Garnet & Black Holiday Issue 2009

IDENTICAL? HOMONYMIC. NOPE. FRATERNAL?

There are more than two kinds of twins on this campus.

IS YOUR ? why we orFacebook fb bf

Fairy Tale Fashion wear your dreams come true

gifts we’d love to give and receive is that naughty or nice?

JFen: I will paper cut you. TMel: Don’t think I won’t push “DELETE.”

All the pricing info you need for hitting up the BCS National Championship. Walk a mile in Andrew Cederdahl’s shoes as he tells us what it’s like to be Pastafarian.

Prep for winter break with 15 unique gift ideas.

We’re officially endorsing Ultimate Frisbee for USC’s current “It” Sport.

The

Your fairy godmothers at G&B help you take on holiday parties in style. Find out the ups and downs of sharing a name with other USC students.

You know you’ve always wanted to know what Christmas song you are.

Students for Life president Jamie Black shows G&B where she’s coming from.

Lend an ear to our picks for the 15 best albums of 2009.

Mr. Showtime takes a tour of Green Room Productions’ experimental student theater.

Facebook? Or Waste-ofspace-book?

Screenwriter Northrop Davis brings his Hollywood sensibility to USC.

The Locke Bros. put Jimmy John’s and Beezer’s to the test.

Michael Huneycutt’s crib is the most relaxing room on campus. Students so well-dressed, we just had to take their picture.

Make yours the most awesomely tacky Christmas sweater at the party.

Well, this is different.

Instead of reading this year’s Garnet & Black’s holiday issue on glossy paper, you’re reading it on gandbmagazine. com. With New Year’s around the corner, it’s appropriate that G&B is turning over a new leaf with the debut of our first online-only issue and taking another step toward convergent media. The university may have cut our budget so that we can only afford two print issues, but we wanted to find a way to uphold our tradition of producing a quarterly magazine. We at G&B cannot imagine this school year without the customary holiday and Spring editions. And so, this magazine will remain quarterly with the addition of two issues you can find online. We’ve even expanded our online presence with the creation of “Garnet & Blog,” the magazine’s weekly updated collection of 13 blogs. Our identity is now comprised of not only a print magazine, but also an e-publication and interactive Web site.

During this intensive process, we started to think about the idea of reidentification on our own campus (and within the online world of Facebook as well—see page 30). Consider this: Most students, especially during their freshman year, have a “Who am I?” moment.

The problem arises when naïve teenagers entering college are displaced from the familiarity of home (where their biggest problem is what basement party to attend on Friday night) and forced to exist on a campus of 27,000 students where everyone seems to belong to his or her own college clique. Now, imagine that in all of this chaos, you find out that someone else in your school has the same exact name as you. Talk about identity confusion. The masthead of this magazine certainly empathizes with the perplexity experienced by these students and further explores this dilemma in our cover story, “Same Name Twins” (page 26).

Similar to how these twins strive to make names for themselves, we strive to preserve the prestige of our name while continuing to exceed your expectations. While in the process of flawlessly combining our former and future identities, we have managed to create a product that we are proud of and that we hope you love, too. Happy Holidays, Carolina!

“These may not be artists you listen to, but they should be,” says Daily Gamecock Mix Editor Colin Jones of his 15 Best Albums of 2009. Flip to page 11 and broaden your horizons with his recommendations.

Although Benjamin Sheinkin’s grandmother always told him he didn’t need to give her a gift, he acknowledges that “this doesn’t always go over well with loved ones.” Read his 15 suggestions for actual presents on page 16, and check out his weekly cooking blog on the G&B Web site.

G&B Online Editor Malia Griggs says that this issue’s “Facebook: A Profile” story “started out as a humorous commentary on what big stalkers we are, but turned into something far more complex.” See the final result on page 30, and watch her weekly vlog as part of Garnet & Blog.

At USC, even finals season has a silver lining: tacky Christmas sweater parties. Maddie McDowell’s greatest wish is that her sweater-making tips “help you surpass your friends in tackiness this winter. Happy Holidays!” Read her DIY guide on page 43.

“Cold Souls,” Nickelodeon Theater

Miley Cyrus in concert, Colonial Life Arena, 7 p.m.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Winter Tour 2009, Colonial Life Arena, 3 p.m., 8 p.m.

Healthy Carolina Farmer’s Market. Also will feature “Stuff-a-Bus” and a display of future vehicles for USC transportation that run on alternative fuel, Greene Street, 10 a.m.

55th annual USC Tree Lighting Ceremony, Horseshoe, 6 p.m.

“Balance,” Drayton Hall Theater, 8 p.m.

USC Contemporary Dance Showcase: Without Boundaries, Drayton Hall Theater, 6 p.m.

“Paris,” Nickelodeon Theater

“Rent,” Trustus Theater

Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes, Colonial Life Arena, 4 p.m., 7 p.m.

“Coco Before Chanel,” Nickelodeon Theater

Martina McBride in concert, Colonial Life Arena, 7 p.m.

Carolina Ballet presents “The Nutcracker,” Koger Center

Tiffany Melanis

Editor in Chief

Creative Director Justin Fenner

Art Director Amanda Croy

Features Editor Helen Knight

Senior Editor Gregory Goetz

Photo Editor Caitlin Kennedy Bradley

PR Director Chelsie Paulson

Online Editor Malia Griggs

Webmaster Tai Vu

Writers

Catherine Doyle

Lauren Ford

Jennifer Howell

Robert Locke

Jade McDuffie

William Renken

Taylor Thompson

Erin Chiet

Liz Howell

Nate Puza

Anna Westbury

Stephanie Durso

Sarah Harris

Colin Jones

William Locke

Katielynn Racer

Benjamin Sheinkin

Designers

Kellie Duff

Maddie McDowell

Brittany Robinson

Photographers

Tyler

JenniFrench AshleighKnightLancaster

BreAnne Northcutt

Victoria Samples

Sam Snelgrove

Maddy Alford

Courtney Craig

Catherine Doyle

Paulina Gomez

Kat King

Sarah Kobos

Caitlin Moore

Allison Quattlebaum

Laura Sills

Brandon Truett

Public Relations Staff

Jackie MadisonLipRosenberger

Kelly Bode

Katie Detar

Melissa Gonzales

Olivia Hill

Devon Page

Donnica Smalls

Ashley

StephanieSmithWilliams

Emily Steffey

Kellie Duff

Mike Steiniger

Julie Canter

Janell Vanarthos

Haley Willar

Copy Editors

Creative Services

Danielle Sword

Katie Mikos

Kailey Waring

Advertising Representatives

Jayme Pignatello

Lauren Spires

Faculty Adviser

Student Media Director

Creative Services Director

Advertising

Production Manager

Business Manager

Administrative Assistant

Editorial Graduate Assistant

Carly CandaceGallagher Reynolds

Meghan Tankersley

Cecile Holmes

Scott Lindenberg

Edgar Santana

Sarah Scarborough

C. Neil Scott

Carolyn Griffin

Sherry Holmes

Courtney Graham

Garnet & Black Magazine is produced four times a year by students of the University of South Carolina and is distributed free to members of the university community. All editors and staff members can be contacted at 777-1149. The office is located in Russell House room 339. Send letters to the editor to sagandbe@mailbox.sc.edu or to Garnet & Black Magazine, Student Media, 1400 Greene St., Columbia, SC 29208. Letters should be 250 to 400 words and must include name, address, phone number and academic information (if applicable). Garnet & Black reserves the right to edit for libel, style and space. Anonymous letters will not be published. To inquire about advertising, call the Student Media Advertising Department at 777-3888.

G&B’s former and current editor in chiefs go head-to-head in the battle between

PRINT vs. ONLINE MAGAZINES

by Justin Fenner and Tiffany Melanis

Justin: Oh, hey T-Mel!

Tiffany: What’s up J-Fen?

Justin: Oh, not much. Just wanted to let you know that I’m really proud of what you’re doing with the magazine. It’s turning out pretty well, I guess.

Tiffany: Aww thanks! I couldn’t have done it without your help! You’re a saint. I’m really proud of what the staff has accomplished this year. Creating online presence, recruiting new staff.

Justin: Aww, thanks. But listen . . .You’re kind of putting all of your eggs in one basket with the Web stuff, don’t you think?

Tiffany: I see where you’re going with this. But look at all the people we’ve managed to bring on staff. Plus, everyone’s always saying that print is dying and we should start adapting to online journalism.

