vol104issue14

OPINION Connecticut’s Voiceless Independants - Page 5

Tech News

SPORTS Winter Sports Review - Page 6

- Page 18

ENTERTAINMENT Bayside Interview - Page 12

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Volume 104 No. 14

CCSU Murals

Politically-Charged Depictions

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder Keynote speaker John C. Brittain recalls 1960s marches with Dr. Martin Luther King.

West Hartford Community Celebrates MLK, Looks to Future Melissa Traynor

News Editor

In opening his introduction to the celebration’s keynote speaker and in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., James Friedman cited three Hebrew words from the book of Deuteronomy; “tzedek, tzedek, tirdof.”

He explained that much like Dr. King, John C. Brittain, the keynote speaker at the 12th Annual Martin Luther King Day in West Hartford on Monday, lives a life indelibly stamped with the words “justice, justice shall you pursue.”

Brittain, who has a strong reputation within the national human rights law community, had attended marches with Dr. King dur-

ing the late 1960s in the South.

Likening recent events, such as the War in Iraq or the war on drugs, to the events of the past that Dr. King stood against, Brittain delivered a speech examining what he would think of today’s events, especially those concerning obvious disparities between races and ethnicities.

Brittain used a quote by King that he believed was fitting to situations of past and present regarding the pursuit of justice. “‘Cowards ask the question, is it safe?

Expediency asks the question, is it politic?

Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither,’ Dr. King said, ‘safe, nor poli-

See West Hartford page 3

Recreation Fields May Encounter Problems Aril Grain

Assistant News Editor

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder Art student Filis Coba used inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci to depict war.

Melissa Traynor

News Editor

When art major Filis Coba was working on her war-charged mural over winter break depicting a Middle Eastern woman holding her dead child in arms, a woman passing by approached her and showed displeasure with the image.

“When she said that the woman made the picture look ugly, that was my point. I wanted people to see that the images were made ugly by war,” she said.

Coba explained that the woman had voiced her opinion about the dark central figure wearing a black burka and said that she’d rather see the beautiful images in the mural without it.

Her mural, titled “Bullets Through Beauty,” contains images of the Statue of Liberty with two torches and large portraits of two women inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings.

Figures of women in Coba’s mural are surrounded by military figures, some who are children soldiers, and the image of the prisoner at Abu Ghraib, which are all intended to represent the consequences of war.

“I just wanted to show how the women suffer through it,” Coba said.

She had completed her mural in Willard last Wednesday and spent much of her winter break working on her project.

Colorful transformations of walls have taken place around campus in locations such as the third floor of the Emma Willard Hart building and Memorial Hall as part of a mural painting class taught by Professor Mike Alewitz in the fall.

Walls that were once drowned in a clean white - or in some cases split with pale hospital blue or tan - are now covered with vivid, bold brushstrokes.

Coba’s fellow classmate and muralist Ken-

See CCSU Murals page 2

The plans to renovate and expand the athletic fields and facilities at CCSU remain in the beginning stages as any final decisions have yet to be made.

A meeting was scheduled for Wed. Jan. 16 to discuss the recreational fields project but was cancelled.

Scott Hazan, Director of Student Activi-

ties/Leadership Development, was responsible for calling and later cancelling the meeting.

He was not at liberty to discuss the current status or possible future of the recreational fields plans outside of saying there are trepidations about the fields themselves.

“My biggest concern is that whatever final decision is made serves all students best,” said Hazan. He also commented that there are a lot of good ideas being taken into consideration.

See Recreation Fields page 3

Blue Devils Rout Knights

Junior Marcus Palmer drives the lane while trying to add to his career high 14 points.

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder

See Blue Devils page 8

2

News Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The Recorder

Student Center 1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT 06050

CCSU Murals

Continued from page 1

T 860.832.3744 F 860.832.3747 ccsurecorder@gmail.com http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/ Editor-in-Chief Justin Kloczko Managing Editor Christopher Boulay Art Director Jamie Paakkonen Associate Layout Editor Stephen Meszaros Copy Editor Samantha Sullivan Photo Editor Stephanie Bergeron Lifestyles Editor Karyn Danforth Sports Editor Peter Collin Entertainment Editor Edward Gaug Opinion Editor Dan Ivers News Editor Melissa Traynor Assistant News Editor Aril Grain Web Editor John Vignali Advertising Manager Jeff Hayden

Muralist Kenny Valentine drew on influences from Pablo Picasso’s “La Guernica.” ny Valentine has also invested his winter break in his currently untitled mural facing the Maria Sanford building.

When passing by Memorial Hall or walking from one room to another in the dining hall, members of the CCSU community can see a wall hosting the image of a large red phoenix surrounded by mostly dark figures.

Valentine said that he drew inspiration from Pablo Picasso’s “La Guernica,” which is Picasso’s interpretation of the confusion and chaos during the bombing of the town in Spain in 1937.

“We had been studying ‘Guernica’ in art

Nicole Spinnuzi

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.

ter at the top of the mural. Valentine said that the rising phoenix, in combination with images of a mother and child inspired by “Madonna and Child,” are visions of hope in the dark world of the mural.

There are also symbols of change and the slow pace at which it comes.

“A lot of it is about change and not just accepting the way that things are,” Valentine said. “Our professor is very politically active.

He encourages us to speak to the world through our art.”

UM reacts to MSU music sharing charges at MSU Daily Mississippian (University of Mississippi)

Staff Writers Marissa Blaszko Amanda Ciccatelli Kyle Dorau Matthew Jurkiewicz Marissa Mancini Brian Morache Vickie Wall Jody Wiles

history and that’s where I got the idea to use it as a jump-off point… I don’t know exactly why I chose it, I just followed my own instincts,” he said.

Valentine said that he had borrowed Picasso’s cubist style and the positioning of the central figures in his mural, but tried to modernize his images with a more 3-D look.

His mural’s subject matter is similar to that of Picasso’s, especially with his use of images of war and rebirth, such as the fallen soldier and rays of light.

Images in the mural, such as the phoenix, are illuminated by the searchlight of a helicop-

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder

(U-WIRE) -- The charges filed against 14 Mississippi State University students for illegal music sharing brought by the Recording Industry Association of America have some Ole Miss students thinking twice about using free music downloading programs.

