the guide friday, november 11, 2011
the weekly magazine for life on the hilltop
S E V I L T E R C SE OF D.C. THE
DRIVERS Turning Up the Heat With Hot Yoga
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Searching for a CIA Spymaster
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Ratcheting Up the Hilltop’s DJ Scene
this issue 3 hilltop lifestyle 4 food & drink 11 arts & style 12 entertainment 14 red square roundup // campus spotlight
the man nobody knew // dating dalai
marrakesh palace // market to table
the deep blue sea // take it from a senior // dummin’ djs
face the music // in time
8
THE STORY BEHIND THE DISTRICT’S TAXI DRIVERS
The lives of the men and women who carry D.C.’s taxi-taking public from place to place, day-in and day-out, are relatively unknown to the many customers they transport, who tend to view them solely as a means to get from point A to point B. To generalize about taxi drivers is to gloss over the reasons why they choose the profession, which range from a way to pay the bills to a chance to talk to people who they would otherwise not encounter. CHRISTINA MCGRATH FOR THE HOYA
COVER PHOTO BY CHRISTINA MCGRATH
soundbite take it from a senior
HannahKlusendorf
Yes, we are those guys. We special order pinnies for Georgetown Day, we take Halloween way too seriously (Heavyweights and Space Jam were this year’s costumes) and we berate those unfortunate souls who show up to our theme parties without appropriate “Golden Girls,” “Denim Day Party” or “Georgetown of the Jungle” garb.
the guide Lauren Weber, Executive Editor Connor Gregoire, Managing Editor Meagan Kelly, Photo Editor Shakti Nochur, Layout Editor Suzanne Fonzi, Copy Chief Peter Brigham, Deputy Guide Editor Alex Sanchez, Deputy Guide Editor Bethany Imondi, Deputy Guide Editor Chris Bien, Deputy Photo Editor Michelle Cassidy, Deputy Photo Editor Remy Samuels, Deputy Layout Editor Nikita Buley, Deputy Copy Editor Samantha Randazzo, Deputy Copy Editor
Eamon O’Connor, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Amos, Guide Editor Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Laura Engshuber at (202) 687-3415 or email executive@thehoya. com. General Information The Guide is published each week during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to: The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065 The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University. Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya. Georgetown University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression for student editors. The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 2010. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Guide is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Additional copies are $1 each. Editorial: (202) 687-3415 Advertising: (202) 687-3947 Business: (202) 687-8350 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com
go out on a lamb. join the hoya. personnel@thehoya.com
hilltop
RED SQUARE ROUNDUP
MISS REPRESENTATION
MEET ME AT THE BARRE Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. Gonda Theatre
Monday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. ICC 115
Georgetown University Dance Company’s fall show, entitled “Meet Me at the Bar,” will feature a unique variety of dances, including contemporary, ballet, hip-hop and jazz, to show off the talents of this high-energy group. The show will include pieces by student and professional guest choreographers.
The Women’s Center is sponsoring the screening of this award-winning film, which exposes the media’s place in the under-representation of powerful women in America. The film depicts the harmful portrayals of women in pop culture, which undermine the ability of girls and women to become leaders.
Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. ICC Auditorium
Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Gonda Theatre
The Help, based on the popular novel of the same name, stars Hollywood up-and-comer Emma Stone as Skeeter Phelan, a young white woman who helps the black maids in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi tell their stories. The film also features Oscar-nominated actress Viola Davis as the strong and willful Aibileen, one of the three central maids.
GPB PRESENTS: THE HELP
Join the Concert Choir as it performs works from throughout U.S. choral history, with an emphasis on pieces by William Billings and Charles Ives. This dedicated ensemble’s performance should not be missed.
GU CONCERT CHOIR: FROM BILLINGS TO IVES
campusspotlight // GPB T
he Georgetown Program Board, better known as GPB, is a campus-wide, student-directed group dedicated to providing low-cost entertainment to all members of the Georgetown student body. Founded in 1984 under the Office of Student Programs for Georgetown, now the Center for Student Programs, GPB is headed by an executive board of 11 students who make programming possible through chair-specific programming, chair-collective programming and/or programming co-sponsored with other groups. The 11 board members head committees, such as the Community Outreach, Concerts, Films, Late Night, Marketing, Membership, Off Campus, On Campus and Special Events committees. You may have even seen the executive board walking through campus with the coveted NOTORIOUS GPB shirts. GPB is dedicated to providing all students with a diverse selection of high-quality, affordable and non-alcoholic entertainment. GPB programming traditions include free weekly films in ICC, the Copley Crypt Halloween Party, the Halloween Exorcist showing with a performance by Groove Theory and the Mr. Georgetown Pageant. GPB’s spe-
cial events, such as the Donald Glover Comedy Show this fall, the visit of Ace of Cakes Duff Goldman last fall and trips to amusement parks, concerts and theater events have also become staples, all to promote the group’s goal of providing students with entertainment and subsidized trips outside the Georgetown bubble. GPB relies heavily on student involvement for input on events and volunteer coordination. If you are interested in joining GPB, the weekly general member meetings are held in ICC 213 at 9:15 p.m. If you cannot attend the meetings but still want to get involved, email gpbmembership@georgetown.edu to sign up for the newsletter, which will have information about upcoming GPB events and deals, such as midnight screening tickets to Breaking Dawn: Part I, a Holiday Theater event, the Spring Kick-Off Concert and other special events next semester. If you have any questions regarding GPB or have ideas for events on or off campus, please email gpbchair@ georgetown.edu. Kathleen McCullough GPB Chair
COURTESY KATHLEEN MCCULLOUGH
GETTIN’ SLIZZARD The Georgetown Program Board is responsible for hosting such fun events as its popular seasonal concerts, like last year’s Spring Kickoff Concert, featuring Dev and the Cataracs.
11.11.11 // the guide // 3
lifestyle
Exploring a Father’s Past
JOANIE GREVE Special to The Hoya
ALUM’S FILM SHEDS LIGHT ON CONTESTED FIGURE
“W
illiam Colby has been missing since April 27. His canoe was found washed up on the banks of the Wicomico River on April 28.” These haunting words open the trailer for The Man Nobody Knew, a newly released documentary produced and directed by alum Carl Colby (CAS, ’72). The documentary centers around the life of Colby’s father, William Egan Colby, who spent 35 years working in covert intelligence operations for the U.S. government. He eventually rose to become the director of the CIA in 1973, but his career came to an abrupt end in 1976 after he testified before Congress on the misdeeds of the agency. The elder Colby revealed the scope of the covert acts carried out by the CIA during his tenure in a set of reports that would become known as the “Family Jewels.” Following his testimony, he was replaced as director of the CIA by George
FIRSTRUNFEATURES.COM
H.W. Bush, and he later pursued a career outside of government. The Man Nobody Knew follows William Colby’s career and the obstacles he encountered as it progressed. The story begins with his service in the Army’s Office of Strategic Services during World War II and ends with his mysterious death in a boating accident in 1996. The idea for the film came to the younger Colby shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “I was watching 9/11 coverage on CNN, and Wolf Blitzer, two hours after the Twin Towers fell, was interviewing James Baker, who was the Secretary of State, and [Blitzer] said, ‘How did this happen?’ Baker said, ‘I trace this back directly to when William Colby testified before the Senate and House Select Committees on Intelligence and revealed the CIA Family Jewels,’” Colby said. As Carl Colby watched, Baker said in the interview that William Colby’s testimony had “decimated” our country’s ability to conduct covert action and “probably led [to] and precipitated disaster such as [9/11].” Realizing that his father’s story still had relevance in a post-9/11 age, Colby began thinking about what would eventually become The Man Nobody Knew. He did not make the film solely to ALL PHOTOS FIRSTRUNFEATURES.COM contest the statements Baker made in FAMILY MATTERS Georgetown alumnus Carl Colby (CAS ’72) produced and dithat interview, however. rected this gripping documentary about his father, former director of the CIA. “In a lot of ways, [Baker] was right,” Colby said. “I think the ability of Amer- of years. We need to know what’s go- those limitations. ica to do a lot of clandestine action ing on in the world other than what “He believed in good secrets and bad through the ’90s was pretty dimin- some government wants to tell you of- secrets,” Carl Colby said of his father. ished, so when 9/11 happened, it didn’t ficially they’re thinking,” Colby said. “[There were] a lot of things that really surprise me, seeing as how we “My father used to say that the CIA ex- happened in the ’50s or ’60s that had kind of let down been sanctioned, our guard.” had been allowed, Colby’s experibut had never ences with his been brought to father, as well light. And he just as the research thought that that and production was a little bagthat went into gage that should — Carl Colby, director and producer of The Man Nobody Knew be revealed.” his film, have left him with an That belief led appreciation for Colby to testify the work that is done by agencies like ists so that the president has an option before Congress in 1975. In the many the CIA. between launching a diplomatic pro- interviews in the film, people had dif“Spying is necessary,” he recently test and sending in the U.S. Marines,” ferent opinions of how William Colby said to Chris Matthews, host of MSN- Colby said. reached his decision to testify. One inBC’s “Hardball With Chris Matthews” Still, Carl Colby said that his father terviewee described him as a “tortured talk show. understood that the CIA had limita- soul,” but Carl Colby has a different “It’s been going on for thousands tions and agreed with the rationale for view.