Justin: Oh, please. Those people are just scared, and I guess they have reason to be. It’s a scary time right now. Still, if you look at revenues and readership, print still has it. The vast majority of the money we make still comes from print ad sales - the same goes for most major magazines. Plus, when people read our stuff on the Internet, it’s easy for them to get distracted with other things - they spend all of two minutes on gandbmagazine.com before hopping straight to Facebook.

Tiffany: All very true. But that’s why we try and pull readership from those other sites like Facebook and Twitter. I know I love seeing updates from Facebook and Twitter when I log on to my accounts. The problem with having a print-only publication is that people have to wait months before the next issue gets on stands. Our readers are forgetting about us between issues. With an online portion people can constantly, and in our case on a weekly basis, be reminded about G&B.

Justin: Meh.

Tiffany: Shut up, you know you LOVE it!

Justin: Haha - I know, I do! But a bigger readership doesn’t equal more money. And I need to get paid.

Tiffany: E-publications still have paid staffs! Though it’s true that if G&B went completely online today we couldn’t afford to buy a cup of coffee. I just hope that we can find a good middle ground where our online issue can start bringing in money like our print issue. It’s a matter of being discovered, I guess. Our online issue just needs to have the support that our print issue has!

Justin: Well, until that happens, I guess we can agree to disagree

Tiffany: Agreed. Plus, I can fire you! Hahaha- but no really. <3

Read JFen and TMel’s weekly blogs on our Web site!

With almost 45 million viewers each year and close to 100,000 in actual attendance, the college football national championship is one of the most popular annual events in the U.S. This year, the game is located in Pasadena, California--home to the Rose Bowl Parade and the UCLA Bruins. Whether you are a college football fanatic or a casual fan, odds are that you will be watching the kickoff on January 7th. While this date may seem far away, now is the time to prepare your travel plans to go see the game or to prepare the party you plan to throw that night. That’s why the Garnet

and Black took the time to compare these two options and let you know whether you should save or splurge. There is nothing like the national championship. Experiencing it firsthand is comparable only to a Gamecock football game, except neither team has let its fans down by underachieving. And while football games at USC are free for students, this game is definitely not. The worst seat in the stadium is worth $645, and the airfare will cost another $345. (This is actually a pretty good deal. It would take $314 in gas to drive there and back. We checked). Throw in hotel accommodations, and you’ve spent some serious cash. Holding a party at your own place would be considerably cheaper. Garnet and Black’s best recommendations for having people over to watch the game at your place are as follows: Put the game on the big screen, and make sure you have the right kind of food. Start off with dip; we recommend spinach and artichoke. When deciding on the main course, keep in mind that there is a reason the wings and pizza cliché exists, and that’s because it is the perfect combination for watching any football game. Add in your favorite beverage, put on your lucky jersey and invite over your friends. After that, there isn’t much to it. Kick back and enjoy an all-American sport. As long as you have food, friends and football, its a win-win situation.

MAN MOMENT

of the Andrew Cederdahl

By Sarah Harris,

Junior political science major Andrew Cederdahl knows what it means to stand up and stand out. In high school, the North Augusta, S.C. native began to question his family’s Christian beliefs and wondered if he would better identify with a different belief system. After being re-baptized in the Church of Christ, Cederdahl was unable to suppress his doubts any further. He abandoned religious beliefs and adopted atheism and, later, secular humanism.

“My journey from Christianity to atheism and secular humanism was very liberating,” Cederdahl says. “I derive personal strength and power from humanism, which drives me to be the best person I can be and challenges me every day to live as if each day were my last, to serve others, and to do my small part for progress in my surroundings.”

Cederdahl is the founder and leader of the USC Pastafarians, a group for secular students that focuses on opening dialogue about religion with a secular perspective, as well as creating non-religious service opportunities. He also has his hands full with other organizations, such as the Secular Student Alliance, Student Government, and serves as a University 101 peer leader. Cedardahl was awarded the 2009 National American Atheists Founders’ Scholarship ($2,000 given to students for activism) and also won the 2009 “Changing the Face of USC” Diversity Award from the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. One of Cedardahl’s shining moments as leader of the Pastafarians was bringing evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins to USC to lecture, answer questions and sign his new book, “The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution.”

“He is one of the biggest names in the world who promotes many of the values of the Pastafarians,” Cederdahl says. “I consider the Dawkins lecture to be the height of our success so far and am amazed we were able to pull it off together.”

Cedardahl hopes to carry on his service work in law school, where he dreams of doing pro bono work for progressive causes.

“Anything I can do to work towards righting the wrongs I see gives me purpose and hope for the day when all of humanity enjoys a better existence in our world,” Cederdahl says.

Photo by Sam Snelgrove

ON Jamie Black TOP WOMAN

By Jade McDuffie,

Jamie Black does not plan on being a student forever. Black, a senior print journalism major from Linwood, New Jersey, is the president of Students for Life, a pro-life organization. According to Black, she and her group members are not about getting involved in politics. They are all about providing women with alternatives to abortion and educating others.

This cause has always been something that she truly believes in. For her, advocating prolife is not based on her religion, but the welfare of human beings.

“When you really think about it, everything about you is decided the moment you were created. Abortion is a violation of the baby’s rights,” said Black.

Black was a member of a pro-life organization in high school and continued supporting the cause when she came to USC. She was the secretary of the organization as a freshman and has been president since her sophomore year (except when she studied abroad in Italy in the spring). Black said she jumped in so early because she “realized that there were things [she] could do to help.”

According to Black, Students for Life provides resources for women so they will be able to keep their babies. She said that many women are making major life decisions without knowing about all of the resources available to them. They have provided free babysitting and are currently working on a Clemson vs. Carolina diaper drive against the Clemson Students for Life.

Black’s biggest concern, she said, is making sure the organization continues to flourish after she graduates in the spring. Her dream job would be to continue her work advocating pro-life by using her degree in journalism to help a pro-life organization “use the media to get the facts out.”

Students for Life meets Mondays at 7 p.m. in Russell House Room 302. To donate diapers, contact Students for Life at uscstudentsforlife@ gmail.com.

Photo by BreAnne Northcutt

s 2009 comes to a close, it’s time for us to count down our top 15 albums of the year. The last year of the millennium decade dished out a cornucopia of captivating albums that displayed deft style and presence. Over the past 12 months, we have seen the rise in prominence of a lo-fi pop with Washed Out and Neon Indian, a new direction from psychedelic rockers The Flaming Lips and a surprisingly fresh release from seminal jam band Phish.

#1 DIRTY PROJECTORS BITTE ORCA

To wit: Dirty Projectors’ “Bitte Orca” is damn near perfection when it comes to a record. For years, multi-instrumentalist Dave Longstreth has strived for a sublime balance on his releases, and here he has achieved that long-awaited common ground. With carefully placed crescendos of sound and complexly layered tracks, the record is a practice in gorgeous production and subtlety. The gross amalgamation of sounds and flavors that encompass Latin, Afro-pop and strict pop adds to the level this record builds to. But even though Longstreth remains the de facto leader of the project, it is the majestic backing vocals from Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle that bring “Bitte Orca” to its ethereal peaks on songs “No Intentions” and “Stillness Is The Move.”

#2 THE FLAMING LIPS EMBRYONIC

Rock and Roll is a tough business and Oklahoma’s The band has almost perfected the art of the stage show. With confetti, balloons and plenty of nudity, The Lips have been the upbeat neo-psychedelic antithesis of the dark doom of predecessors The Butthole Surfers since reinventing themselves in the late nineties. The songs have a more off-the-cuff sensibility, which is thoroughly refreshing after 2006’s overproduced and overworked “At War With The Mystics.” The riffs from multi-instrumentalist Stephen Drozd on a song like “Watching The Planets” have a more foreboding crunch when paired with the light, lilting voice of Wayne Coyne. In reconciling the heavy psychedelic of their past with the more mainstream pop of present released, The Lips have crafted their most invigorating and enlightening release in nearly a decade.

#3 WASHED OUT LIFE OF LEISURE

Local Columbia favorite Ernest Greene is wary of the spotlight that has been directed at him by the blogosphere in the past year. The only problem is that he deserves the light to shine and shine bright. On his debut EP “Life of Leisure,” Greene and his solo project adds a deft and skilled hand to the burgeoning lo-fi pop movement that has gained prominence over the past year. Crackling vinyl pops hiss behind layered dance beats and reverbed-to-hell vocals. His songs shift from the almost narcotic trance inducing on “New Theory” to hip-shakingly danceable on “Feel It All Around.” However you wish to categorize Greene (chillwave, bedroom pop or low-fi dance pop) just call him plain good.