Lauren Adams, a freshman journalism major, said she thinks punishment should be handed out to all violators, not just a random group.

“If they’re going to pick those individuals to pay, then they should scan everyone’s computer,” Adams said. “It’s not exactly fair. There needs to be equal punishment for everybody.”

August Schlafly, a freshman business undecided major, said he thinks targeting college students for illegal file-sharing is unfair because many college students have other finances to worry about.

“I think it’s stupid that they’re going after college students because they probably don’t have the money to afford it,” Schlafly said.

With growing technology and the increasing accessibility to the Internet, downloading free programs such as Limewire has become popular among college students.

Adams said she wishes she could use Limewire at school, but is worried about the repercussions brought by using the program.

However, she does not think music downloading programs should cause such an uproar.

“If we could use Limewire in the dorm, I

would use it,” she said. “I use it at home. Everyone uses it, and I don’t really see anything wrong with it because that’s the way all music is being produced now is online.”

Holly Sills, a junior marketing major, said she hopes more people become aware of the consequences of illegal music downloading.

“I think it’s important for people to know and understand the programs they are using,” Sills said. “People, not just college students, need to know that industries like the RIAA are out there looking for illegal users.”

Sills said she recently deleted Limewire from her computer but was unaware that deleting it did not completely uninstall the program.

“I think it’s pretty scary because so many people have those types of programs,” she said.

“Even though you think you take the necessary precautions in deleting them, it’s a much bigger process than you think it is. You think you’ve done everything, but you could end up with a $3,000 fine.”

University director of Telecommunications, David Drewrey, said he advises students to remove any programs that can allow illegal file-sharing.

“There are plenty of legal alternatives to Limewire and other programs,” Drewrey said. “(Students) definitely need to uninstall those programs. It’s just not worth the risk.”

Ole Miss received 235 takedown notices just from the RIAA throughout 2007. Three of those notices came in July, five in August, 44 in September, 70 in October, 10 in November and two in December, he said.

Drewrey said Ole Miss handles situations similarly to MSU. Upon receiving a takedown notice, the student will be temporarily blocked from all Internet access.

“What I require when we get the take down notices from the RIAA is we essentially block all Internet access,” he said.

The student will then typically notify the Helpdesk about the blocked Internet access.

After they talk with the student a little bit, the Helpdesk checks the block list and notifies the student that they have been blocked for a copyright violation.

Drewrey said students can then send their complaints about the blocked Internet access to complaint@olemiss.edu, and he will contact the student and forward them the takedown notice Ole Miss received from the RIAA. Once the student receives the notice, all he or she must do is respond back to the e-mail saying he or she has read, understands and agrees to comply with the university’s appropriate response.

“I’m going to take your word for it at face value, and I’m going to release the block on that alone,” Drewrey said.

Although second offenses are very rare, the student is required to meet with some of the four members of the complaint committee in order for the block to be released, Drewrey said.

“Our goal is pretty much the same as State’s,” he said. “We want to stop this from happening before the students receive (pre-settlement letters). We don’t want that to happen to anyone.”

3

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

West Hartford

Continued from page 1

tic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right,’” he said.

He also mentioned that many positive steps toward voting rights, as well as improvements in national understanding of different cultures, have emerged thanks to the efforts of Dr. King. His efforts have also made it possible for the Democratic party to host presidential candidates such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

“Regardless of whether they win or lose, that will certainly be a certificate achievement within our democracy, one which, I think, Dr. King would be proud,” Brittain said.

He was appreciative of the diversity of the audience who had come out together to celebrate Dr. King’s life and accomplishments.

“To look out and see all of youany color, any ethnicity—is a part of the tolerance and the togetherness that Dr. King promoted,” Brittain said.

West Hartford’s Mayor Scott Slifka, who opened the day’s celebration, mentioned that while painful reminders of racism and intolerance still exist today, Dr. King would encourage society to condemn all acts of hatred.

“In an enlightened community, these acts have no place,” Slifka said in reference to drawings of swastikas or noose hangings around the area.

Stan Simpson, who is a columnist for the Hartford Courant and lecturer at Quinnipiac University, emceed Monday’s event.

“Many people would agree that we have fallen short of his legacy, to live in a colorblind society… where we can measure a person by their character and their deeds,” Simpson said. “We’re getting there, but we’re not quite there yet.”

Recreation Fields Continued from page 1

Richard Bachoo, Chief Administrative Officer and chair of the Faculties Planning Committee, first introduced the plans to the University Planning and Budget Committee in Dec. 2006.

The plans include four different possible versions of the same project.

According to CCSU President Jack Miller, from start to finish, the recreation fields project is expected to cost between seven and nine million dollars.

The majority of the necessary funds have already been collected over the past six years through students’ Athletics Fees. The fees, allocated strictly for Recreational and Intercollegiate Athletics, are expected to provide the remaining money needed by the time the fields are completed sometime in 2010.

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder Students from the Conard High School Jazz Combo performed at the West Hartford Town Hall commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King.

Cinema Students Strike Out Kate Mather

Daily Trojan (Uni. of Southern California) (U-Wire) -- Negotiations between the Writers’ Guild of America and the Alliances of Motion Pictures and Television Producers are currently at a standstill, leaving many USC cinema students wondering what their future holds.

The negotiations, which ended Nov. 5, focused primarily on revenues from Internet usage.

The strike has left employees throughout the entertainment industry unemployed, and students studying within USC’s School of Cinematic Arts have felt the effects of the standoff.

“I have friends whose jobs have been put on hold or they have been laid off due to the strike,” said Joanna Nadler, a graduate student majoring in writing for screen and television. “While it may have been disappointing for them because they loved their jobs, they both realize it’s for the greater good and are willing to wait as long as they need to until this gets resolved.”

Although the strike is in its eleventh week, members of the Guild are prepared to continue their efforts until the producers recognize their need for more compensation

and meet their demands.

According to the Writers Guild of America’s website, 46 percent of writers did not work in 2006, and 25 percent of those who did work made less than $37,700 per year. Over a five-year period, most writers average an annual income of $62,000.

