vol104issue07 by The Recorder

OPINION Where Have all the Neocons Gone? - Page 4

Blue Devils Repress Colonials

ENTERTAINMENT Interview With Central’s Hillcrest - Page 13

- Page 6

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

LIFESTYLES Mazed and Confused - Page 15

Volume 104 No. 7

Summit Draws Attention Strong Women Celebrate Breast Cancer Survival to Veterans’ Needs SaManTha SUllivan

copy editor

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder Marc Giammatteo, who served on the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors, discusses his time at Walter Reed Medical Center due to a leg injury that has required over 30 surgeries. WeSley STronG

Staff Writer In order to bring attention to veteran’s issues, Gov. Jodi Rell held an event in Alumni Hall where several recommendations were made based on the findings of “break-out” focus groups. The event, which took place last Friday, included two sessions where about 300 participants broke into focus groups to work on specific issues from healthcare to women veterans’ issues. Each group consisted of several experts from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and veteran community, and was geared towards discussing the problems in each one’s topic. Recommendations compiled by the groups included proactive education of benefits to the soldiers, more communication between the Department of Defense and Veteran’s Affairs, and greater access to services during times that would not interfere with work.

Known for her vigilance in helping with veteran’s issues, Governor Jodi Rell talked about her family history with the military as her father, husband and brother-inlaw all served. “We must never forsake our veterans and we must ensure that we continue to help them in transitioning back to civilian life,” said Rell. The summit also included a report of preliminary findings from a study run by veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The study conducted by Dr. Marc Goldstien and Dr. James Malley in coalition with the CCSU Center for Social Research and Public Policy compiled data from focus groups and over 200 surveys. The data found that many veterans were reluctant to get help. Over 60 percent of those who had shown signs of PTSD had not sought help. Dr. Malley said that in the focus groups some troops had found it easier to stay in combat than to come home.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and women around the world are sharing their tribulations through group discussions and media outlets alike. Whether they were recently diagnosed or have already been undergoing treatment, these women are fighting and surviving every level and intensity of breast cancer. Cancer is a disease that hits close to home for many of us. In my family, many people have been diagnosed with and, on occasion, subsequently died from it. My greatgrandfather, Emile Becotte, was a Knight of Columbus from Canterbury, Conn., who lost his battle with lung cancer when I was in middle school. He was one of my favorite people in my life, and his death was devastating. My grandmother, Beverly Champany, who was also diagnosed with lung cancer about six years ago, was fortunate enough to have survived after having half of her left lung removed. In November of 1999, my aunt, Laurie Champany, found a lump in her breast. At first, she wrote it off

as nothing; her children were very young – Liam, her son, was threeand-a-half, and her daughter, Lexie, was just two years old – so she did not want to consider the very realistic fact of what that lump could be. It wasn’t until February of 2000, after the lump had still not gone away, that she worked up the courage to see a doctor. Laurie had a mammogram, a needle biopsy and a lumpectomy, all before they were finally able to determine whether or not the lump was cancerous. To her misfortune, her worst fears were confirmed: she had breast cancer. After checking lymph nodes to make sure the cancer had not spread beyond her breast, Laurie’s doctors recommended they begin immediate treatment. “In the beginning, it was very scary,” Laurie admitted. “My kids were so small, and I wanted to be there for them. All these thoughts were running through my head about what they would do without a mother, and I didn’t know how to handle it. But my family was very supportive, and I finally realized that I had to do what needed to be done to be a hero, for myself and for my family.”

See Breast Cancer Survival page 15

Central Author Discusses Multiracial Issues in America

See Veterans’ Needs page 2

Central Opens Fire on Colonials PeTer collin

Sports editor Sophomore Leah Blayney drove home the game-winning goal with only two minutes left in overtime as the Blue Devils (5-6-1, 2-1-0) edged out the Robert Morris Colonials (4-8-2, 1-1-1) 2-1 in a NEC match up on Sunday. Sophomore Brittany Emin set up the gamewinner, when she found Blayney moving across the middle. Blayney set herself and fired from 25 yards out. The wind held the ball up in the air just out of the reach of Robert Morris goalkeeper Jessica Onufer in the upper right corner. Blayney’s teammates mobbed the field after the goal which gave the Blue Devils their first back to back victories this season. “Brit played a really nice square ball to me and I just saw that the goalie was to the right side of the goal a little too far,” explained Blayney. “I just picked my spot and buried it.” The Blue Devils dominated the game as they controlled the field throughout both halves

See Central Opens Fire page 9

Conrad Akier / The Recorder Ronald Fernandez discusses America’s way of understanding “fusions.” MeliSSa Traynor

news editor

Conrad Akier / The Recorder Rachael Caneen had a team-high eight shots in Sunday’s game. http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/

The second Central author to present this semester introduced a variety of racial issues, including those faced by multiracial individuals living in America today. Focusing on a group of people he calls “fusions,” or people of mixed racial background, Ronald Fernandez of the Criminal Justice/ Criminology Department discussed his book America Beyond Black and White: How Immigrants and Fusions are Helping Us Overcome the Racial Divide, and how our existing

system of beliefs doesn’t currently have the capacity to understand these people. “Multiracial people don’t fit into our categories. We don’t know what to do with them,” Fernandez said in reference to a young woman in his book who called herself a “walking contradiction.” He explained that her parents were of different backgrounds, and she was frequently faced with the question, “what are you?” by strangers on the street. The word “fusion,” Fernandez said, is a name which a group of multiracial children stumbled upon

See Multiracial Issues in America page 3

News Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The Recorder

Student Center 1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT 06050 T 860.832.3744 F 860.832.3747 ccsurecorder@gmail.com http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/ Editor-in-Chief Mark Rowan Managing Editor Christopher Boulay Art Director/Designer Jamie Paakkonen Associate Layout Editor Conrad Akier Copy Editor Samantha Sullivan Lifestyles Editor Stephanie Bergeron Sports Editor Peter Collin Entertainment Editor Edward Gaug Opinion Editor Justin Kloczko News Editor Melissa Traynor Web Editor John Vignali Staff Amanda Ciccatelli Karyn Danforth Jeff Hayden Matthew Jurkiewicz Matt Kiernan Susan Kondracki Erin McAuliffe Brian Morache David Pember Kari Sledzik Wesley Strong Ryan Yeomans Joe Zajac

Colleges Saving Energy, Money with Green Initiatives David Brand

The Daily Free Press (Boston U.) (U-WIRE) -- Though students more concerned with making it to class on time -- never mind turning off the lights or turning down the thermostat on the way out -- have driven universities mad as they watch precious energy and funds literally fly out the window, one school has found a way to reduce impacts of large dorms on the environment and save considerable cash in the process. This summer, Babson College installed a SmartSystems International heating and cooling unit in each of the 120 rooms in its McCullough Hall. The technology senses whether a room is occupied or not and sends a signal to the unit, which turns on and off accordingly, SmartSystems Engineering Support representative Stephanie Hartzell said. “People come in and turn the temperatures way up or way down and leave the room and go out to meetings all day,” Hartzell said. “We saw a giant energy source wasted [on] heating and cooling when no one was there. Our inspiration was to cut down on wasted energy and wasted money schools are shelling out when they don’t need to.” Large-scale buildings experience substantial energy savings when energy-efficient heating and cooling systems are implemented because roughly 50 percent of energy is used for those devices alone, she said. “Changing a lightbulb is great, but if you want to target lots of energy you need to go toward units that pull a lot of energy,” Hartzell said. While Hartzell said SmartSystems’ main clients have traditionally been hotels looking to cut the amount of costly wasted energy, she said universities have shown particular interest in installing the systems, especially in the last two years. “There was always a thought about saving energy, but 15 years ago it wasn’t in people’s vocabularies,” she said. “As green initiatives have really taken hold, so has our business. It feeds into having the right product at the right time.” Despite the potential for positive reviews by environmentally conscious groups, Hartzell said universities’ true goal in reducing energy consumption lies in their wallets. “Green will sell a couple rooms,” she said, but added schools and businesses are still mainly interested in the bottom line. FOR THE ON-THE-GO STUDENT Babson’s efforts have been well received by both students and administrators who say while the school is happy to aid the environment, it is even more pleased to reap the financial benefits of the energy efficient technology. “Money drives everything at most universities,” said Bruce Sutter, Babson’s Energy Program Manager. “Financial concerns are

primary. “Everyone wants to be green, but it makes it easier when there’s some payback,” he added. “It helps grease the skids when the payback is good.” Sutter said each unit cost between $200 and $300 to install but will reduce energy consumption in McCullough Hall by up to 30 percent and pay itself back within two years. He said the school had explored energy saving options for awhile before arriving at SmartSystems, which enables the school to save energy even with minimal student effort. “In dorms you can’t do the standard ‘turn things off at night’ because there are always people there,” Sutter said. “On breaks, kids might not turn thermostats off . . . [But this] unit turns off when kids go home. That’s when it really saves energy.” Babson students have applauded the system’s installation as another environmental initiative undertaken by a school that already launched a campus-wide recycling program and holds an inter-dormitory energy reduction competition each year. “Everyone has had positive things to say,” said Babson senior William Pearce, a McCullough resident and member of Conserving Resources and Energy As Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs, a student-run environmental organization. “In general, when it comes to heating technologies, the best ones are the ones people don’t have to think about or notice.” Pearce said the business school administration values CREATE’s independent spirit and goal-oriented plans and provides considerable funding as well as extensive feedback and response to the group’s opinions and ideas. “Over the 4 years I’ve been here I’ve seen a significant increase in energy consciousness,” he said. “As entrepreneurs I believe we would be at the forefront of bringing those types of thing to school. I believe the administration sees this and values this.” OUR NECK OF THE WOODS Following Babson’s example as well as the citywide green push trumpeted by Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston University has pledged to make its newest residence, Student Village 2, the campus’s most energy efficient residence. In addition to installing water-conserving dual flush toilets and designing so 90 percent of lighting will be provided naturally through windows, Office of Facilities Management and Planning chief Paul Rinaldi said the 26-story building will include an occupancy-sensor heating and cooling system similar to Babson’s. “Saving energy means saving money and saving energy is the right thing to do,” Rinaldi said. BLACKOUT INSURANCE

and cooling system will appear in each common room, ensuring comfort for students even when they are alone in the apartment or away in other residents’ rooms. “We were concerned because we didn’t want to be in a situation where if you’re in an apartment unit with 3 roommates and they all take off and you’re all alone, we want to make sure you had heat and light and air conditioning,” he said. “The biggest obstacle to installing them is making sure we have the right location. We think we do.” BU first used energy efficient technology when constructing the School of Management building in 1996, Rinaldi said. “We opened the School of Management 11 years ago and applied the same concepts to offices and classrooms in that building,” he said. “When classrooms are not occupied the lights go off. When lights go off, heating and cooling units also scale back.” ENERGY FLOWING ALL THE WAY INTO TUITION The technology has met a positive response from many BU student activists who say they hope similar environmentally friendly devices expand to other buildings and residences. “It’s a good idea for BU to do, but it’s probably light years away from doing that in existing buildings,” said Rachel Leone, a College of Arts and Sciences senior and president of the Environmental Students Organization. “Compared to a place like Warren Towers where it’s 110 degrees every day, it would just make sense to save money to stop heating rooms when no one’s in them.” Leone said after last year’s spike in tuition, she expects BU to adopt additional green measures as promised. “Tuition went up last semester and one of the reasons they gave for it was rising energy costs,” Leone said. “They should counter that by reducing energy consumption and save us all a few grand a year.” Hib Kline, a 2007 BU graduate and founder of the Facebook.com group Students Against Global Warming, said he approves of the StuVi 2 measures, but added before schools spend money on high-tech energy efficient devices, they should first build environmentallyfriendly structures and educate students. “Proper insulation, geothermal and solar heating for both buildings and for running water, as well as energy-saving windows are some further options for achieving more efficient temperature control,” Kline said. “[The] most important thing that schools should do to increase energy efficiency and therefore reduce costs while benefiting the environment is simply to do their job as centers of education,” he continued. “An informed and environmentally conscious student body could have a truly significant impact on the world, both while in school and once they graduate.”

Rinaldi said a sensor linked to the heating

Veterans’ Needs Continued from page 1 The Recorder is a student-produced publication of Central Connecticut State University and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of CCSU’s administrators, faculty, or students. The Recorder articles, photographs, and graphics are property of the Recorder and may not be reproduced or published without the written permission from the Editor-in-Chief. The purpose of the Recorder is to approach and define issues of importance to the students of Central Connecticut State University.