#4 TORO Y MOI BLESSA

In the same vein as Greene’s “Washed Out,” but on the more hazy side of the spectrum, Columbia scene regular Chaz Bundick has been leading the forefront on the local lo-fi revolution. While not technically a record, the “Blessa EP” is promising of what’s to come from the young instrumentalist. On the track “Blessa,” Bundick blends together wavering vocals and lightly pattered chords to give the sense of a dreamy summer day. With “Blessa” on the books as a great sampling of Columbia’s scene, Bundick is sure to grow further as an artist.

#5 ALEC OUNSWORTH MO BEAUTY

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Alex Ounsworth went to New Orleans to record a solo record and came back with a gem. Recorded almost entirely by New Orleans professionals including drummer Stanton Moore and bassist George Porter Jr., Ounsworth’s “Mo Beauty” blends the cryptic and the uplifting. The strange and almost sickly nature in his voice is what keeps the record together. Over these carefully crafted and gorgeous tracks, Ounsworth retains that rasping and wobbly drone on notable tracks, and it’s all the better for it. “Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (Song for New Orleans)” remains one of the best cuts of the year with the light touch of acoustics and that unforgettable voice.

#6 GRIZZLY BEAR VECKATIMEST

It’s been a long time coming for Brooklyn indie giants Grizzly Bear. Hyped incessantly for a couple of years now, the hype has finally come to fruition on “Veckatimest,” their smartest release yet. Ed Droste remains the frontal figure of the band with his light vocals backed by incandescent harmonies. But what really comes through on the record is the apt skill with which guitarist Daniel Rossen is able to wield strange sounds into simple, touching pop songs on songs “While You Wait For The Others,” “Southern Point” and “Two Weeks.”

#7 YACHT SEE MYSTERY LIGHTS

Mystery lights are defined as natural phenomena of strange, illuminated orbs in the small town of Marfa, Texas, and dance duo YACHT pay homage to them on “See Mystery Lights,” even thanking them in the liner notes. Recorded entirely in the aforementioned city, YACHT’s record winds up being one of the most intelligently danceable. There is a thought behind introspective songs like “The Afterlife” and “Psychic City (Voodoo City.)” But what is retained behind the wit and smarts is a collage of layered beats that harkens back to the Afro-eighties pop of Tom Tom Club or Talking Heads.

The XX are quite possibly the darkest, dreariest group of British teenagers (yes, teenagers) since Joy Division. There is an almost Goth-rock sentiment behind the quiet vocals and plucked riffs on their selftitled debut. But what has really developed is some of the best independent rock from the other side of the pond that has been heard in a while. There is nothing boisterous and bombastic about The XX. They are careful on songs “Crystallized” and “Shelter.” But it’s the distinctively English infused tandem of male and female vocals between Jamie Smith and Oliver Sim that really makes this record poignant and startling.

#9 MOS DEF THE ECSTATIC

Some have criticized this release of being too short and only giving snippets of Mos Def’s talent. But “The Ecstatic” is a neat package of refreshing and quick underground-influenced hip-hop. Each song is more like a taster for the next that quickly blend into one another. The ecstatic and frenetic nature of the simple release is felt on cuts like “Priority” and “Quiet Dog.” In a world of hip-hop filled by overproduced and overused beats, it is almost a breath of fresh air to hear a talented lyricist in an uncomplicated format.

PHISH JOY

Phish deserve a lot more credit than they are given. Yes, they are popular in the drum circle crowd, but their returning release “Joy” is what should really impress. After sounding worn out and flat on their last release “Undermine,” Phish present what might be their healthiest record since “Billy Breathes.” The songs like the country-romp “Backwards Down The Number Line” and the career retrospective “Twenty Years Later” have an unexpected freshness of sound.

#11 NEON INDIAN PSYCHIC CHASMS

The lo-fi brigade continues to impress with this complex and almost unnerving solo release from VEGA’s Alan Palermo. The sonic overload is pushed to the maximum on “Psychic Chasm” with overly layered tracks buffeted by Palermo’s psychedelically toned voice. Palermo is going in about 11 directions on each song but that’s essentially the point. What he wants is that overwhelming climax of being overtaken by the music. One notable track, the hazy and warbling “Deadbeat Summer,” eats at the psyche and draws you in for more of Palermo’s audio feast.

#12 ATLAS SOUND LOGOS

Shoegaze master and Deerhunter leader Bradford Cox has never been one for conventionality. In his band, he leads with sonic walls of fury and quiet, and he takes that same road here. Turning back to his solo project Atlas Sound, Cox focuses on the solo electronic production and pop sensibility. The album gains an almost Animal Collective feel and it especially does when Collective member Noah Lennox joins Cox for one of the highlights in “Walkabout.” Throughout the entire record, Cox plays and toys between the line of pure electronica and sublime pop hooks.

#13 THE BIG PINK A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOVE

If there was ever a band where “big is better” was the mantra, The Big Pink would be it. The British duo incorporates reverberating and pounding drums overlaid by simple synth and far-out vocals. On “Love” The Big Pink is what would have happened if U2 had taken far too many drugs. Even with their crisp production, a raw sense plays throughout on magnificently huge songs “Dominos” and “Velvet.”

Raw and raucous, this San Francisco-based group blends the line between glam and garage. Without the excessiveness of glam-rock, the group leans more toward the experimental garage side of the equation on their debut “Album.” After escaping from the Children of God cult, singer Christopher Owens formed Girls and his tumultuous life is palpable in each of the songs. With a pop aesthetic akin to the early 50s and raw 70s, Owens bends his life into feverish songs of doom and hope.

There is nothing traditional about the way Yo La Tengo have ever crafted a record. Each release seems to be another roll of the genre dice for these Hoboken, N.J. natives. But “Popular Songs,” the follow-up to 2006’s eclectically grand and aptly titled “I’m Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass” might be their most accessible record yet for newcomers to the group. On “Popular,” the group blends the notions of the strict garage rock of their latest project “F—kbook” into a palatable composition. Genres and styles interlock in these songs with funk coming into play on “Periodically Triple or Double” and a bit of Latin Jazz influence on “I’m On My Way.”

#8 THE XX XX

#10

#14 GIRLS ALBUM

#15 YO LA TENGO POPULAR SONGS

By Lauren Ford

Lindsey Hankes

Senior Psychology Major

1) “Blue Monday” - Fats Domino

2) “Farmhouse” - Phish

3) “Girlfriend” - Phoenix

4) “Say Please” - Monsters of Folk

5) “Wave of Mutilation” - Pixies

Ben Cantrell

Senior Media Arts Major

1) “One Time Too Many” - Phoenix

2) “A Beautiful World” - Tim Myers

3) “El Otro Lado” - Josh Rouse

4) “If You Could See Me Now” - Bill Evans Trio

5) “Raised Ranch Revolution” - Wheat

Laura Kissel

Professor, School of Media Arts

1) “Sly” - Massive Attack

2) “Steve Willoughby” - Vic Chestnutt

3) “Oval vs. Yoshihiro Hanno/James

Joyce” - DJ Spooky

4) “When Love was Gone” - Florestan Recital Project

5) “Is It Really So Strange?” - The Smiths

Carly Gallagher

Senior Public Relations Major

1) “Cry Freedom” - Dave Matthews Band

2) “Space Jam” - Quad City DJs

3) “One Year of Love” - Queen

4) “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On”

- Jimmy Buffett

5) “Boys Like You (Give Love A Bad

Name)” - Carter’s Chord

Green Room Productions: Theater from the Underground

By William Renken

One of my favorite lines from the a movie trailer has to be for “Terminator,” when the voice-over says, “From the underground has come a machine wrapped in flesh that kills … but cannot be killed!”

That’s how I felt when I discovered Green Room Productions two years ago as a beginning theater major. Sure, you had the classic Main Stage productions: Shakespeare, Moliere, Brecht, you get the idea, the classics. Then there was the LAB Theatre down on Wheat Street where a lot of fun, more contemporary plays found life for undergraduate actors. Again, great stuff.

But then there was Green Room, a lateral organization in the theatre department that daring theater undergraduates resurrected to give even more opportunities to the undergraduate theater major by putting up original and non-original plays on the barest of budgets.

Jeni Miller, a senior theater major, sits at the helm of Green Room as President/ El Capitan (Hoho!), and is proud of the impact that Green Room has had on the theater department.

“I’ve worked in Green Room since I came to USC, and I’ve always been proud of the opportunities that it’s given undergraduate theater majors,” Miller says.

What’s the weapon of choice for Green Room?

