The Hoya Guide: Sept. 21, 2012

the guide september 21, 2012

the weekly magazine for life on the hilltop

Brewing a Business Inside DC’s Growing Craft Beer Industry

The ‘Perks’ of Being Stephen Chbosky

G4

Alum Finds Success In Songwriting

G6

Nothing Cruel About Kanye’s Latest G15

YOUR GLASS this issue 8 RAISE TO HOMEGROWN BEER lifestyle 3 food&drink 10 arts & 12 entertainment sucsession | surviving endless summer

georgia brown’s | life beyond leo’s

trouble with the curve | ben folds five

nextissue LEADING WOMEN

While microbrewery has recently spread throughout the country, the District had been left out for the past 50 years. That is, until D.C. Brau, run by Brandon Skall and Jeff Hancock, began brewing in northeast D.C. last year. Now, their business is carving a niche for itself in the city, with their handcrafted brews served around the city. Of course, opening any sort of business brings challenges, and a brewery comes with its own unique set. Between legal regulations, money problems and the rigors of business ownership, the company has struggled. Yet they’re still dedicated to the city, its residents and its small-business community.

COVER PHOTO BY MAIREAD REILLY

soundbite

LIFESTYLE

WOMEN-LEAD.ORG

Claire Charamnac (SFS ’11) and Claire Naylor (SFS ’11) founded a leadership organization during their junior year for young women in Nepal. Now post-grad, they’re making a career of it.

Read their story next week in the guide.

the guide Sarah Kaplan, Executive Editor Steven Piccione, Managing Editor Leonel De Velez, Photo Editor Emory Wellman, Layout Editor Emily Perkins, Copy Chief Zachary Gordon, Deputy Guide Editor Sheena Karkal, Deputy Guide Editor Bethany Imondi, Contributing Guide Editor Chris Grivas, Deputy Photo Editor Zoe Bertrand, Deputy Layout Editor Jessica Natinsky, Deputy Layout Editor Kyle Hunter, Deputy Layout Editor Phoebe Lett, Deputy Copy Editor Hunter Main, Deputy Copy Editor Jamie Slater, Deputy Copy Editor

Connor Gregoire, Editor-in-Chief Victoria Edel, Guide Editor Corrections and Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Sarah Kaplan 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. © 2012. 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) 687-3947 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com

MAIREAD REILLY/THE HOYA

MariahByrne Page 7

“I’m right in the middle of an identity crisis brought on by the new name I have assumed since arriving in Costa Rica.”

omglol :( :) :l :P

BIRTH CONTROL Levi Johnston had another child (not with Bristol) and named her Breeze Beretta after an Italian gun, proving he’s not firing blanks.

NEW “IT” COUPLE Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) is dating Jonathan Groff (“Glee”); the world collectively swoons over our new favorite power couple.

MEAN GIRLS Lindsay Lohan has been arrested for a hit-and-run, effectively saying, “Your move, Amanda Bynes.”



SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN Mila Kunis and 10 lucky people were trapped in a Manhattan elevator. Unfortunately, you weren’t in that elevator.

saywhat?

“

You’re, like, in your little tie, your little shoes.

”

— Dina Lohan during her interview with Dr. Phil

lifestyle

Editors’ Picks THE OATMEAL

FALL WEATHER

Any Internet fan is sure to already know about The Oatmeal, a cheeky hosting site dedicated to web comics — and sometimes articles — about whatever site creator Matthew Inman decides to draw or write on any given day. It’s hiliarious and genius.

OATMEAL.COM

We always pick pop culture things for Editors’ Picks, but it’s important to take a moment to look around us. Today is the first day of fall, and it’s finally starting to cool down outside as the humidity lifts, revealing our beautiful, temperate city.

So get outside, play some sports or something and enjoy this beautiful weather while it lasts.

LARRIERS3RDCLASS.BLOGSPOT.COM

AMANDA BYNES

GOOGLE FIBER

Admit it: You love Amanda Bynes, which is why it’s so hard to watch her slowly go crazy.

But at the same time, you can’t help but follow every twist and turn of her various issues. Whether it’s her recent hit-and-run or the pics of her smoking up in her car, we’re all waiting to see what happens next.

Google is in the process of taking over the Internet even more, beginning to offer Internet provider services. Although only available in Kansas City for now, they plan to expand if all goes well.

The service is really fast, over 100 times faster than the service most Americans have.

UGO.COM

GOOGLE.COM

appyhour ShopWell



price: free

This is an amazingly useful app for those who are trying to monitor what they eat. ShopWell uses your gender, age and what you are looking to get out of your diet — lower cholesterol, weight loss, et cetera — to facilitate your trip to the store. It ranks items by brand, ranging from condiments to ethnic foods, based on your nutritional preferences, making grocery shopping easier and healthier.

the apps that will make you love your favorite gadgets even more

Find My iPhone

EDUARDO GUEIROS Hoya Staff Writer

Alien Blue

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

When students go out, they increase the possibility of losing their phones. This app offers a lifeline after a bad night. Once downloaded, Find My iPhone allows you to track any wireless Apple product that also has this app. When your device — most likely your iPhone — is misplaced, you can log into the app on any other device that uses your Apple ID to locate or lock the lost one.

Redditors out there: Rejoice!

Alien Blue offers you an easy, onthe-go way to browse Reddit. You can view both individual subreddits and the main subreddit, as well as uploading content and posting comments. It does a great job mimicking the experience of browsing online. The Pro version allows you to subscribe to new subreddits and access extra features.

price: free

price: free

9.21.12 | the guide | 3

lifestyle The man behind ‘THE WALLFLOWER’ Author of Cult Classic Writes and Directs Film Adaptation bisi orisamolu Hoya Staff Writer

N

ormally, when I hear that a great matter how many awkward sweaters or book is being made into a movie, uncomfortable T-shirt and hoodie commy first emotion is disappoint- binations they put Lerman in, his visment. I am a huge bibliophile, and the ible muscles and adorable smile made it film versions of my favorite novels rarely hard to believe that he was a 15-year-old outcast. But I guess I can forgive Lerman pass muster.

Luckily, The Perks of Being a Wallflower for not embodying a horrifically self-confar surpassed my low expectations. First scious teen with the flawless gawkiness of published in 1999, Perks is something of someone like Michael Cera.

When Charlie first starts high school, he a cult classic for those who read it at the right age — including me. Even better, I has no friends. But one day he attends a football game and got the chance to gets invited to sit sit down and talk with a boy from his with Stephen Chshop class, Patrick, bosky, author of played by a decidthe novel and direcTHE PERKS OF BEING A edly hilarious Ezra tor of the movie, Miller. Charlie is which comes out WALLFLOWER immediately drawn today. starring: Logan Lerman, Emma to Patrick, a senior The Perks of BeWatson, Ezra Miller who seems so obviing a Wallflower ously comfortable is a story about an in his own skin. unbelievably awkPatrick and his stepsister Sam, played ward high school freshman, Charlie, played by Logan Lerman. He’s dealing by Emma Watson, take Charlie under with the recent suicide of his best friend their wing and introduce him to their and some family issues, in addition to alternative punk-rock friends. I bet everythe challenges of his teenage years. No one is dying to know whether Hermione Granger can pull off the role of a misfit high school senior from Pittsburgh. Although she did have some awful lines — “I love bulimia!” and “Welcome to the Island of Misfit Toys!”— she gave a pretty convincing performance.

When I asked Chbosky how he felt about the actors chosen to portray the characters he created, he responded with enthusiasm.

“I couldn’t be happier about this cast,” he told me. He then went on to rave about Watson, calling her “a kindred spirit.” He also admitted that Lerman won him over five seconds into his audition and called Miller — who got the part after doing a Skype audition — “a force of nature.”

For the most part, I agree with Chbosky, though I might never forgive Lerman for the mediocrity with which he delivered Chbosky’s most beautiful and oft-quoted line in the book: “I feel infinite.” The film can be unclear as well. If you’re wondering why Paul Rudd keeps popping up and saying profound things, he’s not making a cameo; he’s not making a cameo; he’s LETTING GO Emma Watson plays the the English teacher. But it’s hard to toe the line between quirky and stupid, because free-spirited Sam.

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HIGH SCHOOL DAZE Chbosky was able to direct the young actors as they tried to inhabit the characters he’d created 13 years before.

lifestyle inherent in quirkiness is a bit of stupidity. The movie does a good job of that.