“None of us want to be out there, none of us want to be on strike, but we’re out there to get a deal,” said Howard Rodman, a professor in the division of screen and television in the School of Cinematic Arts, and member of the board of directors of the Writers’ Guild of America West.

“If companies won’t give us jurisdiction in Internet stuff, we lose health care, pension, coverage and union protections. We’re sadly on strike, but we’ll be on strike as long as it takes to make sure screenwriters that come after us have the same benefits we did.”

Writers who are not members of the Guild, including USC students, have been cautioned against breaking the strike, as it could cause later repercussions within their careers.

“Those who are writers have to be very careful. Even if they aren’t members [of the Guild], they could get penalized for writing for an assignment and getting paid for it,” said Larry Auerbach, associate dean of student-industry relation in the cinema school. Professors are ad-

vising their students to support the strike because of the principles behind the Guild’s demands.

“I can understand perfectly the temptation for anybody not in the Guild to agree to a job,” said Tom Abrams, associate professor of writing and production. “As a beginning writer, you have to look ahead to the big picture and take the moral stance.

It’s not necessary to be a member of a union to have a decent life, but the quality of life is more guaranteed because of unions. You need to look ahead at the future as how you’ll be treated later on in business, and look at the moral side of the issue.”

Many upcoming film students have shown “remarkable solidarity” by “not wanting to sell material during the strike,” said John Furia, Jr., professor and former president of the WGA. Many USC professors and students have shown their support for the Guild not only by withholding their writing, but by picketing as well.

“When you go to the picket lines, like many students here have, there is a great deal of humor and solidarity,” Abrams said. “It’s a great source of networking for students and shows the great sense of solidarity for members of the union and creative community.”

Because the AMPTP has

walked out on negotiations twice, most recently Dec. 7, the Guild has been turning toward companies on an individual basis to form agreements. These agreements, including deals with David Letterman’s company Worldwide Pants, The Weinstein Company and United Artists, signal the reasonability of the Guild’s demands, Furia said.

“It indicates to companies who said the demands made by the Writers’ Guild were impossible and it flies in the face of that argument,” Furia said. “Here are large companies who apparently don’t find these provisions erroneous enough to sign.”

Although the strike has temporarily postponed students’ submission of work, experienced screenwriters encourage students to prepare for its end and compare the current lack of production to regular happenings within the screenwriting industry.

“We’re telling them to wait,” said Jack Epps, Jr., chair of the division of writing for screen and television. “The strike can’t last forever and the smartest thing to do is never stop writing. The strike will end, the demand will be there, and they need to be prepared.”

“You have to have faith there will be jobs three months from now or six months from now,” Abrams said. “As a writer

Editorial/Opinion

4

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Editorial Choate Students Should Protest Karl Rove’s Speech Recently, Ed Shanahan, headmaster of prestigious Wallingford preparatory school Choate, announced that former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove will replace Senator John Warner (R-Va.) as commencement speaker for the school’s June 8 ceremony. The school’s newspaper, The News, blasted the decision in an editorial titled “Rove in ’08: We Think Not.” Choate’s editorial staff questions Rove’s merit as an inspirational speaker, calling him a man “who has gained infamy in many circles for less-than-ethical decisions and action.” They also question what they see as hypocrisy from Shanahan. At the school’s 2006 commencement, the headmaster spoke to the students about the importance of responsibility, and talked at length about the various scandals public figures found themselves in, and their reluctance to accept responsibility for their actions.

The staff at the Recorder would like to commend those Choate students who chose to voice their displeasure and also give Shanahan a little refresher on Karl Rove’s history. It is encouraging, and a great example of the journalism’s capabil-

ity, to see such young students exercise their free speech to try and change a decision regarding a ceremony dedicated to their achievements.

The name Karl Rove is sharply polarizing along political party lines, and threatens to divide the Choate population at a time when it should be most unified. Now that Rove’s dirty tricks have failed on the adult level, it should be a crime that he is allowed to speak and poison the minds of young people about to enter the next level in their lives. He was instrumental in getting George W. Bush elected in 2000 by orchestrating push polls where callers influenced voter opinions under the guise of a poll. He had a large part in the formation of many Bush policies, including the Iraq War, which in the 2004 election he effectively used as a scare tactic for America’s defense to terrorism. He has been accused of being a major force behind the rationalization for the war, which has been fraudulent and misguided from the start.

Rove resigned from his White House post in August of last year while embroiled in political scandal over the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity. While never convicted of a crime, his direct involvement in the scandal speaks to his lack

of ethical conduct. While some may argue he was forced out of his position by members of the “liberal media,” the Choate student body clearly does not subscribe to this viewpoint.

Now that Rove has been ousted from his backseat in the White House, it is important that we don’t approve of his influence in any other area. It is bad enough that Newsweek magazine gave Rove his own column, but allowing him to speak to free-thinking young adults such as at Choate is too much.

A graduation speaker should be one that can be universally recognized as a positive role model for young students entering college or the work force. While Karl Rove has achieved great success, becoming one of the most renowned political strategists in recent memory, his recent conduct has cast his status as a role model into doubt.

Certainly there are innumerable other qualified speakers available who a prestigious school such as Choate could invite to inspire their students on one of the most meaningful days of their young and promising lives. We urge Headmaster Ed Shanahan to observe the objections made by his students and reconsider this controversial decision.

Connecticut’s Where is the Youth Vote?

Voiceless Independents Brian Morache

Staff Writer

Dan Ivers

Opinion Editor As February 5 — the date of the presidential primaries here in Connecticut, fast approaches, some would-be voters will be left out in the cold: Independents. Connecticut is among those states that hold a “closed primary,” meaning that anyone not registered with a party may not vote in that party’s primary. With Independent voters already turning out in droves for primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, the closed primary system poses a number of problems for Independents and the electoral process alike.

In New Hampshire, around 40 percent of the electorate are registered as Independents. This number may be high because New Hampshire allows their unaffiliated voters to vote in either primary. In Connecticut, the current system makes registering independent completely irrelevant, at least with regard to the selection of the presidential candidates in the twoparty system. Thus, if you support any particular viable candidate for the upcoming election, you had better be registered Republican or Democrat, or you may as well stop paying attention until about April or so.