The first of two keynote speakers, Steve Robinson, is a program developer and consultant for Magis Group and ONE Freedom, which are two organizations that work to better the lives of veterans. Robinson, a retired non-commissioned officer, served in many different areas and was a member of the Special Forces. He discussed the mental health and physical health of veterans returning from OEF and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Robinson said that out of the 52,000 claims for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder only 19,000 were approved for treatment from the VA health system. Listing several other statistics such as

the total cumulative deployment of 1.5 million, 1,000 estimated homeless veterans and 82,000 wounded including U.S. casualties and incurred by contractors, Robinson displayed the need for improvement in VA care. “When [war] happens it not only happens on the battlefield, but it happens here at home,” Robinson said. He also noted that as wars go on the cost of the VA health system increases drastically. The second keynote speaker, Marc Giammatteo of Southington, Conn., who served on the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors, also reflected similar sentiments, adding the insight

from his two years in Walter Reed Medical Center and his combat time in Iraq. Giammatteo sustained an extensive leg injury and had spent two years in Walter Reed after several surgeries overseas. For his experiences, he served on the Commission and had submitted suggestions, which were very similar to those discussed by the day’s focus groups. The event was organized by Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs of and the Center for Public Policy and Social Research at CCSU was the first of what Chancellor Carter said would be done as often as necessary to meet the needs of the veterans.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Retired Colonel Speaks Out Against War Kari Sledzik

Staff Writer Retired U.S. Diplomat Colonel Ann Wright spoke on the role of dissent on American policy and particularly the anti-war movement. Wright visited the West Hartford Town Hall to share some of her experiences with the anti-war movement last Tuesday. Wright served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia until March 19, 2003, the day before the war in Iraq began. In her letter of resignation Wright expressed four main points of concern within her letter: the lack of involvement in resolving the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, the lack of policy on North Korea, the curtailment of civil liberties and most notably the decision to invade Iraq. State Representative Andrew Fleischmann introduced Wright, explaining the nature of her resignation letter and the state of the war in Iraq. “Our strongest ally on the planet, the United Kingdom, just announced a drawdown of its forces in Iraq,” Fleischmann said in regards to deteriorating support for the war. “The ratio of American to British forces in Iraq was 30 to

one and it’s going to move to 60 to one by this spring.” Colonel Wright took the floor and explained that continued pressure from the people was necessary to end the war. “In 2006, the houses of Congress changed to be lead by the Democrats, and I would say on a platform of ending the war,” said Wright. “And yet here we are, in October of 2007, almost 11 months after the election, and the war still rages.” Wright expressed concern over the infractions of those incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay and the Abu Ghraib prison. She argued that detainees were captured and imprisoned indiscriminately, claiming military police “knock down the door and grab any men that are of military age.” She went on to share the story of a detainee’s family at Guantanamo who visited the prison with her in January 2007. The detainee’s mother gave Colonel Wright a bracelet, which she was wearing at the forum, to help her remember her son. Wright also expressed concern over the infringement on civil liberties, particularly in relaxing supervision laws.

“The Bush Administration broke the law for five years on it,” Wright said concerning Congress’s potential extension of the eavesdropping laws. “Then, they gave him a pass [as if to say] ‘Okay, you did it for five years, but we’ll let you have another couple months on it.’” After encouraging activists to meet in Washington D.C. to demonstrate and approach elected officials about ending the war, she drew attention to a list of questions that she recommends people ask of the 2008 presidential candidates, particularly over the issue of war. Wright went on to recognize several groups present at the forum and commended them on their efforts. “We have to stop what we’re doing, buy that ticket to go on down to Washington, and come down here and protest with us,” said Wright. She then answered several audience members’ questions before the forum’s conclusion. Several local activist groups attended and tabled at the event, including MoveOn.org, Connecticut Coalition for Peace and Justice, Connecticut United for Peace and Veterans for Peace.

CCSU Police Log from October 5 to October 11 Austin Ree Evans, 24, of New Britain, was arrested at 12:08 p.m. October 8 by Officer Robert Virgulto. He was charged with failure to wear a seat belt, operating without a license and failure to insure a private vehicle. He has an October 17 court date. Ryan Gasuk, 23, was arrested at 6:45 p.m. on October 11 by Officer Thomas Hayes. He was charged with criminal trespass in the first degree and criminal mischief in the third degree. He has an October 19 court date. Paul E. Kaminsky, 19, of East Windsor, was arrested at 12:26 a.m. on October 5 by Officer Ronald Lickwar. He was charged with possession of alcohol by a minor. He has an October 19 court date.

Multiracial Issues in America Continued from page 1

as an alternative to words such as “half-breed” or “mulatto.” It was a new, positive way to think of themselves, he said. After pointing to incidences where Jamaicans had assimilated themselves into American culture to become looked upon as “black,” Fernandez stated that society has come to define its members by skin color or by what differences between people are made apparent. “One major theme of the book,”

he said, “is the question ‘Is there a way to define these 300 million people in terms of what unites us not by what divides us?’” Fernandez referred to the common traits among all humans that bring the race together. “Let’s recognize that we share the same 75 percent of our genes,” he said. He encouraged his audience to “stop using the words black and white,” and “start your own revolu-

tion by refusing to define people by skin color.” English department chair and producer of the Central Authors Series Gilbert Gigliotti addressed the bubble-in circles for school and government applications and records. “Should we just ignore these boxes asking for race definitions on questionnaires?” he asked. While introducing that the country of France has erased all mention of race from its census, he

acknowledged that American should begin ignoring the term as well. “Yes- ignore the boxes. Refuse to affirm a culture, a society that, up until this point, has been moronic,” he said. His views on immigration were also addressed when Fernandez discussed his sections on the book that were devoted to the automatic assimilation into American cultures. “Transculturation,” he said, is a term coined by Fernando Ortíz which

explains a gap between Americans and those coming into the country.

“He says that American sociology has always missed a part of immigration,” stated Fernandez. “I think that we can refigure the American culture if we’re willing to accept that we have just as much to learn from immigrants as they have to learn from us.”

Editorial/Opinion

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Editorial A recent Gallup poll taken on how the public views the media showed that Americans feel there is a liberal bias portrayed in the news. Forty-five percent of the surveyed felt our news is “too liberal,” while only 18 percent thought it was “too conservative.” The greater implication could be that America leans right. But trust has deteriorated on both sides with only nine percent saying they have confidence in what they are being told today. The truth of the matter is, if you turn on the television, most news organizations like NBC, CNN and CBS point to liberal favoritism. Fox News came around and tried to even the score with an overly obvious conservative bias. Now, all these major cable news networks are following the despised model of Fox, by using animated commentators like Keith Olbermann to try to boost ratings. With the recent ad inserted in the New York Times by leftist MoveOn.org criticizing General David Petraeus, The Times is getting more and more attacks about being controlled by the left. In contrast, The New York Post is heavily Republican as an arm of Fox News. Talk radio is also prominently conservative.

Here is my opinion of the United States’ political scene and the Christian Right: I see another abuse scandal coming- it isn’t sexual, but its activity parallels in harmfulness It was difficult enough when the Catholic sexual abuse scandal came out. People who were supposed to be the most trusted took sexual advantage of children. To made matters worse parishioners knowingly covered it up. The consequences of the sexual abuse were severe. First there was the initial suffering the children endured. Then there was the economic hardship imposed on the Church. Finally there was the suffering the children and others endured after the initial abuse. Many were shunned for speaking out. Others turned to drinking, drugs, sexual promiscuity and even suicide. In the Catholic Church, Protecting God’s Children, a program to educate about the signs of abuse was made a requirement for anyone working around children. The program was designed to help educate about sexual abuse and what signs to look for in the victim and the abuser. That should have been the end of things, but another form of abuse and cover up crept actively into Christianity. It was psychological abuse. Psychological abuse might sound vague at first, but when one begins to look at psychological abuse on the level of what blacks endured during slavery or Jews endured during Hitler’s reign, it is a little easier to comprehend. These incidents are a type of psychological abuse done on a coordinated group level to cleanse society and keep people in their place. Today instead of blacks and Jews, it is homosexuals, abortionists, and others that need to be cleansed and Muslims and others who need to be kept in their place. As a result of these viewpoints, two very, very different psychological abuse patterns have escalated in society. First, instead of looking at the behavior and actions of homosexuals and abortionists as a manifestation of a past abuse, similar to the actions of those abused who were mentioned earlier, many are unable to look beyond the signs – drinking, drugs, sexual promiscuity, suicide, homosexuality and abortions to face the initial psychological abuse as the cause. When the abused victims act

Most journalists are inherently liberal, that means they usually lean towards voting Democratic. The very art of writing, dispersing information, whatever it may be, is a liberal trait in itself. Typically reporters work for conglomerates with a more conservative leaning because business is ratings, which generally has conservative connotations. Most of the media today, regardless of ideology, can pretty much be clustered into one. That category is the business of marketing news as a product to be sold. The major news networks in the country are owned by big corporations like General Electric, Microsoft, Disney and News Corp. These corporations are more profit driven despite what their political preference might be. Although people might turn on the television and see criticisms of the war, immigration rights and protests—themes that are usually associated with liberal ideas—does not mean they are in touch with the liberal movement inside the country. In fact, the word liberal might be the most misinterpreted word used today. The left movement in America born out of the 1960s has today become a grossly institutionalized, out of step

out their suffering they get abused a second time, this time by people trying to cleanse society. The second is an entirely different perspective. Rather than looking at homosexuality and people of the Muslim faith as a difference to be accepted such as people of the Jewish faith or people with black skin color, the natural difference whether it is skin color and sexual orientation or the freedom to hold a different religious belief, the difference is seen as the problem. When this difference becomes a strong focus a segregated society and all the problems that go with it is created. A new path needs to be taken because these two patterns only foster additional turmoil. An inspiring model is the way the Catholic Church successfully faced their issue and brought about a healthy openness and awareness of sexual abuse and prevention through the Protecting God’s Children program. Christianity as a whole needs to adopt a similar method to bring about a healthy openness and awareness of psychological abuse, its consequences, and its prevention. Lou Wms Columbus, Ohio

Dear Editor, I enjoyed Brian Morache’s article on Senator Biden. Watching the race from here in Ireland it can be difficult to get a sense of the mood of America regarding the race for Democratic Nominee. Personally I’m supporting Senator Biden because of his no-nonsense, straight-talking style. He has just announced a bold new education plan which may be of interest to your readers and he is of course the only candidate with a political solution to Iraq. I hope your readers will consider Joe when the time comes. Regards, Des O’Dwyer www.irishforjoe.org Clarification: In last week’s article titled “Joe Biden: 2008’s Straight Talking Candidate” it stated that Biden’s son already completed two tours in Iraq. In fact, Biden’s son is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq in 2008.

reflection of its former self. Most news organizations have been too slow to keep up with the progressive side of the movement, and run on an elitist platform supported by interest groups and big money. It is awkward and inaccurate when the media paints a picture of people like the Clintons as liberals, when in fact they support much more moderate causes. The liberals today portrayed in the media are the snobby intellectual types that in reality have forgotten about the middle and lower class all together. People standing in a protest today aren’t doing it because that injustice is burning a hole in the heart; they are doing it because they are well-off college kids who take their queue from Hollywood telling them it is cool. What the liberal movement should convey to the public is the opposite of conservative, and that is being progressive. A true liberal is a progressive, and there is a difference. The term liberal is somehow romantically connected to Marxism, and a particular class and set of values. Progressives see the bigger picture, no matter the cause or class, it will always be changing. Someday we won’t have to be fighting for gay rights, this war or universal healthcare, what will the movement be called then?

Where Have All the Neocons Gone? Brian Morache

Staff Writer Most people in this country understand that those who are often classified as neoconservatives are the ones who originally got the United States into this mess in Iraq. So what has happened to all these people? Where have they gone? According to Newsweek, they’ve found a home with Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani. If you believe that American citizens who are Muslim should be sent to internment camps, then you’ll love that Giuliani’s advisors are advocating the same thing. Want to invade, or at least bomb, Iran? Well then, Giuliani’s your guy. Believe that aid should be cut to countries that don’t back U.S. policies? Giuliani’s right with you on that one, too. Norman Podhoretz is considered a founding father of the neocon movement, author of the book, World War IV and an essay entitled “The Case for Bombing Iran,” which is subtitled with “I hope and pray that President Bush will do it.” This gentleman is also a key member of Giuliani’s team. When looking at other members of his lineup, it becomes clear that Giuliani is surrounded by a single neocon mindset, which is similar to President Bush’s team. These are the same people who brought us the chaos in Iraq. Dimitri Simes of the Nixon Center summed up Giuliani’s view: “Their foreign policy manifesto seems to be ‘We’re right, we’re powerful, and just make my day.’ He’s out-Bushing Bush.” Is this what we really need in our next president? Giuliani suggested, in an interview with a magazine on foreign affairs, that there has been too much emphasis on promoting negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. “It is not in the interest of the United States, at a time when it is being threatened by Islamic terrorists, to assist in the creation of another state that will support terrorism,” he said. One would think that brokering a peaceful solution to the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict would provide a very large boost to the image of the United States in the Middle East. Given that every expert on the Middle East points to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as the primary obstacle to a lasting peace in the region, it makes no sense for Giuliani to take this stance. Daniel Pipes, another one of Rudy’s neocons, advocates leveling Palestinian villages, which might explain why Giuliani has this warped view of the region. If we have learned anything from the Bush presidency, it is that we should not only get to know the candidates, but also know who is advising them. Are the people who are advising Rudy Giuliani on his foreign policy the kind of people we want running the country? Have

we had enough of a president who surrounds himself with people of a single mindset? Maybe conservative Republicans prefer this kind of president; someone who will make things simple by lumping anyone who opposes America into one group, or who will constantly play upon the fears of the public to get what he wants. Rudy Giuliani claims that he is the only candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton, assuming that she is the Democratic nominee, this may or may not be true. But the real question should be, “Will we be worse off with Rudy as president?” If he is surrounded by these neocons, then we most certainly will be.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

