the online pinboard where people share and post images that spark inspiration, I discovered three projects that I wanted to undertake. The problem is that these artsy craft projects did not come with a step-by-step instruction booklet. A real monstrosity A bespectacled, green polka-dotted monster bookmark. Materials: » a square piece of paper » extra paper » coloring utensils (crayons, colored pencils, markers, or highlighters) » tape How-To: » Start with a square piece of paper. » Take the top right-hand corner of that square piece of paper, and fold it diagonally to the lower left-hand corner, creating a triangle. » Unfold the paper to its original square form. » Take the top left and right-hand corners and fold them in (both corners should meet halfway along the paper). » Then, fold all the other corners so they meet in the middle of the paper. » With all the corners folded, turn the paper over.

Not just junk

» Take the top portion and fold it over to the bottom of the paper, creating a rectangle. » Then, take the right-hand side, and fold it over to meet the left-hand side, producing a square. » Turn the paper on its side for the diamond shape, and tape the top portion together. » Cut four small triangles for the monster’s teeth, two large circles and two medium circles for its eyes. » Glue the top triangular pieces to the monster’s mouth, and glue the two medium circles in the two large circles on the monster’s face. » With colored pencils, crayons or highlighters, color the diamond with funky patterns or polka dots, and voila! Splatter paint me that A perfect painting idea for anyone who used to make mud pies with worms a la mode, because this masterpiece of an idea can get a bit messy. Materials: » a piece of canvas » one or two 48-packs of crayons » superglue or a gluestick (if using superglue or crazy glue, you will definitely need a pair of latex gloves to prevent gluing your fingers together) » cheap, acrylic paints (can be purchased at the dollar store in the basic and bright colors) » half of a pair of chopsticks or a plastic utensil » eye droppers » a sink nearby » old newspapers to put beneath the canvas How-To: » Start with any size piece of canvas and a pack of at least 48 crayons (more crayons will be needed

Photo by Avani Chhaya

if you want your painting to be horizontal). » Organize the colors of crayons from darkest to lightest in a row. » Wearing those gloves, glue down the crayons at the top of the canvas with the crayon facing downwards. » Set up your work station: lay down those old newspapers on the floor, and put the crayonadorned canvas on the newspapers. » In an empty eye dropper (once you have unscrewed the top, which may require using your teeth), scrape one color of the acrylic paint into the eye dropper using the chopstick/ plastic utensil.

» Put three to four drops of water into the eye dropper, and shake it up. » While holding the eye dropper top down (do not close it because you will have a difficult time getting it unscrewed), drop that color beneath the crayons that it aligns with. » Continue this process until the entire canvas is covered in beautiful shades of colors. » Putting some of that color in your hands and flicking your fingers will also allow you to splatter the color in tiny flecks. » Do NOT lift it up vertically until it is completely, absolutely done (otherwise, you will let the colors run into one another).

Local I.D.E.A. Store helps community schools through unconventional crafting

by Jessica Bourque

ake a minute to think about your garbage — the empty egg cartons, the old magazines, the outdated CD’s. To most people, the stuff stuffing the trash bag is junk. It’s clutter. It has served its purpose, right? Workers at the I.D.E.A. Store in Champaign would say no. To them, that isn’t just trash you are throwing away — it’s an idea. “We believe there is really nothing that you throw away that can’t be re-purposed. That’s the underlying philosophy of the I.D.E.A store,” said Ning Zulauf, the store’s assistant manager. This one-of-a-kind store, which opened last December, is a warehouse full of what most people consider junk. Stacks of old maps, buckets of Easter eggs and barrels of CD cases are just of a few of the oddities scattered among the store’s sea of scrap. All of these objects may sound useless, but with a little creativity and resourcefulness, this so-called junk becomes art. “A little imagination can go a long way. I can’t look at my trash the same because I’m always thinking about what kind of craft I can make from 4

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it,” said Ellie Brzezenski, a junior at U of I and a frequent I.D.E.A. Store customer. Brzezenski comes here for her recreational crafting needs, but the I.D.E.A. Store is a hotspot for many of the university’s design students, as well. But if creativity isn’t your strong point, the I.D.E.A. Store can help with that. Inspirational craft books scatter the store to kindle customers’ ingenuity. Plus, the store holds workshops and open studios where anyone can learn to make a re-purposed creation. Aside from fostering creativity, the I.D.E.A. Store gives back to the community and the environment. By salvaging others’ trash, that much less waste will end up rotting in a landfill. The store is also a part of the Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation, meaning one-hundred percent of the store’s profits go to help community schools. “We are 99% volunteer based. I am the only full-time employee as the assistant manager... We have a lot of people come out and help — sometimes only once a month, but some people will come almost every day,” said Zulauf.

Photo by Animah Boakye. Best of C-U 2011: Category Winner for Green Business is I.D.E.A. Store.

And they need the help. The store’s storage and sorting room is crammed full of merchandise. To make the sorting process faster, the store sells many of its products by weight to avoid individually pricing each object. Zulauf said donations pour in from individual people as well as businesses that will donate items in bulk. Volunteers are constantly sorting,

restocking and pricing the seemingly neverending stream of junk. There is a criterion, however, for what donations the store can accept. Among some of the restricted items are batteries, plastic grocery bags, complete appliances and furniture. A complete list of accepted donations can be found on the I.D.E.A. Store’s website.

readbuzz.com January 26 - February 1, 2012

Getting an iPhone totally beats losing my virginity.

bringing exhibits to life

YOGA

FOR MEN An introductory class with emphasis on creating flexibility, maintaining fitness for sports as well as reducing fatigue and for prostate health.

12 Week Spring Session Starts February 1 Wednesdays 7:00 - 8:30 PM Enroll Anytime

YOGA institute of Champaign-Urbana 407 W. Springfield 344-YOGA (344-9642) www.yoga-cu.com

Dan Keding (left) and Marc Jeray (right) demonstrating Ukenagashi

Spurlock Museum to host martial arts demonstration by Thomas Thoren

he Spurlock Museum will host a demonstration of Japanese martial arts 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, as part of their continuing exhibit “Warriors, Guardians, and Demons.” Four members of the Kobudokan Dojo in Urbana will display iaido and kobujutsu, two traditional weapons-based martial arts. During the 90-minute exhibition, visitors can also learn about the history of Japanese martial arts by observing various artifacts and participating in a question and answer session with the dojo members. Kim Sheahan, assistant director of education at Spurlock Museum, said the exhibit has been up since July 2011 and will end on Feb. 26. It was funded by a grant through the University’s Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies that allowed two University students to become curators of the 200 items donated by Fred Freund. Though Freund lives in New York, he has family members in Champaign-Urbana who are able to appreciate his donation. With the help of Tandy Lacy, director of education, and Christa Deacy-Quinn, collections manager, the museum added the demonstration to enhance the learning experience for museum visitors. “They’re providing a three-dimensional performance that helps make (the exhibits) come to life,” Sheahan said. Sensei Michael Kleppin, co-owner of the dojo, seventh-degree black belt in kobujutsu and thirddegree black belt in iaido, said there are several common misconceptions about samurai and their swords. “The sword is said to be the soul of the samurai. We mix our understanding of the bushido — the warrior’s code — because we keep confusing how they used it in that little incident between 1940 and 1945.” The sword is only a means for the samurai to carry out his duty — “to serve,” as it is literally translated. Kleppin also said there are many misunderstandings about the significance of bowing in martial arts. “The etiquette is that we’re bowing towards our ancestors in our school — the people

who went before us and taught the people who taught us. We bow to the sword out of respect.” His dojo is somewhat unconventional because of its adherence to the traditions of the arts. He said a common error made by many dojos is teaching students weapons-based arts only after they have achieved black belts in empty-handed arts. “Traditionally, you learn weapons first. You learn empty-hand because if you drop your weapon, or you break your weapon... you want to know how.” Having a weapon is ideal, so this knowledge is more applicable in most instances. Sal Belahi, third-degree black belt in kobujutsu, will demonstrate the art at Spurlock. He said it “is the study of the classical weapons of feudal Okinawa.” Belahi and the rest of the dojo also teach a variation on this art called kobudo, which is “more about studying the forms themselves” and “studying the actual weapon,” whereas kobujutsu focuses on the combative movements and theories. Iaido is similar to these two but focuses on a quicker draw that takes advantage of an unprepared opponent. On Sunday, these four dojo members will demonstrate their favorite kata, or practiced move sets for various fighting situations. Marc Jeray, brown belt in iaido, described one, seiza mae, as a simple twocut attack across the eyes or throat. “You approach them and you kill them. Flick the blood off, put your sword away — done.” For arts that involve movements meant to be “very fatalistic,” they can be both mentally and physically calming for Jeray and the other dojo members. “Instead of cutting my opponent, what I’m doing is cutting my ego,” Kleppin said. “I’m working on something I know I’ll never get perfect, and yet here I am again tonight giving it another shot.” Kobudoken Dojo, 1717 Philo Rd., Urbana, currently teaches about 35 students of all ages and experience-levels in iaido, kobujutsu and many other arts. They offer classes on weekday evenings and Saturday afternoon. buzz