So, why is there a penalty for declaring yourself Independent? Perhaps many Independents are seen as being part of smaller political factions such as Socialists or Libertarians, and they may not be likely to vote in the primaries at all. However, the reality is that we do live under a two-party system, and the most any third party candidate can do is to throw a wrench in the plans of the big shots — á la Ralph Nader in 2000 or Ross Perot in the 1990’s. Third-party votes are most often cast in protest of both major candidates when they do not seem to embody the change or direction voters would like to see. Most Independent voters realize that they must pick a winner, so they choose the major candidate that best embodies their visions, regardless of party.

Independents are the fastest growing group of voters in the country as Republicans and Democrats

become more and more polarized and dominated by special interest groups.

Many of these Independents do support either Republican or Democratic candidates, and they deserve the right to vote for them. Support from Independents was a big reason why Barack Obama was able to take Iowa, and much of John McCain’s hopes for the nomination are slated on Independents who like his “maverick,” nonpartisan style.

Connecticut is just one of 21 states that use the closed primary system. That means there are millions of passionate and informed voters who will either be left out of the primary process, or pressured to join one of the major parties in order to get their voice heard. For a country supposedly founded on the ideas of independence and every citizen having a voice, this is an injustice.

Perhaps over the course of our country’s history, “independent” has become a dirty word. Many may hear it and think of those on society’s fringe, whose extreme ideas do not fall in line with those of mainstream America. This may have been more accurate in years past, as more and more of the country chooses not to identify themselves with either major party. Washington Post reporter Marc Ambinder reported in 2006 that selfdeclared Independents grew from eight percent of the registered electorate in 1987 to 24 percent in 2004.

Rather than “independent,” anti-government rebellious types, these voters are simply non-partisan, choosing to preserve their individuality rather than simply fall in line with party politics. Party loyalty can often be blind and damaging, whereas Independents choose to keep an open mind. For this, their vote - the one source of power belonging to each and every citizen - should not be denied.

Regardless of our allegiances, or lack thereof, we should all have the right to choose who our President will be. It is time to wake up Connecticut, and stop reducing your Independent voters to irrelevance. Do what countless other states have done and grant your Independent voters the same voice you do all others.

Since the 1960s, America has had a rather interesting democracy.

The youth of America, that group most affected by the actions of government, has consistently ignored its ability to vote, and allowed older generations to pick their leaders.

In the election of 2008, the stakes are even higher. There is the possibility of a continued war in Iraq; a future conflict with Iran; a real chance at universal health care; more funds for college education; and, of course, economical improvements. It is the next president who will determine where you will be going after graduation. Will it be to a new job in a growing economy?

Will it be off to fight in a war that you don’t support? Will you have to borrow more money in student loans, or will there be more financial aid money available? These are all questions that, if you choose not to vote, you are allowing others to answer for you.

Who really even likes to vote in this country? The elderly do, especially those in nursing homes, even if there are some who still think that FDR is in office or are ready to put all their support behind Eisenhower.

There is no competency test for voters; if there were, we not only would have fewer voters, but also very different politicians. What does it say about our nation when people who can barely recognize family members are among those choosing who our next president is?

Democracy is not a spectator sport; it requires active participants, and this means YOU. Those who don’t vote often say, “Oh, I didn’t vote. So, it’s not my fault we have President Idiot.” Well, I have news for you: it is your fault. If you don’t take part in the system, then you are doing nothing to keep “President Idiot” out of office. If you don’t like either candidate, then choose the one you least dislike, but don’t just sit there and let someone else make the decision for you. Life is not always about choosing what you like.

The choices we will have to make will often be between what we dislike the least, so we better get used to it now.

Ironically, it is often these silent voters who complain the most when the government takes away their civil liberties, cuts college financial aid or sends them off to a war they don’t support. While protesting these actions is part of being an American, the most important and patriotic thing we can do is take part in our democratic system by voting. Yes, it will require actually listening to what each candidate has to say, and maybe even breaking away from a reality show or the latest news on a pregnant, under-aged celebrity to watch a debate or two.

And yes, you will eventually have to make a decision. But, at least you will have taken part in doing what you can do in our democracy to see that the country goes in the direction that you want it to. And then, my friends, you will have earned your right to bitch all you want about the government.

Talking Points: Whose Choice-Point Jeff Hayden

Advertising Manager Far removed are the days of privacy, protection and clean fingers.

“Do you believe the information we have about you is not correct? You have the right to dispute the accuracy of the information in the reports provided by ChoicePoint” reads the ‘Questions about you’ heading on ChoicePoint’s website. This question is posed as coldly as a doctor’s stethoscope on a Monday morning.

It admits that it has data and information about you, and urges you make sure that what they’re telling the world about you, is correct.

Depending on the amount of calories in your information diet, you may have heard of a company named ChoicePoint, featured on MSNBC’s “Big Business, Big Brother” (available in entirety on Google video).

This is a firm that specializes in data mining, as their company bio states: “Through the identification, retrieval, storage, analysis and deliv-

ery of data, ChoicePoint serves the informational needs of businesses of all sizes, as well as federal, state and local government agencies.”

I’m getting chills up and down my spine just thinking about it. One last quote, I promise, they will all be useful.

“Are you curious about the information we have about you and how it is used?” the heading reads.

“Access Your Personal Information: See what information about you is maintained in our files. Order copies of the information that we maintain and use to create consumer reports about you. Also included will be a Public Records Search, which provides information available about you in public records. This includes items such as real estate transaction and ownership data, lien, judgment, and bankruptcy records, professional license information, and historical addresses on file.”

Breaking this down, they have information about you; they know

what you’ve bought with your credit cards, the checks you’ve bounced, late payments on your car, how much you Sallie Mae for college, anything and everything. Soon, I’m willing to bet they will team with Google, and sell your search queries, linked by IP address to you, to advertisers, other data miners, or the government.

While I love the movie V for Vendetta and believe that its political message is spot on, I am not a zealot.