“We need to know what’s going on in the world other than what some government wants to tell you officially they’re thinking.”
FIRSTRUNFEATURES.COM
4 // the guide // 11.11.11
lifestyle “I didn’t think he was particularly tortured,” Colby said. “I think he was upset by what he’d gone through and with the hearings, but I don’t think he was tortured,” Colby said. I think he was, in the end, comfortable with the fact that he had testified and told the truth to Congress,” he said. Colby believes that secrecy and privacy are major aspects of the entire culture associated with covert operations, and understanding and revealing that culture was one of the film’s main aims. “These people come back from Yemen or Somalia, or, in my dad’s age, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam: They don’t talk to their neighbors about what they did. … Their only satisfaction is amongst themselves. It’s a completely different culture. I had to get at that culture and speak their language in order to get anything at all,” Colby said. Despite the extensive secrecy associated with that culture, Colby did not encounter difficulty finding interviewees, among them journalist Bob Woodward and former Secretaries of Defense James Schlesinger and Donald Rumsfeld, who were willing to speak about these issues. “They’re not afraid at all to talk about these things. These guys have thick hides. They get criticized by everybody,”
Q & A
Colby said. “They’re actually looking for the tough questions. Rumsfeld actually said, ‘Now give me the tough questions.’” Colby thinks that his ability to ask and think of those questions started with his Jesuit education as a teenager.” When I was a student in high school, and I went to a Jesuit high school, too, [the teachers] took us down to the March on Washington and said, ‘Is this legal? Is this moral? Who’s right here?’” Colby said. “Those are the kinds of questions my teachers would ask me when I was 14. Those are good questions.” After high school, Colby continued his Jesuit education at Georgetown, where he continued to be encouraged to explore difficult topics and ponder challenging questions. The late Dean Royden Davis, S.J., after whom the Davis Performing Arts Center is named, was especially inspirational, according to Colby. The kind of critical thought that was a fixture of Colby’s Jesuit education informed his approach to producing The Man Nobody Knew. The film is, in part, a depiction of the realizations at which Colby arrived regarding his father and his career. “You … have to see the film to understand how it concludes. … It’s kind of a private ending,” he said.
JORDANMAXWELL.COM
A FATHER FIGURE William Colby took the fall for many controversial CIA activities.
What class are you most excited to pre-register for? “Stats, because it’s taught by Oded Meyer, who is amazing.”
“I’m taking a PRAXIS class abroad and living in a community in the Philippines.”
Ariel Tabachnik (COL ’14)
Greg Ouelette (COL ’13)
“Russian History.”
“Oh, God, I haven’t even looked.”
Hye Yeon Chang (SFS ’14)
Ellen Wilcox (COL ’14)
11.11.11 // the guide // 5
THE HOYA SAYS THANK YOU
To the news writers and assistants, you are the greatest! I can’t thank you enough for all the hard work you do in and out of the office. To Glenn, thank you for sharing your tea, teaching me how to write an m-dash and being there alongside me until (and past) deadline every night. To my lovely deputies, Mariah, Upasana and Anne, just thank you. You are the heart and soul of the news section. We could not do this without you. To Anne especially, thank you for your insights about Georgetown history, putting up with my frantic emails and condoning my obsession with the MPD crime mapper. We both had a pretty steep learning curve this semester and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to come along for the ride.
Dear Sarah, Mariah and Upasana, This semester has been an amazing capstone to my time in the newsroom. You guys have been the greatest team a guy could ask for. Upasana and Mariah, you were my backbone this term; I wouldn’t have survived without all your hard work. You kept me on top of stuff every time I was about to fall apart. Sarah, thanks for working with me late nights headlining and helping develop our staff. Though I am sad to leave, I remain really excited about the future of the News section. You are all going to do great things. Good luck. Thank you to... Mike, for bringing me in; Connor, for showing me the ropes; Lawson, for bringing his consistently spectacular personality to the office; Evan, for soberly doing a great job as deputy; Ashwin, for continuing the RL dynasty of sports assistants
Lots of Love, GR
Thanks! Sarah Well everyone, I can’t even begin to thank you all enough for such an incredible semester. From just hanging out in the office to all those gchat hacks, I’ve had a blast. You all deserve a personal shout-out, but don’t worry, my voice will carry plenty when I tell you in person. =) Anyways, thanks for keeping me on my toes and giving me some of my favorite memories so far at Georgetown. It’s truly been an honor to work with all of you. Lauren
A HUGE THANK YOU
To my wonderful assistants who fill the opinion pages and my heart with joy To Alyssa, Sam and all the copy cats who keep content coherent. To Connor and Lauren for letting me down gently when my headlines aren’t as witty as they could be. To Eamon for a term served well and some of the best writing/life skillz To the Ed Board, whose perspective always makes me laugh and pushing my limits in a way I hope is healthy And finally to Martin – thanks for being a deputy I can count on. Senior eds – so excited to do it all again next term. You all are champions; thanks for making this little shindig so rewarding. Love, Kate Middleton Dear Sales Team, You guys are the best. Almost all of you are brand new to The Hoya, but you’ve all been a big help as a part of our newest program, Local Ads. You set the standard, and I couldn’t ask for a better group. Your friend, Jon Rabar
Dearest Copy Cats/Kittens/Cubs,
Thank you all for being the best staff I ever could have asked for. You all are awesome. And to my lovely deputies/Copy Cougars/Sam and Nikita, Thank you both for all of your enthusiasm, help and support. You are wonderful. This semester could not have been as successful as it was without you guys. You are the best, and I love you both.
6 // the guide // 11.11.11
Copy Love, Suzanne
Last but not least, a serious thank you goes out to the entire paper for stepping up when I needed them most. Guidos and Guidettes,
Pat
Three cheers to the best deps (or reps as my phone often autocorrects it to) that I’ve ever had. The three of you have made production of The Guide into such a well-oiled machine, that I sometimes think you guys should have my job. Every Wednesday I’m amazed at your hard work, and I know we wouldn’t be the publication we are today without y’all. Love, Momma Sarah To the personnel staff- Michael, Kent, Keeley, Evan, and Aarohi, Thank you for all your hard work this semester. I know it might not always seem like it, but the work that you’ve put in has made a difference. Enjoy the spring semester, and Michael, you’ll do great. Dear staff:
Caroline
We’ve accomplished too much and there’s too little space here for me to adequately express my thanks to you all for these past seven months. It wasn’t always (read: ever) easy, but I am — and you should be, too — very proud of what we’ve done together. You’re all going to continue to do great things at The Hoya, elsewhere at Georgetown and beyond; I’m sure of that, and I am truly honored to have worked with such great people and for such a great organization. Thank you.