GOP Debate Feast on Don’t Smoke Near the Doors Ignorance of The Voter Jason Jones

Justin Kloczko

Opinion Editor A day after half of Chrysler’s assembly line went on strike in Detroit, Michigan, Republicans across town in Dearborn engaged in some distracting exchanges about this country’s economy. The debate was almost not worth writing about – between poseurs like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani lobbing tiresome punches and Fred Thompson marking his irrelevant entrance – there were words out of candidate’s mouths that can’t be let to pass. Romney and Giuliani’s political fencing tried to squeeze out the rest of the candidates so they could both benefit while simultaneously “attacking” each other. Although engaged in what seemed to be a battle over who lowered more taxes, both Romney and Giuliani were vague in their claims. Mitt Romney, who just can’t seem to shake the look and talk of a chronic liar, portrayed himself as a tax-reducing renegade in the liberally-occupied Massachusetts who “did not increase taxes in Massachusetts; I lowered taxes.” He made broad claims to sneak the point across to the dull-eyed voter that he was for lowering taxes for everyone, when in fact only specific taxes were cut for senior citizens and disabled veterans, according to the New York Times. He tried to come across as the tax-slashing conservative who made some changes; the reality is that Romney really had no control in Massachusetts because even though he tried, he was stumped twice by its Democratic state legislature. Giuliani, while clashing with Romney, trumpeted around his podium toting that he had cut taxes “23 times” while mayor of New York City. But just like Romney, Giuliani takes credit for things he did not initiate; there are various programs that the State of New York reduced. One proposal – the commuter tax, which levied not on people who lived in the city but on those who commuted there – was a piece of legislation that was backed by many New Yorkers to relieve congestion in Manhattan, but Giuliani opposed it. At first he said that cutting taxes produced more revenue, but Romney interjected that Giuliani opposed the commuter tax. Both of these candidates take on vague claims to their policies and try to take credit for things they really had no control over. Romney, who stood there with his eyes gleaming, waiting to bust out power point slides when called on by MSNBC’s Christ Matthews, was hard to handle.

Even though he seems so calculated and scripted with each line, Romney never fails to come across as that nervous, sweating uncle who has something very terrifying to hide. “You sit down with your attorneys and [have them] tell you what you have to do,” said Romney, questioning the erroneous issue of whether or not the president would need congressional approval to invade Iran. He then went on, trying to save his ass, “…but obviously the president of the United States has to do what’s in the best interest of the United States to protect us against a potential threat.” Matthews then gave Romney another try and asked if it was right that Bush went to war without Congressional approval. “You know, we’re going to let the lawyers sort out what he needed to do and what he didn’t need to do,” Romney said. The expression on Romney’s face was even more disturbing; he was not fazed and didn’t seem to realize what just flew out of his mouth. Ron Paul, who was probably asked to speak three times during the debate, made his time count when he told Romney to simply read The Constitution. “This idea of going and talking to attorneys totally baffles me. Why don’t we just open up the Constitution and read it? You’re not allowed to go to war without a declaration of war,” he said. Paul, who got the least amount of airtime, has been unfairly branded as an isolationist by MSNBC and the mainstream media, and was given less airtime than Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo even though he is beating all three in polls and fundraising, according to USAElectionPolls.com. This lawyer-talk from Romney really sheds light on the type of corporate asshole he represents and wants to vote for him. He transcends the type of scum that doesn’t have a decent answer for anything, and whatever they can’t have the courage to face they refer to their lawyers, adding another buffer between them and decision-making. The whole lawyer remark is the biggest cop-out line any idiot can say to scapegoat their “Ummm” answers. The worst part is there are people who vacantly sit in front of a TV and absorb this garbage as the gospel. Politicians like these prey on the ignorance of the voter who is sold cheap life insurance and then finds out four years later in a polite letter that they’ve been screwed. Romney is absolutely disgusting, and he might just get the nomination.

The BG News (Bowling Green State U.)

(U-WIRE) -- USA Today reports that 38,000 non-smokers die each year from second hand smoke, along with another 300,000 children who are forced to suffer the effects of pneumonia, asthma, ear infections and bronchitis. I myself do not smoke. I do however get the effects of inhaling about two cigarettes each day. I live in the McDonald residence hall and upon exiting the building I encounter, on average, about five of my fellow students smoking just outside the door. I often find myself making the remark if I were a smoker, I would end up saving a substantial amount of money on cigarettes, because I could just inhale everyone else’s. I don’t have a problem with the fact that people smoke, it makes them about 100 percent cooler and it’s entirely their choice. I do however, have a problem with where people smoke. It’s always right outside of the exits, right where everyone has to go in order to go and from place to place. Now I realize that not

all smokers smoke right next to the exits, some are actually considerate and smoke away from masses of people, and I thank them for that. But still there are those who are inconsiderate of others, and prefer to blow smoke right in their faces. For these people contributing to the 38,000 deaths per year and 300,000 illnesses per year, I’ll suggest some possibilities. Perhaps we could start simply by having the smokers move away from entryways. Now I realize this wouldn’t work, so perhaps a rule could be created that prohibits smokers from standing right outside of the doors. I realize some may view this as a bit unfair, so here is another proposal. Build an entirely new residence hall, or designate one that already stands, as a smokers only residence hall. That way they could smoke whenever they wanted without upsetting non-smokers, and they wouldn’t have to stand inside while holding there cigarettes outside the door because of the cold temperatures. That has happened by the way. Two days after writing this column I became aware of a report by

Patricia Alex in The Record newspaper stating that Bergen Community College is expected to vote to ban smoking on its entire 167 acre campus. The article also stated there are actually multiple colleges all over the country that have made the decision to ban smoking on campus. However, most of the schools that made this decision also happened to be smaller colleges, often of the community and commuter variety. I began to question whether or not something like this would work here at the university. I came to the conclusion that no, it would not. BGSU is a large campus where smoking would easily “slip through the cracks” if it were not allowed. I do believe that since an all-smoking residence hall seems like a far fetched idea, that the installment of no-smoking areas, with signs making them easy to identify, would go a long way towards the satisfaction of non-smokers. But until any action is taken, I’ll offer a simple plea to those of you who smoke. Please don’t smoke right outside of every door because I really don’t want to share your cigarettes with you.

Political Correctness Isn’t Gay Kate Gaertner

The Student Life (Washington U.) (U-WIRE) -- During my senior year in high school, my best friend started a game in which she slapped me every time I used the word “gay” as a synonym for stupid. It was a natural part of my lexicon and had been for a long time; my family and I routinely called things gay at the dinner table. It was funny; it was an exercise in ironic understatement to call the War in Iraq gay, an exercise in catharsis to exclaim the homosexuality of a recent physics test. As in all things, I was stubborn. It took me a long time to realize how hurtful that simple choice of words could be, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t initially try to justify it. My brother partitioned the word into three meanings: gay meaning happy, gay meaning homosexual and what he referred to as “gay-shoes gay” - something completely unrelated to sexual orientation, a cross between lameness and stupidity. In this way, he said that gay was simply a word that meant a lot of things. Our use of it was nothing political, just simple slang. We would be thwarting the natural evolution of language to refrain from saying it. And then I realized that it is in

these blanket justifications, these petty acts of naiveté, that hatred is spawned. I realized it on the national day of silence, when my school’s Republican Club made stickers to wear that said, “I won’t be silenced.” The clash of the political and the personal that day made me realize it, when the single gay student in my biology class asked to go to the library because he felt uncomfortable. I paused, wondering how many times I’d referred to assignments as “gay” in his presence. I realized that language is characteristically more powerful than we know. There are those who say that political correctness is intellectual fascism, and their point is well taken. In censoring our words, we censor the interpretation of our opinions, driving our language further away from our thoughts, our intentions. In censoring our ideas, we thwart intellectual progress. We keep ourselves from a common ground that would otherwise be cathartic. But this is a blanket statement, one that does not justify the unintentional hatred that comes with a slang we find amusing. I doubt that there is much intellectual progress to be made from an honest usage of “gay-shoes gay.” Conversely, it is my belief that, in keeping ourselves from using the word, we remind ourselves that it

is a foundation of intolerance, that we make the conscious decision to remain open-minded and accepting. In controlling our language, we begin to control the hatred we know it can spawn. Like all things, political correctness comes on a spectrum. A small dose of it is both healthy and necessary. As my violent best friend would say, no one could imagine using “black” as a synonym for stupid. Many people say that using the word “gay” from time to time is simply not that big of a deal. Granted, it’s not. But that also means that it’s not that hard to stop saying; it’s not that hard to convey stupidity or lameness with another word. To most of us, the use of “gay” is second nature. To some homosexuals, it has become mild and inoffensive. However, if we look back to its origins, hate is at the forefront. Who decided, at first usage, to call a pair of lame shoes gay? Who decided that being gay was synonymous with lameness, with stupidity? Thinking about it takes me back to middle school, when “fag” was the insult of choice and everything was “gay.” Our culture here is more tolerant than that, and our language should reflect that tolerance.

Armed Teachers Not the Solution to School Violence Brian Morache

Staff Writer In Oregon, a high school English teacher has a solution to all the violence in schools: she wants to bring her gun to school. As a citizen who has the legal right and is licensed to carry a firearm, Shirley Katz is seeking permission to bring her gun to South Medford High School. Her attorney is promoting this as a solution to all the violence that, according to her, is running rampant in our school systems today. In order for this to become a real deterrent to violence in schools, teachers would have to have at least a year of weapons training, as well as training in self-defense and conflict resolution. Blackwater and other private security firms might need another contract after they’ve

screwed up Iraq, and this would be right up their alley. Courses would also have to be offered in the proper rules of engagement so that teachers will know how to take the proper action. One can just imagine what graduation would be like: ‘Here’s your diploma, body armor and a Smith and Wesson.’ Such a solution would provide teachers with much more respect in the classroom. After all, the one who holds the gun has the respect, or at least that’s what pop culture teaches us. Glorified cop killers, gun-packing vigilantes and pistol-waving hip-hop stars fill our TV screens and iPod playlists. They preach that the gun is power; that it puts some ‘Umph’ in whatever you have to say, right or wrong. What better way to impress upon kids the power of an education? What better way to get kids to

listen up in class? In reality, it is the person, not the gun that should be respected. A bum with a gun is still a bum, regardless of what he is waiving around. A teacher is still a teacher, despite what they have strapped to their hip or under their sport coat. Soldiers and police officers go through intensive training, not only in the use of firearms, but also in recognizing when deadly force should and should not be used. Even then, there are many publicized situations where even these trained professionals make mistakes. To arm teachers in schools puts a large number of firearms in the hands of people who do not have such specialized training; just imagine the kind of tragedies that would occur with a bunch of untrained teachers with handguns. It is a tragedy when there is a shooting at a

school; however, these incidences don’t happen every day, certainly not with the frequency that advocates of arming teachers would have us believe. Could a killer be stopped by a teacher with a gun? Most certainly, but they could just as likely kill an innocent student by mistake. Is this a mistake we as a society are willing to accept? If there is to be an armed presence in schools, then let it be in the form of trained police officers who will work with both the faculty and the student body to fight violence in schools. Let us demand that violence on TV and in music not be glorified and made to look cool, hip or whatever other word is used today. The violence has to stop, but arming teachers is most certainly not the way to do it.