OK, so I lied. The Fourth Amendment grants that “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

This eloquent, antiquated sentence does not say anything about the government (read; FBI, CIA, DHS, your local PD) purchasing your information from a massive

See Talking Points page 5

5

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

America: Forced to Cold Turkey “Normal” Meat?

Marissa Mancini

Staff Writer

Illustration: Sean Kinne

Making Monsters Out of Monkeys: Bush’s Dangerous Rhetoric toward Iran Dan Ivers

Opinion Editor Recently, Americans were presented with yet another act of defiance by Iran in the form of the confrontation between five speedboats and the U.S.S. Hopper, a Navy warship. Reportedly, the speedboats came close enough to the Hopper to establish a threatening presence and then, using a CB radio, told the ship that they will “explode in minutes.”

Despite the fact that this apparently warranted no action from the Navy, which could have reduced the speedboats to smithereens in mere seconds, video taken by a Navy photographer was presented on nearly every news station here in the U.S. as evidence of a brazen and hostile Iran. Iran contended that the incident was minor and that it was being exploited by the Bush administration as propaganda to fuel the conflict they have appeared to be so hungry for.

However, a Navy newspaper has shed some light on the situation, saying that the radio threat probably came from a frequent radio prankster, well known to Navy officials by the moniker “the Filipino monkey.”

Various former officers have been quoted as saying that the enigmatic

voice has been blasting threats over the radio almost hourly for over two decades. Unfortunately for Bush and the American media, this makes them look pretty silly. What we are presented with is another case of the government trying to stir up panic to fuel a conflict with Iran, a move that has become all too familiar.

For the last few years Bush has depicted Iran as hostile, which they undoubtedly are. But more than that, he has depicted them as an immediate and potent threat, evidenced at first by their nuclear ambitions, which they refused to halt despite our repeated demands. Then came December 3 of last year, when the National Intelligence Estimate was released.

The report concluded that Iran had halted all nuclear activities way back in 2003 and they were unlikely to develop any nuclear weapon within the next decade. The Inter Press Service reported that the NIE had been completed for over a year before its release - a year during which President Bush’s conduct toward Iran continued as if he had never heard of such a report.

The speedboat incident curiously coincided with President Bush’s recent Middle East visit, where, in addition to playing with falcons and

enjoying some charming picnics, he once again turned up his rhetoric toward the ever “defiant” Iran. He called the country “a threat to world peace,” and “the number one sponsor of terror worldwide.” He reiterated to Saudi Arabia that military action was not out of the question. Everywhere he went, he encouraged the region’s countries to distance themselves from Iran, to punish them with isolation for their failure to cooperate with U.S. requests. He even said that the NIE report’s findings do not reflect “his own views” during his address in Israel.

The transparent attempt to justify U.S. aggression toward Iran, whether verbally or by military, is just another distortion of the truth by an administration that has repeatedly shown it to be untrustworthy.

We as Americans are aware that Iran doesn’t like us, but that alone is not a reason for aggression. If it must come to that, we must require that it be on a factual basis. The distance between the manipulative rhetoric being pushed by our leaders and the actual truth is ever-widening, and this could be disastrous. I, for one, do not want to be led into a war by someone called the “Filipino monkey.”

to keep it private. While I recognize that some may say it’s harmless, so what if some company I never heard of buys some anonymous information, some of which is my own?

I like to think of information drip as the Amish think of photographs. With every bit of information that is found out, stored, sold off, and potentially used against you (read; court cases, job offerings, credit scores) you lose a bit of yourself, a bit of your humanity. In this day and age of publishing your life on the net, it’s important to stand on a pedestal, and look down from Olympus onto your digital footprint. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll see you’ve been an elephant in

a china shop, and that it’s time to seclude yourself, for a little bit of…me time.

Moral of the story, be careful, very careful with your information. I carry cash. If you want to mug me, go for it. If you want to see the data sold to companies and government organizations, held by the largest data miner, Choicepoint, visit http://www. choicepoint.com/consumer/all_products.html. They are required by Federal law to provide you one free copy in a given 12 month period. I suggest you do. You’ll be surprised when you see just what they know about you.

Think About it.

Talking Points

Continued from page 4 data mining company that holds a file for every person from fetus to worm food.

Google keeps every search you make. All that porn you’ve watched since sixth grade? Yup. If you ever get accused of raping some one, God forbid, the investigator can serve up a warrant to Google, likety-split, and have all the searches done from IP’s registered to your parents or you, and use them as evidence in court.

There was a time before VisaCheck card commercials that depict cash as the folly of the tortuous Slowski’s, it was a time characterized by general decency, by regard for ones own information, and the wantonness

What if you were told that the meat on your plate came from a cloned animal? Few people would argue that manufacturing animals for human consumption is a bright idea. Those people include Trans Ova Genetics and ViaGen, the brains behind this unethical production of meat. Furthermore, the FDA is considering allowing breeders and farmers to withhold genetic purity information from consumers.

Americans are used to names like Perdue and Turkey Hill. Would you knowingly eat a piece of meat from a company whose name sounds like it ought to be a sperm bank? Unfortunately you may have no choice very soon. In fact, in a way you already don’t have a choice; some of these clones have already made their way into the livestock breeding circuit “by accident.”

Rod Smith, in a June 2006 article titled “Cloning: Myths and Facts,” found, via the ViaGen.com site, details some of the controversial elements of the practice. Mark Walton, the president of ViaGen, admits cloning is controversial because people have “little understanding of what it is and how it is done.” Look at what has happened to our current generations after livestock was injected with steroids and antibiotics: obesity is on the rise; more kids have asthma; teenage girls are maturing earlier; and who knows the possible long term effects of eating cloned animal meat? “The long-term effects of these products are still unknown and could be harmful to consumers,” says Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, in an article reported by Environment News Service last week.

In that same article, Julie Janovsky of the farm animal protection organization Farm Sanctuary argues that “Cloning is a scientifically unsound and ethically challenged technology that has extremely disturbing welfare implications for animals.”