Dearest Llayout Llamas,
Connor
I love you the most. Literally. Remy, you are more fantastic than that rat named Remy in Ratatouille. Which is saying a lot. #themostbestdeputy/baker/mom Eddie, thank you for staying on layout out of the goodnes of your heart. Without you I would have died. And never watched Game of Th0rnz 2000 times. #contrib4lyfe Newbies, layout is the best section. Remember that. You are in the best hands. You’re going to be wonderful.
allofthelayoutallofthelayout #love #pudding <3 Shakti Jon, Kelly, Caroline, Dan, and everyone else in the Publishing Division: It’s been a great year. We’re a completely different organization than we were a year ago and it’s all thanks to you. You guys are the best. Benjy
lifestyle
How Chinese Students Do Valentine’s Day dating dalai AnastasiaTaber
T
hirty Chinese students sat before me, waiting with baited breath for my answer. “My most romantic Valentine’s Day. You guys really want to know?” I asked hesitantly. Many of them eagerly nodded their heads. I stuttered and then gave them a story about a Valentine’s Day I had during a relationship. I finished explaining and asked them for their romantic Valentine’s Day stories. No one offered a hand. Either they didn’t have romantic stories, or they were too shy to share — both were plausible. “Really?” I asked. “No one?” In response, the students pointed at my Chinese teaching assistant, the one who had originally asked me the question about my most romantic Valentine’s Day. Dicken smiled coyly and then talked about his most recent Valentine’s Day. “I bought a train ticket and visited my girlfriend in her hometown.” Valentine’s Day occurs between the Chinese school
year semesters, so all the Chinese students are at home during this holiday. Dicken added, “My parents didn’t know.” The whole class gasped. Travelling to another city to visit a secret girlfriend was a very daring thing to do. He then added the information that she was his second girlfriend, a shocking revelation for a class that consisted solely of Chinese college freshmen. After the class was over, Dicken explained his first dating experience to me, confessing that it had taken the form of an illicit high school relationship. The relationship was “impressive, but it didn’t work out,” he said. He was 15 and had a crush on a schoolmate, but when it turned out to be an unrequited love, his first girlfriend was the one friend there to comfort him. Eventually, the two of them would turn romantic, telling their friends but keeping the information strictly out of the hands of their teachers and parents — authority figures who would have put an end to the budding romance. What would have happened if Dicken and his girlfriend hadn’t listened to their elders? “They will watch you very closely,” said Dicken. The pressure to study reaches a zenith in high school as Chinese students pre-
pare for the gaokao, the national college entrance examination. The last thing parents and teachers want is for their students to date. But that doesn’t deter them from doing so. Dicken estimated that 30 to 40 percent of his high school classmates had dated. The problem was that high school was, “completely not romantic.” Dicken and his girlfriend struggled to find time to be a couple during school days with classes and homework that lasted from 6:30 a.m. to midnight. They were able to see some movies on the weekend, but eventually the short relationship fizzled out. Two months after they started as a couple, she wrote him a letter confessing to him that she “didn’t feel happy in this relationship.” Dicken reflected, “We wanted to try, but [at the time] we had no idea about how to be together.” Dicken continued, “Because it’s a morally wrong thing to have a relationship [in high school]. People try to keep us away from it. But we just want to try.” He concluded, “It’s very naive.” Chinese high school students have no model for what a relationship should look like, so they turn to media, which Dickens describes as the place “exactly where we can try to learn.” But the relationships on
TV are either “sad or romantic,” and there are “very few [shows] about love between teenagers.” Though Dicken was unable to reach a deeper level in his high school relationship, he has found what he was looking for in his second relationship. He met his current girlfriend a year ago during a student union meeting. They would text each other and find excuses to meet up, until one day he took her hiking on Xiangshan, a beautiful nearby mountain. He had injured his leg while playing basketball, so she took his hand to help him along. He turned toward her and told her, “I want to hold your hands forever.” A year later, both Dicken and his girlfriend have still not told their parents, whom he describes as “very conservative.” Dicken’s parents want Dicken to wait to date until he has graduated and found a job. “They want me to only start dating when I’m totally ready for marriage.” But he has other plans. “If I accepted their opinion, then I would have a very boring life,” he said. Anastasia Taber is a junior in the College. She can be reached at taber@ thehoya.com. THE DATING DALAI appears every other Friday in the guide.
Hot Yoga: A Promising Alternative to Yates ALYSSA HUBERTS Hoya Staff Writer
A
s cold weather forces many students to move their workouts inside, the temperature in the studio at Down Dog Yoga on Potomac Street remains a balmy 95 degrees. Those emerging from the 6 p.m. Thursday class step casually into the cold, reluctant to put their jackets back on. Owner Patty Ivey says that since Down Dog’s opening, she has seen a steady stream of students from Georgetown and The George Washington University populating her classes, which she says are packed mornings, evenings and weekends. Heated yoga — a field that has expanded greatly since its invention in the 1970s by Bikram Choudhury — combines the traditional yoga benefits of strength, flexibility and balance with a detoxification process, as students literally sweat out toxins. Ivey says that this kind of cleansing is especially beneficial for students. “It’s a great way to sweat out, you know, college kids’ types of living … We have a lot of junk in our bodies.” Ivey also points to the mental and psychological benefits of hot yoga: Down Dog’s particular style of hot yoga is called power
yoga because “as the body is strengthened, so is the mind.” Beyond strengthening muscles and increasing flexibility, she says, students see themselves becoming less stressed, more positive and more confident in their decisions. At Bikram Yoga Dupont, another local studio, instructor Lauren Mills has similar praise for hot yoga’s mental benefits, especially nutritional and lifestyle ones. “I’m more aware of what I put in my body,” Mills says. Unlike Down Dog, Bikram Yoga Dupont follows the traditional Bikram routine. Bikram is the Catholic mass of hot yoga, a set series of 26 postures performed in the same order during every session. “No matter where you go in the world, you know exactly what you’re getting into,” Mills says. For Bikram, the room is heated to 105 degrees, a difference from power yoga that is immediately noticeable when entering the studio. However, within only a couple of minutes, both series leave students drenched in sweat. Down Dog’s postures emphasize more strength and aerobics, including sit-ups and bridge positions, while Bikram includes more flexibility and bal-
LOOKING HOT Hot Yoga offers the vigor of a workout at Yates without the drudgery of being stuck inside a gym for hours on end. ance exercises. Most students in attendance are regulars, as the payment plans are structured toward regular membership. Student passes are $110 for a month at Bikram Yoga Dupont for unlimited use or $100 for a plan of the same nature at Down Dog. However, both studios also offer promotional deals in which students can try their first week for a reduced price, or, in the case of Down
Dog, for free. Used to such trial visitors, instructors are especially friendly to newcomers, emphasizing the noncompetitive nature of yoga and encouraging participants to try without fear of failing. “The sooner you start, really, the better,” Mills says. “Actually, one of our senior teachers, she’s in her 80s, and she looks like she’s in her 50s. She’s like, I’ve had the same body for 20 years with Bikram yoga.”