“The Grindhouse,” Miller says. “It’s a showcase of tenminute plays and solo performances that are completely original and conceived by theater students. This showcase provides undergrads the opportunity to completely create from the ground up the kind of theater they want to put on stage, and we have plays of all different kinds and genres.” Green Room has hosted two of these Grindhouses, which began in the spring of ’09, and is accumulating larger crowds with each show. Beyond the Grindhouses, Green Room has hosted full-length productions of an adaptation of the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the existential play “No Exit,” the dark comedy “Mr. Marmalade,” and most recently the popular “Kid Simple: A Radio Play In The Flesh.”

In terms of the future for Green Room, Miller points to the undergraduates that remain to keep the vitality of the group alive.

“Those willing to put in the work will keep Green Room around after the seniors leave this year,” Miller says. “And we have many enthusiastic undergraduates who still have some years left at the university.”

“Grindhouse 2” will be presented at Benson Theatre, Dec. 4-6 at 8 p.m., and cost $5.

15 Gifts Holidays for the

By Benjamin Sheinkin

The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it comes the pressure of getting that perfect gift for the special people in your life. But what do you get someone who has gadgets and gizmos a-plenty, whosits and whatsits galore? Here are 15 ideas that I hope will save you headaches in the upcoming months:

Poem: A wise man once said: “You know there’s always more than one way to say exactly what you mean to say.” So if you’re not sold on the idea of telling someone how you feel through personalized sex novels, or if you’re strapped for cash, write a poem! Now, I’m not asking you to get all Homeric on me (although nothing impresses the ladies like some dactylic hexameter), but everyone is capable of composing a haiku or a limerick. Get fancy and bust out the construction paper, scissors and glue sticks and put that bad boy in a frame.

Five Ducks

To me, donating money to a charity in someone else’s name can seem impersonal. However, I am totally fine with World Vision. Under this charity, for $30 you can donate five ducks to a family in Kenya. Kenya has been suffering from severe drought-induced famine for over a year, and these five ducks will provide a Kenyan family with hundreds of eggs. So, on the fifth day of Christmas, skip the golden rings (you can’t afford them in this economy, anyway) and give a Kenyan family a gift they’ll always remember. Your true love will understand. Visit worldvision.org.

Kinara

Often overlooked during the holiday season, the amount of people celebrating Kwanzaa in the United States is slowly increasing. Ron Karenga, the holiday’s creator, once said, “Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday.” When reading its seven principles, it’s plain to see that Kwanzaa can transcend religion and be used as another excuse to celebrate. And who doesn’t want another excuse to celebrate? A kinara is similar to a Jewish menorah, only it holds seven candles (one for each principle of Kwanzaa). Perfect gift for someone who wants to start celebrating this holiday. You can find some cheap ones at etsy.com.

A Tree

To me, donating money to a charity in someone else’s name is a cop out gift. However, similar to the custom M&M’s, I make an exception for the Jewish National Fund. This organization is directly responsible for planting millions of trees in Israel in the past hundred years. For a small donation of $18, you can dedicate one tree and for $36, you can dedicate three! Each tree comes with a tree certificate that can be personalized for your friends or family. Visit jnf.org.

Custom M&Ms

For me, giving food as a gift is usually not a good idea. Getting food either says, “I forgot about you, here’s a summer sausage” or “Hey, fatso, let’s not kid ourselves, we both know all you want for Christmas is bag of Doritos.” I make an exception for custom M&M’s. At mymms.com/customprint, you can personalize these delicious bite sized candies with a message or even a picture. Put your boyfriend’s cat’s face on his favorite color M&M’s with the personalized message of “Meowy Christmas” or something clever like that. There are many colors and styles of wrapping to choose from, and it’s a sweet and delicious present. Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.

So, I got this idea from “Seinfeld,” but really it’s a brilliant thing. Buy a rolodex and brainstorm a mix of practical and humorous excuses that your friends can use any time they need an excuse. They can keep it on their desks for when they’re put on the spot and need to get out of doing something they really don’t want to do. Excuses can range from believable (“I can’t go tonight; I have to attend my ten year Boy Scouts reunion” and “My aunt is flying in from Chicago”) to outrageous (“I think I have Lyme disease”). Make the excuses pertain to the recipient, and leave some blank cards in the back to make up their own.

Box of Wine

One year for his anniversary, my brother-in-law got my sister a carton of cigarettes and a case of beer. I like the idea, but that’s a little expensive for me. What better gift for the wino in your life than five liters of Franzia? Nothing says “happy holidays” like a bag full of cheap wine in a portable cardboard box. Easy to wrap. Perfect for your drunk Aunt Amy.

Photo Book:

This one is perfect for the ladies in your life. Create a photo book at www.shutterfly.com using pictures that define the relationship between you and the recipient. For Mom, throw in some pictures of you in the bath or the two of you smiling for the camera. For your girlfriend, include a picture of the Captain D’s you went to for your first date or that snapshot of you two kissing under the mistletoe (awwww!). Guaranteed to melt hearts.

The 25th day of Kislev is fast approaching, so you know what that means: Chanukah is just around the corner. Oy. Eight days of gift giving can drain your creativity, so take a break from the ordinary, and get a stylish yarmulke for your Jewish friends. What better way to say “I’m Jewish and a baseball fan” then a New York Yankees yarmulke? Other sports teams, cartoons, and basically anything you could want on a yarmulke are available on the internet. Shalom!

Dinner

Everyone likes being cooked for, and everyone can make something. I have a friend who can’t make Easy Mac, but cooks risotto like Emeril Lagasse. Make something that you know the person will like (and isn’t allergic to) and that you’re comfortable making. It’s creative, thoughtful and almost assures a good gift in return. If you don’t have ideas on what to make, check out the best weekly food blog, “What’s Cookin’ with Chef with Good Lookin’?” at gandbmagazine.com.

Custom Yarmulke

Excuse Rolodex

Book Safe

One of my all time favorite gifts. It looks like an unassuming book, but it has a hollowed out center and can only be accessed with a key. Mine is a dictionary and I love it because it’s tricked many people, but I’ve seen an array of novels and tomes that you can choose from. Perfect for storing money, government documents or anything else your friends and family need to keep safe.

Personalized Romance Novel

It’s a little expensive, but when I read some excerpts, I had to include it in my list. For a fee, several online companies, including ustarnovels.com, will take personal information that you input and create a personalized romance novel where the two main characters are you and your partner. The novels range from “mild” to “wild,” and with titles like “Spanish Sizzle,” I’m sure it’s tastefully done. Appropriate for a serious girlfriend with a sense of humor. Not appropriate for family members (including your hot second cousin).

The Berlin Wall

This past November marked the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Seeing as how it divided a country, it was a pretty big wall, meaning there is no shortage of pieces floating around the internet for sale. Some small pieces are very reasonably priced. It’s the perfect gift for the history buff or Commie hater in your life. If you do get a piece, make sure it’s from a legit source and that you’re not buying something chiseled out of the Horseshoe.

Festivus Pole

Okay, I promise this is my last reference to “Seinfeld.” However, I had to include the Festivus Pole in my list because, well, it’s awesome. Festivus is the madeup holiday created for “Seinfeld” that’s celebrated on December 23. The web site festivuspoles.com (real original) sells varying sizes of these aluminum poles for you to buy for that “Seinfeld” fan in your life. The Wisconsin-based company makes their poles out of 100% aluminum because, as Frank Costanza put it, aluminum has a “very high strength-to-weight ratio.” Last year, Five Points held its first ever Festivus celebration and Five Points Festivus II will be December 4 and 5 this year.

Lawn Gnome

It’s a little odd, I know, but it’s also the perfect addition to anyone’s room. What’s even better?The recipient won’t know they want one until they get one! In Estonia, these little humanoids are called “piku-paks” and I think they’re lucky. They’re also cheap and easy to find. Get one dressed in the recipient’s favorite colors.

On

Sesa: Dress and Gloves, Van Jean; Headband, Target; Shoes, Forever21.

Who says you have to stop dressing like a princess when you grow up? Show off your regal bearing in the styles of the modern world. But don’t have too much fun in your magical clothes; proper princesses are in before midnight.

Follow Caitlin & Tiffany’s weekly blogs!

PHOTOGRAPHED BY CAITLIN BRADLEY STYLING BY TIFFANY MELANIS & CAITLIN BRADLEY

HAIR & MAKE-UP BY LAUREN MATTISON & SHAUNA FRANZ

Snow White

On Liz: Top, Bohemian; Skirt, Forever21; Purse and Shoes, Just the Thing; Necklace, Mary. On the Dwarves: Shirts, Hoodies, Hats and Scarves; American Apparel

Beauty & the Beast

On Rachel: Fur Shrug, Van Jean; Sweater and Leggings, Bohemian; Shoes, Aldo.