Smith argues that cloning is not genetic engineering or modification because it does not change the DNA of the manufactured animal. Cloning, as Smith says, “is a form of assisted reproduction just like artificial insemination.” He argues that a cloned animal is like an identical twin, but one born at a later time. If nearly all of the dairy herds in the U.S. are a consequence of artificial insemination and nearly half of the beef is a product of assisted reproduction technologies,

then why not clone for human consumption? Unfortunately, the FDA agrees with Smith. In an article published by The Daily Telegraph on Jan. 16, Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition says, “...we conclude that meat and milk from [cloned livestock] are as safe as food we eat every day.”

Smith argues that Dolly, the first cloned mammal, was euthanized to prevent suffering after contracting “a contagious and fatal respiratory disease likely from non-cloned sheep in her flock with whom she was housed.” The website of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science states that “...cloned animals tend to have more compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, tumor growth, and other disorders,” as well as low success rates. The page goes on: “… cloned animals have not lived long enough to generate good data about how clones age. Appearing healthy at a young age unfortunately is not a good indicator of long term survival. Clones have been known to die mysteriously... Australia’s first cloned sheep appeared healthy and energetic on the day she died, and the results from her autopsy failed to determine a cause of death.”

Tom Buis, President of the National Farmers Union, argues that it is troubling to see the FDA approve products from cloned animals for sale to the public when questions surrounding health risks, legal implications and ethical concerns remain unanswered. Buis is urging Congress to pass a Cloned Food Labeling Act to ensure that consumers are aware of what they are buying.

However, the FDA is not requiring labeling “because food derived from these sources is no different from food derived from conventionally bred animals,” according to an article titled, “Cloned Meat and Milk is Cleared for Sale.”

Morals and ethics aside, consuming these cloned animals is unhealthy and unpredictable. Remember what happened in the 90s with mad cow disease? (Farmers fed their cows meat from other cows and then sold the cannibalistic cow meat to consumers who contracted fatal illnesses.) We do not need a rehash of the mad cow disease tragedy, or anything like it. If the FDA is going to allow this cloned meat to hit the shelves, it needs to at least be labeled. Consumers should have the right to choose what they are consuming.

Sports

6

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Winter Break Warms Blue Devil Basketball Peter Collin / Sports Editor

Every student loves a break from school, whether it’s a day, a week or a month.

Student athletes are no different, as both Blue Devil basketball teams found a rhythm over winter break.

For the Central Men’s basketball team the turnaround was tremendous. Heading into the break the Blue Devils were struggling, starting the season 4-7 with an even worse 0-2 mark in the conference.

But the young guns finally hit their stride after just five days in the New Year. After falling on the road to conference rival Wagner, the Central men did a full reverse, winning their next five games.

For the Blue Devils the turnaround could not have come at a better time. The five straight wins all came against conference opponents which catapulted them in the standings to fifth place only 2.5 games out of first place.

Knights Trample Devils Peter Collin / Sports Editor

Knights 74 CCSU 45 The Blue Devils ended their home stand on a dismal note as they fell to the Farleigh Dickinson Knights 74-45 at Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Devils struggled against a consistent Knights attack that converted 53 percent of their shots during the game against 34 percent for Central.

The Knights jumped out to an early lead, putting 15 points between themselves and the Blue Devils.

But Central managed to make a run at FDU, narrowing the gap to 20-25 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

But the Knights did not falter, as they extended their lead on the strength of senior Jennifer Walkling’s 11 first half points.

“If we start off well, we play with a lot of confidence and we feed off each other,” said Coach Beryl Piper. “We started off the game today, they put some pressure on us, we made some mistakes. Jhanay (Harris) got in foul trouble and from then on it was downhill.”

Sophomore guard Emily Rose led the Central assault in the first half with six points with

Senior Tristan Blackwood has been the main offensive force for the Blue Devils all season long, leading the team with 16.2 points per game and 4.9 assists per game, but now he has help. Freshman Ken Horton has emerged as an offensive force putting up 11.3 points per game while bringing in 4.7 rebounds each game.

Horton’s stellar play earned him Rookie of the Week honors last week. He is the second Blue Devil to win the award this season as freshman David Simmons earned the award as well.

Unfortunately Simmons season was cut short when an injury to his shoulder required surgery, knocking him out for an indefinite period of time.

Others have stepped up on his absence including junior Marcus Palmer, sophomore Joe Seymore and freshmen Tamir Johnson and Shemik Thompson.

When school resumes the Blue Devils will

have some of their biggest match ups versus the top four conference teams including two big match ups against the conference leading Quinnipiac Bobcats on February 7 and February 28.

For the Blue Devil women’s team the turnaround was more subtle.

After starting the season 0-9 the Blue Devils had nowhere to go but up during the break. And up they went.

The pulled out their first win against the Stony Brook Seawolves in a nail biter 61-59. After that they managed to pick up their first t wo conference wins when they defeated the Wagner Seahawks and the St. Francis Red Flash.

Freshman Kerrianne Dugan has been a consistent scorer for the Blue Devils, dropping 9.7 points per game and 2.1 assists per game, both of which are team highs.

Sophomore Danica Covington and sophomore P.J. Wade have strengthened

Central’s rebounding with both players pulling down more than 5.5 boards per game, while freshman Alexandria Dowdy providing a spark off the bench with 6 points and 1.6 assists per game.

Central has climbed out of the basement, and is one game out of sixth place in the Northeast Conference. Like the Men’s team, the Women will have crucial match ups against undefeated Quinnipiac on February 11 and March 3.

It will be an uphill climb for the Blue Devils who have yet to find a consistent attack.

The spring looks bright for both teams, as each squad continues to improve and grow as a team. Both the men and the women will return to Detrick Gymnasium on February 2, as they both take on the Wagner Seahawks in a double-header starting at 2:00 p.m. for the women and the men at 4:00 p.m.

7

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

freshman Alexzandria Dowdy contributed five points and two assists.

Central could not keep up with the Knights who forced 28 Blue Devil turnovers in the game, converting them into 30 of their 74 points. FDU also controlled the paint where they out scored the Blue Devils 34 to 16.

The Blue Devils slipped further behind in the second half, as they failed to convert on their free throws, shooting only 10 percent from the line.

“We just got nothing from our post play today and that kills you,” said Piper.

“We struggled and we have to work on some stuff. With this team it has been a rollercoaster. The highs are high and the lows are low. When we can find some sort of happy medium we’ll be a lot better.”