11.11.11 // the guide // 7
L E E H W E H T D N I H E WITH THE B
Y
LILI DODDERIDGE
HOYA STAFF WRITER
DISTRICT’S CABBIES
SARI FRANKE L/THE HOYA
I’m here, I feel like I’m home.” Like Apollon, other drivers didn’t expect their profession to be driving taxis. Debebe Wodere, originally from Ethiopia, has been driving in the city for about two years. For him, the reality of the U.S. economy shifted his career path. “My profession is as an automotive technician,” Wodere explains. “I could not get a job in my field, but I have a family. I have to work hard at any job I get. So for now, it’s quite OK that I continue in this job.” Wodere’s reluctant start in the driving profession is not unique. Tattana Malayabech, a driver since 1982, is a trained construction worker. After almost 30 years in the business, Malayabech has remained a driver for the stability of a paycheck. “I worked in construction and kept getting laid off a lot,” Malayabech says of his job before driving. “It got to be too much — I had to pay the bills. So I had to go to driving.” Thanks to the current economic slump, skilled and educated workers have been forced to look for jobs in any available sector. And in D.C., the taxi driver profession seems to be one of the more promising options. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Washington, D.C.
metro area is ranked eighth in the nation in employment rate for cab drivers, with a solid hourly mean wage of $15.25. It’s not a bad deal, especially considering the daily influx of cash that they have at their disposal. And in this type of economic climate, cab driving is not only a smart personal financial move but also a shrewd business tactic, too. Originally from Pakistan, Mr. Smith, who asked not to remain anonymous, works as a driver but has both a Masters in Business Administration and a master’s in strategic management. He began driving a cab after he left his shop clerk managerial position in search for a full-time job in D.C.’s financial district. Finding little hope for employment, he kept driving. Finally, his long hours driving paid off. “One of my regular customers was an investment banker,” Smith recalls. “I would explain to him that it was my dream to join the business. He told me to get a license and to join any firm, just to get experience. I decided to go for it.” Smith is now working as a part-time financial consultant for City Corporation, but he continues to drive to support himself. Across the country, more and more individuals are taking to the streets like Smith. According to The New York Times, the number of licensed taxi drivers in New York has risen 10 percent since the start of the stock market decline. Sometimes, these newly minted drivers are former Wall Street refugees take a similar approach to Smith — start driving a cab to network with their high-profile, connected customers, all the while keeping copies of their resumes in the cab to hand off to prospective employers. D.C. has currently placed a moratorium on the licensing of drivers; according to the D.C. Cab Commission website, the
peoples’ interactional styles. Cab drivers are of course in this position, since they are in close proximity with [mostly] Americans on a daily basis.” Cab conversation doesn’t only reveal the nuances of culture; it can also aid in the apprehension of the culture’s associated language, too. “Through direct experience with the target culture, the best way to learn about the other culture is by making mistakes with the language or being culturally inappropriate,” Sclafani says. Smith has found that there is a simple test to
versation shaped her attitude toward cab drivers she has encountered since. “They have a rough job,” she says. “They spend their entire day on the road, chauffeuring customers — no matter how obnoxious or inconsiderate they are — around the city. A lot of times, these drivers just want someone to listen to them as they talk about themselves. And just as often, they like to learn about the prospects of the random girl who will sit in the back seat for 15 minutes. Even though the actual person sitting in the driver’s seat has a tendency to fade to the background as we focus on our destination, I try to always remember that cab drivers have valuable insight to offer.” Apollon finds passion in his job through this symbiotic relationship that customers and drivers can often attain. “Driving is something that makes you grow as a person,” he says with a smile. “You come to the streets everyday, and you get to experience life. You meet people with knowledge and people without knowledge. And that makes you learn — not just about the city but about yourself.”
“DRIVING A CAB GIVES ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE CULTURE. IT SHOWS ME WHAT IT IS TRULY LIKE TO LIVE HERE.”
our relationship is simple: You bark orders, they obey. You often ignore and dismiss them; they continue to be at your service. To you, they are a means to an end. The only thing you really know about them is that they are your cab drivers. And they will be hundreds and hundreds of other people’s drivers, maneuvering through the streets of the District, delivering people to the next leg of their journey. But what about the drivers? What about the drivers who speckle our streets yellow, dashing throughout the city? What’s the story behind the person in the driver’s seat? Mates Apollon has been driving for the past six years. A native of Haiti, Apollon has spent 32 years in the District and sees his driving career as an integral part in living out the American dream. “I came to D.C. because when you’re from another country, there’s always a curiosity in you to see what America is like,” Apollon explains. He used to work as a carpenter in Haiti, but he began to suffer from back problems after moving to America. He turned to cab driving, which allowed him to set his own schedule and learn the streets of his new home. “I love this city. To me, D.C. is more like an international city. You see all kinds of nationalities. And when
University of Maryland,” he explains. “I then went on to work in the corporate world and for local government, and I supplement that work with driving when I’m in times of transition or money is tight.” But for Ali, driving offers more than just financial stability while changing career paths: It provides him the flexibility for the kind of selfenrichment that 9-to-5 jobs rarely allow. “I can make great speeches. I know how to get my point across — I’m university educated!” Ali says. “But what I am trying right now to do is become a better writer, specifically, a more persuasive writer. I’ve never had to write in my corporate jobs, so with lack of practice, I’ve lost my confidence. With the flexibility of driving, though, I can try to fulfill this dream — I’m actually off to the Georgetown library right now!” Many drivers often say the silver lining of the job lies in the intriguing conversations they have with customers. “I give them my ear,” Wodere says with a chuckle. “As long as my attention can remain on the road, I enjoy the conversations. I can really get a lot from these discussions.” Smith shares this same
— MR. SMITH, DISTRICT TAXI DRIVER
CHRISTINA MCGRATH FOR THE HOYA
exam for licensing new drivers is closed indefinitely. And in a metro area where the unemployment rate has risen in the past year to 11.1 percent, drivers recognize the importance of having a steady job, even if that means remaining a cab
outlook. “Driving a cab gives me an opportunity to experience culture,” he explains. “It shows me what it is truly like to live here.”
“YOU WORK 12, 13 HOURS A DAY TO MAKE MONEY WITH NO RAISE. THERE’S NO JOY IN DRIVING — YOU JUST HAVE TO PAY THE BILLS.” — TATTANA MALAYABECH, DISTRICT TAXI DRIVER driver — not always the most rewarding position. “You work 12, 13 hours a day to make money with no raise,” Malayabech says. “There’s no joy in driving — you just have to pay the bills.” Omar Omar, a veteran cab driver in the District, agrees. “Driving is OK,” he says. “Better than nothing.” Not everyone, though, shares this cynicism. Another local driver, Muhammad Ali, sees his driving career as a path to personal fulfillment. “I started driving while I was a student at the
Jennifer Sclafani, a linguistics professor currently teaching a course called “Cross Cultural Communication,” agrees from an academic standpoint that conversations between taxi drivers and customers can teach one a great deal about society’s habits and language. “Overhearing people interacting in a different culture is a great way to learn a bit about the culture, especially when you have the opportunity to observe people over a long period of time,” Sclafani explains. “During that time, you can start to see patterns in
gauge whether the passenger, upon entry, will be game for small talk or if the customer would rather keep the ride silent. “Some people are great communicators; they can talk to anyone,” he says. “Some people just don’t want to talk. When a driver asks, ‘How was your day?’ you can usually tell by their response what kind of customer they’ll be.” Inevitably, the customers can sometimes be unfriendly and grumpy. “Most of the time they just complain,” Malayabech says. “They just sit in the back and yell, ‘Hey, I’m in a hurry! Get me there!’” Other times, customers may focus that attention back on the drivers. “Customers always ask me where I’m from, how long I’ve been driving, other questions about my life,” recalls Jimmy Nagash, a D.C. driver for five years, recalls. “But I don’t mind, I like sharing my story with them.” And once in a while, human kindness and consideration perseveres, and a real connection is made between the driver and customer. For Colleen Quinn (SFS ’13), a friendly conversation with her driver led to them both exploring the ins and outs of the District. “The first time I had ever taken a cab was from Union Station to Georgetown for GAAP weekend my senior year of high school,” Quinn explains. “My driver gave me a mini-tour of the city, pointing out all of the institutions we passed, trying to explain the layout of the city to me and explaining why he loved D.C. As he dropped me off, he wished me luck in my decision and reminded me of the importance of getting a good education.” Quinn believes that this con-
CHRISTINA MCGRATH FOR THE HOYA
food&drink A Quick Trip South Of the Border Spice for the American Palate MADELINE JORDEN Special to The Hoya
EL CENTRO D.F.