On Shane: Blazer, Sfera; Tie and Sweater Vest, Gentlemen’s Closet; Pants, American Apparel; Shoes, Florsheim.

On Somer: Jacket, Dress and Clutch, Van Jean; Necklace, Mary; Shoes, Just the Thing.

On Brandon: Hoodie, American Apparel.

Alice & the Cheshire Cat

On Maria: Leather Jacket, Bohemian; Top, Skirt and Purse, Van Jean.

Pocahontas

THEIR FRIENDS NOW DISTINGUISH THE TWO AS “JOSH WITH HAT” AND “JOSH WITH NO HAT”

The spread of technology has allowed many name twins—people who share the same name—from all over the world to unite. Recently, the BBC News Magazine wrote an article about a pair of name twins who met on Facebook and got married. The couple met when the female Kelly Hildebrandt sent the male Kelly Hildebrandt a message noting their identical names. They became Facebook friends, and shortly after they met in person and eventually became engaged. How would you feel if, upon arriving at USC, you found out that you had a long-lost name twin—someone with exactly the same name as you? The nametwin phenomenon can be a curse, like identity theft, or it can set you up with your best friend. And on a campus as large as ours, you can bet it’s already happened. Two Josh Woods, one Amanda Davis and an Andrew Norris described to G&B what life was like knowing there was another “them” around campus.

BY CATHERINE DOYLE

NAME TWINS JOSH WOODS the

Josh Michael Wood, a junior journalism major, and Josh Thomas Wood, a senior studying biology, met through mutual friends a couple years ago and decided to become roommates. But, both agree that sharing their name isn’t really a problem. Their friends now distinguish the two as “Josh with hat” and “Josh with no hat.” But would they change their names to avoid confusion?

“Maybe...if I could come up with something super awesome, than I might attempt it,” Josh Michael says. “But not really for the purpose of not having the same name as Josh, just to have a super cool name. Maybe something elegant ... like Esquire.”

Josh Thomas admitted that it was a little weird at first when Josh Michael started school here, and he was no longer the only Josh Wood.

“I mean, it’s not really a problem anymore because we live together and hang out,” Josh Thomas says. “But, when we first met it was a problem, like people got us mixed up on Facebook. This one time I saw this girl was ‘In a Relationship with Josh Wood’ and I was like ‘No you are not.’ And when I clicked on Josh Wood I saw it was a different guy with my name,”Josh Thomas says.

Photos by Caitlin Bradley, Ashleigh Lancaster, and Sarah Kobos

AMANDA DAVIS

Amanda Davis, a senior English major and editor in chief of The Daily Gamecock, has had a different experience with her name twins. She shares her name with more than a few girls on campus, and while she doesn’t know the other Amanda Davises, she has had several run-ins.

“Actually, I’ve met two of them,” Davis says. “One worked for the newspaper where I work and the another I met my freshman year at the First-Year Reading Experience.”

Davis explained that she has been mixed up with her twins on several occasions, either because they have been in the same organizations, have mutual friends or through mistakes made by the university’s administration. She said her worst case of mistaken identity occurred freshman year during orientation and her First-Year Reading Experience.

“I was in Capstone, so I knew I was supposed to be in a Capstone University 101 class. They accidentally sent me with the wrong group all day, and I didn’t realize it until the all started talking about being journalism majors,” Davis says. “I didn’t get to meet my own U101 class until the next week, when classes began. At least I realized the switch at orientation early, because they kept telling me I had filled out forms that I hadn’t received yet.” Davis has bittersweet feelings about sharing her name with so many people.

“My parents were obviously pretty boring with my name — there are more than three girls with my name at this school alone, and one with the same middle name, too,” Davis says. “It can be a little annoying when there are mix-ups, but it can be pretty entertaining as well. It just means I have to try to make myself more memorable since my name is so common.”

CELEBRITY TWINS NAME

By Justin

I HAVE TO TRY TO MAKE MYSELF MORE MEMORABLE SINCE MY NAME IS SO COMMON.

Fenner

If you think it’s bad sharing the same name with someone at school, imagine what it would be like to have to share the same name with someone much, much more famous than you.

Jennifer Lopez One reads the weather for the NBC affiliate in Dallas, and one has a higher net worth than NBC Universal’s annual profits.

I’M ANDREW NORRIS, PLEASED TO MEET ME.

ANDREW NORRIS

Andrew Norris, a junior advertising major, has never met his name twin (who declined to comment for this article), but has had a number of mix-ups through school and friends.

Norris said the funniest mix-up was when a friend of his tried to sublease her apartment and received an e-mail inquiry from Norris’ name twin. She didn’t know there was another Norris on campus and thought he was trying to play a practical joke on her. Norris accepts the run-ins as inevitable.

“I think we’ll have to bump into each other at some point. Maybe we’ll have a class together,” Norris says. "I think it will be fulfilling either way. I’ll be able to put another face to the name.”

Being a name twin is, as Andrew puts it, “a blessing and a curse.” Ironically enough, having the same name as someone makes you different, in that not everyone has a name twin. The interaction between these twins is interesting, because like the Josh Woods, you can find a best friend and roommate, but like Andrew Norris and Amanda Davis, it can cause confusion and complications. The Josh Woods advises that other name twins find each other.

“It’s a magical experience—one of divine intervention that we would have the same name, which led to our friendship,” the Woods say. Being a name twin provides a number of unique experiences both complicated, yet entertaining.

A key quality needed for name twins is a patient and lighthearted attitude toward the situations that can arise. Norris already knows what he’s going to say when he meets his twin:

“I’m Andrew Norris, pleased to meet me.”

Florida and Flo Rida

Would you rather live in a sweltering tourist trap or have to hear “Low” on repeat all day long?

Anne Hathaway

The Oscar-nominated actress we loved in “Rachel Getting Married” shares her name with William Shakespeare’s beard - we mean wife!

James Brown One is the Godfather of Soul. The other is a USC student who studies music. And looks pretty much nothing like the other James Brown.

love these girls! we are such dorks lol

Photos

b/c ur white lol. dont u wish u had some ethnic flava flav?

Tiffany

pretty! j*fen don’t hate. wish my cheek was crammed in there too.

Profile Pictures:

I am currently tagged in 1,159 photos. Some of the things I’m tagged in aren’t even photos (Why, thank you, Gail, for tagging me as “someone you used to be really close to,” but I might have preferred “the funniest person you know” or “the most smartest person you know”). Similar to how comments have found their way into the public sphere, so have photos. Other than reading statuses, I waste most of my time scrolling through people’s photo albums. It’s interesting to see the way someone presents himself visually. Perhaps it’s through a record of his most insane moments while inebriated, or through a collection of all the famous places he has visited. Sometimes, all you can see of his body in a photo is his elbow, and he is still tagged as if to prove his existence—to prove that he has a social life, that he is involved in this world. Some of my friends are huge proponents of un-tagging themselves when they deem photos unflattering for a variety of reasons: if there’s a beer can in the picture, if there’s poor lighting or if too much double-chin flab is visible. Some simply remove the photo feature, which is frustrating to us FB stalkers.

Oh, man. Facebook is raunchy. I see a flash of skin in most profile pictures these days, and I don’t mean cleave. I mean arm—a flash of pale, sexy, inner arm, i.e., the dead giveaway of a self-photographer. There’s a reason some camera phones have reflective surfaces. We are constantly on a quest to find our best angles, to document our cutest ensembles, to showcase the caliber of people with whom we associate. If you click through six profile pictures for one person, you can learn a lot about him or her. Maybe she’s that girl—the one who always grabs people she barely knows and ensures they take a picture with her, red-eye-reduction flash and all, so that she can tag them later as friends. Maybe he only posts pictures in an effort to parade his catch—whether it be the 100-pound girl he’s currently macking on, or the 100-pound mackerel he caught while deep-sea fishing. We may not judge fictional books by their covers, but we do judge Facebook friends by their profile pictures.

Look how cute I was ten years ago. Emphasis on the past tense.

Mac’n’cheesy!

Justin Fenner

Designed by Liz Howell

Gregory Goetz

Melanis

yall are gorgeous but fml why am i so pale?? omg untag me right now!!!!