The Knights were led by Walkling who scored a game high 16 points along with six rebounds.

NEC Press Release NEC Swimmer of the Week Rachel Brookman, CCSU Sr., Rocky Hill, CT Rocky Hill

Brookman earns NEC Swimmer of the Week honors after recording a pair of wins in CCSU’s tri-meet against Holy Cross and Vermont. The Rocky Hill, CT native, who captured a pair of first place finishes in the 50 free and 100 fly with times of 25.56 and 58.76, respectively, finished third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.63. The senior also swam a leg on the Blue Devils’ first place 400 IM relay, which finished with a time of 4:01.74.

NEC Diver of the Week Liz Wahlberg, CCSU So., Manchester, CT Manchester

Wahlberg captures her second NEC Diver of the Week honor after recording a pair of top three finishes. The Manchester, CT native finished second in the one-meter board with a score of 208.25 and third in the three-meter with a dive of 193.30. The sophomore’s three meter score is a season best and a Northeast Conference high.

One positive for the Blue Devils was their bench. Sophomore Kanita Boone had a team high 10 points off the bench. Dowdy also finished with solid totals of nine points and three assists.

On Monday the Blue Devils fell on the road to the Monmouth Hawks 68-53. The loss dropped Central to 3-16 overall and 2-6 in conference play. Sophomore Emily Rose led the Blue Devils with 17 points on the night.

The Blue Devils jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but a late first half surge by the Hawks put the Blue Devils in a 30-20 hole going into the second half.

Both sophomore P.J. Wade and freshman Kerrianne Dugan contributed eight points and 11 rebounds to the Central cause, while Wade and sophomore Kanita Boone each had a team high four assists.

Team Notes:

Central Connecticut State (5-5) Central Connecticut State split its first trimeet of the new year, picking up a win over host Holy Cross (202-97), while losing to Vermont (164-135). The Blue Devils’ were led by seniors Rachel Brookman (Rocky Hill, CT/Rocky Hill) and Lindsey Snyder (Winterport, ME/Bangor) who combined for four individual titles. Brookman, who recorded wins in both the 50 free (25.56) and 100 fly (58.76), added a third place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.63.

Snyder meanwhile, captured a pair of wins in the 100 and 200 back with times of 58.45 and 2:04.64, respectively, while also recording a second place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.57. The pair also swam legs on the Blue Devils’ first place 400 IM relay team, alongside junior Erin Crowley (Plainville, CT/Plainville) and freshman Alyssa Carlucci (Danbury, CT/ Danbury). Senior captain Kristen Jurzynski (Seymour, CT/Holy Cross) recorded a first and second place finish in the 1000 and 500 free, respectively, with times of 10:23.43 and 1:57.77. The Seymour, CT native teamed up with Crowley, Carlucci and freshman Megan McGorry (West Haven, CT/West Haven) on CCSU’s second place 200 free relay team, which finished with a time of 1:41.46. Sophomore diver Liz Wahlberg (Manchester, CT/Manchester) finished the day with a pair of top three finishes, notching a second place finish in the one-meter board and a third place finish in the three-meter event. The Manchester, CT native’s three meter dive of 193.30 is a Northeast Conference season high. Central Connecticut State will square off with Northeast Conference rival Wagner on January 26.

Next up for the Blue Devils is a road trip to St. Francis to take on the Red Flash in Loretto, Pa. on Saturday, January 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Photos by Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder Opposite Top: Freshman Justina Udenze looks for a shot while Freshman Alexzandria Dowdy looks for the pass.

Opposite Bottom Left: Sophmore Latisha Hatcher tries to secure the rebound.

Opposite Bottom Right: Senior Cati Keating fires up a shot.

Below: Freshman Emily Rose looks for the pass.

Smith’s 200m Victory Leads Blue Devils at URI Sorlein Track Invitational Junior Sean Smith led Central Connecticut to a seventh place finish at the URI Sorlein Track Invitational. The Norwich, CT native won his first race of the season, capturing the 200m crown in 22.51 while also competing in the 55m finals for the Blue Devils. Smith ran the latter in 6.56, bettering his preliminary effort by .02 seconds, to place sixth.

Senior Jonathan Stakley finished .60 seconds behind Smith in the 200m and took sixth place overall. The Gales Ferry, CT native also competed in the 400m, placing 10th with a time of 52.27. Sophomore R.J. Simeone placed in the top-five for CCSU in the 500m run. He ran the race in 1:06.84. Junior Matt Whalen, meanwhile, bettered last weeks finish in the 800m, placing eighth with a time of 2:00.37.

Sophomore Persis Oware, a dual sport athlete at Central Connecticut, placed 12th in the 200m and came in 14th in the 400m. Also a member of the Blue Devil soccer team, Oware completed the events with times of 23.60 and 54.08, respectively.

In field competition, senior Jerry Jean-Lewis placed fourth in the weight throw and 13th in the shot put with attempts of 15.99m and 13.77m.

The Blue Devils will compete at the Boston Indoor Games on Friday, Jan. 25.

8

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Blue Devils Rout Knights Peter Collin / Sports Editor

CCSU 85 Knights 63 The Blue Devils scored a season high 85 points and cruised in a blow out over the Farleigh Dickinson Knights, defeating them 85-63 in New Britain on Saturday afternoon.

For the Blue Devils it was their fifth consecutive win and fifth straight win at home.

Senior Tristan Blackwood led the Blue Devil (9-10, 5-3) assault, totaling a team high 18 points. Blackwood was joined by four other teammates who managed to total double figures.

It was only the second time all season that five Blue Devils managed more than ten points in a game.

For all the Blue Devil’s scoring, they could not slow the FDU (5-11, 1-5) attack as the Knights kept pace throughout the first half of the game.

It wasn’t until the end of the half that Central managed to distance themselves from the Knights.

With just over four minutes left in the half junior Marcus Palmer drove to the basket making the lay up and nailing the free throw to convert on a three-point play and give Central a nine point lead.

From there the Blue Devils scored on four consecutive possessions to extend their lead to 14 at the end of the half.