Sports

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Blue Devils Repress Colonials Peter Collin

Sports Editor Sophomore Adrian Hull scored twice and junior Jo Jo Freeman rushed for over 100 yards as the Blue Devils (4-2, 2-0) defeated the Robert Morris Colonials (3-4, 2-2) 16-10 Saturday afternoon at Arute Field. The game remained close during the first three quarters as each team traded scores throughout the first half. The Blue Devils managed to push across a touchdown early in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference maker. Central set a school record as they relentlessly pounded the ball on the ground, totaling 75 total running plays during the game. The Blue Devils put their first points on the board at the end of the first quarter. Hull rammed the ball up the middle for a two-yard touchdown run that capped a 69-yard drive in which Central did not pass the ball once. “That’s how you’ve got to win championships. It’s not going to be pretty every week,” said Coach Jeff McInerney. Robert Morris opened the scoring after a stellar 52-yard punt return from senior Mario Hines. Central held their ground, forcing a fourth down with only two yards to go. The Colonials lined up to go for it and the Blue Devils stacked the line, launching an all out blitz. Sophomore Chris Molnar slipped beyond Central’s defense where junior Erik Cwalinski found him standing by himself at the goal line for the touchdown. Just before halftime things got interesting. After the Colonials went ahead 10-7 on the strength of kicker Michael Walser’s 41-yard field goal, Central began a drive with just over two minutes left in the half. Sophomore Mark Szymanski sacked Blue Devil senior Aubrey

Robert Morris 10 CCSU 16 Norris and forced a fumble, giving Robert Morris excellent field position on Blue Devil 43-yard line. But the Colonials quickly gave the ball back when Cwalinski threw his second interception of the game. The Blue Devils drove down the field 46 yards where freshman Dennis Bien tied the game with a career long kick of 36 yards as time expired. Central finally pulled ahead early in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils began their drive deep in Colonial territory after a 17-yard punt return by sophomore Nick Colagiovanni. The drive stalled on the RMU 12-yard line bringing up a Blue Devil fourth down. With one yard to go Coach McInerney went for it, giving the ball to Hull who got the first down and more, rushing for 12 yards to the right for his second touchdown of the game. “All I knew was I had to keep it tight and just hit it down hill and it was just wide open,” explained Hull. Robert Morris got the ball back with one final shot to tie the game with 2:01 left in the fourth quarter. Junior Ernie Greywacz intercepted Cwalinski’s pass at the line of scrimmage on the Colonials second play of the drive ending any hopes of a rally by the Colonials. “I saw his eyes look right down the middle of the field,” Greywacz said. “As soon as his arm came back I just jumped and he threw so hard it just ended up right in my arms.” Junior Michael Bailey, Rose and Greywacz each had their first interceptions of the season, giving the Blue Devils 10 different players to intercept a pass this season. Freeman rushed for 100 yards for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career, while Hull’s two touchdowns gave him his first career

Conrad Akier / The Recorder Blue Devil linebackers Lamar Gordon-Holmes and Mike Cooke make a Colonial sandwich Saturday afternoon. Robert Morris wide receiver Alvin Hill takes the hit after a 10-yard completion late in the game. multi-touchdown game. Dennis Bien missed his third extra point of the season and his first miss at home. Central rushed the ball for a school record of 75 plays and had four players with over 50 yards rushing. Possession was in favor of the Blue Devils 38:26 to the Colonials 21:34. Next week the Blue Devils will continue their push for the NEC title as they take on Conference rival Wagner in Staten Island, New York at 1 p.m.

Blue Devil Shorts

Women’s Volleyball Wins at Wagner

Central Connecticut (15-4, 1-0) opened its Northeast Conference season with a 3-0 sweep at Wagner (2-11, 0-2). Freshman Lauren Snyder had 13 kills and hit .400, while senior Milou Saxton posted 11 kills, four blocks and a .846 attack percentage. The Blue Devil steady offensive attack led the team to an early 2-0 lead. CCSU hit .391 in the opening game, a 30-15 win. Wagner, meanwhile, hit -.081 in the first game. Central Connecticut went up 2-0 with a 30-19 win in the second game. The Blue Devils out hit the Seahawks .312 to .094 en route to the win. Wagner’s offense was more productive in the third game, hitting .312 to CCSU’s .300, but Central Connecticut completed the sweep with a 30-25 win. (credit: CCSUBlueDevils.com)

Buczak Ties for 15th at Macdonald Matt McClure shot 75 in final round action at the ECAC Championships, finishing second at the par-71 Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Charlestown, RI. The senior came in one stroke behind Iona junior Sean Curtin. As a team, Central Connecticut placed 12th with a twoday 622 total. Saint Bonaventure won the team title despite adding 10 strokes to its opening day 293 to finish the weekend at 596. The Bonnies edged Sacred Heart by two shots. The Pioneers posted 301-297-598. Binghamton, which held the lead after day one, placed third with scores of 283-317. Rhode Island (601) and UConn (606) rounded out the topfive. CCSU freshman Eric Hawerchuk shot 79-79 to tie for 51st, while junior Tim Buczak carded rounds of 82-77 to tie for 55th. Freshmen Sam Pelletier (83-78) and Tom Ursa (82-79) tied for 58th. (credit: CCSUBlueDevils.com)

Women’s Swimming Opens Season Central Connecticut concluded its season-opening dual meet with a pair of wins. CCSU defeated Sacred Heart and St. Francis (PA) as hosts of the Blue Devil Duals. Senior Jess Adams competed in all 13 individual events over the weekend, swimming 3,350 yards. CCSU topped SFPA, 204.5-124.5, while beating Sacred Heart, 255-72. (credit: CCSUBlueDevils.com)

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Pick Your Poison

NFL Predictions for Week 7

It seems that the bye weeks are really killing some of the pickers (including all of the editors) these past few weeks. None of the editors are above the 10th spot on the leaderboard. It does look like Kevin Petruzielo, who looked to be running away with this, may have some competition, as Steve Hart leapt into striking distance. In a race to get their first win, the Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams keep limping along to the finish line. Chase Proctor, who is currently tied for 13th place, believes that the Miami Dolphins will be the last to get the win. Kyle Robbin said, “Miami will be the last to get a win. Cleo Lemon? John Beck is clearly the way to go.” Marc Chouinard agrees. Raider Mike Luchene made an erroneous prediction, but his response was priceless, nonetheless. He said, “The Dolphins will win this week, but the Rams will be more fun to watch. Gus Frerotte throws left handed interceptions and purposely smashes his head into walls after touchdowns.” The Saints finally decided to start their season, only five weeks too late, when they notched their first win of the year against Seattle. They should have little problem getting their second this weekend against Atlanta. Well, at least our Managing Editor Chris Boulay thinks so. As always, send your picks to ccsurecorder@gmail.com.

Tennessee at Houston Tampa Bay at Detroit

chriSToPher BoUlay

entertainment editor

Managing editor

Houston

Tennessee

Detroit

Tampa Bay

Detroit

New England

Atlanta at New Orleans

New Orleans

New York Giants

San Francisco

New York Giants

Baltimore

Arizona at Washington

Washington

Kansas City at Oakland

Kansas City

New York Jets at Cincinnati

Cincinnati

New York Jets

Chicago at Philadelphia

Chicago

Philadelphia

St. Louis at Seattle

Seattle

Minnesota at Dallas

Dallas

Pittsburgh at Denver

Pittsburgh

Indianapolis at Jacksonville Pick of the Week Why

224

Number of rushing yards Adrian Peterson had against the Bears.

eDWarD GaUG

Sports editor

New England

Baltimore at Buffalo

PeTer collin

New England at Miami San Francisco at New York Giants

MarK roWan

editor-in-chief

The number of people that had faith in Adrian Peterson or the Vikings.

Number of points The Recorder accidentally took away from Jon Lundie last week.

Number of points Jon Lundie is currently behind leader Kevin Petruzielo.

The amount of consecutive losses the NFC West has.

Indianapolis

Chicago def. Philadelphia

Philadelphia def. Chicago

Indianapolis def. Jacksonville

Pittsburgh def. Denver

My biggest upset according to Monday’s spread is this game by 4.5 points, which says a lot about how I’m playing this week. I’ve sucked, and if my biggest gamble of the week is the Bears beating on a team that almost let the pathetic Jets back into the game then I’m fine with that. Griese can throw the ball, McNabb hasn’t fully realized he can’t run and Thomas Jones (!!!) ran for 130 yards on the Eagles. What’s that I hear? Cedric Benson running for 100+ yards? It is about damn time.

The Bears haven’t been the Bears on defense this year. They have yet to reach the end zone on defense and are giving up over 24 points per game. Philly is getting closer to clicking on offense while their defense will be able to handle Griese.

In a game that might actually be closer than one would believe, I can’t go against the Colts. Peyton Manning will pull out the win even though David Garrard will throw for more yards. The killer for Jacksonville is that their defense isn’t as good as Indy’s. Manning will follow up this win with another MasterCard commercial and beat the shit out of his little brother Eli.

Don’t think for one second that Denver is getting out of that slump just yet. Mike Tomlin apparently is an amazing coach and look for the Steelers to keep on rolling along. Also, don’t be surprised if Pittsburgh annihilates the Broncos like San Diego did.

This Week’s NFL Prediction Leader Board Total Points

Current Week (of 16)

Rank

Name

Kevin Petruzielo

Steve Hart

Kyle Robbin

Jason Beaumier

Matthew Jurkiewicz

Jon Lundie

Alyssa Smollen

Marc Chouinard

Rob Messer

Peter Collin

Charlie Sorenson

Mike Luchene

Nick Viccione

Chase Proctor

Edward Gaug

Mark Rowan

Mike McDonald

Kyle Dorau

Christopher Boulay

Chris Culmone

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Central Falls to Conference-Leading Quinnipiac Karyn DanForTh

Staff Writer The Central Connecticut Blue Devils (3-70, 1-2-0) lost 1-0 to a penalty kick in a tensionfilled game against Northeast Conference leader Quinnipiac Bobcats (9-0-1, 3-0-1) Sunday afternoon in New Britain. Quinnipiac 1 CCSU 0 While the wind provided some assistance carrying Quinnipiac’s 11 shots on goal over the net or into the post, sophomore goalkeeper Paul Armstrong made three crucial saves that kept Quinnipiac scoreless till the 104th minute of the second overtime when Quinnipiac was awarded the advantage of a penalty kick. Attempted by junior Graciano Brito, the kick sailed mercilessly into the opposite corner of where Armstrong stood. This was Brito’s 13th goal of the season. Central maintained possession of the ball for the majority of the first half, showcasing their endurance and control. Freshman Conor Smith and sophomore Joey Viscardi both had prime opportunities at the net but the ball either flew over the post or into the hands of Quinnipiac’s goalkeeper, sophomore Frederick Hall, who saved six of the Blue Devil’s attacks. Central’s offense, led by freshman Robert Cavener and Conor Smith, consistently challenged Quinnipiac throughout the game. Cavener and Smith both barraged Hall with four shots each; Viscardi and freshman Christopher Brown contributed two shots as well. Recently, NEC officials informed the Blue Devils via e-mail that a goal scored in an away game is being examined for its legitimacy. “The possibility of getting this [goal] taken away from us with no specific explanation effected our motivation,” said Coach Shaun Green. This unfortunate event and today’s loss was a one-two punch for Central. “I feel for them because they’re not getting rewarded for the effort they’ve been demonstrating.” Cavener acknowledged the excellent performance in the first half, but admitted there was something missing. “We needed to put the ball in the position to finish it,” he said. The Blue Devils’ strength was evident in the statistics of Sunday’s game, overwhelming the Bobcats in shots on goal, 15-11. Central also had more opportunities than Quinnipiac at corner kicks, 5-1. Central Connecticut will travel to Yale to take on the Bulldogs in a non-conference battle on October 16 at 7 p.m.

Top: Quinnipiac freshman Pierre Soubrier gets airborne while trying to tackle possession of the ball from Blue Devil freshman Christopher Brown. Brown finished with two shots. Left: Freshman midfielder Connor Smith (front) had four shots in Sunday’s game. Right: Quinnipiac junior Graciano Brito finds the net after being rewarded a penalty kick to win the game. PhoToS By conraD aKier / The recorDer

Year: Freshman Age: 18 Major: English Hometown: Allen, TX Amanda is currently leading the Blue Devils in assists, tallying 844 for the season. She is also the leader in aces with 39 on the year and ranks 68th in the country in aces per game with 0.53. Favorites TV Show: Grey’s Anatomy Car: Jeep Movie: Pride and Prejudice Junk Food: Dr. Pepper Role Model: Older Sister Most Embarrassing Moment “When I missed the ball and tripped and then it hit me while I was on the ground.”

Favorite Sports Moment “I was on a team and we were down 13-2 in a game to 15 and we came back and won to advance to the state tournament.” Pump-Up Song “I listen to a lot of rap. It usually depends on the mood I’m in.” Hidden Talent Sleeping/writing If I had a million dollars… “I would just take a perpetual vacation until I ran out of money. I don’t do the investing thing that’s no fun.”

Conrad Akier / The Recorder

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Above: Fireworks bring a loud and spectacular end to Friday night’s pep rally at Arute Field. Top: Pep Squad performs during the homecoming pep rally at Arute Field. Center: Drum major Steve Schumacher conducts the CCSU marching band at Saturday’s football game. Bottom: CCSU mascot Victor E. cheers on the Blue Devil football team at the homecoming game. Photos by Conrad Akier / The Recorder

Central Opens Fire on Colonials Continued from page 1 and both overtimes. Central pounded Onufer with 35 shots compared to only six by RMU. “Games like this are real difficult to live with if you don’t get the results, because you do so much during the course of the game,” said Coach Mick D’Arcy. Both teams scored early, capitalizing on mistakes. The Blue Devils struck first during the 11th minute of the game. Freshman Clio Tregear moved to the top of the 18-yard line where junior Jill Kusek found her in open space. Tregear was able to control the ball, turn and fire a low shot toward the corner of the net. Onufer dove too late and the ball found the back of the net. The Colonials didn’t wait long to even the score. Just over Conrad Akier / The Recorder one minute later Robert MorSophomore midfielder Leah Blayney (left) scored the winning goal for Central in double overtime.

ris forced a corner kick. Senior Kathryn Kirkpatrick sent in the first kick which Central managed clear. Kirkpatrick recovered the ball again and sent in another cross. This time the Blue Devils were only able to deflect the ball which landed in the middle of the box in front Colonial freshman Jennifer Tobar. Tobar had a clear path to Central goalkeeper Caity Casey. Casey stepped out to meet Tobar who flipped the ball over her head and into the net. The Blue Devils missed several golden opportunities late in the game. Blayney provided their best opportunity during the 83rd minute of the game as she got free from her defender and fired a line drive on net. Onufer leaped and pushed the ball over the net for the save.