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1819 14th St. NW cuisine: Mexican price: $$$$
or anyone who has ever experienced authentic Mexican cuisine, Los Cuates doesn’t quite make the cut. And Chipotle, while unmatched in both convenience and value, doesn’t offer the same experience as a table-service restaurant or the variety of a full menu. But Mexico-philes need not despair, for beyond the fringes of the Georgetown bubble, superior choices abound. El Centro D.F., located right at the intersection of 14th and U Street in the vibrant U Street corridor, is one particularly agreeable option. A product of Richard Sandoval’s New York-based restaurant empire, with D.C. holdings including nearby Masa 14, El Centro offers an authentic south-of-the-border experience. The restaurant’s name subtly reveals an intimate familiarity with Mexico (D.F. is part of the Spanish name of Mexico City, the Distrito Federal). No greasy enchiladas or bland refried beans here. On the ground floor you’ll find the taquería, a casual space with views of El Centro’s bustling kitchen, where you can enjoy your meal at tall communal ta-
bles. Alternatively, you can also take your tacos to-go. Past 11 p.m and running until 3 a.m., the menu shifts to offer late-night fare: burritos, quesadillas and individual tacos. The upstairs rooftop space houses an open-air bar, a popular feature of many local restaurants, which serves food until 9 p.m. and cocktails such as mojitos and agave margaritas. Back downstairs, guacamole is whipped up tableside according to one’s preference for hotness. But even the spiciest option is relatively mild, and, nothing we tried off the menu was overly spicy; the restaurant adapts traditional Mexican cuisine to the sensitivities of more delicate American taste buds. On our visit, we were delighted to try the chef’s special duck pâté tacos with cheesy rice (think Mexican macaroni and cheese). Essentially, El Centro’s menu offers the very definition of Mexican comfort food. Gluten-free customers are also in luck — absolutely nothing coming out of the kitchen will have touched flour or contain gluten.
Hoya Happy Hour SPICED APPLE CIDER What better way to get in the mood for Thanksgiving than to settle down with a glass of the season’s staple holiday beverage? With its aromatic spices and hints of apple, this warm drink will help make the cold autumn nights that much more bearable. 10 // the guide // 11.11.11
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If Mexican cocktails are as important to you as the food, request to sit downstairs in the swanky underground tequilería, where the bar offers over 200 different kinds of tequila and mezcal. Don’t know your Jose Cuervo from your Patron? Don’t worry — the highly knowledgeable and friendly wait staff will happily point you in the right direction. But fight that college-student urge to toss your shot back in one gulp — the true Mexican way is to sip your alcohol leisurely over the course of the meal. While the downstairs experience offers a more interesting décor and upscale ambiance, the dim lighting, highdecibel noise level and unusually wide tables all contribute to the kind of environment that may obscure your dining partners and give you the impression that you’re dining alone. But no matter what, food that tastes this good will hold your attention anyway.
RICHA RDSAN DOVAL .COM
Dishes you have to try: Pork Carnita Sopes
corn masa cake, roasted pork, bean puree, blood orange and habanero glaze // $10.95
Tacos Al Pastor
adobe marinade grilled pork shoulder, grilled pineapple, onion, cilantro, salsa verde // $12.95
A weekly roundup of some of the best shots, mixes and punches.
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½ handle 3 quarts spiced rum apple cider
+ 12 whole cloves
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1 cinnamon ¼ tsp ground stick nutmeg
Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving market to table
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BethanyImondi
or the past few weeks, my mind has been dominated by thoughts of Kantian ethics, types of effective legislative representation and nuclear proliferation. After so many late nights studying and writing papers, I can finally let my mind think about Thanksgiving’s impending arrival. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I was younger, the holiday was spent cramming more than 40 people into my grandparents’ kitchen and living room. As the years went by, we welcomed more and more people into the family, so the guest list only increased. During middle school, the expansive growth of the family moved the meal to a bigger venue, conveniently located at my aunt’s house next door. With this change in location also came a new tradition. As my grandparents got older, the bitter cold of Rhode Island winters drove them south for the season. In light of this decision, they were no longer home for Christmas. So as not to miss celebrating the holidays with the family, Thanksgiving developed into something you might call “Thanksmas.” While the menu and tradition of watching football remained the same, the merging of the two holidays led to an exchange of presents from my grandparents to nearly everyone in attendance. Ripping off the wrapping paper of the gifts was the perfect way to fight off my food coma, at least until the football game had ended. Although my family no longer celebrates “Thanksmas,” Thanksgiving remains a time when we all count our blessings and reflect on how much we have to be grateful for. Despite the shift to more intimate meals amongst different members of the family, every year I still look forward to sitting down with those I love in celebration of good food and company. Like the combination of maple syrup and cinnamon in this recipe, Thanksgiving emits such warmth and comfort that one cannot help but be thankful. Whether you are celebrating with friends on the Hilltop or back at home with the family, I wish a happy Thanksgiving to all.
food&drink
More Rockin’ Food at Marrakesh BISI ORISAMOLU Special to The Hoya
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ocated in the heart of DuPont Circle, Marrakesh Palace is a delightful Moroccan restaurant that gives its customers an authentic experience; it might even make them think they were in the Mediterranean. The restaurant is geared toward large groups, but there are also small tables for those who want to dine with more exclusive parties. In line with the restaurant’s Moroccan cuisine, Marrakesh Palace’s decor consists of long communal tables with decorated couches and chairs. Intricately patterned tiles line the walls, and a number of low-hanging chandeliers provide dim lighting and
create a very intimate setting. The restaurant provides baskets of freshly baked bread as a precursor to the meal. What makes these baskets special are the toppings they come with, including tapenade, finely chopped vegetables and a delicious olive spread. The grape-leaf dolmades, grape leaves stuffed with rice and tomato and served with labneh, are the perfect appetizer. The hint of lemon, basil and assorted spices enhance the essence of this simple yet scrumptious dish. The great thing about Marrakesh Palace is that the size of its entrees make it easy to share and sample oth-
MARRAKESHDC.COM
AN AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE Marrakesh serves genuinely Moroccan cuisine with decor to match.
MARRAKESH PALACE 2147 P St. NW Washington, DC cuisine: Moroccan price: $$$$ ers’ dishes. Come hungry, because the portions are large, even when shared among friends. The two favorite dishes of the table were the chicken fassi and lamb pears. The chicken fassi is a quarter chicken with dried apricots marinated in sauce and sweet onions; it is the perfect combination of sweet and salty. The lamb pears consist of tender lamb with a hint of cinnamon and a side of juicy pears for a sensational combination of flavors to stimulate the taste buds. As entertainment during the meal, a belly dancer drifted through the restaurant while dancing to Moroccan music. The restaurant created an atmosphere that did not just focus on the consumption of a meal as a necessity of the day but also on the gathering of friends for conversation over the dinner table. It did not feel like restaurant cuisine or mass-produced food. Rather, I felt like I was having a home-cooked meal with long-lost family from another country. If you’re celebrating a birthday or just want to go out with a group of friends, Marrakesh Palace is a great place to indulge in a delectable meal in a unique and relaxing environment.