Overall, the plot in the film version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower is as compelling as it was when I first read it in book form. It’s hard to say what makes The Perks of Being a Wallflower different from any other coming-of-age tale. Even Chbosky himself had trouble pinpointing why his story stands out from others in its genre. He said he imagines that people like it so much because of his own emotional issues — he was going through a bad breakup.

“I wrote it from an authentic place,” he said.“I wanted to understand why good people let themselves get treated so badly. I think because it was so personal to me, people recognized something in themselves as well.”

My best guess is that it has a lot to do with Chbosky himself. Despite the fact that I was interviewing him in the private dining room of the Ritz-Carlton, Chbosky came across as a genuine, down-to-earth and good-natured person. Something about his demeanor compels you to like him, and his lack of inhibition when talking about his personal life makes you feel connected to him in some way. It is no surprise to me that his story has resonated so profoundly with so many people.

At one point during our conversation, the general manager of the Ritz interrupted and practically tripped over himself to welcome Chbosky to the hotel. We were sitting at a large table meant for at least six with glasses of water at each

seat. The manager asked, “Can I get you any more water at all?” to which Chbosky replied, “Uh, no. I think five will do it.”

It’s this quick wit and dry sense of humor that Chbosky passes on to the characters in both his book and his movie.

The film is very relatable, and it does a great job of depicting the different dimensions of the adolescent world. The craziness of drugs and alcohol and boys dressing in drag is juxtaposed beautifully against the suburban backdrop.

Seeing how high schoolers can go from panicking about trivial things like school dances, popularity and secret Santa gifts to worrying about serious things like suicide and homosexual hate crimes reminds us what it’s like to be 16. “[I hope that what] people take away from this is a validation of their own experience, being young,” Chbosky said. “I think a lot of people feel alone in some of the things they go through. And I just wanted to let people know they’re not alone at all.”

Chbosky is hesitant about praising his own work, so I’ll do it for him. The Perks of Being a Wallflower certainly stands alone as a good movie. In Chbosky’s opinion, the book and the movie “complement each other perfectly by design.” As a bibliophile , I’m biased towards Perks in its original form, but I would definitely recommend seeing the film version.

And if you find it lacking that “infinite” feeling, you can always head over to the bookstore and grab a copy of the novel instead.

Victoria Edel/the hoya ALL PHOTOS ROTTENTOMATOES.com

TEENAGE AWKWARDNESS Charlie (Lerman) must cope with emotional hardship and family issues in the challenging social environment of high school.

georgetown babel

The Hallmark of Our Generation: TBH,They’re Just Jelly

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s any regular at Leo’s knows, the venue offers prime opportunities for both people-watching and eavesdropping. (Unintentionally, of course. I mean, doing otherwise would just be rude.) One day, as two of my friends and I were each taking on three plates of food in order to ensure that we made the most of our $13 swipes into Leo’s, we overheard a girl squeal something along the lines of “I’m totes going out tomorrow!”

I clearly don’t hang out with the hippest of Georgetowners, because one of my friends sat there with raised eyebrows and half a piece of pizza dangling from his mouth, while the other expressed his bewilderment at this girl’s exclamation by asking me, “Do people seriously say that?” All I could utter in response: “For realsies.”

I have to admit, I was initially opposed to the abbreviating trend for a couple of reasons. The first is that I’m a classic overachiever and don’t like

taking the easy way out of anything, garding the subject of abbreviations. so including that last syllable or two While some word modifications may is somewhat gratifying. The second seem impractical in that they conreason is that while some may (right- tradict the purpose of abbreviation fully) consider my comparative lit- by actually making the word longer erature major to be a pointless area (e.g., “samesies”) or at least failing to reduce the numof study, it has made ber of syllables (like me hypersensitive to when actually saying grammatical and lin“OMG” or “BT-dubs” guistic errors. I still in conversation as cringe at the thought opposed to just typof ending a sentence ing the acronyms in a in a preposition, even AllieDoughty message), such jargon though one of my is just more fun. Some English professors told the class that doing so wouldn’t of my older relatives would probably claim that texting and tweeting is be the end of the world.

So when my dumbfounded friend to blame for such nonsensically swallowed his meat-lover’s slice and truncated words, arguing that our asked why people bother to abbrevi- technology-based culture is the root ate words that aren’t that long to be- of all evil. In all seriousness, though, gin with, we jointly came to the con- slang is nothing new to the world. In clusion that people are just too lazy fact, without it, phrases that we don’t even give a second thought wouldn’t to articulate a few more syllables.

Since then, I’ve thought about this exist, such as “later,” shortened from more and revised my judgment re- “see you later.” The only difference

is that back when that phrase was coined, no one could accuse technology of creating wacky language patterns because the Internet didn’t exist yet.

As with almost everything, I can relate this topic to “Community” (arguably the best show on television, but we can save that discussion for another day). In one episode, after someone calls out, “Lates!” another character asks, “Isn’t the word ‘later’ already short enough?” To answer that question now, I would say that “later” is short enough to be left unadulterated by abbreviation, but the shortened version, which really just functions as a code shared within a generation, is inevitable — and also pretty amusing.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that abbreves aren’t so bad after all.

Allie Doughty is a senior in the College. GEORGETOWN BABEL appears every other Friday in the guide.

9.21.12 | the guide | 5

lifestyle

centerstage

TOPPING THE CHARTS Alum Combines Literary and Musical Talent

Victoria Edel Hoya Staff Writer

While many Georgetown alumni pursue traditional careers, Jim McCormick (COL ’90) turned his passion for music and his love of poetry into a career as a songwriter. While on the Hilltop, McCormick majored in English, an experience that informs his songwriting. This summer, his song “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” — which he co-wrote with singer Brantley Gilbert — stood at No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart for most of the summer.

This New Orleans native has been working in the music business for years, with his byline on songs performed by bigname artists like Trisha Yearwood and Tim McGraw. McCormick plans to return to Georgetown on Oct. 2 to speak to the students in the music department’s “Seminar in Songwriting.”

What influenced your decision to change from a business major to English?

JM: The great English classes I was taking made me switch. I didn’t have one business class that held up to the English classes — no offense. There’s a depth, breath and scope to literature that even the best economics class doesn’t touch. I gave up on business and shifted over to English.

SPOTLIGHT What’s on your iPod now?

For me, it’s not an iPod, it’s Spotify. But this morning, [the band] Helmet. I was listening to the album Me Time. My tastes go all over the map.

Favorite television show?

“The Daily Show” — he’s the funniest thing we’ve got going.

Favorite movie?

Synecdoche, New York always makes me cry.

I sure did like Tree of Life.

Favorite quote?

“Make the work.”

— Walt Whitman Favorite food?

Sashimi, salmon.

6 | the guide | 9.21.12

Courtesy Jim McCormick

What inspires you to be a poet and songwriter?

JM: I always wrote songs. I always gravitated to music. Mostly, it was the radio as a child, and as I became a teenager, I was interested in poetry and songwriting.

My career unfolded for me in a strange way. It’s not like I decided I wanted to be a songwriter. I slowly found myself, as an adult, moving myself toward a serious love of music and a desire to make a go of it as a career. I can’t say there was one lightning moment that changed my life. I was always going to be a writer — I didn’t know what kind of writer I was going to be. I half expected that I would be a journalist or academic poet, and I really thought so. I got an MFA in poetry [from the University of New Orleans] and was teaching English composition and publishing poems when I started to go to Nashville. I could just see how attractive the life of a songwriter was then and would be to me because I love music so much. It was all the fun of people around music and songs and all the joy of wrestling with language.

Brantley Gilbert’s song “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” that you co-wrote was a big hit this summer. Was that the first song you wrote that saw big success? What was it like?

JM: That was the biggest hit I’ve had so far, though I’ve had some other successful songs and I’ve been very fortunate.

CHRIS GRIVAS/THE HOYA Georgetown.edu

ROCK THE CHARTS Jim McCormick (COL ’90) and Brantley Gilbert, pictured bottom, wrote one of this summer’s biggest country hits, “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do.” It’s a pretty wonderful feeling to turn on the radio every hour and hear your song no matter where you are — every country music station in the country played that song every hour. It took a while for me to digest. I’m humbled by it and really fortunate. There are a lot of great songs out there that don’t go all the way to number one.

How did your time at Georgetown influence your career choice? What lessons have you taken with you?