MUSIC

garfield’s garden Making music and lasagna

Low-Cal Music 0g of sodium!

by Dan Durley

by Adam Barnett

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Who: The Dan Pierson Trio When: Friday, Jan. 27 @ 8:30 p.m. Where: The Iron Post Cost: $4 Bee doo boo bop ba dop. Did you like that? That was jazz. But I’m not very good at typing jazz. If you want real jazz from a real jazz trio that plays real jazz music, go see the Dan Pierson Trio, fronted by namesake UIUC pianist Dan Pierson. Improvisation, covers, originals, toe-tapping, finger-snapping jazz.

Used with permission from Dan Pierson

What: CU Collective Fundraiser #2 Who: The Palace Flophouse, Comfort Food, Cheyenne Social Club When: Thursday, Jan. 26 @ 9 p.m. Where: The Brass Rail Cost: $5

You know how there’s the Iron Post? Well, there’s also a Brass Rail because CU loves its metals. Speaking of metal, the CU Collective is hosting its second fundraiser show to raise money for shenanigans, a DIY venue and its efforts to promote the local music scene. None of the music is metal per se, but you can check out live music from the Palace Flophouse, Comfort Food and Cheyenne Social Club. Maybe you can bring a date. Just use the pickup line, “I listen to local music and not Nickelback,” and you’ll get all the members of the opposite/same/whatever sex you choose (you’ll get EVERYONE). Aaron Shults and Sam McKenzie from Garfield's Garden

So far only local groups have been involved in the project, but the gang is trying to branch out a little. “Since we started doing Garfield’s Kitchen,” Shults said, “we’ve asked national acts like Girl Talk and Kreayshawn to come do the show, but they both declined.” Shults is looking to expand the cooking show beyond its normal format. “In the future,” he said, “I’d really love to talk to local businesses about sponsoring the show. I think it would be a really cool way to add another local aspect to the show. I would love to try to get this show on Public Access television, so if you’re reading this and you’re a local business that’s interested in sponsoring Garfield’s Kitchen or know how I can get on public access television, contact me at garfieldsgarden@gmail.com.” Expanding the scope of Garfield’s Kitchen could be an invaluable tool for shows at Garfield’s Garden in the future, as well. Raising awareness about the local scene is always key, and as one of the last house venues left in the area, it’s good to keep things going.

briefbox

weaty dudes. Loud music. People packed in like sardines. Ahh... house shows. House shows are a staple of any D.I.Y. punk scene, and Champaign-Urbana is no exception. But who in the world would put in all the time, effort and risk to throw these precious shows? Enter Kyle Lang, Sam McKenzie and Aaron Shults. The three of them throw shows at their house, which they named “Garfield’s Garden.” The house is home to a multitude of musical acts, ranging from local high school bands to national touring bands. No genres are excluded from Garfield’s Garden shows, which allows for a diverse group of people at each show. As for the atmosphere — according to Shults, you just can’t beat a house show when you compare it to a traditional venue. “House shows are much more intimate,” he said. “There’s no stage, so you’re not putting any of the musicians on a pedestal. Everyone’s on the same level, and that’s pretty cool.” So why name the house “Garfield’s Garden”? It turns out there isn’t any special significance. Lang, McKenzie and Shults just think Garfield is funny. Shultz said they had another name in mind, but they thankfully decided against it. “All summer, we were trying to think up names,” he said. “And Kyle and I were really fond of the name ‘The Teen Dungeon.’ We thought that would be the name of some cool shed that people would hang out in during the 90s with, like, Kurt Cobain posters on the wall and illuminated with Christmas lights. But others thought it was something sick and twisted.” At Garfield’s Garden, a D.I.Y. philosophy is key. For Lang, there’s really no other way to do things. “I feel like the D.I.Y. philosophy is the only thing I’ve really ever known,” he said. “I started playing shows in basements, [before College] and when I came to University, that never really changed. I think it’s really cool that most people that come to these D.I.Y. shows have a lot of respect for the house and all the incoming bands. But really, there’s no right or wrong way to do anything.” The three don’t have a specific favorite show that they’ve thrown at Garfield’s Garden, but this Friday’s show will be tough to top. Lang’s own indie fuzz band Easter will play along with Midstress, Traveling, An Evening Out With Your Mother and Childbride. Shows aren’t the only things happening at Garfield’s Garden. Shults said they also like to cook and recently developed an online cooking show called “Garfield’s Kitchen,” where bands that are coming through Champaign cook with them and play a song. “The whole idea for this started when I was in my old band NJCK Cowboys in Peoria, IL,” Shults explained. “We would often practice for a little bit, take an extended break to eat, and then practice a little bit more. We always thought it would be cool to give local bands a little bit of exposure while having a lot of fun in the process.”

Garfield’s Garden WHo: Easter, traveling, midstress, child-

bride, an evening with your mother when: friday, jan. 27 @ 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: donations accepted

Who: Empires, Horrible Things, Draft Week, Deathtram When: Friday, Jan. 27 @ 9:00 p.m. Where: The Canopy Club Cost: $8 in advance; $10 at the door I hate stubbing my toes on rocks. It hurts. But rock music? That’s a different story. Chicago-based Empires blasts a sort of post-grunge feel the band states is influenced by The Pixies, The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana. I wholeheartedly agree, and if that’s your scene, then you may quite possibly like Empires. You’ve also got locals Horrible Things, Draftweek and Deathtram for support, which means you’ve got some solid rock going throughout the night (but then again, have you ever found a rock on the ground that isn’t solid — boy, “rock” puns never tire).

Things to look forward to this month: Thursday, Jan. 26: CU Collective Fundraiser Show #2 - Brass Rail Friday, Jan. 27: Empires - The Canopy Club Friday Jan. 27: Bailiff - The Canopy Club Friday, Jan. 27: Easter, Traveling, Midstress, Childbride, An Evening With Your Mother - Garfield’s Garden

Food

Drink

January 26 - February 1, 2012

Is this real life...size?

readbuzz.com

A look into making a life-size gingerbread man for the holidays!