Ed Cahill likes this. G&B likes this.

dislike

Malia wants to examine this obsession with Facebook, which has spread across the globe like pig flu panic. If she spends half as much time on this article as she does on deciding which artfully candid photo to select as her profile picture, she may actually make some sense. And then maybe she’ll stop referring to herself in third person because when you get down to it, this third person business is only serving to make her think of herself as an incredibly important entity that deserves attention on an hourly basis.

Not the Berlin Wall; the more important one. In the old days (six years ago), messages were strictly private. If you had something to say, you sent an e-mail, wrote a letter, or even called on the phone. Since the advent of Facebook, messaging has taken on an entirely new dimension within the public sphere. When you write someone a message on her wall, you actually write a news story. You open yourself up for critique, for debate (hence the “Comment” feature), and the recorded history of your conversation is never lost.

Comments. If you want to respond to the comment of a friend, write on her wall. Waste-of-space-book!

Basic Information

There’s a skill to the selection of personal information displayed on your personal profile because here you create a résumé for potential friends to evaluate. You give proof of your validity as an interesting human being. You present not who you are, but who you think you are. You are saying, “Hey, look at me! Look at all the sweet things I do! Look at how varied my movie tastes are; ‘Spongebob Squarepants?’ ‘Schindler’s List?’ Come on. Don’t you want to be my friend?” Or you’re saying, “Look, I’m only listing one activity because my life does not revolve around checking Facebook, and I have so much going on that I don’t even have time to write more.” Your profile communicates subtle, hidden messages to those who view it. What are you really saying?

Sex:

Scenario: So, like, there was this really cute guy at Moe’s, and my friend said she knew him, and I Facebooked him, and his profile says he likes men. If you’re like me, the majority of males you’re attracted to turn out to be gay. How do I know? Facebook. There are codes. If you’re openly anything, you proudly display your gender preference with “Women” or “Men” or both, depending. If you’re unsure, don’t want Grandma to know or are trying to make a statement, you completely remove the “Sex” component from your profile. If you want to mess with everyone’s minds, you check “Women” and “Men” and then declare that you are simply looking for “Friendship.” Really, thanks for that. Are you bi or just a friendly guy?

Birthday: Relationship

Status:

You remove the year if you are embarrassed of your age or don’t want others to know that you’re really 16 going on 17. If you are a sadist, you remove the entire date because you want friends to feel guilty upon realizing your birthday was yesterday and that they sent no well wishing.

I once joined a Facebook group called “Your Relationship isn’t Official until it’s Facebook Official.” In the dark ages (toward the beginning of the millennium), you coyly held your partner’s hand in the hallway in order to establish your new love. Today, you declare your affection for your boo by taking his/her/it’s hand and promptly dragging him/her/it to the nearest computer to update your Relationship Status. By displaying that you are “In a Relationship,” you send this message: I am not available, so kiss my stat-ass. If relationships are a rarity for you, this message is more like: HA! By specifically naming your significant other, you supply a dog tag for your romance. You are aware that your relationship is posted to the News Feed faster than you can say, “I do.” You know that other people check these statuses to ensure the viability of a possible relationship or hook up. Occasionally, you complicate the process by checking “It’s Complicated.” This option confounds me. When Justin Fenner is “in a Complicated Relationship” with Tiffany Melanis, does that mean that things aren’t working out between them—or are they swingers? Either way, like candle wax seals letters, Relationship Statuses seal the legitimacy of love.

I check my Facebook with OCD religiousness in the hopes that a small, red flag will pop up in the bottom right-hand corner of my screen. This is a pretty useful feature because it’s fun to know what your friends say about your photos, but I’m not sure notifications like these are really necessary: Greg Goetz made your photo his profile picture. So? Helen Knight commented on Amanda’s Croy status. I know. I did, too. Caitlin Bradley commented on Amanda Croy’s status. Right, I know, but I have nothing to do with that conversation. Chelsie Paulson commented on Amanda Cr—I GET IT. My favorite notifications are comments that say “Hey, girl, just wanted to leave you a notification so that you know I care ;).” Oy vey. Amanda Croy vey.

Who needs The New York Times when there’s a feed to tell you the real news? I might as well call this the “Spoon Feed” because these days every minor occurrence in my friends’ lives is practically shoved down my throat. What happened to the day when we didn’t get to hear about Robert’s trip to Wild Wings—and more importantly, when we didn’t care?

Events Question: How do you “Maybe Attend” a wedding? In fact, how do you “Maybe Attend” anything? That said, the only option I ever select when invited to an event is “Maybe Attending” because, that way, if I don’t go to something, I can hold up my hands and declare that I never promised attendance. By inventing a “Maybe” option for events, Facebook gives everyone an excuse to lead an extremely commitment-phobic lifestyle. I am not okay with that. I don’t think. Maybe.

Suggestions Facebook moved Birthdays significantly lower on the home page and filled the spot with helpful Suggestions. For instance: Become a fan of Coffee. Kleenex. Ricky Martin. Oh, here’s a handy suggestion: Jim Burns. Help make Facebook better for him. Write on his wall. Reconnect with him. Jim Burns is my former English professor. He is a very nice man, but I feel strange having Facebook tell me about his social situation. Maybe Facebook is subtly trying to say: Help make Facebook better for Jim Burns, or he might turn to “Hannah Montana.” Ye gads! Don’t make this my fault. Here’s a suggestion, FB: Please restore Birthdays to their original, more convenient position so that I don’t keep forgetting to annually spank my friends (what? People do that).

25 Things You Should Take to the Grave.

Like

On the surface, the “Like” feature seems to be a gentle seal of approval, but it is instead turning into the far end of a rapidly developing spectrum of involvement in our friends’ lives. The spectrum looks like this: Face-to-face contact, phone call, e-mail, Facebook message, text, wall comment, photo comment, Like. Think about it. You get lunch with someone you really feel close to, maybe give her a call to hear her voice. Snail mail is a dying art, but you might send an e-mail or a Facebook message because talking on the phone seems too invasive. You text “What’s up?” to check on a friend, but you don’t expect a response longer than 160 characters. You leave a wall comment knowing a wall-to-wall conversation may ensue, but you could coolly decide to ignore a comment at any time. You post a photo comment like “Pretty!” or “Cool!” to show you took the time to view your friend’s pictures, but that doesn’t guarantee the longevity of a conversation. At the lowest limit of the scale, you simply “Like” something. You can like the status of a girl you hardly know—of a girl you would never say “hello” to in person, on whose photo you would never even leave a comment. Liking something is similar to “Maybe Attending” something. You like something, but the commitment of a physical response is not required. When I upload photos, I’m always sad when my Notifications show a host of “Likes” from my friends, but no genuine responses. I’m not looking forward to the day when the Comment feature will be quietly eliminated, and all we are left with is one word: Like.

Shenay Turner

Freshman

print journalism

major Like: Catching up with old friends.

Dislike: Catching up with people I have never spoken to in real life (for a reason).

Life before Facebook was boring. You didn’t know what people were up to unless you were with them.

Facebook: A Profile Between Malia Griggs and You

November 23 12:15pm

Dear Reader,

Recently, my Facebook was mistakenly deleted for two weeks, and I felt like I had a phantom limb because I couldn’t write statuses or comments. But I continued to compose thoughts using Facebook syntax. “Malia is sad her Facebook got deleted!” “Malia can’t believe that she is thinking in status format.” “…Dammit.”

After a few days of this “dropped-off-the-Face-of-the-earth-Book” state, I realized that I was (and still am) completely dependent on this virtual network. I compartmentalize my life into updates, and I forgo face time for Facebook. Every situation in my day is fodder for a new headline. Every photo and video I upload is carefully considered and captioned. I spend an inordinate amount of time browsing through the statuses, pictures and walls of people I barely know. We’re friends, and being “friends” allows me this privilege of insight. And yet, despite having been friended by that guy in my history class, I would never poke him (in class, anyway) and say, “Sorry things are complicated with your girlfriend, man, and that your teeth still hurt after surgery. Will you be at Cool Beans tonight studying again, or will you party with one of our mutual friends?”

You know why I can’t say these things? Because that would make me a stalker. Who am I kidding? I am a bonafide creeper, and I’m not alone.

Let me be clear: I do not hate Facebook. This social network achieves its goal of “helping you connect and share with the people in your life.” Some of my best friends live far away, and through Facebook, I glimpse their travels and everyday activities. I am not physically a part of their lives, but I don’t fear that we will fall out of touch the way my parents have fallen out of touch with their college friends. As for my own life, I can more easily keep track of happenings around campus, and I strengthen relations with people I wouldn’t know so well without the aid of Facebook.