“I think our decision making in the final third, not so much our finishing, but the pass before the shot to finish is the one that’s hurting us.” explained Coach D’Arcy. The victory capped a 2-0 weekend for the Blue Devils who defeated conference rival St. Francis 1-0 on Friday, October 12 in New Britain. Freshman Abby Graham scored her first career goal during the 41st minute of the game. Sophomore Erin Herd had her second shutout of the season and is 3-0 for the Blue Devils this season. Central will continue their conference play when they take on Monmouth in West Long Beach, New Jersey on Friday, October 19 at 3 p.m. and on Sunday, October 21 at 1 p.m. against Mount St. Mary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Entertainment

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The post-hardcore/alternative rock genre is a pool which I’m Only A Man has been exponentially diluted over the last decade. With the assistance of the Internet and sites like PureVolume and MySpace, the music world has been smothered in an avalanche of mediocrity. Group after group of screaming and whining adolescents have filled the airwaves of the Net and the iPods of a generation of tweens. A few in this wading pool of passable riffs and generic lyrics are groups worth enjoying, but the majority of them are shallow copies of Fall Out Boy and Hawthorne Heights. Emery appeared to be heading toward quality recognition with their second release, but they fall victim to the sliding standards with this one. Emery goes in every direction imaginable on their third major record label release, I’m Only A Man. In this case, it is the least attractive aspect of the album; there is simply no method to the madness. It’s fast then slow; loud then soft; whiny then preachy — there’s no flow to the listening experience. You might as well listen with the random selection on, because that’s how it feels in its chronological order. For those who are familiar with Emery and their previous albums and style, you will be in for a surprise this time around. The screaming, which was the star of The Weak’s End and artfully highlighted on The Question, is all but nonexistent on I’m Only A Man; so if you’re looking for screamo, look elsewhere. There are sparks of inspiration and creativity on tracks “Rock-N-Rule” and “Can’t Stop The Killer,” but the majority of the album falls flat. It’s a listenable experience, but it hardly deserves to be played more than twice.

Emery

- Matthew Jurkiewicz / Staff Writer

Trapt

The latest installment from well-known hard-rock band Trapt Live! is quite a well-rounded release. The album, entitled Live!, opens up with two new studio tracks and gently slides into a live performance from Minneapolis. The first song on the album is a new studio track entitled “Stay Alive.” The track slams open with a catchy riff and pounding drums, in classic Trapt style. The driving bassline carries the song right into the chorus, where the vocals will leave you hooked and craving the rest of the song. It wasn’t until I heard this song on the radio that I realized how addicting it is; I found my head bouncing and my mouth wanting to belt out lyrics. The other studio song, “Everything to Lose,” is a good song as well, but it doesn’t have the same potency as the track before it. The live portion of the album begins with “Stillframe,” a Trapt classic. The song cranks out of your speakers and does a great a job of building the energy for the rest of the songs. Some of the most notable live tracks are “Stand up,” “Disconnected” and “Waiting.” After seeing Trapt last summer at the Webster Theater and listening to this album, I can say that the recorded performance really captures the feel of the live performance. The band’s energy and presence is easily felt with this live album and much of the credit goes to the recording and mixing crew. While there are only nine live tracks, it feels like a complete concert because they are all the best Trapt songs. The two new studio tracks are a good taste of what is to come with their upcoming album, due out early next year. - Ryan Yeomans / Staff Writer

Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World has a Chase This Light mix of unique voices and creative melodies in every song they write. There is always a strong sense of feeling in every song for the listener to get lost in. Along with their past albums, Chase the Light has a perfect set of tracks to listen to when going through any type of conflict from heartbreak to political problems going on today across the world. The first track, “Big Casino,” is a generic Jimmy Eat World style and very predictable at times. On the other hand, lyrics like “Rock on young savior, don’t give up your hopes,” gives a powerful motivational feel directed towards dreams and passion. “Let it Happen” is the second track on the album that I absolutely love. The harmonies in the “laugh it off” chorus will send chills down your spine. The drums and the vocal harmonies accent just the right parts of this upbeat melodic song. “Let it Happen” sends a good message to just laugh off conflicts and move on with life. The most creative song in which the band stretches outside their comfort zone is “Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues.” You can really feel it, and it reminds me of “Polaris” from the Futures album. There is a hypnotizing sensation when you turn the volume way up in your car; it has an eerie and mysterious sound showing that it’s a melancholy song about the blues. The lead singer’s voice sounds unique when he sings low and almost monotone sometimes, but it works well with the constant drum beats and guitar and violin melody backing him up. My favorite song is named after the album itself, “Chase This Light.” It’s obvious that the band members’ hearts are really into this song. The crescendo in the beginning makes the listener anxious for the rest of the song, and the lyrics are incredible and symbolic; it’s an extremely motivational song to “get up and live your life.” For example: “I’m a suspect, I’m a traitor, I’m only here in body visiting,” is a lyric that embraces the feeling of being out of place or a victim of hurt. Chase the Light is a successful album by Jimmy Eat World that will continue to satisfy loyal fans and attract new ones as well. They did a great job of keeping the old and bringing in the new in their style of music to keep things fresh. - Amanda Ciccatelli / Staff Writer

The Spill Canvas

First discovering this No Really, I’m Fine band at 2006’s Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey, The Spill Canvas captured my interest and made it to my top 10 list of bands that everyone should know. Releasing their fourth album, No Really, I’m Fine, this past Tuesday the band is on their way to radio waves for sure. With a unique punk-ish sound, it is hard to place them in the same category as any recent popular band. The album exposes a more sexual, sensual and compassionate side of the band through lyrics that speak of passion and heartbreak. The best examples of this shine through in songs such as “Connect the Dots” and “Lullaby,” in which lead singer Nick Thomas expresses new found infatuation with a potential lover. “Lullaby” displays lyrics such as, “While you were sleeping I figured out everything / I was constructed for you, and you were molded for me / Now I feel your name, coursing through my veins / You shine so bright it’s insane, you put the sun to shame.” These lyrics convey a love in which two people become one. Being a sap, I love these types of songs. I think that is one of the main reasons I enjoy this album. So if you’re a lovesap like myself or enjoy a mix of upbeat and soft love-theme songs, pick up this album. - Susan kondracki / Staff Writer

Radiohead

While Radiohead might be the biggest In Rainbows band of our generation, they manage to keep everything amazingly lowkey. While news of their new and now critically acclaimed album In Rainbows only started to leak out on October 1, a frenzy was started and by the end of the week, everyone knew about the new Radiohead album. With a blending of all their past and present sounds, Thom Yorke and company have made the only album to compete with Kanye West for album of the year. “15 Step,” In Rainbows opening track, kicks off with a dance party Casio beat and fades into Yorke’s smooth and almost whispered vocals that have become so distinctive over the past 14 years since the release of Pablo Honey in 1993. With strong samples, this track remains my favorite after almost a full week of listening. “Bodysnatchers” comes in closely behind as it incorporates fuzzed, distorted guitar riffs and solid bass-lines. This song brings in more of the funky electronic beats that have only gotten better as time goes on and more albums are released. If drum-heavy is what you are searching for, then the fourth track is what you are seeking. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” starts off with small, yet satisfying drum solo and is quickly accompanied by Jonny Greenwood’s guitar strumming. This song shows off the band’s outstanding instrumentals and manages not to overshadow Yorke’s vocals. Radiohead fans will dig this album and tout it as their best for good reason; it might be the best offering to date. For everyone else who doesn’t know of Radiohead or just aren’t “fans” will still have to check it out because people will be talking about it for the rest of the year. Hey, you can even download it from inrainbows.com for free. - Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

Beirut

While this album has all The Flying Cup Club the glory and imagination of the brass sections and beats that attracted Beirut fans to tracks such as those on their EP, Lon Gisland, my only criticism is that they fail to detach and experiment in new ways from their previous albums. For example, the song “Forks and Knives (La Fete)” has the thrill of a slow and sad carnival with strong and steady percussion, but this is completely comforting because it is familiar. The theme is repeated throughout songs such as “A Sunday Smile” and its title track. Highlights of the album include “The Penalty,” which is probably my favorite track on the album, and “In the Mausoleum.” With a peaceful and lackadaisical rhythm, “Penalty” opens with a ukulele and progresses to the sounds of a slightly mellow and steady accordion. While it can be said that consistency is a plus, fans of Beirut’s previous albums such as Gulag Orkestar will find the same exciting tunes which almost have a marching band quality. “Mausoleum” has a deeper, but fasterpaced sound driven by an instrument with the pop of the castanet, also flecked with sections by a gypsy-influenced violin. The sound is really one of a kind for its combination of a dark, but alluring Spanish beat and a little bit of the Peanuts’ piano introduction. It should also be mentioned that lead singer and trumpet player Zach Condon, the 21-year-old college dropout who started the now 10-piece band when he was 19, has one of the most unique voices I have ever heard. It’s dripping with a Celtic accent, which is weird because Condon is a native of Santa Fe, New Mexico. For some reason, this singer manages

to draw the listener into a kind of sorrow with long and sappy choruses. The sloppy notes and band-on-the-streetcorner feel of The Flying Club Cup, in my opinion, somehow pull together a very stimulating arrangement of songs and will most likely satisfy the expectations of Beirut fans. It is definitely not your average indie-infused mainstream garbage and if you’re looking for something original and cultured, this album is a fairly good place to start. - melissa Traynor / News Editor

When comprising last week’s edition of the calendar, I noticed Hopeless that The Bouncing Souls were makRomantics ing their way back to Connecticut and thought back to when I first started listening to Hopeless Romantic back in middle school. This is for the rest of you that kept listening over the past eight years and even those who haven’t. With a mix of traditional punk with some undertones of modern ska and anything else they think would sound good. This is most prevalent on the album’s ninth track, “¡Olé!,” where the Souls take on the now-traditional soccer anthem and fuse it together with a quick verse telling what the band is all about. The album’s best song is actually a duet, an extremely rare find on a punk album. This isn’t your typical heartfelt love song though, with words like, “Say goodbye / Kiss my ass, I hope you die / Wish me well, you can go to hell / We were so different a short time ago.” These are types of things we all want to say, but never will. While that’s the album’s best track, it is nowhere nearly as popular as the album’s title track. “Hopeless Romantic” is The Bouncing Souls’ most popular single and the one that always comes to mind when I hear their name. With a small, but potent amount of pop music thrown with the punk, the Souls make a classic pop-punk anthem that can be enjoyed as much by the new listeners as the faithful fans. If you can catch a ride down to Toad’s Place, I would strongly recommend coughing up 12 bucks and going to see The Bouncing Souls play live before they get any older. If you are broke or minus a car, make an effort to get yourself a copy of Hopeless Romantic and get ready for some real punk rock.

The Bouncing Souls

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Smells Like Dead Elephants:

Matt Taibbi Puts the Defibrillators to the Heart of Political Journalism

Joaquin Phoenix’s Talent Saves We Own The Night

Justin Kloczko

Opinion Editor Etiquette books say never to talk about politics or religion when meeting someone for the first time. Politics, for the most part, instantly turns people off. There have been a bevy of journalists over the years careering off of politics. Some ended up just as dirty as the politicians they were covering. Today, a lot of this journalism ends up reading like campaign feed for our ignorant public. Matt Taibbi, an American journalist who recently repatriated from Russia after helping jump-start the alternative tabloid, The eXile, just might be the only journalist left with any sense of veracity in his writings. Taibbi, who often gets unfair comparisons to Hunter S. Thompson because of his brutally honest and in your face reporting, brandishes a style of his own, blunt and outrageous, yet still gonzo and relevant to today’s generation In his first campaign diary on the 2004 presidential election, Spanking the Donkey, Taibbi suffered a near meltdown trying to report on American politics after being gone 10 years. When he returned, he got cultureshock in his own home country and was baffled by the morbid race that he saw unfolding. So instead of giving up, Taibbi did what any logical person would do: he donned a gorilla suit, dropped acid and interviewed John Kerry. Smells Like Dead Elephants: Dispatches from a Rotting Empire chronicles the decadence of our Congress and relives the key moments that have shaped our lives in the past few years. He floats down the black water towns in New Orleans with Sean Penn, shows how easy it is to become a lobbyist by infiltrating the birthday party of a senator and plunges into the Iraq War. He also trailed the battle between Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman, interviewing Lamont in a park bench in Wallingford. Compiled mostly of articles he filed for Rolling Stone, this book is an incredibly funny and important read. The most riveting observations Taibbi makes are of Iraq. He spends a few weeks embedded, along with three awkward nights in Abu Ghraib prison – the former military correctional facility in Baghdad that was a labyrinth to pillaging, rape and homicide. What Taibbi encountered in Iraq

was not the glorious war of old with young men dying for their fathers, but a disturbingly odd occupation of a barren landscape by a bunch of SpEds. “There is a thing that happens in bureaucracies – and the Iraq war is nothing, if not a great and monstrous bureaucratic endeavor – in which things cease to happen for reasons and begin to happen just for the sake of happening.” And with this multi-layered bureaucratic machine, everyone gets a piece of the pie. “It’s clear that there is a lot of money to be made in Iraq – soldiers who are miserable will come back for a few years to get themselves a house or a boat or two.” All the while, Taibbi loiters around the halls of the 109th Congress that spent less time at work than the “Do Nothing” Congress of ’48 – a total of about three months out of the year. So while America has a nervous breakdown and the American conquest is on schedule in the Middle East, thugs like Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff break all the rules but couldn’t understand why once they were busted. Taibbi’s journalism is often black comedy, but it is the sad truth often accompanied with something intelligent to say along with it. There are lighter moments, like his coverage of the Michael Jackson trial in 2005: “I am stuck in the overflow room of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse – a windowless trailer at the edge of the court compound, where fifty journalists are crouched around a closed-circuit broadcast of the trial, poised to catch the word ‘masturbate’ should it fly out of the TV monitor.”