by Jasmine Lee

ingerbread cookies and gingersnaps are my all-time favorite cookies, and every holiday season, I plan and plan to make a life-sized gingerbread man cookie. (And by life-sized, I mean between four and five feet tall. And by holiday season, I mean the minute Starbucks rolls out their holiday drinks.) So I made it my mission to actually go through with it before the end of this year. I tripled the recipe for thick and chewy gingerbread cookies, and for the sake of my sanity and the size of my oven, decided to make each part of the man separate and then use frosting of some kind to seam him together. There are countless recipes for very good frosting (royal icing, vanilla, etc.), but I just went with the aislefriendly Duncan Hines white frosting. Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies » 3 cups flour » 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed » 3/4 t baking soda » 1/2 t salt » 1 T ground cinnamon » 1 T ground ginger » 1/2 t ground cloves » 1/2 t ground nutmeg » 1 1/2 sticks butter, slightly softened » 3/4 cup molasses » 1/2-1 t vanilla extract » 2 T milk Combine your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Then mix in the brown sugar. In another bowl, mix together the molasses and milk till evenly combined. Cut up your

butter into tablespoon pieces and sprinkle them over your flour mixture. With a pastry blender or knives or even with your fingers, work the butter into the dough until it resembles a fine meal. Then add a third of your molasses/milk mix to the bowl and combine. Repeat two more times until all the molasses/milk is incorporated into the flour. By now, you should have a soft dough. Gather it into a ball, and divide it in two. Place one half of the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll it to a 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with the other dough half. Stack the two plastic wrapsandwiched dough sheets on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for two hours or overnight. Once the dough is firm, remove it from the fridge. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Take one sheet of dough, flip it over and peel off the bottom piece of plastic wrap. Place the plastic wrap back on and flip it all back. Now peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap and begin cutting out your cookies with your cookie cutters, placing the cookies onto the parchment-lined trays as you cut. Bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes, depending on how large your cookies are (8 minutes for 3-inch shapes and up to 11 minutes for 5-inch shapes). They should be set when taken out of the oven, but not hard. Let them cool on their trays for a few minutes, and then let them finish cooling on a wire rack. When the cookies are totally cool, you are free to decorate them however you want. Wow, this was a challenging task. As in, why did I ever want to make a life-size version? I used myself as the outline for the cookie, or at least, a very general outline (the head turned out to be twice the size of mine). And because it’s winter, I decided to outfit

restaurant Review

Photo by Jasmine Lee

the man with mittens for hands and socks for feet. The hardest part was to figure out whether I wanted a tubby round man or a slim rectangular one. I went with the figure-friendly figure, only because getting a properly round head was hard enough, and I didn’t want a repeat of it with the body. I left the recipe above as I found it on the internet, in case you hungry readers wanted to try out a batch of truly chewy and soft gingerbread men. The only kinks I had with the recipe was the need to refrigerate the dough for two hours before it was firm enough to ply (this was due to the entire jar and a half of molasses that went into the mix) and that the cookies ended up tasting less sweet than I’d anticipated (which was probably attributed to the lack of white sugar and the many, many spices that went in). Dealing with

nine cups of flour wasn’t easy, and the molassesmilk mixture was the weirdest thing to touch, but I got some use out of my apron and all of my and my roommates’ mixing bowls, so, score. Before I mended my man together – playing with the hands and its two-part legs was a little morbidly fascinating – I made sure to completely cool his limbs. I had picked up one mittened hand before it had completely cooled down, and it kind of split into two. I hadn’t planned on using anything except for white frosting to decorate him a la Gingy from Shrek, so I liberally coated the flat side of a mitten, then one end of an arm, before carefully pressing them together and letting the frosting squish up between the edges. (Adapted from http://www.diamondsfordessert. com/2009/12/gingerbread-men.html)

Maize

What it lacks in elbow room, it more than makes up for in authentic flavor by Stacey Klouda

have a sweet tooth, yes, but I also have a darnnear unquenchable appetite for Mexican food — a Mexi-tooth, if you will — that drives me from hacienda to hacienda searching for a place to satisfy these cravings. Maize is one of these places. With its fresh ingredients and bustling atmosphere, the new Mexican joint, Maize, blows away its Green Street competitors. Conveniently located on the corner of First and Green, and thus closer to campus than other decent Mexi-spots in town, it offers quality comida without the need to drive or navigate the headache of the CUMTD in belowfreezing weather. Although this tiny gem offers little in terms of seating, it makes up for this in its authentic flavors, affordable prices and cozy, hole-in-the-wall charm. The perfect pick-up pick-me-up, I’d say get this Mexican comfort food to-go and have your own little fiesta in the comfort and warmth of your home or apartment.

With my second visit to Maize, the newest addition to the Champaign Mexican scene, I’m still mooning over the handmade tortillas. What can I say — I’m a sucker for quality carbs. Chewy and flavorful, they provide the perfect vessel for dishes like their huaraches, burritos, and tacos. The chorizo was also a highlight in any number of dishes as it offered a nice bite of spiced, tangy meatiness. It was a little rich, but it was nicely balanced by the free salsa. The salsa on its own was a little lackluster, but it was homemade and acted “more like a mild hot sauce,” noted one senior in Psych, Nancy Intapura. Another happy customer commented that besides the tasty tortillas, the classic Mexican accoutrements — rice, beans, guac — were all worthy of standing alone next to their main dish counterparts. The hotspot features Mexican staples like cilantro and oniontopped pastor tacos, as well as variations on the classic ‘dillas and ‘ritos with a pleasantly surprising array of fillings (pumpkin blossoms or huitlacoche,

anyone?). On the other hand, they present a bunch of less well-known offerings (at least to me) such as huaraches and tasty Mexico City tortas that will keep you coming back for mas. If you’re lucky enough to nab a spot or two at the colorfully-tiled counter top, you’ll be able to fully appreciate one of the best aspects of Maize — how “real” it feels with people bustling around, a line of people determinedly waiting and knowing it’ll be worth it. I could even see that Guy Fieri character featuring Maize on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with its humble appearance and already-loyal following. Heads up, Food Network! Needless to say, the service was friendly and fast, and there was by no means a shortage of Maizeenthusiasts willing to rave about the place, as you can see by the earlier comments. Even while my friends and I were trying to figure out what a Maize gordita was, a nearby Champaign native simply lifted her plate and said, “This,” then added with a

Maize Mexican Grill. Photo by Animah Boakye.

smile, “And it’s delicious.” Honestly, Maize isn’t absolute perfection, but it blows the local competition out of the water and gives you exactly what you want — something to satisfy the Mexi-tooth in all of us. buzz

arts

entertainment

Redefining Graphic Design

UIUC professor Eric Benson takes a green approach

by Andrea Baumgartner

ric Benson was born into a family of science — both of his parents were chemists. Yet from the time he was little, he was drawing comics. Today, however, he has been able to fuse science and art together. Benson, a professor at the University of Illinois School of Art and Design, teaches sustainability and graphic design. “I’m really looking at how a particular profession — in this case, graphic design — can be sustainable or exist now and into the future,” said Benson. “With keeping in mind that as we use resources to do and make things, we want to make sure that those resources can still be plentiful for those in the future and not be damaging to their health and our health as they currently are.” Benson graduated in 1998 from the University of Michigan. After changing his major six or seven times, he said, he ended up in the art school, found his passion for design and graduated with a degree in graphic and industrial design. It wasn’t until a few years after he graduated that he realized the possibilities of sustainability. “I started to question what happens to things that I make after people stop reading them or stop looking at them,” he said. “It’s all thrown away, but even if some of it’s recycled, there are going to be people who don’t recycle it, so that kind of got me interested in how I can do things different so that doesn’t happen.” Benson then pursued a graduate’s degree in design and social responsibility from the University of Texas in Austin and graduated in

Book Review

2006. At the same time, he developed a website called Re-nourish (re-nourish.com) to fully launch his theories and research on sustainability and graphic design. “The main purpose of the site is to create awareness,” said Benson. “I want people to make better, more responsible decisions.” The site has definitions and resources where people can connect with more responsible printers or where they can find greener paper and tips on how to design their projects and waste less. Benson said the site will be having a mini re-launch in the spring with more tools and resources. Part of Benson’s campaign for a greener arts community includes traveling and speaking at conferences. “The long-term goal is to see if I can translate for educators,” Benson said. “It doesn’t seem like an approachable topic, so I am training professors that teach graphic design to address the sustainability perspective. I have to educate the educators.” His website has also helped him reach other countries that are interested in sustainability. “There are people all across the world that have had me come and speak about Re-nourish and my work here at U of I,” he said. What he said he found funny was that his biggest audience is British design students — mostly seniors working on final design projects — but it’s Re-nourish that draws the most attention. Benson’s research focuses on the balance between people, profit and the planet.