JM: I think, to a large degree, Georgetown helped me build the confidence to do with my life what I wanted, rath-

er than follow some predetermined or safer path that I might have clung to had I not been given the tools that Georgetown gives you … and I mean that. I think a lot of my self-confidence and self-awareness was developed there, and that was because of the great faculty and the fellow students and the good parents that I had. College is a place where a lot of us incubate the adult self. I think Georgetown’s effect on my becoming a songwriter is more its effect on my becoming the man I wanted to be. It’s a bigger picture, a more important one. Songwriting fits into that picture in the same way being a father or husband does.

lifestyle surviving endless summer

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Mariah?

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famous quote from the Shakespearen classic “Romeo and Juliet,” occurs when Juliet asks Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” She’s arguing that he would be the same if his last name were different, which is important since their families are mortal enemies. After being called something that is not my given name for over two months now, I’m adding that conclusion to the list of things that Juliet says and/or does that I disagree with.

College is the moment in life when anyone has the opportunity to totally redefine herself. As it turns out, studying abroad is basically the same deal; it’s just not as common to redefine yourself a second time.

Well, that’s too bad, because I’m right in the middle of an identity crisis brought on by the new name I have assumed since arriving in Costa Rica.

When I arrived here in July, I introduced myself as Mariah to my host parents, but it was immediately clear that my name was not going to

work. The “ry” sound in Mariah, like out all the time. Regular Mariah is Mariah Carey, simply doesn’t exist in one of the first to participate in the Spanish. I offered “Maria” as an alter- classroom discussion, is fairly outgonative, and that has caught on much ing and — if I do say so myself — is more strongly than I would have pretty funny. Maria is likely to make imagined. Not only does my host people laugh because she has trouble family call me Maria, so do my pro- putting together a coherent sentence. fessors and the friends I have started Mariah generally enjoys making a fool out of herself, but to make in my classes, not exactly like that. even though I introI’m ultimately strugduced myself as Mariah gling because I feel the first time I met all of like no one who meets them. It seems like the Maria is getting to the switch is natural. heart of who I, Mariah, It’s even become MariahByrne really am. My American subconscious for me. I friends here have met now introduce myself as Maria to people I meet when I’m the real me, but unfortunately, the out. Need to make a reservation? In- point of studying abroad was not to troduce myself to someone at a bar? meet more Americans. I want my host It’s Maria. If they’re Costa Rican, I’m family, my classmates, my professors and the Ticos I’m trying to befriend Maria.

This honestly wouldn’t be a prob- to understand that I am not an Amerlem if I didn’t feel that Maria had a ican stereotype. I care deeply about totally different personality than truly immersing myself in my classes regular old, American Mariah. Sure, and the culture here. All of my classes my new persona is more culturally at- are interesting and make me want to tuned, but she is also incredibly qui- participate, but Maria’s afraid. I want et, a little nervous and pretty freaked to introduce myself to strangers and

Forward-Thinking Fashion for a Cause

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ithin the Georgetown community, it is not uncommon to hear that students intern, work paid jobs or start up their own projects and initiatives. For Ifedayo Bethel-Sears (COL ’13), exposure to the fashion industry and work in social development over the past five years have inspired her to establish her own business: Sucsession.

Originally from the Bahamas and the first runner-up in the 2009 Miss Bahamas pageant, Bethel-Sears chose to come to Georgetown over participating in an international beauty pageant. Her interest in fashion peaked even more after interning in the summer of 2011 with two fashion corporations: Smythe-Levis in Toronto and Beautiful Bottoms in London. Bethel-Sears also worked as a camp counselor with the AIDS Foundation of the Bahamas in the summer of 2010, interacting with innercity girls and sparking a passion for social entrepreneurship. Serving as a purchaser for Students of Georgetown, Inc., she was able to gain experience communicating with vendors and interacting with businesses on a daily basis.

Sucsession, founded by Bethel-Sears in July, is a business that combines her interests in style and social development by using a portion of profits to fund summer camps for less-privileged girls in the Baha-

mas. With the slogan “Sucsession is where Fashion & Business meet Social Development,” the organization’s unique spelling emphasizes the middle four letters, SESS, as an acronym for ‘Social Entrepreneurship Sisterhood Style’.” Bethel-Sears said.

“I’ve always wanted to get into fashion and use it for a good social cause and to give back to the community, and so that’s how Sucsession came about,” Bethel-Sears said.

The enterprise raises money through sales at private events and in an online boutique launching Oct. 1. Over the summer, Bethel-Sears held a silent auction in the Bahamas that showcased multiple accessories on which attendees could bid.

On Saturday, Sucsession will play host to a Georgetown-exclusive Bold Statement Jewelry Sale at 1419 36th St. from 1 to 3 p.m.

Bethel-Sears’ holistic development camps will deal with helping girls entering the ninth grade in four Bahaman inner-city areas: Farm Road, Bains Town, Fort Charlotte and Grands Town. While working with the AIDS Foundation in these constituencies, Bethel-Sears noticed the lack of resources and role models for young girls there. Through the summer camps, she aims to provide these girls with a safe environment and the skills and tools to become leaders.

“We’ll look at anger management, communication skills, resume building, hygiene, health [and] beauty. I am having a mentor-mentee program, so women in college and graduating from high school will be mentors to these grade-nine girls, and having women in different leadership positions from accounting to fashion to law come in and speak to the girls about how they became successful,” Bethel-Sears said.

Managing time between the business and a hectic class schedule proves a difficult task for Bethel-Sears, exacerbated by the fact that she lacks a permanent support team in D.C..

“While I was home, I had my [family … a phone call away or a drive away, but coming to school and not really having that support system has been tough, but my friends and acquaintances here have stepped in and offered their help … really helping me make my dream a reality,” Bethel-Sears said.

In the near future, Bethel-Sears would like to attract more diverse fashion designers for her online boutique and to have a successful summer camp launch in the Bahamas this July.

“I would like the camps to expand throughout the Bahamas and then even take it to different countries,” she said.

crack jokes, but Maria doesn’t want to be judged for her error-filled Spanish. I have learned so much thus far from my experience at Georgetown because I threw myself into it. I wasn’t afraid to meet new people, to make mistakes and to come off as a little weird, because that’s just who I am. Now, Maria needs to man up and make the decision to do the same thing.

On the plus side, while Maria might be timid, she is much easier to serenade. My real name is only featured in the intro to some obscure Mariah Carey songs and the show tune “They Call the Wind Mariah” from “Paint My Wagon,” Maria is the title character of songs from musicals like “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story,” to singles by Blondie, Santana and Justin Bieber. Basically what I’m saying is that everyone is now invited to sing to me all the time. Thanks.

Mariah Byrne is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. SURVIVING ENDLESS SUMMER appears every other Friday in the guide.

EMILY MANBECK Hoya Staff Writer

aRIEL pOURMORADY FOR the hoya

ROLE MODEL Bethel-Sears raises money for inner-city Bahamian girls.

“To be able to take a pilot like this and transplant it in another country and help women there become leaders within their own community is something I’d love to see, but that’s 10 years down the line.”

9.21.12 | the guide | 7

Pint by Pint: Business Fermen

P

MAIREAD REILLy Hoya Staff Writer

oliticians may talk about clearing corruption out of Washington, but for the D.C. Brau Brewing Company, it’s not going anywhere. The Corruption India Pale Ale, along with The Public Pale Ale and The Citizen Belgian Ale, is one of the young company’s three most popular brews and a cornerstone of its business.

As the first commercial brewery to operate within the District of Columbia in decades, D.C. Brau is spearheading the push to revive Washington’s beer culture while also fighting for the political issues it most emphatically supports. first and foremost among them being D.C. statehood.

Distilling Success

According to the Brewers Association, an organization of American independent brewers, there were more than 1,700 craft breweries operating nationwide in 2010. None of them were in the District, which had been suffering from a localbrew drought since Heurich Brewery closed its doors on the site of today’s Kennedy Center in 1956.

Cofounder and CEO of D.C. Brau Brandon Skall acutely felt the absence of locally brewed beer in his home city.

“It seemed just absurd that Washington, D.C., didn’t have its own craft beer

identity,” he said.

Skall resolved to fill this need, and,in 2008, he decided to start his own company. Skall teamed up with experienced brewer and friend Jeff Hancock, merging his experience in the beverage marketing and sales industry with Hancock’s skills to create the D.C. Brau brand. Skall manages the business aspect while Hancock creates the product.

In addition to a tight budget — the duo had originally aimed to raise $1 million in start-up capital but settled for $620,000 —, the new business was subject to extensive building specifications and complex zoning regulations.

“Our zoning is that we’re commercial manufacturers, and we need to have CM — at least CM-1 zoning,” Skall explained.