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Erin McAuliffe

Staff Writer Without the epic talent of Joaquin Phoenix, We Own The Night could have very well turned out to be yet another hackneyed police drama snoozer with only the occasional battery of gunshots and screaming to keep the audience awake. The story itself, penned by the director James Gray, is not original. It is set in the late 80s and Bobby Green (Phoenix), the manager of a successful night club in Queens, works for a man named Marat (Moni Moshonov) who is also heavily involved in cocaine-trafficking. He treats Bobby like a son, even tossing around the idea of letting Bobby open up a club in Manhattan. Little does Bobby know, both the current club and any clubs in the future are being used as fronts for major coke deals. The twist? Bobby’s secret that his real father (Robert DuVall) is the deputy chief of police and his brother (Wahlberg) is a cop as well, who has just become head of the department’s narcotics force.

The story turns dark when Bobby’s brother tries to bring him in as an informant following a bust at Bobby’s club and thus the clash between individualism and family values begins. Phoenix handles the role with great dexterity which is not surprising after his performance as the dark and troubled Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. He is charismatic and intense. Frankly, he does the script more justice than it deserves. Wahlberg is not given nearly as much room to romp with his Oscarnominated talent as he should have. It is disappointing to see Wahlberg go from the irreverent, trash-talking tough guy in The Departed to being a rule book junkie family man. And let us not even mention the performance of Eva Mendes, Bobby’s bombshell Latin lover. Every scene she has lines in is painful and dramatic, but for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps if Gray had wanted to portray a female character with a brain, he would have picked an actress accordingly. Overall, it is the intense action sequences which completely absorb the audience in terror and chaos.

Even as one is leaving the theater, it is difficult to put out of one’s mind the bust at one of Marat’s coke lairs. When the police break down the doors with bullets flying, they do not recognize Bobby as their informant. Terrified, he is forced to hold the wounded body of a dealer over his own as a human shield against the waves of bullets crashing around the room. He stumbles around, drenched in blood from either himself or the dead man, crying “I’m one of you!” until backing into a window and shattering the glass. He falls down two stories onto a metal fence and bounces down onto the pavement like a rag doll. Gray’s ability to put the audience inside of Bobby’s head blended perfectly with Phoenix’s dead-honest performance. From the ringing in Bobby’s ears from the sounds of gunshots to the camera-work during a fatal car chase against the flow of traffic in pouring rain, the action sequences in this movie were impeccably crafted. Scenes like these completely made the movie worth the overpriced movie theater tickets.

Rental Essential: Below Brian Morache

Staff Writer The successes of U-571 and Das Boot demonstrated that realistic submarine films could also be popular. The film Below, while very accurate in depicting the conditions and dangers aboard World War II submarines, also mixes a little demonic possession to make things all the more interesting. The U.S.S. Tiger Shark picks up the survivors of a torpedoed British hospital ship: a female nurse played by Olivia Williams, and a man who turns out to be a German prisoner. The officers and crew of the boat seem to be your average lot, but for some reason they have something to hide, something they don’t want their new passengers to know. Things start to go wrong when the crew finds that the Tiger Shark keeps returning to a course that will take them back to a place that they all would rather forget. Despite all of their efforts, the crew cannot regain control of the boat; something else, something that defies logic and reason, is driving the Tiger Shark back to pay for her past crimes. Bruce Greenwood plays Brice, a

hard-nosed executive officer who takes command after the captain dies. He harbors a dark secret that must be kept from the two survivors the crew picks up. Unfortunately for Brice, something else knows his secret and is determined to see that justice is done. Below never received the recognition or distribution that it deserved. The film is original in its premise, combining a World War II adventure with supernatural terror. Events transpire onboard that go beyond mere unfortunate chance. An electrical device turned on at the wrong time ignites hydrogen in the air, killing much of the crew in a scorching fire as they try to regain control of the boat. Was it chance, or something more? Is guilt causing the crew to see more than what is really there? That is left for the viewer to decide. Directed by David Twohy, who also directed such films as Pitch Black and The Arrival, this film brings a decidedly different feel compared to his earlier works. In some ways, Below combines the action and fright of Pitch Black with the suspense and mystery of The Arrival all within the context of a

World War II film. This film scares you in a very realistic way, portraying the dangers that, for submariners, were all too real while linking them to a supernatural presence that takes mere fright to genuine terror. A film that captures real fright and adds a touch of action, suspense and mystery, Below will please anyone who enjoys a good scare. The sea holds tight to her dead; even tighter to those who wrong her. Terror runs silent, and in Below, it runs deep.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Mono Wins Over an Apathetic On-Looker Karyn Danforth

Staff Writer It was a chilly, drizzly night as the newspaper’s photographer Conrad Akier and I drove through the stop and go traffic induced by the Mass Pike tollbooths. We were venturing two hours away on a Thursday night to see Mono, a band from Tokyo, Japan. While I was almost bursting at the seams with excitement, Conrad was travel-worn and fatigued. He had never heard of Mono before, and I began to worry that the trip along with the terrible weather conditions simply wasn’t worth the effort. In the back of my mind, I knew the show would be promising. Two years prior, I had experienced the instrumental delight of Mono in a small American Legion in Connecticut. What was produced was an earth shattering orchestra of guitars, and what is astounding about their performances are the dynamics used; it can go from quiet and melodic to ear pounding and powerful at random surprising points in a song. As the both us trotted down Mass Avenue with our hoods over our heads, there was a moment of confusion as to where the entrance for the Middle East Underground was. After mistakenly walking through the band entrance, I was reprimanded and sent back into the streets. We finally made our way in past an impatient employee, who seemed to be having a tough night. To calm our jitters from the preconcert confusion, three rounds of Blue Moons and Octoberfests were ordered and sipped on as we scanned the dimly lit area, full of interestingly clad men and women conversing with one another, waiting for the opening act to begin their night of hearing loss. Vaguely do I remember the opener, honestly because it was not my cup of tea. All I recall is the singer mentioning, “Hey, we’re from Kentucky,” and then exploding into another song full of deep growls and screams that set my ears on fire. It dawned on Conrad and I that we were in dire need of some earplugs, but we shrugged it off, figuring we’d be fine. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, the band Panthers clawed their way onto the stage after the opening act, changing the ferocity from the previous band into upbeat fast-paced

straight up rock. The energy inflicted upon the crowd during their half hour set was through the roof, and being a little inebriated, I decided to move my limbs and dance a bit. The pivotal moment came right as Mono prepared to set up their instruments. I looked over at Conrad, and silently hoped he would enjoy the show that he wasted precious diesel fuel to come see (or forced to see, I should say). Having read a previous interview with the guitarist Takaakira Goto, I knew the band has been somewhat uneasy about American shows where the audience was loud, talkative and drunk. I worried this would be the case, since most of the concert-goers had a beer in hand. Once Mono had taken the stage and began playing my worries melted away; everyone else was just as entranced in the music as I was. Guitarists Goto and Yoda and bassist Tamaki were completely focused on each note played, calmly sitting opposite one another. An example of the dynamic change could be found in the song “Halcyon (Beautiful Days).” The beginning is a delicate trick-

ling of notes with a slow drumbeat, transforming into a blissful rough and tumble blast of wavering gritty chords. During these powerful moments, the three calm musicians play as if they are physically being swept off of their feet. Watching them was mesmerizing, but closing my eyes also allowed me to truly capture the spirit embodied in each eight to 10minute composition. The overall performance was perfect. Mono’s quiet, focused disposition allowed them to play with complete accuracy and precision, something you rarely see in live entertainment. The only setback was the ringing in our ears from the high volume that carried on into the next day. To my surprise, Conrad absolutely loved it, and proceeded over to the merchandise booth afterwards to purchase three of Mono’s albums from bassist Tamaki. On the way back to Connecticut, we made the rainy drive more enjoyable by popping in You Are There, and proceeded to mellow out after a vivacious night in the big city of Boston.

Photos by Conrad Akier / The Recorder

Type O and Lordi Rock New Haven All Night Long Christopher Boulay

Managing Editor Type O Negative kicked off their Halloween tour at Toad’s Place in New Haven backed by Finnish rock band Lordi and Twin Method from Liverpool, England. The show was supporting Type O Negative’s new album, Dead Again. When my Dad informed me of the show last week, I really was looking forward to it because I have heard rumors of Type-O’s stage show. I missed an opportunity to see them play earlier this year at The Palladium in Worcester because I covered Down’s show the night before. Twin Method, a band I didn’t even know was on the bill when I was heading to the show (Toad’s apparently didn’t care enough about them to put them on their website until after the show) looked like a bad mix between Crazy Town and Orgy and sounded like a bad mix of Saliva and Linkin Park. The best part of their set was “programmer” Robin Carter’s facial expressions. This kid was just thrilled to be on

that stage, or he enjoyed their own music far too much. The music was kind of recycled, but the band really looked like they were enjoying themselves and that made them more bearable. Lordi, a band that was on the Ozzfest main stage this summer, and was quite fun to see there, was an even more interesting band to see closer than 100 yards away. The band, a former Eurovision Contest winner, famous for their outlandish costumes and crazy pyrotechnics and props, kept the crowd excited and focused. The fact that their stage show couldn’t include the more wild pyrotechnics that they can do at open air events, Lordi found other ways to get the crowd going. During a break in their set, a roadie wearing a Bruce Springsteen shirt flipped off the crowd and Ox, the band’s bassist, hit the roadie in the back with his bass, subsequently pleasing the crowd who was chanting “Springsteen sucks” throughout the whole ordeal. The whole set was superb, and the crowd really seemed to be into them, or at least intrigued by their rather hellish appearance. Before Type O Negative took the stage,

the roadies were setting up their show and one of the funniest things I have ever seen at a show occurred. At Toad’s, they play music on the PA system as most venues do, and after songs from Marilyn Manson and various Maynard James Keenan songs (I couldn’t tell if it was A Perfect Circle or Tool) they started to play Pantera’s “Walk.” The crowd was immediately cheering and getting excited, but right before the song broke out, it cut into Tiny Tim’s “Tiptoe Through The Tulips.” The crowed laughed and eventually started booing. The song was repeated about four times. Then, the sound person put “Walk” back on, but cut back to a few more “Tiptoe Through The Tulips.” The crowd was mixed about it, but personally, I thought it was hilarious. Finally, Type O Negative came on, and had a massive set that brought the show past 1 a.m., all in all a show that lasted over four hours. Lead singer Peter Steele came out wearing a roman collar and black shirt and promptly pulled a banana out of his pants and threw it at the crowd. The chants of “You suck” bellowed through Toad’s Place, an inside joke between