“If you discover a material that could be substituted by something better, that new material could be more expensive and more unattainable for some people,” he said. His research also raises the question of how we should be looking at current events and translating those to the future and focusing on how society is changing. Benson questions, “What are we, as graphic designers, supposed to be making? What we’re making should be in that realm of sustainable, socially responsible and ethical.” On campus, Benson has been working towards creating a greener environment through teaching his classes. Recently, he had a class examine a green product they owned and examine it to see how they could improve it. They visually mapped out the entire system of how it was manufactured, sold and transported, and determined where it could be enhanced to truly make it a sustainable product. Benson has also been working with professor Steve Kostell on producing paper through raising fibers on farmland that can be pulped and grown into a regional economy. “We can use this paper to make a letterhead for the University,” Benson said, “in hopes of creating a more responsible use of paper on campus.” Part of this project includes investigating native grasses and prairie grasses that are being grown on the student sustainability farm on Windsor. “We’re collaborating with the farm manager to grow these grasses that are native here,” he said.

Photo by Michael Zhang

“We can use these grasses to make a blend of paper that can be used by art students to draw on or make a book that we might eventually see in copy at stores on campus.” Benson said he wants to see his research and the tools on Re-nourish become utilized nation-wide. “I hope the future of sustainability can be to reach more universities in the U.S.,” said Benson. “We’re all just sort of making it up as we go and trying something new and finding out it doesn’t work or is really successful — like a lab experiment. Then it’s trying it again as soon as we can in the next class or project. It’s a continuous work in progress.”

The Francis Parkman Library of America collection

by Jeff Nelson I remember well a CBC interview with renowned and nationalistic Canadian historian Pierre Berton where he stressed two critical issues concerning Canadian historical writing. One: that Canada’s distinct culture must be reflected in historical writings. Two: Only Canadian historians best understood those cultural and historical subtleties that made Canada unique — perhaps a good point about writing a nation’s history, but other countries always get into the picture of one country’s story. Berton went on to describe Canada’s role in the War of 1812, making numerous errors about the United States with such gaffs as referring to the Americans “breaking off” negotiations in May of 1812 with the British. Berton neglected to mention the reason for the “break” — British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated by a disgruntled British merchant. So can anyone get it right when it comes to another country’s cultural coverage without being part of the culture? It is not easy, as Pierre Berton embarrassingly demonstrated, to get another person’s story fairly and fully incorporated in yours. The three volumes that encompass the collected historical writings of brilliant 19th century master Francis Parkman are a powerful reminder of how dedication to one’s craft can overcome adversity. 8

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This son of a Boston Unitarian minister overcame a life of ill health and personal tragedies to research and write some of the finest historical prose ever penned in his 70 years from 1823-1893. From his first book, 1847’s The Oregon Trail, to his final revisions of French colonial history in the year of his death, he worked ceaselessly despite a debilitating neurological condition which was never properly diagnosed or controlled. His wife and only son died young; his illness disabled him from time to time, often leaving him temporarily blind. Yet, he managed to travel to many critical locations and archives, wrote over ten books and even served briefly as a Professor of Horticulture at his alma mater, Harvard. His splendid education from Harvard and Harvard Law School gave him a fluent command of French and Latin, two languages ideally suited to study French colonial history. Consider this description of French colonial rule from “The Old Regime in Canada” — ”Nothing is more noticeable in the whole history of Canada, after it came under the direct control of the Crown (In 1663, the French King took over personal supervision of Canada — my note) than the helpless manner in which this absolute government was forced to overlook and ignore the disobedience

and rascality of its functionaries in this distant dependency.” Superb prose, flawless use of vocabulary and imagery — it’s all there in a sentence no modern historian would dare to write. Would he pass Pierre Berton’s test for understanding the unique Canadian cultural context of his subject? Can a Protestant Bostonian get the feel of French Canada? Canadian historian W. J. Eccles has criticized Parkman for anti-Catholic and anti-French biases in his works, and they are there. But his criticism of the Roman Catholic Church is largely of the high clerics. His criticism of French colonial rule is backed by many events he so memorably relates. Yes, he is a man of the 19th Century who felt the Native Peoples fought too “savagely” and needed “civilizing,” and he never shied from telling the world that British rule was the best thing that ever happened to Canada. Yet, you know where he stands; it is not hidden in subtle subtexts. Yet, in between his struggles with his health and personal tragedies, he and his staff visited and researched Canada and Europe and produced an account of events that shaped the destiny of North America. He made every effort to understand his people and his events. He spoke their language and the language of their Church.

Used with permission from Wikipedia Commons

History is not simply a record of past events. It is the record of what people think of the events. Francis Parkman was one of the clearest and most thorough thinkers who ever recreated the past, and we owe much to the Library of America for preserving his version of it.

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I keep getting your germs.

MOVIE REVIEW R

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING

by Kaitlin Penn

★★★✩✩

Photo used with permission from Lakeshore Entertainment

n the fourth Underworld movie, vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is back to deal more death to Lycans (werewolf-human shape shifters), per usual. While Underworld: Awakening may be in 3-D and have a well-established background of plot to go by, one would expect the

film’s strengths to lie in such redeeming features; however, this is not the case. First off, never having been a fan of 3-D (headaches and dizziness ensue), the plentiful action-packed and violent scenes go by much too quickly, hurting my eyes behind the theater’s wannabe Ray-Ban glasses as

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INSTITUTE OF CHAMPAIGN-URBANA

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

IN CASE YOU FORGOT WHAT’S HAPPENING they try to catch up. Although a similar spin on IN THE UNDERWORLD SERIES! the vampire-werewolf lover dichotomy, the plot can only be pushed so far. While doing a good job by Nick Martin of keeping viewers engaged until the very end, » Underworld : Pretty much since forever, vamthe ending itself is not very satisfactory in that pires have been fighting werewolves who can yet another giant cliffhanger presents itself on a shapeshift. This war is waged wearing sexy golden platter. leather. One particular vampire, Selene (who’s Besides a few redeeming qualities (Kate Beck- also half human, but don’t tell), is pissed because insale in tight, black leather; having a leading werewolves killed her family. An Elder vampire female protagonist; a few unexpected twists), named Viktor tries to help her get revenge, but the movie is outnumbered by negative aspects. then it turns out it was Viktor who killed Selene’s Much like most other adventure/action movies, family (and saved her because she reminded him Awakening presents mostly filler and little sub- of his daughter — remember that now). Then stance. If you’re in the mood to try and tune out there’s a gun fight; Viktor falls into a deep sleep. hard-thinking and logic, get ready to turn off your » Underworld: Evolution : We start right where brain and let its juices drip through your nostrils we left off: Viktor wakes up and tries to kill Selene. (an excellent sauce for popcorn). On a plus note, Our sexy vampiress decides she needs to protect having only seen the first Underworld movie my- a necklace, and the bad guys decide they want it, self, the plot unveiled itself easily, even if I wasn’t too. Eventually, another climatic gun fight breaks completely familiar with all of the backstory. out, Selene drinks werewolf blood and gets superTrying to escape the hateful and their current powered, the bad guy gets pushed into helicopter city, lovers Selene and Michael’s plans are cut blades, and the day is saved! short when the two are captured, separated and » Underworld: Rise of the Lycans : Weirdly, this is imprisoned for twelve years. Stuck in an ice cap- the first film in the series chronologically because sule for a decade’s worth of time, Selene wakes it’s a prequel. We see how the werewolf people up to several new realities; Michael is missing, she came to be. Kate Beckinsale wasn’t in this one — has a daughter, and new trouble is brewing. Trying but she narrates it (unfortunate, because you can’t to skedaddle away from the Antigen corpora- see her jumping around in leather). Instead, we tion’s laboratory where she had been pinned at, learn why Selene reminded Viktor of his daughter her new tasks become protecting her newfound — and get to watch Rhona Mitra jump around in daughter and defeating the scientists after them leather. Mitra was much cheaper than Beckinsale, while fighting hardcore throughout. Save your but she’s still a babe. I didn’t see this one, but our art director Olivia said it was cool. money. Don’t see this one.