A CM-1 license in D.C. is required for all forms of light manufacturing. “Finding buildings that are CM-1 zoned downtown is pretty hard. Also, on our budget,

we probably wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”

In addition, Skall and Hancock’s business required tall ceilings, cement floors, a loading dock and other specifications unique to their industry.

“A lot of [that] stuff [is] pretty hard to find in other parts of the city. Most of this zoning is all along the outskirts of the city, so even the other new breweries that have opened up are kind of in similar situations,” he said.

Eventually, Hancock and Skall settled on a location in the Fort Lincoln neighborhood of northeast D.C. Even after they found a site for the brewery, Hancock and Skall had to lobby the government to obtain a permit for the tastings they now hold on a regular basis. While laws allowing tastings in grocery and liquor stores existed, the two men fought for the Brewery Manufacturer’s Tasting Permit Temporary

Amendment Act of 2011.

Finally, almost three years after beginning their partnership, Hancock and Skall sold the first batches of D.C. Brau in April 2011. A year and a half later, D.C. Brau has produced 30 different beers and is stocked in restaurants and liquor stores throughout the District and as far south as Lynchburg, Va. Hancock and Skall make a conscious effort to incorporate local culture into their business at every opportunity.

The brewroom walls feature murals created by friends and local artists, and the company’s can design features an iconic Washington image: the silhouette of the Capitol dome. The pair also works with local farmers to recycle the wet grain used in the brewing process as food for livestock and is in the process of developing a limited-edition beer that will contain entirely locally sourced ingredients.

Building community is another important component of Hancock and Skall’s business model.

“I’ve always thought of this place as a place that was built by friends, because it was,” Skall said.

The staff of D.C. Brau offers tours and tastings on weekends and is often on hand at beer launches and community events. The team also recruits volunteers to help out with the day-to-day running of the business.

“People in this industry are so excited just to come out and help and just be there. ... It’s great for us, because we’re able to pay people in beer for coming to help out,” Skall said. “It helps us to run efficiently. People are happy to be a part of it, [and] we’re happy to have them.”

The Business of Beer

ART AND ALCOHOL Head brewer Jeff Hancock, works in the factory, which is decorated with murals by local artists.

Each can and keg of D.C. Brau is created from start to finish in the brewery’s small warehouse space on Bladensburg Road in northeast D.C. How exactly do yeast, water, grain and hops come together to cre-

nts District’s Beer Tradition ate D.C. Brau ales? Nailing down a recipe is the first order of business.

“Who knows where the idea for a beer comes from?” Skall said. “Sometimes it comes from music, sometimes it comes from another beer that we’ve had, sometimes it comes from just a feeling, a movie or something like that.”

Once they’ve decided on a style and feel for the beer, Hancock takes the lead on fine-tuning the recipe — with no room for mistakes.

“We’re a little bit different than most breweries because we don’t do any test batches here. We kind of just go for the gold,” Skall said.

But the pressure to create a tasty product on his first try isn’t usually a problem for Hancock.

“Jeff is just a beast,” Chris Graham, lead shift brewer, said.

The D.C. Brau brewing process, which takes about two to three weeks, begins with grain, water and hops. The difference in their production is in how personal their operation is.

Through boiling, the starches are broken down into sugars that can be fermented, while the hops — and sometimes other ingredients, such as herbs — add flavor and aroma to the beer. The liquid is then removed and transferred to a fermenter, where yeast is added. At D.C. Brau, the fermenting process typically lasts three to five days. Afterwards, the yeast is removed and the beer is allowed to “brighten,” explained Graham, who has worked at D.C. Brau since June 2011.

Once the beer is ready for consumption, it is either pumped into kegs by hand — a rare practice — or piped into the brewery’s canning machine. At the other end of the brewroom, Graham pointed out a stack of whiskey casks from a local distillery, which D.C. Brau uses to infuse unique flavors into some of its beers.

The space is small, with each stage of the brewing process occurring footsteps away from the preceding phase. After the beer is canned, each six-pack is assembled by hand and placed on a pallet for transportation to one of D.C. Brau’s vendors.

The process is “intimate,” Graham said. “You’re in touch with the product every step of the way.”

While the procedure doesn’t vary much from beer to beer, the variety of skills and creative expertise required, for each brew keeps Graham continually challenged.

“It’s definitely kind of an amalgamation of jobs,” he said. “There’s chemistry, engineering, a really hard, blue-collar work ethic, cooking [and] culinary arts. …

It’s a really amazing profession.”

The brewery’s website features a “Brau Finder,” allowing fans of the beers to find local restaurants and liquor stores that

stock D.C. Brau. Near Georgetown, the brews can be found at Georgetown’s Pizzeria Paradiso as well as Breadsoda and Town Hall farther up Wisconsin Avenue.

“We like to support local business, and it is a wonderful product,” Shawn Kelley, an owner and manager at Breadsoda, wrote in an email. Breadsoda has two draft lines dedicated to D.C. Brau: one for The Corruption IPA and one for a rotating seasonal selection.

“It sells really well and is only gaining momentum with time, advertising and name recognition,” Kelley added.

When it comes to business philosophy, D.C. Brau has found another recipe for success, which starts with a simple approach.

“All it is is showing up and giving [vendors] respect,” Skall said of his mentality toward establishing business partnerships. “If you’re a product-based business and you don’t give respect to the people who sell your product, then you’ve got another thing coming. They’re the ones who enable your business to exist.”

But as the owner of a small business, Skall still experiences his share of pitfalls, as his clients have experienced.

“We haven’t been able to carry [D.C. Brau] recently because they are unable to maintain a steady supply of product,” Paul Holder (MSB ’02), owner of Town Hall, wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, with many of these upstart producers, they grow their brand before they can reliably supply the market, and they can become a nuisance to deal with.”

Skall tries his best to navigate these situations. “I’m always honest with them, I never lie,” he said. “If we have an issue, I tell them what the issue is — I tell them why they’re not going to get their beer that week or whatever.”

He believes that this transparency is essential for running his business, but he admits that they always don’t have the most fastidious business plan.

“We’re kind of a toothpicks-and-marshmallows operation sometimes,” Skall said. “So we do fly by the seat of our pants a lot.”

Fermenting a Rebellion

The arrival of D.C. Brau has catalyzed a reinvigoration of the city’s local brewery tradition. Soon after Hancock and Skall debuted their first batches in 2011, two more breweries opened in the District: Chocolate City Beer on H Street and 3 Stars Brewing Company in northwest D.C. Add the White House — which started brewing its own beers in 2011 — and D.C. may be experiencing a craft beer revolution. A recent blog post on The Washington Post’s website notes that after lacking even a single brewery at the beginning of 2011, the District now has the highest “brewery density” in the country: one brewery for

HIGH BRAU CEO Brandon Skall takes pride in his brewery’s local flavor. Every batch of beer the company sells is hand crafted at the factory in northwest D.C. every 22.8 square miles.

And though it’s still a young business, D.C. Brau has set its sights on rapid growth.

“We’re about to go through a really large expansion,” Skall said. “We’re going to almost triple our production capabilities at the end of this year.”

The brewery also hopes to acquire a license to sell its product in Maryland by the end of 2012, fully expanding its scope throughout the D.C. metro area.

Along with developing the District’s local beer identity, the company has taken up the cause of D.C. statehood and voting rights. Both District natives, Hancock and Skall advocate for D.C. to gain full representation in the Senate and the House of Representatives, rather than accepting the one non-voting delegate to the House who is currently D.C.’s lone voice on Capitol Hill. As it stands, Skall argues that D.C.’s legal status amounts to “taxation without representation.”

“When I think about how my money is spent, [the idea] that it’s not as valid as someone from another part of the country is absurd,” he said. “There’s no valid reason why this city shouldn’t have the same rights as any other city in the country.”

The brewery has collaborated with

advocacy organization D.C. Vote, which fights for full voting representation in Congress for Washingtonians, and has helped the group put on a number of events, assisting with fundraisers and raising awareness about the issue.

“We’re just trying to educate people as to what it actually means and just bring a little bit of light to it,” Skall said. “[D.C. residents] didn’t even get the right to vote for president until the ’60s. … Most people either don’t know that that’s the case or just don’t understand it.”

But Skall isn’t as optimistic about winning his fight for D.C. voting rights as he is about growing his beer business.

“Just like most things, [the voting issue] is just going to get tossed back and forth, back and forth. … It’s politics,” Skall said.