At its heart, Facebook is an excellent communication and networking tool. However, in this profile, I couldn’t highlight every component of the system, such as FarmVille and Honesty Boxes, because these applications are part of a sprawling sensory overload that constantly seeks to reinvent itself by adding more and more activities and options and ads and suggestions and there’s so much of it that sometimes I want to step back and take a breath and just say, “STOP.”

By supplying us with so many features, Facebook is redefining social norms. Situations that we once distinguished as private have become matters of public interest. We document our lives to be evaluated by others and approach situations with phrases such as: “These pics will be on Facebook! Smile!” When we break up with a partner, we allow the icon of a split heart to infiltrate our News Feed. We read (literally) into ignored Friend Requests and wall posts as evidence of rejection. When upset with a friend, we passive-aggressively send a biting message, and then proceed to smile and wave at her in person. We overlook friends who lack accounts—not because we are callous human beings, but because Facebook is constructed to occupy our time with only the features and friends it provides.

Facebook is useful for people like me who need a larger venue for communication, but it strives to alienate those who choose not to be so connected. You can’t go AWOL from this wall because to an extent, without a properly maintained profile, you virtually do not exist.

The idea of life without Facebook leaves us with an overwhelming sense of detachment from reality. We rely on Facebook for its basic communication system and for the intimacy of friendship it offers, but we cannot escape the multitude of extraneous features and applications that come along with the package. The 30 seconds we intended to spend checking our Inbox often turns into 30 minutes spent taking a quiz or analyzing our own photos. Facebook is transforming us into a generation of flaky, socially awkward, micro analyzing, exhibitionist, egotistical, passive-aggressive creepers. In other words, you’re all turning into me. And that’s almost as scary as the prospect of not having Facebook for two weeks.

I’m off FB because I wasted time and was friends with people I didn’t know and learning things about them that they wanted me to learn. Also, FB is secretly owned by eHarmony (ok, not true, but it feels like it).

Now we’d all rather write on someone’s wall instead of calling him or even writing a letter.

Mary Gotschall Sophomore business major

Christopher Wilson Junior biology major ?

STORE wars:

Beezer’s VS. Jimmy John’s

By Robert and Will Locke

Though Carolina is a very diverse university, there is one common bond that ties us all together: food, especially eaten late at night. Whether it is a welcome reprieve from studying or the finale to a long night’s partying, your choice of delivery food is an important decision. That is why we decided to order from Beezer’s and Jimmy John’s, two of Columbia’s most popular local late-night sub shops, and compare them.

The premise: Will and Robert, brothers extraordinaire, place their orders at the exact same time: Robert’s from Beezer’s; Will’s from Jimmy John’s. Afterward, the restaurants will be evaluated on price, speed of delivery and quality of food.

Jimmy John’s Beezer’s

Price: $9.25

Speed of Delivery: apx. 10 minutes

Quality of Food: Excellent

Store Hours: Mon-Sun: 11 a.m.-3 a.m.

Price: $7.73

Speed of Delivery: apx. 26 minutes

Quality of Food: Also excellent

Store Hours: Mon-Thurs: 11 a.m.-3 a.m.

Fri-Sat: 11 a.m.-4 a.m. Sun: Noon-Midnight

The quality of food is almost identical. Both of the subs are the same length and contain the same ingredients. However, Jimmy John’s did have a little bit more meat and cheese. There are some other obvious benefits from ordering Jimmy John’s. This chain has got customer service down pat, and their delivery speed was impressive. Approximately 10 minutes after ordering they were knocking at the door. That said, the price is notably higher. With tip it came to $11.00.

Beezer’s was just over $9.00. While the wait for Beezer’s was significantly longer, it is a locally owned and operated store, which is something we always recommend supporting. Also, Beezer’s is open an extra hour on the weekends for those who want food past 3 a.m. It’s happened to us several times.

The Verdict: It comes down to choice. If you want food extremely fast and don’t mind paying an extra buck or two, Jimmy John’s is the place. If you’re fine with waiting around a bit, give Beezer’s a try. Either way, you’ll end up with a fantastic sandwich. Check out the Locke Brothers’ weekly blog at gandbmagazine.com.

Team Beezer’s

Team Jimmy John’s

If you walk across any college campus in the nation, it’s nearly impossible to miss the fact that the sport of Ultimate Frisbee has become incredibly popular. This is certainly the case at Carolina. The Horseshoe and Strom’s P.E. fields are often filled with students engaging in both intense and leisurely games of Ultimate. The sport provides a reprieve from the monotony of reading textbooks and writing papers and offers students the physical and competitive outlet that many seek. Ultimate also happens to be quite fun. While Ultimate does have a reputation as a hippie sport, club team member Chuck Turner, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, maintains that this perception has changed over the past few years.

“Ultimate Frisbee has evolved into a serious sport played by true athletes,” says Turner, who played football in high school. But that shouldn’t dissuade anyone from taking part. USC’s Ultimate club is incredibly accepting and is willing to teach anyone who wishes to learn the basic rules and intricacies of the game.

The advantages of becoming involved with the

Ultimate Frisbee club are not limited to competitive recreation. According to participants, a strong feeling of camaraderie develops on the field. In order to foster this feeling among those who play, the club emphasizes what it calls “teamraderie.”

“The purpose of teamraderie is to behave in such a way that everyone who participates develops close bonds of friendship with one another,” says junior biology major George Lampron. In fact, several Ultimate players listed the ability to build friendships as a primary reason they continue to play.

Carolina students can get involved with the club in a couple different ways. The most accessible way is through the intramural league, which allows students to form co-ed teams that compete against each other on Sunday nights throughout the fall and spring semesters. Dues for the intramural league are $25 and include a T-shirt and frisbee. For those who wish to participate on a more serious level, there are men’s and women’s traveling club teams, which compete in tournaments as far away as Chattanooga, Tenn., and Orlando, Fla., during ten weekends of the school year.

WHAT HOLIDAY SONG ARE YOU?

Festive trumpets blasting or ten lords-a-leaping, want to know which holiday tune you embody? Read on.

By Caitlin Bradley and Jennifer Howell

When do you start shopping for the holidays?

A) Around Dec. 1, hoping for snow so your truck can take advantage of that four-wheel drive.

B) 4:30 a.m. on Black Friday. Gotta get those bargains!

C) Whenever Daddy hands over his credit card, duh.

D) When you see that perfect gift, you buy it, no matter what time of year.

Your TV is most often tuned to:

A) “My Big Fat Redneck Wedding.”

B) TV? You don’t have time for TV.

C) ”True Blood” -- vampires are hot these days ...

D) Whatever seasonal movie ABC Family is playing.

What’s the centerpiece of your holiday meal?

A) A Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket. Good home-cookin’.

B) A roasted ham, a turkey (of course), yams, green beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, dinner rolls, a garden greens salad, cookies and homemade pie.

C) Forget the main course, you go straight to dessert. Chocolate-covered strawberries, anyone?

D) A perfectly cooked turkey with stuffing and homemade gravy and a dash of holiday cheer.

Your weekend schedule looks like:

A) Rocking chair, cold beer. Wake up and do it again.

B) Shopping, little projects here and there, volunteer work, getting homework out of the way, cleaning the apartment, saving the world.

C) Breakfast in bed, a bubble bath and a full body massage from your special friend.

D) Keeping things in order, checking things off your list and enjoying some well-deserved down time.

Your front yard transforms from normal to:

A) A garden of glowing Santas, reindeer, sleighs, blow-up snowmen, blow-up snow globes and colored lights.

B) Every inch of every plant, ever, is covered in lights.

C) Still normal, with the inviting glow of a warm fire through the front window.

D) A sprinkling of classic white lights.

scoring

Mostly As: “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”You’re just a down-home, Southern something-or-other. You try to be funny, and in comical situations you always add your own twang that some find quite endearing. I mean, we are in South Carolina.

Mostly Bs: “Twelve Days of Christmas” - You have so much stuff going on you don’t know what to do with yourself, but you like being in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Balancing your life is stressful, but mostly rewarding. Five golden rings, hello! But you still have to deal with that silly partridge in the pear tree, sorry.

Mostly Cs: “Santa Baby” - You sexy thing, you.

Mostly Ds: “Carol of the Bells” - You are the classic holiday song. You buy the right presents, decorate impeccably and get everyone into the holiday spirit! Everything you do reminds people of just how exciting and cheerful the season is. But even the perfect holiday song gets old after a while, so don’t overdo it.