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The Artist (PG-13) from a 35mm print

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12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 S MAN ON A LEDGE (PG-13) 11:25, 1:55, 4:20, 6:45, 9:10 FRI/SAT LS 11:35 THE GREY (R) 11:00, 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:35 FRI/SAT LS 12:10 EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE (PG-13) 12:35, 3:25, 6:15, 9:05 FRI/SAT LS 11:55 S 3D UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING (R) $2.50 PREMIUM PER 3D TICKET

12:40, 2:50, 5:00, 7:10, 9:25 FRI/SAT LS 11:30 S RED TAILS (PG-13) 11:00, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 S HAYWIRE (R) 12:50, 3:05, 5:20, 7:35, 9:50 FRI/SAT LS 12:00 THE IRON LADY (PG-13) 11:05, 1:30, 3:55, 6:20, 8:45 FRI/SAT LS 11:10 S 3D BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (G) $2.50 PREMIUM PER 3D TICKET 11:55, 2:05, 4:15, 6:25, 8:35 FRI/SAT LS 10:45 S JOYFUL NOISE (PG-13) FRI-SAT, WED-TH 11:30, 2:10, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10 SUN 11:30, 2:10, 7:30, 10:10 MON 11:30, 2:10, 10:10 TUE 11:30, 2:10, 4:50 CONTRABAND (R) 11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:35 FRI/SAT LS 12:05 WAR HORSE (PG-13) 12:25, 3:30, 6:35, 9:40 WE BOUGHT A ZOO (PG) FRI-MON 12:20, 6:10 TUE-TH 12:20 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL (PG-13) FRI-MON 3:10, 9:00 FRI/SAT LS 11:55 WED-TH 3:10 GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (R) 12:05, 3:20, 6:40, 9:55 SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (PG-13) 12:45, 6:30, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 12:05 THE DESCENDANTS (R) 11:40, 2:15, 4:50, 7:25, 10:00 HUGO (PG) 3:40

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The origin of Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and monster-cereal mascots by Nick Martin

hen did Count Chocula stop sucking blood and start selling kid’s cereal? Perhaps he grew bored with the dreariness of a vampire’s Gothic lifestyle. Maybe he thought using his alluring vampireness to tempt children into buying sugary breakfast would make him rich. Making the blood/cereal switch was undoubtedly a good decision — the Count has sucessfully sold his chocolate cereal for more than forty years. Understanding Count Chocula’s breakfast motivation could explain his eccentricities. I tracked down Chocula’s creator for the answer. “Why would a rabbit be qualified to sell the cereal? Or a tiger? We were just looking for a funny character,” said Laura Levine, the creator of Count Chocula and Frankenberry. During the late sixties, Levine worked in advertising at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample (a major ad firm — much like Sterling Cooper on Mad Men). Levine explained Count Chocula’s inauspicious beginnings, “General Mills invented two new cereals — one chocolate, the other strawberry, both with marshmallow bits — and they needed characters to embody them.” Levine was responsible for creating these characters. She wrote an entire (single-spaced) page of prospective cartoon duos; Chocula and Frankenberry were just one option. Unfortunately, that list is lost, likely somewhere in Levine’s garage. In fact, LevineBUZZ explained, she wasn’t even the person to narrowTHURSDAY the list down: “If anyone should get JANUARY 26Jaffe.” credit, it should be Tony corp note...keep this same size always Tony Jaffe is an old school ad man, much like Don Draper (“I didn’t drink, only smoked,” Jaffe 1 X 5.417 said). Jaffe understood that, “Monsters were very page popular at1/8th the time. Maybe it was Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, or they were just on TV a lot. Frankenstein and Dracula are classics. Kids are always fascinated with monsters and dinosaurs and stuff like that.” Dracula was over 70 years old by 1971; Frankenstein was over 150! Both characters were entrenched into the western collective consciousness. Levine echoed this idea: “I thought we could have fun with monsters. Voices that were known in the psyche — people knew what Bela Legosi sounded like.” Jaffe’s job was managing million dollar ad accounts and keeping clients happy. He created the Trix Rabbit, the Cheerios Sugar Bear and other cereal cartoon mascots: he’s a man who understands what makes little kids buy cereal. “At the time, kids cereal had no restrictions — you could basically do whatever you want. It became nutritious because you put milk on them,” Jaffe said. “You tried to match the character to the cereal or vice versa,” Jaffe said. “Kids can remember all of this stuff. They keep it straight in their heads better than adults.” The commercials establish a form that’s easy to replicate. “...And the formula lets kids remember the critters better,” Jaffe said. “For Trix, the rabbit gets into a disguise; the kids reveal the rabbit in some creative way and discover he’s a rabbit. There’s a pattern to the sales in the cereal.” In other words:

Used with permission from The Impulsive Buy and the Creative Commons

the rabbit never got any cereal because if he did, you wouldn’t have remembered the Trix slogan. Early Count Chocula commercials (still available on Youtube) quickly established their form. Chocula and Frankenberry each tried to convince kids to buy their respective cereals. In some ways, this is very strange: why wouldn’t the two monsters who both make cereal become fast friends? They have so much in common! “Conflict is comedy!” Levine explained. Levine wrote the scripts for the first commercials and made the monsters into breakfast pitchmen. “If they both said, ‘Mine tastes good, and so does his,’ there’s nothing funny there. If they’re arguing, there’s tension, action, conflict going on,” Levine said. Neither Levine or Jaffe were responsible for how Count Chocula looked; the original illustrator drawing the characters could not be contacted (Levine and Jaffe both remembered different names). However, the first commercials were animated by BIll Melendez (the voice of Snoopy), and the influence of Peanuts art style is evident in the commercial. The original Chocula was defined by a sharp, oval head, bold lines, and his characteristic buck teeth. “There were giant debates about whether Count Chocula should have fangs or shouldn’t have fangs,” Levine said. Ironically, neither of the cereal’s creators ever ate Count Chocula. “I didn’t eat the cereal — is that terrible? They don’t sell it in LA,” said Levine. “I remember the marshmallows as amorphous blobs.” Jaffe echoed, “Until I got older, I didn’t even eat cereal — or even breakfast for that matter. I just drank coffee and left for work. In fact, I rarely saw the commercials because they aired early Saturday morning, and I wasn’t interested in waking up early to watch TV.” Both of Chocula’s creators are pleased with how the Chocula ended up. Jaffe said, “It was a fabulous

kids’ campaign with fabulous results. If you last this long, you know you did something right — and when you do it, you’re not really aware of what you’ve done. You assume it’s going to catch on, but to have something become an icon is unexpected.” After Levine’s stint in advertising, she moved on to show business to write sitcoms. She explained, “If I’m at a cocktail party meeting new people, the biggest reaction I get is Count Chocula ... not Bob Newhart, Mary Tyler Moore.” Count Chocula and Frankenberry were only the “forerunners of monster cereals,” said Jeffe. In 1973, Boo Berry — a ghost wearing a floppy hat — was introduced with blueberry-flavored cereal. Boo Berry is only sold during Halloween season. However, two forgotten cereal monsters were created and quickly sucked into the entropic void of pop culture. In 1974, Fruit Brute — a sly-talking werewolf wearing a rainbow-colored zuit suit — offered children a chance to eat lime-flavored marshmallows. Fruit Brute was discontinued in 1983, but his legacy lives on in the films of Quentin Tarintino (in Pulp Fiction, the drug dealer that sells John Travolta heroin has a box; in Reservoir Dogs, Mr. Orange has a box). Even shorter lived, Yummy Mummy “made tummies feel yummy” with vanilla marshmallows from 1987 until 1993. Today, Yummy Mummy is practically forgotten; however, the UK calls hot moms “yummy mummies” as a synonym for MILF. Coincidence? I think not. Today, Levine writes mystery novels about a detective named Jaine Austen (“Her mother was an Anglophile and a bad speller”, Levine said). The newest Jaine Austen mystery, Pampered to Death, comes out in August. Jaffe still works in advertising, mostly doing work for college. When asked how it feels to invent a cartoon icon, Levine said, “It was a part of lots of childhoods. But I think people of my generation just think of it as a cereal that rotted people’s teeth.”

I will rule you.

readbuzz.com January 26 - February 1, 2012

THIS WEEK

2012(JAN26)3QUARTER(BUZZ)

There are

52 ThEre are

days in a week

Weeks in a year.