According to Skall, D.C. Brau’s political advocacy is part of its identity as a local brewery.

“Being a local beer doesn’t just mean that we’ve got a picture of the Capitol on the can. It means that all the bartenders and bars in town know who we are,” Skall said. “We have an obligation to be out there and represent ourselves as a local beer both to the people who are drinking our beer and the people who are selling our beer.”

food&drink It Doesn’t Get Butter Than This bethany imondi Hoya Staff Writer

 GEORGIA BROWN’S

950 15th St. NW cuisine: Comfort price: $$$$

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lame it on Paula Deen. With her recipes including four sticks of butter and enough cheddar cheese to keep Wisconsin’s economy going, Deen has likely convinced many that Southern food is the culprit in America’s obesity problem. Yet while Southern food may not be the best for America’s waistlines, the comfort stemming from its homestyle preparation and flavors is undeniable.

Boasting its Southern hospitality in the nation’s capital, Georgia Brown’s seeks to persuade diners that southern cuisine’s bad reputation doesn’t mean it’s not classy. Offering gracious service and succulent fare since 1993, this restaurant on K and 15th Streets cares as much about the dining experience as it does about the food.

Exhibiting the warmth typically associated with the South, the wait staff is welcoming and friendly. From the moment diners walk inside, they’re transported to the low country as they sit under the branches of live oak trees that similarly stretch over Southern streets.

The walls’ orange and yellow hues create an at-home feeling for a comforting and relaxing ambiance.

As patrons browse through the menu selections, they can get a taste of what is to come by sampling the complimentary biscuits and cornbread. Unlike traditional biscuits, these are fluffy than flaky. The cornbread, too, is a variation on tradition. Taking a bite into the finger-shaped breads, one can taste the corn kernels and the sweetness of the added sugar.

Between bites of biscuits and sips of sweet peach tea, choosing an entree can be difficult. The menu includes soul food staples like fried catfish with blue cheese coleslaw, shrimp with Andouille sausage and stone-milled grits and jambalaya with dirty rice, duck confit and Etouffee gravy.

Arguably the signature of soul food, the buttermilk-fried chicken is not to be missed. Each plate includes one dark-meat and one white-meat piece of chicken that have been marinated in buttermilk and fried golden brown. The skin provides a crisp, crunchy contrast to the moist and tender meat, and the accompanying collard greens strike the right balance of salt and acidity. The macaroni and cheese, a substitute for the mashed potatoes typically served with the chicken, is far from the processed

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YELP.COM

SOUTHERN COMFORT Georgia Brown’s serves up a modern take on classic Southern dining the way it’s meant to be, with plenty of butter and cheese. product with which many diners are familiar. Bathed in a cheddar cheese sauce, the serving is just the right size without being too rich, but it could benefit from some spice to add a depth of flavor.

For something less heavy, the salmon is grilled with Creole spices and topped with watermelon rind pickles and a sassafras barbecue sauce. The vinegary tang of pickles contrasts nicely with the slightly oversweet sassafras sauce. The fish is a thick portion, carefully cooked to ensure it is heated throughout.

As with many of the plates on the menu, a cheese-based side dish and a type of greens accompany the salmon.

Not as loose as traditional recipes, the cheddar grits resemble a thick porridge.

Because of the cheese’s sharpness, it has less moisture when melted, which makes for a slightly grainy mixture. While its texture might be off-putting to some, the dish embodies the stick-to-the-ribs comfort of soul food without being overly

greasy. Similarly, the spinach is sauteed until just wilted to avoid absorbing too much oil.

If dessert is too much of a temptation, diners should avoid the sweet menu at all costs. Banana pudding is a Southern classic, but Georgia Brown’s adds its own twists: caramelized vanilla cookies and a salted caramel drizzle over the banana custard. Despite the name, the peach cobbler resembles more of a crisp with its warm oat-and-vanilla wafer topping. Melting into the nooks and crannies of the brown sugar and butter-sauteed peaches, a scoop of vanilla-bean ice cream tops the dessert.

On a regular visit, dinner costs upward of $30 per person. For those looking not to stretch their budgets, consider signing up for the mobile app Scoutmob, which currently has a Georgia Brown’s deal for 50 percent off, or up to a $25 discount. The app won’t save diners any calories, but it might convince them that Southern hospitality is worth embracing.

a weekly review of the blogosphere’s best recipes

coffee nutella macaroons

cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread

designbakerun.blogspot.com

cooking-in-the-desert.blogspot.com

These macaroons combine two favorites: coffee and Nutella. Need we say more? Don’t be daunted by the thought of baking this notoriously difficult treat; these light macaroons are truly scrumptious and will be well worth the effort.

There are few things better than the scent of cinnamon, which will make waiting for this bread to cool almost unbearable. The end result is warm, sticky and sugary breakfast bread that is nothing short of perfect with a mug of coffee on a Sunday morning.

10 | the guide | 9.21.12

It’s Lobster Season All Year at New DC Eatery jaclyn proctor Hoya Staff Writer

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estled on Potomac Street lies Luke’s Lobster, a cozy restaurant founded by Georgetown grad and former lobsterman Luke Holden (MSB ’07), serving up fresh seafood directly from Maine’s coast. Earlier this semester, the guide covered this new location’s opening (“Waves of Success,” August 31, G4), but now we finally got a chance to try his New England flavor. And he really does bring New England’s best: The food is delicious.

The sunny yellow walls and buttery aroma wafting through the air invite you to the counter to place an order, where an oversized chalkboard displays the menu: a choice of lobster, shrimp or crab rolls, as well as soups, drinks and extras. Mason jars and lobster claws containing Luke’s special spices adorn the tables, which provide limited seating downstairs and additional seating on the second-story nook. This petite restaurant also offers takeout options.

The Noah’s Ark provides a comprehensive taste of Maine for two people. Our plates were filled with a half-order of all three rolls: lobster, crab and shrimp, as well as chips and drinks. Luke’s rolls are filled with a quarter-pound of meat (equating to 5 or 6 poor lobsters) with just a pat of butter and a touch of mayonnaise, topped off with a dusting of their special spices on a toasted, buttered roll.

KAYLA NOGUCHI for THE HOYA

ROCKIN’ LOBSTER Georgetown alum serves up traditional Maine-style lobster rolls.

 LUKE’S LOBSTER 624 E St. NW cuisine: Seafood price: $$$$ No fillers, heavy sauces, goopy mayonnaise globs or other hidden, heavy ingredients — just pure, fresh seafood. The portions are just right and leave you satisfied.

To accompany your meal, Luke’s provides specialty sodas from Maine Root — a family-based soda company in Maine — as well as juice, lemonade, water and Diet Coke for the more health conscious.

Fizzy flavors like blueberry, ginger and mandarin orange provide a sweet pop to your meal and are made with organic, fair-trade ingredients to boot. The ginger soda had a spicy punch that complemented the light seafood and provided a more robust flavor than regular, storebought soda brands.

In keeping with the New England theme, Luke’s Lobster offers a variety of Cape Cod chips to go with your meal, as well as Blue Monsters: scoops of Maine blueberry ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies for those with a sweet tooth. A sweet taste reminiscent of late summer days and tangy, fresh berries are just the right ending to a great meal.

While $15 is a bit steep for a sandwich, you definitely get your money’s worth in quality. The lobster is shipped directly from Maine to the restaurant — no middleman is involved — from sustainable suppliers. In fact, all of the lobster harbors are within 600 miles of the restaurant, and ingredients can be traced directly back to the source. The fresh, tasty food combined with the pleasant, homely environment provide an experience that immediately transports you to the New England coast, even in the midst of a rainy D.C. night.