Type O Negative and their fans. Throughout the show, the band and the fans will heckle each other, and it definitely gets everyone more excited and revved up for the show. The band played a very solid set and played most of their album version songs instead of the shorter, single versions. The best song was by far, “World Coming Down.” The band also at one point of their show had soap suds fall all over them for a good 10 minutes which added extra comic relief to a show that was full of laughs as well as good music and fun bands. Because of the insane length of all of their songs, the band has a tendency to add in mini covers of other songs. This one happened to have a cover of the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence.” The band has a tendency to cover quite a few Beatles’ songs and also has a medley of Beatle’s songs on their album World Coming Down. I always thought of this band as an album band, even though I heard the rumors of their shows. It is definitely worth giving them, as well as Lordi, a good look.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Interview with Central’s Hillcrest eDWarD GaUG

entertainment editor Earlier last week, I had time to sit down with local rockers Hillcrest as they put on their radio show here at CCSU. While they might not consider themselves lifetime musicians, they definitely don’t take music lightly. They just want to make good music and have people enjoy it. Who could ask for more? Edward Gaug: A lot of people here at Central might not know who Hillcrest is, so if you can, just give us a quick idea what you guys are all about. Nate Ferrance: I guess you can say were an up and coming post-alternative rock band. We’re just into having a good time and making music we think is good and other people think is good too. We just want to have fun and play some good music, hopefully people can dig it. Gaug: That’s really all you can ask from musicians, to have fun and play some music. Ferrance: Hey, we’re not looking to become famous because we all have careers upcoming in our lives, but we all have a passion for music, so we’re just following it. Gaug: You guys go to school here at Central, how do you feel being a student and a musician at the same time works out? Ferrance: Its different investments of time, you know, like I’m in the Elementary School program so I actually have to go teach in Hartford, so that takes up a big chunk of time. But, it’s good being on campus surrounded by students. Gaug: You can’t ask for more than that, it’s a large group of people in the right age group. I was just scanning through your MySpace [myspace.com/hillcrestbandct] and I saw all your inﬂuences, great bands like Hot Water Music, Hot Rod Circuit and At the Drive-In, what do you think you pull in from them when you’re making your music? Ferrance: Just that late 90s, turn of the century...I want to say emo, but before it became cool to be emo [laughs]. Back when emo in the late 90s meant you weren’t crying and slitting your wrist, it was back when you made good music without being a whiney bitch about it. That’s pretty much it. Gaug: It sucks to see the bands like this moving out and not making music like that anymore. Mars Volta is still making their psychrock and I had the chance to do an interview with Hot Rod Circuit about their last album, but I’m pretty sure they are done and moving on, growing up. Ferrance: We are actually trying to get on that last Hot Rod show [Hot Rod Circuit announced their breakup on 10/8 and are playing a farewell tour this fall]. We’ve been to like all the Hot Rod Circuit shows in the past five years. It’s bands like these that are so fucking good on stage, they just rock out, getting drunk and I think, “That’s what I want to do.” Gaug: Those are the types of bands who make you want to make music and be in a band and play live shows. Was there an album or art-

ist that you heard when you were younger that really made you want to be in a band? Ferrance: I’d probably say Offspring back when I was in 3rd or 4th grade or something. Beyond that, my dad plays music so I was already surrounded by it. I started out playing piano when I was younger cause I taught myself. Just fuckin’ punk rock I guess. In high school I was all about Rancid and NOFX. Gaug: Same here, I’ll still throw in ...and Out Come the Wolves every couple of weeks and think to myself “This is music.” Ferrance: It’s definitely an essential album. Lately, I’ve been getting into With Honor, some hardcore stuff. Hardcore is music for us, kids that used to listen to a bunch of punk. Gaug: I think that a lot of people go through similar music progressions. Ferrance: [agrees] Gaug: Like middle school and high school there was punk rock and then you get into hardcore and some indie rock and ﬁnally just end up falling back into whatever’s comfortable. Ferrance: Absolutely, everyone in our band, there’s four of us in the band and everyone likes different kinds of music, he [Matt Rockwell] and I have the most similar taste in music. Then there are the two other guys in the band, Dan [Allegue] who does most of the vocals is into stuff like At the Drive-In, Mars Volta and Fall of Troy, stuff like that. We’re into Hot Water Music, just general rock I’d say. Gaug: You guys have recently signed to Sling Slang Records who does some promotion for the band, have they brought you anything big that you didn’t really have before hand? Ferrance: [simultaneously] Band photos! The guy who runs it, George [Engle] is really a cool guy. It’s not like we make any money, but we also don’t put in any money. He basically keeps everything we do in track and if you want to get somewhere, he’ll help you out.

Gaug: Do you think he helps you ﬁgure stuff out that otherwise would kind of unnoticed? Ferrance: Pretty much, like I don’t know anything about booking and I just started doing it right now. I can go to George and say, “Hey, who should I talk to?” and he’ll respond with “Call up The Space and see if they have any openings and talk to them.” So now we have a show there on the first of November at The Space in Hamden. Gaug: The Space is a really good spot for local bands to play a show

that people will show up to. There is usually a decent 20 or 30 person crowd. It’s deﬁnitely a cool atmosphere. Last thing, since I spend so much time listening to new music, I like to see what other people are ﬁnding for cool new stuff. Have you found anything new that has been big for you? Ferrance: The new Minus the Bear CD; it’s pretty good if you like that style that music. It’s like electronic indie-rock. I try to play some of their guitar styles when I’m on stage because it’s totally chill. Outside of that, we went to the Coliseum and

Robots and Empire show in Wallingford last night. Loud as hell! Gaug: Is there anything else you want to throw out there before we ﬁnish up? Ferrance: Check out our band. What have you got to lose? We are all pretty feel good guys, we’re not looking to become famous or sell out, we just want to make some rock music and hang out with people at shows and enjoy what we do.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 = recommended

WEEK OF OCTOBER 17

after setting a seemingly unbeatable record of 874,300 points for Donkey Kong.

MUSIC

10/17 & 10/21

10/19

Transformers

10/20

Torp Theater / 8 p.m. / FREE A long time ago, far away on the planet of Cybertron, a war was being waged between the noble Autobots (led by the wise Optimus Prime) and the devious Decepticons (commanded by the dreaded Megatron) for control over the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possessed it. The Autobots managed to smuggle the Allspark off the planet, but Megatron blasted off in search of it. He eventually tracked it to the planet of Earth (circa 1850), but his reckless desire for power sent him right into the Arctic Ocean, and the sheer cold forced him into a paralyzed state.

The Bouncing Souls

10/19-10/28

Porcupine Tree

Webster Theater / 7:30 p.m. / $25 Porcupine Tree was founded as a self-indulgent creative outlet for Wilson, and the first major release was ‘On the Sunday of Life...’ in 1992, an album of psychedelia and studio experiments which bears little relation to the band’s current sound. From here, Wilson expanded the sound, creating the progressive rock/ambient trance fusion on the 30-minute long single “Voyage 34.” One of the only constants in Porcupine Tree’s music is how it continues to evolve and confront the expectations of the band’s fans from album to album. Opening Band: 3

Toad’s Place / 6 p.m. / $15 The Bouncing Souls are a punk rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey formed in 1987. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk scene, they had reignited a “pogo” element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-hearted songs, a model followed by various other local bands (e.g. Blanks 77 and the Bristles). In the early stages of their career, they played a hybrid of punk, funk, metal, and just about anything else they felt like including. They were known for their energetic live shows, albeit with an amateurish element on their recordings at that stage. Opening Band: Modern Life is War 10/21

Big D and the Kids Table

Webster Theater / 3 p.m. / $12 Big D came together ten years ago when the members converged at college in Boston. Thanks to the insane live show they put together, the band built up a huge local following almost immediately, packing clubs, halls, dorms, basements — you name it — all over New England. They formed their own label, Fork in Hand Records, to put out their first album, Shot By Lammi, in 1997, and before long they were releasing albums by a stable of popular Bostonarea bands, building a vibrant punk/ska scene around themselves. Opening Band: The AKAs, Whole Wheat Bread 10/22

Jesu

Trinity on Main / 7 p.m. / $12 A couple of years back, after passing through the world of electronica, he (Justin K Broadrick, ex-Godflesh) settled on Jesu, his shoegaze-metal collaboration with ex-Swans skinsman Ted Parsons, and managed to top even himself. With somber requiems built from two guitar tones at a time, their self-titled album transcended mere melancholia to reach a far loftier despair.” “If Godflesh was a deliberation on Industrial Society and Its Future, Jesu is the aural equivalent of Siddhartha. Opening Band: Torche, Fog

FILM 10/17-10/20

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Cinestudio / 7:30 p.m. / $7

DocuWeek

Real Art Ways Starting at 12 p.m. / $6.25 A full week of Academy Award qualifying runs of documentaries chosen by the International Documentary Association. These films will be shown exclusively at Real Art Ways and will only play in 11 other states. 10/21-10/23

The 11th Hour

CineStudios / 9:10 p.m. / $7 A bold new documentary featuring Leonardo DiCaprio blasts through the chatter over climate change, to present unforgettable images of a planet - and its inhabitants - in trouble. And while An Inconvenient Truth sounded a needed warning bell, The 11th Hour energizes audiences with creative solutions that challenge us to transform the way we live. DiCaprio travels the globe, seeking out a forward-looking group of climate pioneers, including Stephen Hawking, Mikhail Gorbachev, green architect William McDonough, marine biologist Sylvia Earle, and environmentalist Paul Hawkins, who offers up these hopeful words: “What a great time to be born! What a great time to be alive! Because this generation gets to essentially completely change the world.”

COMEDY

ART Until 12/30

again: serial practices in contemporary art

Wadsworth Atheneum / $5 w/ Student ID again: serial practices in contemporary art features work by 15 artists drawn from a gift of 125 photographs to the Atheneum from collector Mickey Cartin, together with works from The Cartin Collection. Works from On Kawara, Ed Ruscha, Hans-Peter Feldman and Jonathan Monk anchor the central premise of again by looking at serial processes as they are articulated across media, culture and the last 35 years of contemporary art. Until 2/20

Magic Facade: The Austin House

Wadsworth Atheneum / 11 a.m. / $7 From its completion in 1930, the Austin House has been the subject of a widespread urban myth that survives to this day-that the house is nothing more than a façade. In fact, this very real house was the product of the taste and imagination of one of America’s most innovative museum directors, A. Everett Austin, Jr., universally known as “Chick.” In 1994 it was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior for the significance of its architecture, its interior design, and its history as a gathering place for leading international figures in the arts in the 1930s--from Gertrude Stein and Salvador Dali to George Balanchine, George Gershwin, Le Corbusier and Alexander Calder.

WEEK OF OCTOBER 24 MUSIC 10/28

Unearth

Toad’s Place / 7 p.m. / $18 Countless bands have been inspired by the abundance of radio-friendly hooks and choruses surfacing in today’s popular metalcore. Unearth are the exception. While other groups have been motivated to make their songs more commercial, Unearth have gone the opposite direction. Opening Bands: Darkest Hour, August Burns Red

10/25

Roy Lichtenstein: The Art of the Graphic

New Britain Museum of Modern Art 4 p.m. & 6 p.m. / $7 Renowned pop artist Roy Lichtenstein discusses his printmaking career over the course of two decades. This is an intimate glimpse of the artist at work, both in his own studios and at two of the most innovative printmaking workshops in the United States: Gemini G.E. L. in California and Tyler Graphics Ltd. in New York. 10/28 - 10/31

Two Days in Paris

Cine Studios / 7:30 p.m. / $7 French actress Julie Delpy is best known in the States for her starring roles as the perfect, if unattainable, lover in Before Sunset and Before Sunrise, kept apart from her American boyfriend by unpredictable turns of fate. Now the multi-talented actress has written, directed, and starred in a new film with a totally different take on an intercontinental love affair that is acerbic, realistic, passionate, and often hilarious. Delpy plays a strong-willed Parisienne who takes her frazzled New Yorker lover (Adam Goldberg) home to meet her parents played by Delpy’s real mother and father. Playing against type, the always-photogenic City of Light puts their relationship to the test, with Goldberg’s American in Paris seeing possible terrorists - and Delpy’s former lovers - in every charming café.

ART 10/24 - 12/09

NEW/NOW David Hilliard

New Britain Museum of Modern Art 11 a.m. / $7 Hilliard documents his life and the life of those around him in panoramic photographs, which are displayed in a series of seperate panels. He says, “This sequencing of photographs and shifting of focal planes allows me the luxury of guiding the viewer across the photograph, directing their eye; an effect which could not be achieved through a single image.” Did we miss something? Know of an event we should list here? Contact us at ccsurecorder@gmail.com.

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10/24

Horatio Sanz

Toad’s Place / 8 p.m. / $20 Dark-haired and portly, with the energy and manner of a madman and seemingly limitless comic potential, Horatio Sanz joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1998 and was immediately compared to the late “SNL” great John Belushi. Raised in Chicago, Sanz became the first Latino cast member in “Saturday Night Live” history, but those familiar with his groundbreaking comedy theater work were disappointed with the mostly background work Sanz was getting in his first season, appearing infrequently with often reigned-in impersonations of celebrities including Larry Flynt, Meat Loaf and Jerry Garcia.

THEATER 10/23

The Grapes of Wrath When the history of the video-gaming wars is told, the rivalry between Donkey Kong champions Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe will be required reading or downloading (or whatever). Back in the early 1980s, while Ronald Reagan was busy scaring the pants off the rest of the world, Billy Mitchell ruled the arcade universe

hopes of thriving in California’s “land of plenty.” Their incredible journey shines light on the saving power of family and community and the incredible resilience of the human spirit in the face of life-threatening circumstances. A tourde-force of theatrical performance and music, The Grapes of Wrath is not to be missed.

Black Box Theatre (Maloney Hall) 7:30 p.m. Frank Galati’s award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath affords us a glimpse into the heroic and determined hearts of the Joad family as they escape the killing effects of 1930’s Oklahoma dustbowl, with

FILM 10/24-10/27

Death at a Funeral

Cine Studios / 7:30 p.m. / $7

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Imagine Gosford Park remade into a comedy set among today’s British upper class, and you’ll get a hint of the literate anarchy of the new film by Frank Oz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Bowﬁnger). When the patriarch of a distinguished family dies, his timid, conventional son (Matthew Macfadyen) does his damnedest to arrange a proper funeral at the ancestral country estate. If only he didn’t have to invite his high-maintenance brother (Rupert Graves), his hallucinogen-toting cousin, and his germophobic best friend. However, the heirs’ inbred ability to maintain a stiff upper lip at all times is severely tested when the wrong body appears in the coffin, and an outrageous little person mysteriously intrudes, demanding his rightful claim to the estate.