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TH JAN 26

THESE SPONSORS MAKE GOOD STUFF HAPPEN:

5pm

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7pm

Moscow Festival Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty

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Moscow Festival Ballet

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William Kinderman, piano

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SA JAN 28

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Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra Pre-concert Discussion with Steven Larsen // Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra

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Pacifica Quartet Beethoven Cycle Part 4 Jean & Howard Osborn

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Elizabeth & Edwin Goldwasser Melanie Loots & George Gollin Diana Sheets & Stephen Levinson Gay & Donald Roberts

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CALENDAR

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

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THURSDAY 26

Food & festivals

Yin Yoga with Lauren Po’ Boy’s Grand Open- Quinn Art & other exhibits ing Special Amara Yoga & Arts, 7pm Warriors, Guardians, Po’ Boys , 11am Miscellaneous and Demons Spurlock Museum, 9am Live music & Preschool Story Time karaoke Public Opening ReRantoul Public Library ception 10am Liquid Courage KaKrannert Art Museum Raising Readers raoke and Kinkead Pavilion Rantoul Public Library Memphis on Main 6pm 10:30am 9pm Private Members’ Raising Readers Live Karaoke Band at Reception Boomerang’s Bar and Rantoul Public Library Krannert Art Museum and Grill 3:30pm Kinkead Pavilion, 5pm Afterschool Fairytale Boomerang’s Bar and Art @ the Y Presents Ballet with Kate Grill Paper Quilts: Musings 9pm Insolia from the Mailbox Amara Yoga & Arts, 4pm Greensky Bluegrass University YMCA, 9am with Strange ArrangeSports, games, & “Wise Animals: Aesop ment and Chicago recreation and His Followers” Canopy Club, 9pm Exhibition Yarn ‘n Yak U of I Main Library, 8:30am Mind, body, & spirit Rantoul Public Library,7pm Ashtanga Yoga with Classes, lectures, & Lauren Quinn FRIDAY 27 workshops Amara Yoga & Arts Art & other China as Number One? 5:30pm exhibits Candlelight Vinyasa Managing the End of Rapid Growth in Japan Flow Yoga with Luna Warriors, Guardians, Pierson and China and Demons Amara Yoga & Arts, Spurlock Museum Spurlock Museum 7pm 4pm 9am

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Carolee Schneemann: Within and Beyond the Premises Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, 9am Fifty Years: Contemporary American Glass from Illinois Collections Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 9am After Abstract Expressionism Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 9am Jerusalem Saved! Inness and the Spiritual Landscape Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 9am Art @ the Y Presents Paper Quilts: Musings from the Mailbox University YMCA 9am “Wise Animals: Aesop and His Followers” Exhibition U of I Main Library 8:30am

Live music & karaoke

Vinyasa Krama Yoga with Don Briskin Amara Yoga & Arts 4:15pm Happy Hour Flow Yoga with Luna Pierson Amara Yoga & Arts. 5:30pm

After Abstract Expressionism Krannert Art Museum and Karaoke w/ DJ Bange Kinkead Pavilion, 9am Phoenix, 9pm Jerusalem Saved! InThe Delta Kings and ness and the Spiritual Decadents: Live at Landscape Cowboy Monkey Krannert Art Museum and Cowboy Monkey, 8pm Kinkead Pavilion, Hot Sauce Jones Movies & theater 9am Cowboy Monkey, 9pm “A Red Dotted Line” West Side Salsa Zoo Improv Opening Reception Highdive, 8pm SoDo Theatre, 8pm Indi Go Artist Co-op DJ Delayney 6pm Highdive, 11pm SATURDAY 28 Art @ the Y Presents Empires with Horrible Art & other exhibits Paper Quilts: Musings Things, Draft Week and Deathtram Warriors, Guardians, from the Mailbox University YMCA Canopy Club, 9pm and Demons John McMahon Band Spurlock Museum, 10am 9am Rosebowl Tavern, 9pm Carolee Schneemann: Urbana Country Dancers Within and Beyond the Food & festivals Phillips Recreation Premises Po’ Boy’s Grand OpenCenter, 8pm Krannert Art Museum ing Special and Kinkead Pavilion, Po’ Boys Mind, body, & spirit 9am 11am Fifty Years: ContemYoga Classes Krannert Art Museum and porary American Glass Live music & karaoke from Illinois CollecKinkead Pavilion, 12pm Power Flow Yoga with tions AD/HD - AC/DC TribKrannert Art Museum Corrie Proksa ute at Boomerang’s and Kinkead Pavilion Amara Yoga & Arts Bar and Grill 9am 12pm Boomerang’s Bar and Grill 9pm Chalice Dub Masquerade Canopy Club 8:30pm Rock ‘n’ Roll Party with m.p.h. The Clark Bar 6pm DJ/Karaokee 133 West Main 9pm DJ Stifler Cowboy Monkey 10pm

Miscellaneous AMBUCS Barstool Golf Fundraiser Fat City Bar & Gill 11am Kids Arts & Crafts Playshops with Kathryn Fitzgerald Amara Yoga & Arts 11:30am Fairytale Ballet with Kate Insolia Amara Yoga & Arts 12:15pm

SUNDAY 29 Art & other exhibits

Warriors, Guardians, and Demons Spurlock Museum 12pm Carolee Schneemann: Within and Beyond the Premises Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 2pm Fifty Years: Contemporary American Glass from Illinois Collections Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 2pm After Abstract Expressionism Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 2pm Jerusalem Saved! Inness and the Spiritual Landscape Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 2pm Art @ the Y Presents Mind, body, & spirit Paper Quilts: Musings from the YogaWorks Teacher Training Info Session/ Mailbox University YMCA Class with Heather 9am Seagraves Amara Yoga & Arts Classes, lectures, & 1:30pm workshops Yoga Fundamentals with Linda Lehovec West African Dance Amara Yoga & Arts Classes with Djibril 9am Camara Power Flow Yoga with Channing-Murray Corrie Proksa Foundation Amara Yoga & Arts 6pm 4pm Joseph William The Message of the Royer: Urbana’s Cross Architect No location listed Urbana Free Library 7:30pm 2pm

January 26 - February 1, 2012

Food & festivals Po’ Boy’s Grand Opening Special Po’ Boys 11am

Live music & karaoke WEFT Bluegrass Roots Extravaganza Iron Post 5pm

Mind, body, & spirit Yoga for Men, Dudes and Regular Guys with Jim Rector Amara Yoga & Arts 6:30pm Slow Flow Yoga with Kate Insolia Amara Yoga & Arts 2:30pm Happy Challenge Yoga with Maggie Taylor Amara Yoga & Arts 4pm Gentle Yoga with Rebekah Deter Amara Yoga & Arts 9am Yoga 101 Workshop with Linda Lehovec Amara Yoga & Arts 12pm

Miscellaneous

“Wise Animals: Aesop and His Followers” Exhibition U of I Main Library 8:30am

Fifty Years: Contemporary American Glass from Illinois Collections Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Classes, lectures, & Pavilion workshops 9am After Abstract ExPoetry Workshop pressionism Red Herring Krannert Art Museum Coffeehouse and Kinkead Pavilion 7:30pm 9am School of Art + DeJerusalem Saved! Insign Lecture ness and the Spiritual Krannert Art Museum Landscape and Kinkead Pavilion Krannert Art Museum 5:30pm and Kinkead Pavilion Live music & 9am karaoke Art @ the Y Presents Paper Quilts: Mus80’S NIGHT ings from the Mailbox Highdive University YMCA 10pm 9am Mind, body, & spirit “Wise Animals: AeRestorative Yoga with sop and His Followers” Exhibition Maggie Taylor U of I Main Library Amara Yoga & Arts 8:30am 7pm Hatha Yoga with Classes, lectures, & Grace Giorgio workshops Amara Yoga & Arts 5:30pm Breaking Out of Your Power Flow Yoga Shell: Enriching with Corrie Social Proksa Confidence Amara Yoga & Arts University YMCA 12pm 7pm

Carolee Schneemann: Within and Beyond the Premises Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 9am Fifty Years: Contemporary American Glass from Illinois Collections Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 9am After Abstract Expressionism Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 9am Jerusalem Saved! Inness and the Spiritual Landscape Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion 9am Art @ the Y Presents Paper Quilts: Musings from the Mailbox University YMCA 9am “Wise Animals: Aesop and His Followers” Exhibition U of I Main Library 8:30am