Mashed Maple Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:
Makes four servings 2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 or 4 potatoes), peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces Kosher salt 2 tablespoons butter ¼ cup milk, add more if desired 2 tablespoons maple syrup Cinnamon, to taste Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions: 4. With a spatula, stir in butter, milk and maple 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once at syrup. Stir until butter is melted, and everything a rapid boil, salt the water and add the sweet potato cubes.
is combined. More milk can be added depending on desired consistency.
2. Return to a boil and cook potatoes until fork-tender; check after about 20-30 minutes.
5. Season to taste with cinnamon, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
3. Once cooked, drain the potatoes and add to
a large bowl. Either by hand or with a hand mixer, begin mashing the potatoes. Do not over-mash.
Bethany Imondi is a junior in the College. She can be reached at imondi@thehoya.com. MARKET TO TABLE appears every other Friday in the guide.
11.11.11 // the guide // 11
arts&style
MAURA HOHMAN Special to The Hoya
Rolling in ‘The Deep Blue Sea’
ALL PHOTOS HANSKY SANTOS/THE HOYA
DEEP SEATED EMOTIONS “The Deep Blue Sea” tells the story of Hester Collyer, whose attempted suicide sets the events of the play into motion.
T
he Deep Blue Sea,” opening Thursday, Nov. 10, follows a day in the life of deeply conflicted Hester Collyer (Vivian Cook [COL ’13]) as she struggles to find her identity and purpose as a young woman in post-war England. The play itself was written in 1952 by critically-acclaimed playwright Terence Rattigan, and the pumps, pin-curls and cinched waists, designed by Amelia Powell (COL ’12) make the time period unmistakable. All of the show’s visual elements come together perfectly, making producer Melissa Miller (COL ’12) humbly say she was “quite pleased.” So was I, to say the least. In the first of three acts, the play immediately draws in its audience when a door opens and the protagonist stumbles into her deserted living room. Hester’s intentions are at first unclear, as she slowly but deliberately makes her way to the fireplace and fumbles with a knob. From the darkened stage, the audience hears the sound of gas filling the apartment. She struggles to find the
12 // the guide // 11.11.11
couch, collapsing on the wooden floor and covering herself with a rug. The landlady Mrs. Elton enters, oblivious to Hester’s unconscious body, and the faint glow behind the living room curtains snaps to full stage lighting as she opens them. Hester’s attempted suicide becomes the talk of the town, as the tenants in her apartment building desperately try to figure out what led her to commit such an act. A visit from her estranged ex-husband (Ed Walczak [COL ’14]) only confuses Hester further, and Hester herself is forced to deal with the consequences of her “accident,” the term she uses to explain it away. Vivian Cook carries a cast of strong actors to make the play heart-wrenching, thought-provoking and even laugh-outloud funny. To be sure, Hester Collyer is the play’s driving force and a demanding role, but Cook plays the part well. Not only does she have the best British accent of the bunch, but her bountiful energy makes it impossible not to be-
come invested in her story. Behind Cook’s sporadic, purposefully forced smile, Hester’s inner conflict is clear. Many of her lines are delivered with a lit cigarette in hand, a clear sign of Hester’s discomfort and need for distraction as other characters probe her private life. Perhaps the only character she welcomes — though not right away — is her current lover, Freddie Page (Albert Scerbo [COL ’15]). She goes so far as to take his last name to avoid questions of infidelity to her husband, whom she has been attempting to divorce for months. Though the “Pages” have a complicated relationship, the chemistry between them is strong and effectively calls into question whether or not their feelings for each other are mutual. In his director’s note, Shawn Summers (COL ’12) remarks that “no element is out of place, and not a single line, not a single gesture, is extraneous.” His version of “The Deep Blue Sea” is appropriately hinged on subtlety, as the
play scrutinizes human existence and the will to live. We see an array of archetypes, from the obliging and traditional Mrs. Elton brought to life by Kathleen Hill (SFS ’15) to the candid and intrusive Mr. Welch (William Moore [COL ’12]). The audience and Hester together watch her life unravel with the same level of shock and confusion. Our hearts break with those of her ex- and current husbands as the love triangle attempts to resolve issues of latent passion and ultimately move on. A German doctor played by Erik Mortensen (SFS ’12) makes us analyze what motivates us in our own lives in a compelling dialogue with Hester. Don’t go if all you want is PDA; but “The Deep Blue Sea” is an outstanding night of student theater that will challenge even the toughest viewer. Expect to get teary-eyed at least once. Overall, it’s a must-see for its accessible presentation of love in the midst of lust, friendship in the midst of loneliness and hope in the midst of despair.
lifestyle
TAKE IT FROM A SENIOR // Costume Box HannahKlusendorf
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fter my grade school’s basketball homecoming, my family would host a big shindig at our house. The parents stayed upstairs, chatting and drinking (apple juice, I’m sure), while the kiddies played in the basement, raiding the big wicker costume box that belonged to my brother and me. Chockfull of Halloween leftovers, ballet recital tutus and discarded parental digs, that wicker wonder was a Pandora’s box waiting to be unleashed. And boy, was it! The main event of the party was always a fashion show. Bellies bursting with apple juice, the parents cheered us on as we sashayed onto the “runway” of my kitchen wearing outgrown Belle ballgowns, torn-up Power Ranger onesies and blue wigs. Basically, I had a childhood outfitted in ridiculous memories and blackmail on most 18- to
25-year-olds in the 60646 zip code. So, what’s my point here? Take it from a senior: Have a costume box. Little has changed from my “modeling” days. Somehow, I have found at Georgetown a group of friends that share my lack of social grace and penchant for looking like a fool in public. Yes, we are those guys. We special order pinnies for Georgetown Day, we take Halloween way too seriously (Heavyweights and Space Jam were this year’s costumes) and we berate those unfortunate souls who show up to our theme parties without appropriate “Golden Girls,” “Denim Day Party” or “Georgetown of the Jungle” garb. At my house, my roommates and I literally have a costume box in our dining room — you know, in case we need a Cookie Monster vest while eating ramen noodles. I understand that this dress-up business seems silly, but that plastic bin in my dining room represents nearly four years of friendships and frivol-
ity — and its uses transcend nighttime revelry. This past July, as a teacher with the DC Reads summer program, I wore glasses, a big white button-down (i.e. a lab coat) and a bandana to become Dr. Fossil: paleontologist for my third-grade classroom. My students knew what those sugar-high kids in my basement realized: Creativity makes life exciting. College is a time to try on many different hats of both the metaphoric and literal varieties. Be adventurous. Be brave. Most of all, be imaginative! My favorite stuffed animal as a kid, Muffy Vanderbear, had a life philosophy (yes, toys can have life philosophies): “Life is one big dress-up box.” She was right. Life is full of opportunities for growth and development — live it to the fullest. And if an endeavor requires wearing a pair of red glasses and some neon bike shorts, own it as you sashay down the runways of Prospect Street. Jesuit education cares for the whole person — mind, soul and funny bone. Take advantage of Georgetown’s aca-
demia, including the study of imagination. True imagination in the Jesuit sense grasps reality. For me, wearing some outrageous ’80s throwback gear gets me outside of my perceived self — the “me” that’s hampered by petty minutia.There’s liberation in wearing a Santa suit surrounded by friendly faces in elf ears. My costume box reminds me of something that’s really real: friendship. In my friends, I find comfort, love and happiness. There are many ways to get to this conclusion; I think that being ridiculous gives me some perspective. It’s hard to take yourself seriously in a floor-length denim dress. So have a laugh, especially if it’s at your perceived self’s expense. Who knows? Maybe you’ll learn something about the real you behind those stunner shades. TAKE IT FROM A SENIOR is a rotating, biweekly column written from the viewpoint of graduating seniors. Hannah Klusendorf is a senior in the College.