With locations throughout New York City, Bethesda and Penn Quarter, Luke has finally returned home to his fellow Hoyas in the newest location. Luke’s Lobster is certainly worth the walk over whenever you long for those carefree, sunny summer days.

food&drink life beyond leo’s

Filter-Happy Foodies

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Why all the commotion? We’ve or all you iPhone-toting, wannabe hipsters or yuppies like all seen pretty food before, so why most of us here at Georgetown, do we feel the need to display it like you have definitely experienced the we’re on “Top Chef”? For me, at least, sociocultural phenomenon I am about seeing all the cooking my friends are to describe. You’ve seen it or prob- doing makes me want to cook as well, ably done it yourself: taking pictures of primarily so that I can make a more your food. These photos find their way Instagram-worthy meal and elecinto the social network via Facebook tronically one-up them. Gone are the or, more commonly, through the ubiq- days of “digging in” as soon as food is uitous app Instagram. placed in front of you. Nowadays, you The concept is fun and easy: Take a must patiently wait while your friend picture, pick a cool retInstagrams your sweetro-inspired filter, add green salad with some a caption and some caption like “Salad Sathashtags and you’re urdays #healthy #food on your way to achiev#dc #photooftheday ing Internet stardom #winning #love #tasty like Rebecca Black or #salad” with six emoBrendanQuinn Honey Boo Boo. Instajis thrown in for good gram speaks to us bemeasure. You may roll cause it’s a matter of science: Your life your eyes at this occurrence, but deep looks much more interesting through down, you’re smiling because only shades of Valencia or Walden. We, in the trendiest of lunches receive Instathe 21st century, discovered a way to attention. It’s merely a prerequisite make our photos look like they were of the modern age; we not only comtaken in 1978 without the hassle of pete for internships, grad schools procuring outdated technology. Never- and “real” jobs, but we duke it out theless, with the rise of Instagram also for the most “likes” on a picture of came the rise of a new artistic subject, lasagna. one that’s commonly left to still-life With this in mind, this week I give painters: food. Suddenly, our lives were you an easy and delicious salad that overcome with images of cool, interest- you can make before that photo of ing and sophisticated meals, tinted Healy clock tower finishes uploadlike old photographs. I never really ing. Toss it together and enjoy! But concerned myself with someone else’s don’t forget: You must Instagram it. fantastic meal, but now, if that meal is Instagrammed, I Insta-like it. Sepia-col- Brendan Quinn is a junior in the Colored spaghetti or Hudson-tinted ham- lege. LIFE BEYOND LEO’S appears evburgers have never looked so delicious. ery other Friday in the guide.

#instasalad ingredients

3 dinner rolls (or any bread, really) 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar 5 Tbsp. olive oil 1 grilled chicken breast 1 ball mozzarella cheese

1.

2.

3.

4.

1-2 tomatoes 1 onion 1 scallion Salt and pepper Garlic powder (recommended)

Cut or break the rolls into small pieces and place them in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the vinegar and olive oil and stir frequently for about five minutes.

Dice the chicken, tomato, mozzarella and onion.

Combine diced ingredients with the mixture in the bowl. Season the salad to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder if so desired.

Finely chop the scallion and sprinkle on top of the salad before serving.

9.21.12 | the guide | 11

arts&entertainment

Ode to Women Misses Re-Examining Our Jesuit Its Cue Values for a Modern World take it from a senior

NICOLE JARVIS Hoya Staff Writer

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hen you think of rock and roll, many names come to mind: The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, to name a few. What most people unfortunately forget is the loud and proud legacy of kick-ass women of rock and roll. The National Museum of Women in the Arts makes a valiant effort to change that oversight with its new exhibit, “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power.” The exhibit features a chronology of women — from Billie Holliday and Ma Rainey to Debbie Harry and The Runaways to Britney, Christina, Gaga and everyone in between.

The exhibit aims to highlight their music, careers and identities. Unfortunately, their quest to highlight these exceptional women falls short of its lofty goals.

My troubles started in trying to follow the exhibit chronologically. Even after I realized I had entered the exhibit through the back entrance, I had trouble figuring out just who came before whom. The exhibit is composed of case after case of artifacts and short biographies of some of the most well-known female names in rock and roll. Many feature interesting handwritten notes or particularly iconic guitars.

Many of the artists’ most well-known outfits — like Cher’s floor-length feather headdress, Madonna’s cone bra and Lady Gaga’s meat dress — are featured. That’s right folks.

Bearing the stamp of American Taxidermy, the infamously meaty dress from the MTV Video Music Awards survives in the form of fashionable beef jerky.

While these fashions were very frequently career defining, they fail to paint a full picture and almost minimize the musical and historical significance of the roles

these women commanded in every subgenre of rock and roll. These individually great ladies become lost in a sea of sequins.

Here’s my true problem with “Women Who Rock”: It’s bland. Somehow, the creative minds behind this exhibit made the lives, music and careers of some of the craziest women ever seem boring. An exhibit like this has a lot of potential to be really entertaining, informative and explosive. For the most part, each of the women featured has enough rock and roll history to fill her own exhibit, but instead, “Women Who Rock” loses its focus and becomes a parade of costumes and the occasional prop. Even if you dedicate the time to read every biography and watch every dull educational video stationed throughout the exhibit, it’s just not that interesting.

These women had so much passion for their music, but that is not conveyed in this exhibit. Take Janis Joplin, for example. She is a rock and roll icon who lived fast, died young and felt the music in her soul. She said “When I sing, I feel like when you’re first in love. It’s more than sex. It’s that point two people can get to they call love, when you really touch someone for the first time, but it’s gigantic, multiplied by the whole audience. I feel chills.”

This quote adorns the wall of this exhibit, yet for all her raw power, musicality and pioneering, she is reduced to a paragraph, a page of notes and a small beaded dress. This treatment of a rock legend is indicative of the exhibit as a whole and pushed my frustrations over the edge.

For all the potential this exhibit had to be pitch perfect, there were too many sour notes for it to be a hit.

MMWA.ORG ROTTENTOMATOES.COM

MATERIAL GIRL This exhibit features many iconic garments worn by famous celebrities, such as Madonna’s famous cone-bra dress.

12 | the guide | 9.21.12

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hen I leave the Hilltop, ized group. The difference between I’ll thank Georgetown for women’s health issues and the issues teaching me to examine of the death penalty and divorce is irrelevant to balanced discourse. my values.

Members of GU Right to Life see a I arrived here excited to explore what faith meant to others and how portion of their tuition go toward a they use it to establish their own club that engages discussion on an isvalues. I wanted to take advantage sue that is important to them, and I of the Jesuit tradition Georgetown support their ability to do so. Univerpromotes to help me “wrestle with sity resources engage only one side questions of faith and meaning,” as of the debate, however, preventing the Campus Ministry website puts it. students from fully understanding Before I applied, my tour guide how their faith might relate to a diffitold me that Georgetown was home cult decision. As a Catholic university, to the first rabbi, imam and LGBTQ Georgetown must establish criteria Center at a Catholic university. I for the extent to which issues can funwas excited to attend a university damentally oppose Catholic teachings that promised to promote interfaith before being excluded from campus dialogue. Unfortunatedialogue. As a freshly, Georgetown has, man, I got involved seemingly arbitrarily, with Campus Minisdecided to draw the try through ESCAPE, line at issues that affect where I came to apprewomen. This is not diaciate the Jesuit tradithis is dogma. tion of reflection. This MaxwellWallace logue; Georgetown may led me to get further have every legal right to involved with Campus Ministry the following year, which ban speakers who promote a woman’s helped me grapple with my own ques- right to choose, but it should then reframe its mission statement from tions of faith.

For a school that professes such a promoting “serious and sustained strong commitment to open discourse discourse among people of different regarding faith, it is unsettling where faiths, cultures, and beliefs” to one Georgetown chooses to draw the line that makes it clear to every applicant on what is worthy of reflection and that if his tradition conflicts with the what is not. From what I’ve learned, university’s stance on women’s health the Catholic Church has clear doc- issues, it is unworthy of examination.

I wish that I had considered this as trines on issues regarding the death penalty and divorce. Surprisingly, a freshman and had spent more time there are no rules preventing the Col- raising awareness of this issue. Too lege Republicans from advocating for often, I look back at my time on the the death penalty or the Georgetown Hilltop and see amazing experiences Law Center from teaching “Marriage overshadowed by missed opportuniand Divorce,” a class that trains future ties. Georgetown has so much to offer lawyers to dissolve the institution of and its opportunities can be daunting, but by finding your passion and marriage.

Why then, are campus groups for- examining it deeply, you can make bidden from engaging in an open dia- the most of your time here. If I had logue regarding one of the most po- thought more about what I truly vallarizing issues of our time: a woman’s ue, I could have spent four years adright to choose? At Georgetown, I’ve vocating for meaningful changes. But established that one of my core val- I guess that’s what the rest of my life ues lies in respecting women’s agency is for. and independence. My education has helped me see that inconsistent en- Maxwell Wallace is a senior in the School forcement of religious doctrine pro- of Foreign Service. TAKE IF FROM A SEmotes injustice, particularly when NIOR appears every other Friday in the targeted at a historically marginal- guide.

photoessay

New York City in Jordan L

arts&entertainment

by ghazi bin hamed

ook!” he said when we

neared the third circle.