Live music & karaoke

Singer/Songwriter Showcase featuring Miscellaneous Live music & Hayley Jane karaoke Iron Post Children’s Winter 7pm Reading Program Open Mic Night Acoustic Cafe Tour Rantoul Public Cowboy Monkey Highdive Library 10pm 9am Garret (“Tomorrow Is 7pm Winter Reading Already Here”) Gen- 312 Vibe Night Movies & theater Canopy Club Program for Teens & gler & Geoff Beran 9pm The Clark Bar Jerusalem Saved! In- Adults 7pm ness and the Spiritual Rantoul Public Library Mind, body, & spirit 9am Piano Man Landscape Canopy Club Krannert Art Museum Yoga Wednesdays at Sports, games, & 9pm and Kinkead Pavilion indi go Artist recreation 2pm Co-Op! Mind, body, & Indi Go Artist Co-op Bingo Night Sports, games, & spirit 7pm Memphis on Main recreation Yoga Wednesdays 10pm Vinyasa Flow Yoga Indi Go Artist Co-op with Maggie Taylor Big Dave’s Trivia 7pm Amara Yoga & Arts Cowboy Monkey Tuesday 31 Hatha Flow with 12pm 7pm Art & other exhibits Slow Flow yoga with Linda Lehovec Japanese Martial Amara Yoga & Arts Arts Demonstration Warriors, Guardians, Amanda Reagan 5:30pm Amara Yoga & Arts Spurlock Museum, 2pm and Demons Ashtanga Full 5:30pm Spurlock Museum Primary Series with 12pm Monday 30 Lauren Quinn Carolee Schneemann: Wednesday 1 Art & other exhibits Within and Beyond Amara Yoga & Arts Art & other exhibits 7pm Art @ the Y Presents the Premises Krannert Art Museum Paper Quilts: MusWarriors, Guardians, Yoga Fundamentals with Grace Giorgio ings from the Mailbox and Kinkead and Demons Amara Yoga & Arts Pavilion University YMCA Spurlock Museum 4:15pm 9am 9am 9am Big Homie presents Open Mic Night Phoenix, 7pm Essential Healing Open House Senator’s Bar & Grill 11am

readbuzz.com

buz z ’s WEEK AHEAD Memphis on Main Open Mic Memphis on Main 55 E. Main St., C. Every Wednesday 9 p.m. Free!

Did you know? Most elves wear curly toed boots--but some elves wear no boots at all. That said, come on out and watch local comedy on Wed. It’s funny; it’s fun; it’s free. JUST DO IT! -Nick Martin, Movies & TV Editor

Bailiff, Petunias, Bed Time Mike n’ Molly’s 105 N. Market St., C. Friday, Jan. 27 10:00 p.m. $5

Everyone like music, especially people. You’re a person because you know how to read (but people who don’t know how to read are people too, don’t worry). So, if you’re a person who knows or doesn’t know how to read, then maybe you’d like to go see Bailiff from Chicago headline at Mike n’ Molly’s. You can hear locals Petunias and Bed Time that night, too! After the show, you can learn how to read. Books are just as important as music. -- Adam Barnett, Music Editor

Illini Media Info Night Illini Media Building 512 E. Green St., C. Thursday, Jan. 26 7 p.m. Hey all you creative kids and loyal buzz readers, listen up! TONIGHT there will be an Illini Media info night! Stop on by the 4th floor of the Illini Media building, because we want YOU to be a writer, photographer, DJ, copy editor, sales person, and whatever else all the branches of Illini Media do! And guess what? The Community section of buzz is hiring, so I hope I see you tonight! -- Amy Harwath, Community Editor

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Classifieds

readbuzz.com January 26 - February 1, 2012

Clean or your dog will ignore you.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY ARIES

March 21-April 19

Sad but true: A lot of people seem to be perpetually in a state of wanting what they don’t have and not wanting what they actually do have. I’m begging you not to be like that in the coming weeks, Aries. Please? I’ll tell you why: More than I’ve seen in a long time, you will have everything going for you if you want precisely what you do have -- and are not full of longing for what’s unavailable. Do you think you can you manage that brilliant trick? If so, you will be amazed by the sublimity of the peace that will settle over you.

TAURUS

April 20-May 20

Of all the signs of the zodiac, Tauruses are the least likely to be arrogant. Sadly, in a related development, they’re also among the most likely to have low selfesteem. But your tribe now has an excellent opportunity to address the latter problem. Current cosmic rhythms are inviting you rather loudly and dramatically to boost your confidence, even at the risk of you careening into the forbidden realm of arrogance. That’s why I recommend Taurus musician Trent Reznor as your role model. He has no problem summoning feelings of self-worth. As evidence, here’s what he confessed when asked about whether he frequents music social networks: “I don’t care what my friends are listening to. Because I’m cooler than they are.”

GEMINI

May 21-June 20

CANCER

June 21-July 22

“If Mark Twain had had Twitter,” says humorist Andy Borowitz, “he would have been amazing at it. But he probably wouldn’t have gotten around to writing Huckleberry Finn.” I think you’re facing a comparable choice, Gemini. You can either get a lot of little things done that will serve your short-term aims, or else you can at least partially withdraw from the day-to-day give-and-take so as to devote yourself with more focus to a long-range goal. I’m not here to tell you which way to go; I just want to make sure you know the nature of the decision before you.

You now have a special talent for helping your allies tap into their dormant potentials and latent energy. If you choose to use it, you will also have a knack for snapping lost sheep and fallen angels out of their wasteful trances. There’s a third kind of magic you have in abundance right now, Cancerian, and that’s the ability to coax concealed truths out of their hiding places. Personally, I’m hopeful that you will make lavish use of these gifts. I should mention, however, that some people may resist you. The transformations you could conceivably set in motion with your superpowers might seem alarming to them. So I suggest that you hang out as much as possible with change-lovers who like the strong medicine you have to offer.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

“Publishing a volume of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo,” said author Don Marquis, speaking from experience. Something you’re considering, Leo, may seem to fit that description, too. It’s a project or action or gift that you’d feel good about offering, but you also wonder whether it will generate the same buzz as that rose petal floating down into the Grand Canyon. Here’s what I think: To the degree that you shed your attachment to making an impact, you will make the exact impact that matters most. Give yourself without any expectations.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

Comedian Louis CK told a story about his young daughter. She had a fever, and he gave her some Tylenol that was bubble gum flavored. “Ewwww!” she complained. Louis was exasperated. “You can’t say ‘ewwww,’” he told her. What he meant was that as a white kid in America, she’s among the most privileged characters in the world -- certainly far luckier than all the poor children who have no medicine at all, let alone medicine that tastes like candy. I’m going to present a similar argument to you, Virgo. In the large scheme of things, your suffering right now is small. Try to keep your attention on your blessings rather than your discomfort.

January 26 – february 1, 2012

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

jone sin’

by Matt Jones

“Puh-leeze!”--you’ve got to e-nun-ci-ate.

I stumbled upon an engineering textbook for undergraduates. There was a section on how to do technical writing, as opposed to the literary kind. It quoted a poem by Edgar Allan Poe: “Helen, thy beauty is to me / Like those Nicean barks of yore / That gently, o’er a perfumed sea, / The weary way-worn wanderer bore / To his own native shore.” Then the book gave advice to the student: “To express these ideas in technical writing, we would simply say, ‘He thinks Helen is beautiful.’” Don’t take shortcuts like that, Libra. For the sake of your emotional health and spiritual integrity, you can’t see or treat the world anything like what a technical writer would.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

Are you ready to start playing in earnest with that riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma? Are you looking forward to the rough and tumble fun that will ensue after you leap into the middle of that sucker and start trying to decipher its impossibly interesting meaning? I hope you are primed and eager, Scorpio. I hope you can’t wait to try to answer the question that seems to have no answer. Be brave and adventurous, my friend -- and be intent on having a blast.

Lessons could come to you from unforeseen sources and unanticipated directions during the next few weeks, Sagittarius. They will also come in expected forms from all the familiar influences, so the sum total of your learning could be pretty spectacular. To take maximum advantage of the opportunity, just assume that everyone and everything might have useful teachings for you -- even people you usually ignore and situations that have bored you in the past. Act like an eager student who’s hungry for knowledge and curious to fill in the gaps in your education.