Dank and Ratchet Keep It Dummin’ W hen asked what they look for in a song, their answer was immediate. “The beat,” Adam Fernandez (MSB ’12), also known by his stage name, Dank, said. Ratchet, or Von’Travis (VT) Crawford (NHS ’12) agreed, as if the words were looped over. The two Georgetown seniors, who met freshman year living on the fifth floor of Village C West, have long been passionate about music. But only recently have they taken it to the dance floor as DJs, an idea they hatched over Gchat while Ratchet was studying in Spain in spring 2011. Fast forward to this past Halloween weekend, when the DJ duo — now dubbed Ratchet and Dank — landed their first gig at a Georgetown bar, The Guards. It was the first time the student-centric bar had ever opened up their dance floors on a Thursday, putting themselves in Ratchet and Dank’s hands. By the time I arrived at half-past 12, the place was packed. Faces familiar from weekends misspent lined the tables. The dance floor was a massive throng that you had to slither and shake your hips through just to squeeze in. “I think we found three bras that night,” recalled Adam. “Right, Von?” “Two, definitely,” he replied. “One was more lingerie.” It wasn’t just the heat of the dance floor that made those clothes come off. Von’Travis pointed out that while some
songs are good, they are not for clubs. “They get the 10-11 slot … the first batch is always girls. That’s when you crank ‘Last Friday Night’ so they can pound their brews in.” According to VT, the night breaks down in chunks: From 10 p.m. to midnight, they spin remixes and slower songs, and then until 2 a.m. they hold nothing back. Midnight is the axis on which the night spins. “Not too many songs without lyrics,” Adam advised. When asked to play a song, Adam pulled up Calvin Harris’s “Feel So Close,” the extended mix, pressing “play” at exactly the 1:18 mark. Dank explained that the earliest he should begin that song is the 1:07 mark. “You don’t want to leave more than 24 seconds for build-up [to the lyrics].” “Eighteen, man,” Ratchet interjected. “Unless a song is three minutes, we don’t want to play the whole thing,” Dank concluded. Even within a song, there’s a method to remixing and interweaving the different genres and beats, from the hook to the fadeout. “Filter out, switch it to the middle, crank it down, blend it out.” VT spat out the instructions like ingredients on a grocery list. Just how do they do it? “Traktor and genius,” Ratchet said. “Traktor is a program,” Dank explained to me, referring to the digital turntable and software they use for loading, mixing, and
Available today.
AMELIA DI STEFANO Special to The Hoya
COLIN SOPER FOR THE HOYA
ON THE BEAT Georgetown’s Ratchet and Dank are the latest in D.C.’s dance music scene. transitioning between songs, manufactured by the sound technology company Native Instruments. “And genius is us,” Ratchet added. Each adds his own element to the lineup. Von’Travis handles most of the rap and hip-hop. He cites Wiz Khalifa as an inspiration because he is “the perfect model of versatility,” with songs to chill to and songs to tear the club down to. “I take what I be dummin’ to on the dance floor,” he added, “and replicate. Innovate.” Meanwhile, Adam draws from festivals, where he marvels at how one person controls the bodies of 20,000 participants
swaying to the music. His idols include Daft Punk, a French house duo whose poster hangs in his bedroom alongside Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Jim Morrison and Gorillaz. Adam primarily contributes dubstep and electro-house, though his personal favorites aren’t always what make it into the mix. “It’s all about the crowd having fun, not you listening to your favorite music,” he said. Catch them at The Guards if you happen to be thirsty this Thursday or the next few. On Dec. 8 the duo will be DJing a White Party for Christmas at The Guards. You will be dummin’ on the dance floor.
11.11.11 // the guide // 13
entertainment Remember That It’s Not Just The Boy Bands Out There face the music
bit old at this point, but I can’t exclude them from this list because, as far as female groups go, they are my favorite. Essentially, Sleigh Bells sounds like KinneChapin the mean girls from your high school with instruments. Their sound is honho’s your favorite fe- estly not like anything else out there, male musician? Though so I can’t explain it very well except this question is rarely a to say that it weds insanely hard-core fun icebreaker, it’s my test question instrumentals with ethereal vocals. when I’m trying to decide whether or Though you might think the contrast not I like someone. For whatever rea- wouldn’t work, it totally does. It’s like son, female musicians are often over- a mix between heavy metal and superlooked in the slew of boy-stacked indie sweet girl pop. It’s beautiful. You will bands that dominate the alternative love it — it will make you feel like you music scene. Only in the top-40 set— need to immediately start drinking the Ke$has and Gagas of the world — black coffee, smoke cigarettes and is there a real appreciation for female leave the house with bedhead and leftover eye makeup. artists (if you can call them that). Now this whole When a friend column may or of mine told me that her boySo next time someone asks may not have an excuse friend bought you about your favorite fe- been for me to tell you tickets to a She & Him concert, I male musician, I fully expect about Florence you to have an answer. + the Machine’s told her to keep new album Cerhim around — emonials, because not a lot of guys I love that band even more than I love would choose to liscoffee. I have been listening to their alten to Zooey Deschanel croon for a few hours. In a terrible bum on endless loop since it debuted segue, I’m reminding myself of a shirt last Monday, and, let me tell you, it’s imI used to own in elementary school. It pressive. It has the same quirky sound was a long-sleeved purple T-shirt with of their first album, while diverging a soccer ball on the front, accompa- and experimenting enough so that it’s nied by the words “GIRL POWER.” I not too safe. It’s much darker and more wish it were acceptable to be that trite serious as well, which is fine by me, beall the time, and so I am bringing girl cause when I listen to it, I get to pretend power back this week. Here are some that I’m dark and serious, too. News of the fantastical females dominating flash: I am not. “Heartlines” is my favorite track so far — it sounds like a battle my iTunes at the moment. I love Yelle. Maybe it’s because she’s cry more than a song, and I like to French, or maybe it’s because she think that I would follow it into battle. So next time someone asks you wears orange velour jumpsuits when she performs (true story, I saw her live), about your favorite female musician, but she is a magical human being. I fully expect you to have an answer. My favorite recent song of hers is “Sa- However, no one really asks that quesfari Disco Club.” I’d tell you what it’s tion in day-to-day life, so if you do hear about, but sadly, I don’t speak French, it, you have probably just met me. P.S. so all of my impressions of her music Other acceptable responses to this are based on how much they make question include, but are not limited me dance. This song makes me dance to: Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks, Carole A LOT. Broadly, her music is electro- King, Billie Holiday and any member pop, but it sounds kind of like house of the B52s. music after a long stay in Wonderland. Of course, this means that it is odd and Kinne Chapin is a senior in the College. She can be reached at chapin@thehoya. fanciful, but trust me — it’s excellent. Next on the list is “Treats” by Sleigh com. FACE THE MUSIC appears every Bells. I know Sleigh Bells’ album is a other Friday in the guide.