“There’s a rainbow in the sky.” I was being nice to drive him home, and he was making fun of my uncanny ability to play pretend at the ripe age of 19. I decided to play along.

“Oh, what a beautiful one, too,” I said. “Look at those brilliant colors.”

“There’s blue,” he said, waving at the dark night sky.

“And pink!” I added, as I drove around the second circle.

“How beautiful,” he added.

“Indeed, such a gorgeous rainbow.”

“A RAINBOW!” he yelled, as we approached the first circle.

“Oh my. A real rainbow,” I said in a bemused tone.

“Here, drop me off at the beginning of the rainbow,” he told me. And at the beginning of the rainbow, he walked off.

Rainbow Street, located in the heart of Amman, Jordan, is one of my favorite spots back home.

Eclectic, serendipitous, colorful and artsy, yet gritty, noisy and gray at times, it truly reflects both a Keats-inspired description of a rainbow and a Newtonian deconstruction of one. Flanked by 1920s-era villas of pale limestone and pointed arches, Rainbow Street begins to fade away, offering San Francisco-style views of neighboring hills.

Kept alive by a mix of everyday commerce, cafes, antiques emporia, bars, restaurants, art galleries, bookshops and minimarkets, the noises and sights guide eyes and ears through its nooks and alleys.

would you like to be featured in the next photo essay? email guide@thehoya.com 9.21.12 | the guide | 13

arts&entertainment behind the screens

The Downward Spiral of Baseball TV’s Resident Bad Guys Drama Hits It

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ountless shows are returning to be entirely sure of himself. Walt’s to TV lineups this fall, but two good intentions, however, have been dramas in particular, “Sons obscured by the dangers affiliated of Anarchy” and “Breaking Bad,” with his new profession, and he has have left me especially excited about been forced to toughen up signifievents that will conclude or drasti- cantly while becoming unbelievably cally change the plots’ trajectories stoic. As the series draws closer to an end — this is the penultimate season and the characters’ lives On a superficial level, the com- —, we eagerly await the conclusion to mon factor between the shows is Walt’s story and try to guess how the their propensity for showing illicit writers will tie up loose ends.

“Sons of Anarchy” contains a less activities. However, at this point in their stories, they each offer more Jekyll-and-Hyde-esque transformasubtle similarities through their tion in Jax but promises intriguing protagonists, as Jax Teller (Charlie developments in season five. The Hunnam) of “Sons of Anarchy” and bad-boy-turned-good-turned-badWalter White (Bryan Cranston) of and-back-again shoulders signifi“Breaking Bad” individually expose cantly more responsibility in both the motorcycle club us to crucial mohe is a member of and ments in their perin his personal life. As sonal struggles. he struggles between The word I find his desire to safely supmost appropriate to port his family and his connect these very duty to serve with his different characters is “transformation.”

EduardoGueiros “brothers,” he must repeatedly make deciBoth are decisionsions that are detrimakers with an increasing amount of interpersonal mental and, nine times out of 10, put responsibility. They must adapt to his life at risk.

At one point, Jax must make the successfully take on new burdens.

The two are very much the type of best of where he finds himself with characters you are unsure whether the hope that the path he truly deto love or hate, since their choices sires will present itself again. The often straddle the line between motorcycle club as a whole is going moral and immoral. The famous through times of change, and conseSpider-Man quote — “With great quently many questions remain to power comes great responsibility” be answered in this explosive show.

— can be tailored to adequately de- As we anticipate a chaotic season full scribe Jax and Walt’s situations: of internal and external conflicts, With great responsibility comes Jax’s increasingly influential posigreat unpredictability and a great tion in both the club and the plot number of morally questionable promises to once again play a central role in a show that, like “Breaking decisions.

Let’s start off with the arguably Bad,” somehow distorts our percepmore drastic of the transformations, tion of right and wrong.

As a huge fan of both these shows, Walter White. He is the central figure in a story that is somehow both I expect the plots to continue their preposterous and plausible: Medical excitingly unpredictable developbills from cancer treatments and a ments while also remaining true to mission to leave money for his fam- what I see as their primary focus in ily force the high school chemistry the evolution of these main characteacher into a more lucrative trade, ters. For now, all we can do is wait cooking meth. However, the family one week at a time as events slowly man with a noble cause now travels unfold, and watch as some of our favorite characters come back to life. a significantly darker path.

Now, viewers might be confused as to whether they are watching Walter Eduardo Gueiros is a junior in the White or his drug-dealing alter ego College. BEHIND THE SCREENS apHeisenberg. This distinction is appar- pears every other Friday in the ently not evident to Walt, who seems guide.

14 | the guide | 9.21.12

Out of the Park ALLIE DOUGHTY Hoya Staff Writer

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aybe I just love baseball too much, sessed lawyer who is pressured into being her but I was tempted to bestow five dad’s eyes on a scouting trip to North Carostars upon Trouble with the Curve lina. Although it seems improbable that one based on the nervous anticipation that the person could be so professionally successful film creates during the pitching scenes. at a relatively young age and yet still be able to Then I realized that I should probably re- retain every single fact there is to know about serve that honor for a film that doesn’t turn the history of baseball — not to mention be able to dominate in a game of pool or slug out to be as conventional as this one.

Robert Lorenz makes his directorial debut a home run with ease — Mickey is not withafter years of serving as Clint Eastwood’s as- out her faults. Still resentful of her father for sistant director and producer, and rookie passing her off to relatives after her mother screenwriter Randy Brown provides the safe- died young and later shipping her to boarding school, Mickey has commitment issues ly played, though enjoyable, script.

In his first role in almost two decades in a that only a guy as handsome and charming movie that he didn’t direct, Eastwood shines as Justin Timberlake could cure. Timberlake radiates a certain eneras the rugged Gus Logy and playfulness as bel, an aging baseball Johnny Flanagan, an scout for the Atlanta old recruit who threw Braves. Back in the day, he was the best at out his arm in the his job — and, presumHe hopes to TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE majors. ably, he still is — but become a broadcaster one particularly arfor the Red Sox. starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy rogant colleague eyeI was half expectAdams, Justin Timberlake ing an eventual move ing Adams and Timto general manager berlake to break out doubts that Gus’ train perfect song as a ditional views still have merit in light of the throwback both to Adams’ Enchanted days recent creation of a number of useful, tech- and to Timberlake’s boy-band era before evnologically created statistics. In some ways, eryone realized Timberlake has more talent this movie seems like a counterargument to than his previous lip-syncing in music videos last year’s Moneyball, insisting that instinct suggested. They do not. and feeling play a larger part in the game Of the cast, Eastwood spits out the best than numbers do. Even so, Gus isn’t neces- lines, highlighting Gus’ ornery spirit well. It’s sarily advocating for himself and his theory, obvious, however, that Mickey has inherited as he’s suffering from macular degeneration that same bite. In fact, the father-daughter but stubbornly refuses treatment to improve interplay between Eastwood and Adams his vision. He knows that his hunches may is undoubtedly the heart of the film. In an not be the most reliable anymore. early scene, Gus asks Mickey if she needs Amy Adams gives an impressive perfor- money to buy nicer clothes, a question that mance as Gus’ daughter Mickey, a work-ob- earns him a much-deserved eye roll from his daughter, who just told him that she might be promoted to partner in her hotshot law firm. When she explains that she had just finished a yoga class, Gus responds, “You do that voodoo?” A few of Eastwood’s signature growls make their way into the final cut as well.

The plot, which suffers from a black-andwhite dynamic that leaves the film with clear-cut bad guys and good guys, could stand for a little more realism, but maybe the point is to bring audiences back to oldfashioned, feel-good cinema. Anyway, the ROTTENTOMATOES.COM film features Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake, and baseball. What more could an LOST LOVE Eastwood shifts from empty chairs to graves in Trouble With the Curve. American ask for?

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arts&entertainment

It’s Just ‘Not the Same’

New Releases

zach gordon Hoya Staff Writer

aBBY REUTZEL

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en Folds and I have a pretty personal relationship. His kids went to my school in Nashville, and he used to wave to me when our cars were next to each other in the carpool line. We’re pretty much best friends.

Okay, maybe not, but I do have a personal connection with his music. I was a latecomer to Ben Folds fandom, not really paying much attention to him until a few years ago.