“The consuming desire of most human beings is deliberately to plant their whole life in the hands of some other person,” said British writer Quentin Crisp. If you harbor even a small tendency in that direction, Capricorn, I hope that in the coming days you will make a concentrated effort to talk yourself out of it. In my astrological opinion, this is a critical moment in the long-term evolution of your healthy self-sufficiency. For both your own sake and the sake of the people you love, you must find a way to shrink your urge to make them responsible for your well-being.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

If you go to California’s Yosemite National Park this month, you might get the chance to witness a reddish gold waterfall. Here’s how: At sunset, gaze up at the sheer east face of the rock formation known as El Capitan. There you will see what seems to be a vertical river of fire, also known as Horsetail Fall. I nominate this marvel to be your inspirational symbol for the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will have the power to blend fire and water in novel ways. I encourage you to look at the photo here -- bit.ly/fluidicfire -- and imprint the image on your mind’s eye. It will help unleash the subconscious forces you’ll need to pull off your own natural wonder.

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

After singer Amy Winehouse died, actor Russell Brand asked the public and media to scale back their derisive opinions about her struggle with intoxicants. Addiction isn’t a romantic affectation or glamorous self-indulgence that people are too lazy to overcome, he said. It’s a disease. Would you mock a schizophrenic for his “stupid” propensity for hearing voices? Would you ridicule a victim of multiple sclerosis for not being vigorous? I’m of the opinion that all of us have at least one addiction, although it may not be as disabling as Winehouse’s weakness for liquor and narcotics. What’s yours, Pisces? Porn? Sugar? Internet? Bad relationships? The coming weeks would be a very good time to seek help in healing it.

Stumped? Find the solutions in the Classifieds pages.

Across

1 King with a golden touch 6 Place to get a mocha and a paper 15 Lofty poet 16 Travel website with longtime spokesman William Shatner 17 Make those clumsy fools earn their living? 19 Send a quick message 20 The Band Perry’s “If ___ Young” 21 Weapon at Hogwarts 23 Genesis name 27 Missouri River tributary 28 Jacob’s twin 29 “On the Road” protagonist ___ Paradise 30 Portioned (out) 31 Redundantly named undergarment? 35 Response: abbr. 36 Florida city home to the headquarters of Telemundo 37 Behavior modification? 40 Hug in the shower? 45 “That’s a tough ___ follow...” 47 Dig in 48 Finito 49 Take a knee on the field 50 Three-person card game 52 Money on the line 53 Rent-___ 54 Dutch ___

56 Practice for being forced into something? 64 Too forward, as behavior 65 Dating game show of the 1990s 66 Rings out 67 On film

Down

1 Get the yard done 2 Words exchanged at the altar 3 What the dead take, in a macabre phrase 4 Invited to one’s apartment 5 Group that sang the line “I’m Kilroy!” 6 Computer’s “brain,” for short 7 He won the NHL’s top rookie award while still a teenager 8 Newton fruit 9 It’s also called the “Lincoln Law” (found in GOLF CART) 10 Swirly swimmer 11 Girl who lives in the Plaza Hotel 12 Personal information, literally 13 Immune system booster 14 Does the field again 18 Fifth qtrs. 21 “Rushmore” director Anderson 22 Home of the Sun Devils: abbr. 24 Palatial homes 25 Unseen disaster waiting to

happen 26 Canada’s first province, alphabetically 27 Home of a mail order steak business 32 “I was not expecting it to be that good” 33 Small inlet 34 Ric-___ (wavy fabric) 37 Bullring hero 38 “It Was a Good Day” rapper 39 Island stop on a Caribbean cruise 41 “Killing Me Softly with His Song” singer Flack 42 Ties 43 Fully prepared 44 The elderly, for short 46 Bullring hero, again 51 Temperature tester 55 Ginormous 57 It’s the hottest thing around 58 Org. that gives out 9-digit IDs 59 Upstate N.Y. school 60 The night before 61 Guys 62 Ending for lemon or Power 63 Trippy tab

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January 26 - February 1, 2012

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AND ANOTHER THING ...

by MICHAEL COULTER

coulter on stress The scourge of America and yet it’s the easiest way to feel stress, at least for me. “Holy crap! I have to get this done by tomorrow. What the piss should I do?” Well, of course, the first thing a person should do is begin to worry their ass off about the impending deadline. Sure, they could just get to work and concentrate on that, but having a stress episode seems like a far better idea at the time. My solution is to simply realize that it’s going to get done one way or the other. The thing is, it usually does get done, so just pretend it’s going to. If it doesn’t, there’s always the stress of unemployment to look forward to. Speaking of that sort of thing, 67% of those surveyed were worried about the economy. See, I totally don’t get that one at all. Unless you’re maybe Warren Buffett, worrying about If nothing else, exercise takes a the economy does no damned good at all person’s mind off the stressor and because it’s far too much for one person to have control over. Fine, you can maybe allows them to concentrate on how worry about how the economy will affect much of a pain in the ass exercising you, but even that is pretty uncontrollable most of the time. The only way to avoid the is. The key is to find an exercise you stress is just to worry about your specific little part of the issue and make yourself enjoy because doing an exercise as bulletproof as you can. you hate can also trigger stress. Is So how does a person fight stress? The first suggestion is to exercise. If nothing that irony? It seems like irony, but else, exercise takes a person’s mind off the I’m not sure. stressor and allows them to concentrate on how much of a pain in the ass exercising is. The key is to find an exercise you enjoy I read a report the other day about stress in because doing an exercise you hate can also trigAmerica, and it turns out we have really got a ger stress. Is that irony? It seems like irony, but bad case of it. Stress had increased in 39% of the I’m not sure. It’s also important to be careful with your food respondents in the past year, and if you go back five years, 44% said it had increased over that intake. Dieting causes stress, so in order to elimiperiod. Only a little less than 30% of the people nate this stress, you have to pretend you aren’t disurveyed felt they were managing their stress eting — even though you are. Fun and impossible. in an excellent manner. I’m guessing those suc- It’s also important to get enough sleep. The key cessful with their stress were accidentally sealed to this is to sleep just enough because too much inside of a spa several years ago with nothing but can be a symptom of depression. Whatever. Just Enya CDs and all the green tea they could guzzle. sleep when you’re tired. It’s also suggested to not be negative. This is a It’s either that or the stressless are simply idiots fine idea if you plan to never leave the house or — probably a little of both. The culprits for causing the stress were pretty watch television. Otherwise, I’m guessing that predictable. Of course, money was the biggest of- will come up sometime. fender, and it caused stress in 75% of the people. Several years ago, basketball coach Bobby I can only assume that in this situation it was the Knight had a quote about stress. I will spare you lack of money rather than too much of it. No one all from what he actually said and simply paraever has a hissy fit trying to figure out what to buy phrase it. If you can’t avoid it, you might as well next. “Oh, hell’s bells, should I get another car or enjoy it. Of course, he managed to make it more give it to charity? I’m freaking out, so I guess I’ll just colorful and offensive than that, but whatever — do both.” Not having enough money to pay the bills his point is well taken. Stress feels like it can’t be each month can really be a bitch, though. Once you helped, and like anything else, we start to depend fall behind, catching up or even convincing yourself on it after awhile. Pretty soon, we have to have a you could one day catch up probably kicks that stress fit before we can make ourselves clean the stress into high gear. The best way to deal with this house or even go to the grocery. Everything has is to always have a shitload of money. to be an emergency, or at least we have to treat it Work is stressful for 70% of the people. This is that way. It sort of works, but let me tell you — it’s the most ridiculous thing to get stressed about, no damned fun. I really get a kick out of stress sometimes. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t enjoy it when I have it. Stress sucks a big fat one. I usually don’t have it that much, and if I do, it’s usually something that can totally be cured with a 12-pack or so. I do often enjoy stress in others, though, so that’s what I was talking about when I said I got a kick out of it. I generally think it’s ridiculous when most people act stressed out. “Oh yeah, way to overreact to everything. Relax for a couple of minutes, and you’ll be just fine.” That’s the thing: Unless it’s your stress, it probably seems fairly irrelevant and easily curable.

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