From the flashy land of Hollywood to the warm comfort of Columbia, Northrop Davis has developed his interest in the world of manga to be instilled in his students. He has degrees from the California School of Arts as well as Duke University, and continues to work as a successful producer, screenwriter and commercial director. He currently teaches screenwriting and manga/anime.

Media Arts Professor

Q&A Northrop Davis

By

G&B: You jump-started your career in Hollywood. Tell us a little bit about some of the work you do.

Davis: I’m a screenwriter from Hollywood and I’ve sold scripts of mine to Richard Donner, who produced the “X-Men” series, “Superman” and “Lethal Weapon.” Another pitch I did (was) for Robert Stigwood, who did “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease.” I’m also in the Writer’s Guild of America, and I sold another project called “Alien Safari” to 20th Century Fox. I work on several projects with manga as well.

G&B: What initially sparked your interest in manga and the Japanese animation movement?

Davis: I had a friend in Japan and I would go visit her. I then fell in love with the form of manga. I started finding that there were all these different worlds you can go into: science fiction or comedy or horror and adventure. I fell in love with this story about this girl who’s brain and spinal cord were discovered and reconstructed by a scientist who became her father figure, and I just couldn’t believe the story, because it shows the light and dark in people and shows people for what they are: complicated.

G&B: Working in Hollywood as opposed to working at USC must be very different. Why USC?

Davis: The South is known to have such great creators of literature, with the birth of jazz and blues and rock and roll. The South has won so much. I thought, why not have the South become the center of screenwriting and television writing as well as the creation of manga? So the kids [at USC] started creating the manga, which just blew my mind. They started coming out with these pieces I had no idea they would be able to create.

G&B: Manga is relatively new to USC. What are you doing

to promote interest?

Davis: I’m reaching out to the whole university. I had coffee with an English professor and she’s going to try to find great English department writers who would like my television-writing, screenwriting or manga courses. I also met with faculty from the theater department, and they’re going to allow us to video their actors and put them up on this Web site I created for my students so that they can cast their actors. The TV writers will be able to put up their best scripts so Hollywood people can look at them. Students can get on this site called “We Make Manga” and work together, and this will also allow them to network after they graduate. We’ll work with everybody in the departments that want to get involved and make this a center of an explosion of the creation of the arts.

G&B: Do your students get a chance to venture out into the world with your Hollywood connection?

Davis: This summer a student of mine took an internship with my company. He worked with me and set my meeting schedule in Los Angeles, taking calls and interfacing with some very high-level people in all the major studios. He’s now making a career for himself.

G&B: You’re really involved in your students’ work. Tell us a little bit about the projects they’re working on.

Davis: A student of mine is taking his manga project and making an animation of it. He will have this as an animation, a screenplay and a manga. As a result, he’s going to go out in the world with the most possible ways that this could be commercially picked up by a film company or a television company. We want the students to get careers here and be successful. We’re not doing anything short of that.

Katielynn Racer

Photo by Alli Quattlebaum

My Room With

Michael Huneycutt

Michael Huneycutt knows well how relaxing an Asian décor motif can be . The junior exercise science major from Charlotte seamlessly combines brain and brawn as he takes on the academic and athletic communities at USC.

When Huneycutt isn’t in class, you can find him charming potential students in his campus tours as a University Ambassador.

“University Ambassadors is probably the coolest organization on campus,” Huneycutt says. “It fits me perfectly.”

In addition, Huneycutt works as an undergraduate assistant in Capstone and spends time as a counselor at the PACES Pre-Med Camp. With his busy schedule, Huneycutt needs a room where he can put down the books, kick back and relax.

By Steph Durso

“Coming home to it makes me feel unique,” he says. “My room at home was like that too, so it gives me a feeling like I’ve been living there for a while.”

Whether he’s coming back from class, water polo practice or even an intramural Ultimate Frisbee game (read more about that on page 36), Huneycutt’s room is the ideal place to unwind. The bamboo and wall hangings are about more than just décor. Huneycutt is half German-English and half Vietnamese.

“The reason I decorated it like that is because it reminds me of my diversity and it’s an outlet for supporting my Vietnamese side,” Huneycutt says. “It keeps me grounded to where I’m from, the parts of me that are different and make me who I am.”

Photo by Jenni Knight

CHRISTINE

If you could be any person for a day, who would you be?

Michelle Obama

AMBER

Fashion merchandising major

Shoes: Chuck Taylor

Jeans: Levis

Jacket: Hollister

Senior graphic design major

Shirt: Target Pants: PacSun

Shoes: Vintage Converse Mountains or Beach? Mountains.

WAYNE

Senior marketing/ management major

Vest: Forever 21

Scarf: Bohemian

Jeans: Express

Eating in or out? Eating in.

Junior public relations major

Top: Rue 21

Jacket: American Eagle Pants: Rue 21 Boots: Wet Seal

Nursing major Boots: Steve Madden

Leggings: Target

Sweater: Anthropologie

Shirt: Urban Outfitters

Bag: Coach

Bruce Springsteen or Tom Petty? Tom Petty

TIFFANY

Sophomore

english and history major

LAUREN

Favorite season? Winter because there is so much drama in dressing for the winter.

Shirt: Urban Outfitters

Scarf: Forever 21

Skirt: Abercrombie

Boots: Delia’s

Shirt: Hollister

Jacket: Quiksilver

Jeans: Hollister

Shoes: Vans

Do you have a favorite vegetable? Broccoli with cheese.

diy:

tacky sweater holiday

byMaddieMcDowell photosbyTylerFrench

When the weather gets cold and a tangible spirit of cheer floats in the air, we all know what glorious phenomenon lies on the horizon: tacky holiday sweater parties. Holiday sweaters are the best fashion trend on the books since polyester leisure suits. Once winter arrives, people around the world find themselves unable to resist the seductive allure of yarn and pom-poms, and spending a night—or perhaps two— reveling in the glory of tasteless attire. In this issue’s DIY, we provide the five keys to putting together the perfect ensemble for such an occasion.

Quaint Animals and/or Personified Snow Creatures and Baked Goods

No tacky sweater is complete without the depiction of one or more smiling critters. Whether you find yourself face-to-face with a sheepishly grinning snowman, an awkwardly prancing reindeer or a jovial gingerbread man complete with rick-rack icing, you can hardly go wrong. In fact, the more the merrier. The only place on earth that penguins and polar bears will happily coexist is amid the fibers of your festive cardigan, so why not capitalize on the rare opportunity?

1 2 4

Razzle-Dazzle

If your holiday sweater doesn’t have any “wow” factor, you may as well be wearing a beige turtleneck from your favorite yuppie outfitter. In order to prevent your outfit from falling flat, you must ensure that at least 20 percent of the surface area on your sweater is potentially seizure-inducing. This effect can be achieved through the use of fluorescent beads, shiny buttons, metallic thread or perhaps the most effective material: sequins. A select few true fashionistas will rock pullovers that have actual electrical lights built in; if you are unable to secure one of these rare gems, I can only recommend that you repress your jealousy.

Roy G. Biv, Your New Best Friend

It’s time to drag that color spectrum you learned in middle school out of the recesses of your mind and get fresh with it. You shouldn’t be shy in the color scheme of your sweater; college is all about experimentation. An acceptable holiday sweater should have a minimum of five different colors, with varying shades in-between. If, when you look in the mirror, you get the distinct feeling that you resemble a bag of Skittles, you have succeeded in achieving the optimum level of color brilliance.

Let ‘Em Hear You Coming

When you walk into the party, you want heads to turn. The most effective way to make sure this happens is to affront the ears of everyone in the crowd. More than a few bells sewn onto your sweater should do the trick, but you also have the option of turning yourself into a walking holiday juke box by affixing a singing broach to your lapel. When people hear “Frosty the Snowman” blaring, it’s practically guaranteed to launch an impromptu dance party. (As a disclaimer, you should definitely not use this tactic if you are one of those people who is uncomfortable with people getting all up in your space, as moshing is a distinct possibility).

Large and in Charge

Without a doubt, you want to be a dominating presence in your tacky holiday sweater. With this in mind, your sweater should be as large as possible. The most advantageous sweater construction should allow the wearer to smuggle a sizable reindeer unnoticed. Not only does this provide you with a more expansive canvas for decorating, but if you’ve also had too much eggnog and gained a little winter weight, no one will be able to tell if that undulating lumpiness is thanks to your jolly stature or the sweater itself. As in every facet of the holiday season, the bigger the better!

Armed with this insider knowledge, you should feel sufficiently confident enough to foray into the world of tacky holiday parties. Good luck, and happy holidays!