When Ben Folds Five first entered the music scene in the 1990s, it offered an often humorous and introspective alternative to the punk rock scene while still fitting the genre. They were white boys playing white boy music with a cheeky, angst-ridden vibe. Driven by Folds’ dynamic piano skills, the trio (an ironic aspect of the band that adds to their pseudo-joking tone) produced a few mainstream hits — “Brick” and “Army” — although they mostly remained a cult favorite.

With his solo work, Folds became a prolific solo artist in his own right, transforming his image from an angsty white boy to a suburban dad.

Because of this progression, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the newly reunited band’s latest album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, which was released this past Tuesday. I guess I was hoping for them to get back to their roots and produce some quirky, piano-driven punk rock, but what I got was a little different.

The tone of the album was slightly washed up: It felt a little forced. Yeah, there was still the unexpected lewd reference and unnecessary cursing that buttressed their previous sound, but the fact of the matter is that — musically — Ben Folds changed, which changed the sound of the band.

It felt very suburban, but not in the same way

“SECRET SOCIETY” I TITLE FIGHT 

Title Fight returns this month with its second studio album, Floral Green, and the album’s first single, “Secret Society.”

Carried by guitarist Shane Moran and drummer Ben Russin, this punk song is fast paced. The single proves that there are still bands left over from the punk craze of the mid-2000s that are worth listening to.

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SONY

THROWBACK Ben Folds Five’s new album is a solid new recollection of their early sound Folds’ solo career did. It sounded a little more tired than the solo stuff and lost some of its fun.

There are still the great piano-driven melodies and cheeky lyrics, but the guys are older now and aren’t living their glory days anymore. It totally fits the image of “the guys,” getting together in a garage after all these years to jam. They’re playing the same music, but it sounds a little off.

Tracks like “Erase Me,” “Do It Anyway” and “Michael Praytor, Five Years Later” are reminiscent of their earlier work but sound … older.

That isn’t to say that I don’t like the album. I do. It’s a solid album that, if recorded by a younger Ben Folds Five, would probably be spectacular.

But listen to this album: It’s a worthy mix of up-tempo, cheeky songs and classic Ben Folds Five piano ballads. Just don’t expect it to sound like their older stuff. You won’t be finding the next “Philosophy” or “Narcolepsy,” but the album offers up good music by a great band.

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ISLAND-DEF-JAM

GOD COMPLEX Kanye’s new collaborations solidify his status as rap royalty.

bum, Cruel Summer, shines while invoking the same religious lyrical theme that carried West into the limelight.

Released Sept. 18, Cruel Summer (the misnomer in the title is due to a pushed-back release date) continues the eclectic evolution of West’s sound. Although almost all the songs feature collaborations between G.O.O.D. labelmates and guest rappers, the effort is orchestrated by West. Cruel Summer is a medley of West and his disciples — everyone participates, but there’s no question who’s running the show.

Rap groups have made a remarkable resurgence lately, with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group and Lil Wayne’s Young Money vying with G.O.O.D. Music for the No. 1 spot.

Yet unlike its competitors, West’s ensemble balances fresh faces like Big Sean and 2 Chainz with industry veterans ranging from Common and Pusha T to John Legend and Kid Cudi. Their versatility shows, as the album offers a level of musicianship and depth atypical of collaborative rap projects.

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“RUNAWAYS” | THE KILLERS 

After a brief year-and-a-half hiatus, The Killers have reunited to record their fourth studio album. “Runaways,” the first single, sounds very much like a Killers song, complete with Brandon Flowers’ signature vocals and the countrymusic touches the band has come to love to incorporate.

IDOLATOR.COM

“PUSH AND SHOVE” | NO DOUBT 

No Doubt brings back its bouncing beats in the single “Push and Shove,” the second from the group’s comeback album of the same name. The song is energetic and will have you bobbing to the rhythm, proving once more that Gwen Stefani has a knack for getting songs stuck in your head.

‘Cruel Summer’ Is G.O.O.D. Music hen Kanye West burst onto the rap scene in 2004 with the hit single “Jesus Walks,” his record label, G.O.O.D. Music (which stands for “getting out our dreams”), was already in the making. Eight years and 18 Grammy awards later, West has surrounded himself with the most impressive group of hip-hop artists in the industry, and their debut compilation al-

Hoya Staff Writer

Danny Funt

Cruel Summer is edgy and intense — it would be too dark if not for melodies like John Legend and Teyana Taylor’s “Bliss” or the more energetic club bangers “Clique” and “Mercy.” Compilations often lack the care given to solo albums, yet Cruel Summer, despite having just 12 tracks, was not rushed. West is a notorious perfectionist, and he holds his label to that standard, too.

Rap compilations have a stigma for being disjointed and radio-hit hopeful, and on the surface, Cruel Summer makes all these mistakes: thematically broad and filled with a crowded group of collaborators who fight line by line to out-rhyme each other.

Singles such as “Cold” and “I Don’t Like” fit the mold of mainstream monotony, but the album’s other songs offer a seductive and substantive message that gives Cruel Summer a shelf life far beyond the Top 40.

If West has been accused in the past of having a God complex, there’s no questioning the accuracy of that description now — nearly every song on which West appears makes

SECRETSOCIETY

Hoya Staff Writer

some comparison between him and God. From appointing himself “the god of rap” in the opening track “To the World” to proclaiming on “The Morning” that “G.O.O.D. would’ve been God except I added more O’s,” West’s references could be viewed as taking his legendary ego to new heights. Yet in the slower and more soulful “The One,” West raps, “It’s hard preachin’ the gospel to the slums lately / so I had to put the church on the drums, baby.” Maybe there’s more to West’s words than boastfulness: Maybe he appreciates his influence enough to see musical popularity as more like a pulpit.

Sure, many verses on Cruel Summer are filled with vacuous materialism or sleazy sexuality: “All my broads is foreign / money tall like Jordan” 2 Chainz raps on “Mercy.” But that’s understandable; given the extravagance of their lifestyles. Cruel Summer is G.O.O.D. Music’s honest and introspective look at where they are in the rap game, and their performance here confirms it: on top.

9.21.12 | the guide | 15

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under the canal — sari frankel

on campus

GPB: SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Friday and Saturday, 11:00 p.m. — ICC Auditorium

In this twist on the classic fairy tale, the Evil Queen (Charlize Theron) orders the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to go into the woods and kill Snow White (Kristen Stewart). The Huntsman becomes Snow White’s protector and aid in her quest to get rid of the Queen.

A CONVERSATION WITH ROSARIO DAWSON Friday, 4 p.m. — Gaston Hall Gather in Gaston Hall to hear Rosario Dawson, one of Hollywood’s most politically active actresses, speak about her organization, Voto Latino, which encourages Latinos to vote. Dawson is a notable figure both on and off the big screen, with roles in movies like Sin City, Rent and Men in Black II.

HOYA FALL PICNIC Saturday, 11 a.m. — Healy Lawn

All members of the Georgetown community are welcome to spend the day on Healy Lawn for the second annual Hoya Fall Picnic. The event will have food, entertainment, family-fun activities and prizes. Attendance is free and open to the public.

ELECTION 2012: A BIPARTISAN DISCUSSION Wednesday, 4 p.m. — Copley Formal Lounge Join professor E.J. Dionne as he facilitates a discussion between major political journalists and analysts of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The panelists will discuss crucial issues that both nominees will face in what is sure to be a heated debate.

around town sunday

friday

sunday

Head down to the International Spy Museum to hear museum board member Tony Mendez discuss his book Argo. The book details a plan to rescue six Americans who fled the U.S. Embassy during the Iranian hostage crisis in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979. It was recently adapted into a movie featuring Ben Affleck.

Trucktoberfest, an Oktoberfest-themed food truck festival at Union Market, is the go-to spot for all of your culinary curiosities. The event will feature more than 40 food trucks, live music, a Microbrew Biergarten and a firetruck display. Take the metro over to sample some of the best cheap eats in the city.

Tap into your inner book lover and spend the day on the Mall at the National Book Festival. Wander through the various genre and themed tents, listen to a presentation by Junot Diaz or get your book signed by one of the many other renowned authors in attendance.

WHERE: 800 F St. NW WHEN: Friday, 6:30 p.m.

INFO: 202-393-7798 PRICE: Free with registration METRO: Gallery Place

WHERE: 1309 5th St. NE WHEN: Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

INFO: foodtruckfiesta.com/trucktoberfest PRICE: Free METRO: NoMa-Gallaudet

WHERE: National Mall WHEN: Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

INFO: 202-485-9880 PRICE: Free METRO: L’Enfant Plaza

BETHANY BLAKEMAN & CASEY GUNKEL Special to The Hoya