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Lifestyles

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Mazed and Confused Stephanie Bergeron

Lifestyles Editor It’s already midway through October, but I’m sure half of you haven’t even begun to experience all the adventures that Autumn brings. You are probably reading this and feeling sad for thinking that the only thing there is to do on the weekends is getting drunk. Well my silly sallies, there is plenty more fun to be had than that. Foster Family Farm, located on 90 Foster Street in South Windsor, is home to one of the best corn mazes I’ve ever had the privilege of getting lost in. It’s a short half-hour drive from campus, and it features four miles of corn maze madness. According to their website, the Foster family has farmed on the land since 1790. Their farm is not only home to these mazes, but also to hay-rides, mums, pumpkins and Indian corn. They also have farm animals that don’t mind being pet. Upon arriving, you drive through the front of the farm where driveways built out of gravel and dirt begin to excite you. “Thank the Lord,” you think softly to yourself, “it’s the real thing.” After a short winding drive around, you find the “parking lot,” which is actually not a “lot” at all. It’s actually grass, dirt and gravel, again, where visitors are beckoned to park. The maze is now just hundreds of feet in front of you, illuminated in the night by floodlights, waiting for you to unravel its mystery. Although admission for adults during the day is $10, at night is goes down to $9. The friendly ladies in the small, wooden booth - the last thing standing in your way before the entrance of the maze - take your money and put it in their tin box. No cash register is present; it’s straight up country, and that’s what makes it so awesome. They hand you a map and explain its symbols. Some of you might pay attention, but others are already too busy planning their route. You smile politely and anxiously book it to the entrance. The entrance is brightly lit and eludes you from how dark the maze actually is. It’s a flat, painted, wooden board that looks like staging from a school play, and beyond its cut-out doorway lies your first six challenges. Your knees buckle as songs like “Monster Mash” play in the ghostly hours of the night. You enter, and don’t look back. If you are scared of the dark, you are shitout-of-luck if you forgot a flashlight, and the blue light from your cell phone can only do so much. Either way, you continue onward, thinking of all the scary movies you’ve seen that take place in corn fields like Children of the Corn, and you begin to wonder what the hell you got yourself into. This is where all the fun begins. As you make your way from post to post through all the winding, skinny trails dimly lit only by moonlight hitting the tops of the stalks and floodlights in the distance, your adrenaline starts to pump. You know there are a bunch of people that are supposed to be in the maze with you because you saw all of the cars parked next to yours; yet, you find yourself alone most of the time, with only the company of the friends you came with. You can’t help but act like a child, running around and laughing as loud as you can, know-

This Day In History:

Captain Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier Brian Morache

Staff Writer

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder ing that no one can actually hear you. Then your laughter turns into shivers as you realize, “What if there actually was a killer loose inside here? No one would hear me scream.” The smells of corn, dirt and countryside fill your nostrils as you go through the maze, searching for the six poles that will grant you the hole punches you need to go on to the next maze. Each pole has a uniquely shaped holepunch, allowing no room for cheating. Whether you go through the maze in a group, or as boys against girls, or kids versus adults, it’s a blast. If you go there drunk, don’t worry about getting lost. There are staff members within the maze to help you, should they find you wandering. If you are a smoker, don’t plan on lighting up any Camel Turkish Silvers during your voyage; there’s a no smoking policy. Of course, though, you get the occasional whiff-o-reefer in the air from those crazy cats willing to risk it all for a maze made out of munchies. This year, the theme for the corn mazes is “Safari Adventure.” One is shaped like a monkey, while the other is shaped like a zebra standing next to a lion. To top that, they actually look like it. Should you be standing on of the bridges, or “overpasses,” on your journey, be sure to look at the pattern from above. It is simply a-maze-ing! On Fridays and Saturdays, the maze stays open until 9:30 p.m., with the last tickets sold at nine. But, be sure to get there well before that or you will not have enough time to finish one maze, let alone two. Your best bet is to get there by seven. After you’ve completed both mazes, be sure to end your night at the snack stand. The hot cider is to die for and exactly what you need after being out in the chill fall weather. Go to Foster Family Farm and check out the corn mazes. You’re guaranteed a good time, some good laughs and you may get a little mazed and confused. They even have those wooden panels with the heads cut out of them so you can be a pig, cow or even a monkey for your new Facebook picture. For more information on Foster Family Farm, please visit their website at www.fosterfarm.com.

They said it was a demon, a force that would rip a plane apart, eating pilots for a snack. Some likened it to a solid, impenetrable wall, an absolute that could never be broken. The scientists called it “The Sound Barrier.” That is what people thought 60 years ago when a man named Chuck Yeager took to the skies to chase that old demon and find out where he really lived. The date was October 14, 1947, and what should have been celebrated all over the world was kept a secret by the United States. Captain Chuck Yeager had been out riding horses with his wife the night before and, in a freak accident, broke several ribs in a fall. In order to close the cockpit door on the Bell X-1 experimental aircraft, Yeager was given a piece of a broom handle to lock the door down with his other arm. Dropped from the bomb bay of a B-29 Superfortress, Yeager hit the switches on the four liquid fuelled rockets that propelled the X-1. “If you’re going to be blown up, now is the time,” Yeager would later recall. With his aircraft in a slight climb and hurtling through the air like a bullet, Yeager would fight to keep the X-1 stable as he en-

counters the turbulence common when one approaches the sound barrier. As he glances down at his instruments, Yeager can see the Mach meter is at .96 and still climbing. In a moment, the turbulence subsides and the X-1 is flying as smooth as silk. Looking again at the Mach meter, Yeager sees that it is broken, and stuck at Mach 1 - as far as it will go. On the ground, a loud “BOOM” is heard and those who cannot see Yeager’s aircraft fear that the worst has happened. Yet, in a few moments, Yeager’s voice is heard over the radio and the X-1 is spotted streaking across the sky. Everyone cheered the greatest feat in aviation history; Chuck Yeager was now the fastest man alive, and no one knew about it. The military, for security reasons, kept it quiet, and while the public wouldn’t know until much later, word soon got around in the Air Force that the demon in the sky had been chased all the way home with his tail between his legs. The Sound Barrier - that terrible demon turned out to be nothing more than a self-made obstacle. As Yeager would later say, “There wasn’t anything keeping us from flying past the sound barrier but our own ignorance.” In many ways, what kept us from breaking the sound barrier is the same thing that keeps so many of us from accomplishing our goals.

Breast Cancer Survival Continued from page 1

Laurie underwent both chemo and radiation therapy treatments until doctors were finally able to tell her there was no remaining cancer in her body. From 2000 to 2005, she was on a pill called Tamoxifen, an oral pill known as a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) that is used to treat early and advanced ER+ breast cancer, and to prevent the occurrence of breast cancer in women who are at a high risk of getting it, according to its online site. After taking the pill for five years, the cancer was supposed to be gone, and there would only be a slight chance that it would return. That slight chance was exactly the case for my aunt. In November 2005, only a month after stopping the treatment, Laurie was experiencing pains in her sternum. In February 2006, she went back to the hospital worried because the pain had not subsided. X-rays and CAT scans showed increased activity in the sternum, and another biopsy confirmed that her breast cancer had metastasized in her breast bone. After taking additional photographs of her sternum and right breast, doctors found spots on the right lung that also turned out to be breast cancer that had spread. “I didn’t know that breast cancer could transfer to other areas of my body and still be considered breast cancer,” Laurie said, “but the doctors said it would still be treated the same. I had to trust them, and both my family and a feeling in my gut were telling me to go forward with the treatment.” Chemotherapy didn’t help this time, though, so Laurie and her doctors turned to hormonal therapy. After the first three months, the cancer had decreased by half its size and by March of 2007, six months later, there was no cancer to be detected, for all intensive purposes. However, from March to August of this year, numerous CAT scans and MRIs showed that the cancer had returned once more, in both the sternum and the right lung, and now Laurie must rely again on medications to fight the disease. This past Monday, October 15, Laurie started a new chemotherapy pill called Xeloda, “the first FDA-approved oral chemotherapy for both metastatic breast and colorectal cancer,” according to the drug’s website. She will be on the pill for approximately 27 to 52 weeks, de-

Laurie, with her family, battled breast cancer. pending on how her treatment progresses and what her doctors recommend. Laurie has overcome most of her original fears of her condition because it is currently the most treatable form of cancer. She has participated in the Relay For Life – an overnight event formed by the American Cancer Society “to spread awareness of cancer prevention, treatments and cures; celebrate survivorship; and raise money for research to find more cures for cancer,” according to the University of Maryland’s Relay For Life site – every year since her diagnosis. Since 2001, Laurie and her team have raised over $18,000 that has been donated to the American Cancer Society. My aunt has taken part in as many cancer awareness events as she can fit into her schedule, including having her picture taken with her husband, Ben, and their children for a calendar at Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, Conn. Her central goal in life is “to stay as healthy as I possibly can so I can live to see my grandchildren, and maybe even my greatgrandchildren,” she said. “One day they’re going to find a cure,” Laurie said hopefully. “Until then, I’m not going to let it get me down. I still have a lot of living to do.” For more information about the Relay For Life, other cancer awareness ceremonies and event locations and dates, please visit http://www.relayforlife.org/relay.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Vanessa Pergolizzi

Staff Writer Experimental eating has always uplifted my spirits, and there is no doubt that sampling food most people find to be repulsive has always been one of my most unique characteristics. So, when I toured West Harford Center on a humid, summer night with a good friend of mine, it was no surprise to her that she was in for an evening of experimentation herself. As we walked the perimeter of the Center, I scanned the area for a restaurant that exuded ethnicity and authenticity. I immediately looked past the typically visited restaurants such as Max’s Oyster Bar and Cosi’s, both of which offer food that can be found at any chain restaurant in town. Instantly, my eyes stopped scanning when my taste buds began to salivate and my nose became sensitive to the aroma of familiar Middle Eastern and Indian spices. My watering mouth, delighted nose and adventurous eating habit led me straight to the Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan, a family owned restaurant that focuses on Afghan and Middle Eastern cuisine. The restaurant first sparked my interest many years ago when it was located in the hub of Hartford’s “Little Italy” on Franklin Avenue. Now the restaurant is located on LaSalle Road in West Hartford Center, and it is really the only Afghan restaurant in the area. Upon entering the restaurant, I was struck by the lustrous bar located to the far left, and the small market of Afghan rugs on the lower level. One of the best features, though, was the collection of golden paintings of the homeland displayed on the yellow colored walls that placed me directly in the country. The upper level is comprised of the dining area, which is quiet, lowlit and cozy. The most pronounced

emotions that stirred up in the both of us as we sat down and began our venture into Afghanistan were excitement and fascination. Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia that sits amidst China, India and the Middle East. Thus, the food of the restaurant is not only dressed and infused with spices, herbs and seasonings that are a staple of Afghan cuisine, but reveals the influences of its neighboring countries as well. The menu offers an eclectic mix of choices that are well-suited for vegetarians, as well as meat lovers. But what the offerings at Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan really do is provide a gateway to the introduction of Indian cuisine to the unfamiliar. So when, you may ask, does India make its way into the food? India makes a subtle appearance with vegetables, pilaf - a fine long-grain rice that originates from the south of Afghanistan - and a few of the appetizers; the samosas in particular. Samosas are crisp, deep-fried triangles comprised of potatoes and partnered with a spicy dipping sauce made of cilantro. Some of the most intriguing mixes of appetizers that I found at the restaurant included mantoo - relatively small dumplings that are stuffed with coriander-seasoned meat and onion, wrapped in a very fine dough, and topped with cubes of tomato, yellow split peas, homemade yogurt and dried mint - and ashak, which is a slightly different version of the mantoo that is filled with spinach and scallion, smothered in a tangy yogurt and a spicy tomato sauce, sprinkled with ground beef, yellow split peas and dried mint. The best advice I can offer someone who is looking to explore the true essence of Afghan cuisine is to bypass the pakawra - long slices of lightly seasoned deep-fried potatoes. Although tasty, they did not scream Afghan and were not as unique to the

culture as other appetizers like the bowlani - a trio of flat noodles, vegetables and potatoes that is given an additional kick with coriander, black pepper and cayenne. The basis of the menu is the kebabs, which are accompanied by a generous portion of either spinach or brown rice pilaf, and a vegetable of your choice. We especially enjoyed the beef shammi kebab, which is made up of ground lamb and a blend of traditional Afghan spices, and is almost identical to the Turkish version, kofte. A chicken shammi kebab is also offered. The food was indeed exceptional, but I can’t say that I would say the same about the service. The servers didn’t go out of their way to be extra friendly, and they seemed slowmoving and confused at times. Most were rather quiet and didn’t attempt to strike an enthusiastic interaction with the guests either. But don’t let this keep you from sampling the goodness of Afghan food because, overall, the atmosphere of the restaurant, in addition to the rare food, dominates the above. The Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan is hosting “Nights of Persia” on Oct. 27 at 10 p.m. The upstairs dining area will be closed for dancing; music will be provided by a live DJ.

Photos by Conrad Akier / The Recorder