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14 // the guide // 11.11.11
New Thriller Comes Just ‘In Time’ NATASHA BUTALIA Special to The Hoya
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ince 2010’s Inception, the pub- believes are causing imbalances in the system lic has been hungry for anoth- and to reduce the inequalities of this dystoer mind-bending thriller to dis- pian world. cuss. Recent films such as Limitless and The Though Niccol’s basic idea is captivating, Adjustment Bureau have strived to fulfill this I believe much more could have been done role, and Andrew Niccol’s new sci-fi thriller, with it. So much screen time is eaten up by the two protagonists aimlessly running In Time, is the latest contender. The film is set in a futuristic world in which around the poor zone. Despite the fact that time is literally money. Niccol’s future is one Justin Timberlake’s character enters the rich in which humans have been genetically mod- zone because of a personal vendetta, his goal ified so that they cannot age past 25, and once seems to slide into the backseat for much of they hit that age, they begin to depend on the movie. His Robin Hood-style solution to time that they “earn” the problem itself or otherwise receive raises many an eyefrom others. If they run brow, and any freshout of time, they die man who’s taken a immediately. Time as philosophy class can currency is definitely tell you why it is not an intriguing idea. In an ethical or a susIN TIME the film, coffee costs tainable method of did you know?: Many of the charfour minutes, a bus ride readjusting the defecacter names are those of famous and costs an hour and a car tive system. not-so-famous watchmakers. The costs two years. People Additionally, the name Weis is pronounced the same of different socio-ecoinequality itself is so as that of watchmaker Albert Wajs. nomic statuses inhabit stark that it renders different time zones. the world less believable — we are shown In Time’s strange plot raises many fascinating questions regarding a rich zone and a poor zone, but everything in the true worth of life, but unfortunately for between is left unseen and unexplored. There were also so many characters whose developNiccol case, it fails to answer them. The story revolves around Justin Timber- ment I eagerly waited to see, such as Raymond lake’s character, Will Salas, who resides in the Leon’s and Phillipe Weis’, which never evolved. Furthermore, I would have liked to see a “poor zone.” Will lives each day as if it were his last, because it just may be, unless he earns deeper exploration of a character that enenough to make it to the next day. In comes tered earlier in the movie but left quickly: Henry Hamilton, a jaded man from the “rich Henry Hamilton, who was, in my opinion, zone” who has lived a hundred years and has the most important and yet forgotten chara century more in the bank. He gives his time acter in the film, i.e. the man who didn’t to Will, instructing him not to waste it. want to live forever. Hamilton had grown After the loss of his mother, Will journeys tired of life, despite how good it was to him, to the “rich zone” to seek revenge on those he and decided to just give it away. I would have appreciated a return to this idea at the end. Everyone in our world and Niccol’s seems to be relentlessly trying to gain time, instead of making the time they have count — Justin Timberlake’s character ran around trying to make everyone live a little longer, and, in the end, really didn’t achieve anything of philosophical substance. So, ladies — if you’re a Justin fan, I would recommend In Time for its sheer visual pleasure. Otherwise, watch it if you’re stuck for a movie choice on a Thursday night and you’ve already seen Moneyball. Yet if you’re lookALL PHOTOS ROTTENTOMATOES.COM ing for the next Inception-type intellectually stimulating wonder, spend your time procrasA TIMELY RELEASE In Time has the potinating with something else. tential to become a popular thriller.
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Solo Project Doesn’t Get Caught in the Headlights ABBY REUTZEL Special to The Hoya
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ver the past few years the American band Deerhunter has cemented its place as one of the best indie bands around. Lead singer Bradford Cox has also created quite a reputation for himself due to his exciting live performances and moving vocals. Since 2008 Cox has been pursuing music outside of his four-piece band through a solo project he has dubbed Atlas Sound. The newest release from this project is entitled Parallax and is one of the most impressive collections of work in which Brad-
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through. ford Cox has ever been involved. As it progresses, the album takes on a The album is a cohesive whole, with each song seamlessly blending into the next; this dreamier feel tinted with an almost science creates an almost trance-like feeling. The fiction-esque vibe. The record is much more songs are calming but moving in an inde- toned down than what has come to be exscribable way. The lyrics, written in Cox’s pected from the eccentric musician. There are still moments of signature stream-ofaggression, frustraconsciousness style, tion and regret, but are sung delicately overall the album is during some mocalmer, more at rest ments and snarled PARALLAX and more contemin others. “My Angel plative than what is Broken” is a great artist: Atlas Sound we have heard from example of his abilhim in the past. The ity to create a hauntsong to download: “Mona Lisa” songs span a variety ing feeling with of emotions and vocals; however, on this track, this mood is achieved with help time periods — we are taken on a journey from some beautiful backing vocals. Not throughout the album and get to spend only is his voice haunting, but also the mu- time with a man who has accomplished sic that accompanies each track. “Te Amo” is and experienced so much. It’s a rare look ingraced with quite a few musical intervals in side the mind of one of contemporary muwhich Cox’s talent for writing melodies and sic’s brightest talents, and it’s important to accompaniments is allowed room to shine point out that it doesn’t disappoint.
New Releases
MARIA MIRACLE & DANISH ZAIDI Special to The Hoya
“Look What You’ve Done” Drake Take Care
“Give Me All Your Love” Madonna Untitled Album
It’s clear that Cox is more comfortable trying out new things while safely under the moniker of Atlas Sound. His vocal range is further explored throughout the album as are different styles of music, which range from synth-tinged pop to acoustic guitar interludes to bubbly riffs that come out of nowhere, like on the album’s standout track, “Mona Lisa.” “Doldrums” is another impressive track on the record due to Cox’s carefully crafted vocal execution and placing of the piano parts. Cox’s editing skills are apparent on this track as well. He knows not to overload any songs, and he knows exactly when to let the music speak for itself. The album is 12 tracks long and filled with enough variety to keep any Deerhunter fan occupied until the band’s next record is released. In Parallax Cox is able to explore his musical capabilities while still holding onto his own true essence and trademark feel. The album encompasses a variety of styles, yet it still stands as a cohesive work and is worth a listen.
“Like Smoke” Amy Winehouse feat. Nash Lionness: Hidden Treasures
The original Lady Gaga, in anticipation of her still-untitled 12th album, doesn’t disappoint. The upbeat, catchy tune may not be comparable to “Celebration” or “Like A Prayer,” but references to “Lucky Star” will appease older generations as well as dance-happy teens.
In Drake’s sophomore album, Take Care, the Young Money pretty boy manages to cement himself amongst hip-hop’s elite. A nod to this newfound success is found on “Look What You’ve Done,” a dedication to his mother and uncle for their help and love. In it, he strikes a reflective and personal note.
Her first posthumous single is surprisingly perfect; the soulful feel stays true to Winehouse’s roots, but Nas’ verses distract from the world’s all-too-recent loss. “Like smoke, I hung around … ” her spirit lingers, and Hidden Treasures is sure to be full of gold.
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11.11.11 // the guide // 15
best bets
silhouettes toward the sea — meagan kelly
friday Start your weekend by watching the Foo Fighters, one of rock’s biggest bands, live in concert. They will perform some of their greatest hits as well as songs from their new album, Wasting Light. Social Distortion and The Joy Formidable will be opening the show. WHERE: Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m. INFO: 202-628-3200 PRICE: $37.50 to $57.50 METRO: Gallery Place-Chinatown, Red, Yellow and Green lines
KATRINA YEH Special to The Hoya
saturday Join artist Pixel Pancho at his first U.S. solo exhibition, in which he will put on a citywide outdoor painting festival for the public. With the help of over 100 artists, Pancho will be hard at work this Saturday striving to liven up D.C.’s walls and buildings. WHERE: DC Brau Brewery, 3178-B Bladensburg Rd. NE WHEN: Saturday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. INFO: www.twitter.com/artwhino PRICE: Free METRO: None
sunday Experience a blast from the past with some Victorianera fun at the annual D.C. Tweed Ride. Bike through D.C. fashionably from noon to 4 p.m., and follow the ride tothe after-party, which will be held at Smith Commons and will include food, live music and vaudeville acts. WHERE: 1245 H St. NE WHEN: Sunday, 12 p.m.-10 p.m. INFO: 2011dctweedride.eventbrite.com PRICE: Free to ride, $15 for after-party METRO: Union Station, Red line