The Blue Devils managed a balanced attack against FDU spreading their points between six different players each totaling at least six points during the first half.

FDU on the other hand focused their offensive attack on two players sophomore Sean Baptiste who totaled 16 of the Knights’ 33 points in the first half and senior Manny Ubilla who scored 15 of his game high 22 points and half of the Knights second half points.

“They have a scoring duo that averages 47 points a game. I think they had a tough day today,” said Coach Howie Dickenman. “We kind of neutralized them, forced them to take some outside shots and I think a number of those shots were challenged.”

The Blue Devils had a strong performance from their bench which totaled 20 points.

Junior Marcus Palmer led the Blue Devil bench, scoring a career high 13 points in just the first half and 14 points in the game.

Things turned on Central quickly in the second half, as their 17 point lead quickly dwindled to eight. To make matters worse Blackwood registered his fourth foul and left the game at the 15:44 mark.

With Blackwood on the bench, the onus of the offense fell to freshman Shemik Thompson.

“I just wanted to pick it up and do what I had to do to help the team which was bringing the ball up and take cover and pressure,” said Thompson.

The Blue Devils rallied though, overcoming a full-court press by the Knights to re-inflate their lead to a comfortable 17 points when Blackwood returned at just before the eight minute mark.

“We’re growing as a team, we’re getting better. We’re learning to play with each other,” said Blackwood. “I think this gives us momentum. We’ve been playing together since September now; we know how guys play now.”

Blackwood and Palmer were joined in the ten point club by freshman Ken Horton with 15 points and Thompson and sophomore Joe Seymore with 13 each.

“We grew today. The white uniform has been good to us and I told our guys that we have ten left, only four more in this gym,” said Dickenman. “I think the next ten are going to be very challenging because they are going to be the teams above us, but we are playing well as a team.”

The Blue Devils will travel to Moon Township, Pa. for their next game where they will take on the Robert Morris Colonials on Thursday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. After that they will challenge the St. Francis Red Flash on Saturday, January 26 at 4:00 p.m. in Loretto, Pa.

Photos by Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder

Above: Freshman Aaron Hall pulls down one of his six rebounds.

Left: Freshman Shemik Thompson and Tamir Johnson scramble for the rebound while Junior Marcus Palmer looks on.

Below: Freshman Tamir Johnson puts an exclamation point on the Blue Devils victory.

Interview - Page 12

ALSO INSIDE: Cloverfield Review - Page 11 Sweeny Todd Review - Page 11 Mars Volta at Toad’s - Page 13

Entertainment

10

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Vampire Weekend

The only reason you have to be disappointed by Vampire Weekend is that the band kept these 11 tracks a Vampire secret for as long as they Weekend did.

Luckily most of these songs leaked back in August 2007, though they aren’t the newly remastered versions that are being released on Jan 29, 2008.

Each song on this album has the potential to be a single, especially “Wolcott,” which is the most mainstream track on the album with its epic bits of piano and orchestra. Even with the serious instruments, they still manage to maintain an upbeat and blissful sound.

Similar tracks, such as “A-Punk,” and “Boston,” follow suit with breaks from the traditional guitar-bass-drums combination and experimental melodies.

Vampire Weekend’s song “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” makes a poppy attempt at the combination of drumming style and dance made popular by musicians from the Congo.

I’ve heard the drummer actually doesn’t put drum-heads on the bottom if his toms, so he pulls off a bongo-like sound pretty well.

The band from New York, N.Y. fills its lyrics—and song titles—with references of the Cape, oddly enough; if you grew up in New England and vacationed in Mass. often enough, you’d recognize their hints.

I’ve been listening to this album on and off for about four months and have yet to be bored with it, so do yourself a favor and grab a copy of the CD, or one of their 45s if you’re into vinyl.

- Melissa traynor / News Editor 2008 is going to be the year that the “Kids” bands will Totally Flossed become the hottest Out EP thing around, like when “The” bands ruled the radios in the early 2000s. We saw it in the previously reviewed Black Kids and now in one of the hottest acts in hip-hop, The Cool Kids.

Chicago is having a huge year when it comes to music: Kanye was amazing; Lupe’s album was almost as good and The Cool Kids are showing that Chi-Town is a legitimate scene.

While Totally Flossed Out came out back in 2007, it didn’t start grabbing people’s attention until lately when Rolling Stone named them one of 2008’s hottest bands. RS might be on to something here; The Cool Kids create hip-hop that is both new and smart, as well as a complete throwback that would fit in during the days of NWA. Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish show off their constant ability to make a great beat and talk about something unique, like on their single “Black Mags,” which spends three minutes talking about the ins and outs of the Kids’ BMX bikes.

The tracks that stand out to me are “88” and “I (Mikey) Rock.” Both tracks enable harsh beats that hit hard, but don’t overpower the vocals tracked above it. Another great thing about these two songs is their ability to be huge hits later down the road as second and third singles that will be enjoyed by DJs, as well as the casual hip-hop listener.

People will be making the easy comparison between The Cool Kids’ BMX obsessions with Lupe’s previous skateboarding single, “Kick, Push,” but the similarities music-wise stop there.

Cool Kids are still raw and unrefined in a way that makes them seem a tad more underground, which is why they are starting to turn heads and will definitely crack into the mainstream in the next couple months before their full length TheBake Sale drops sometime this summer.

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

The Cool Kids

Snoop Dogg’s unannounced EP Getcha Girl Dogg Getcha Girl Dogg is boring at best. Though a compilation that seems rushed in itself, it doesn’t have the energy and flow that his older studio albums had.

The album has quite a lineup of rappers featured, including Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt and the seemingly immortal 2Pac, whose presence on tracks that were made 10 or 11 years after his death still begs the question, “When will he stop making music and for how long of his life did he record himself to last this long?” Too many rappers featured usually means a disappointing album, mainly because it isn’t usually what the listener is looking for.

The big problem with this album is how little Snoop is on it. Some of the songs are interesting, like “Dogg Pound Gangstaville,” and “Ain’t No Fun,” as well as “Getcha Girl Dogg.” Beyond these, there isn’t a whole lot going for the album. With the special appearances from other artists smothering Snoop’s ability to actually get more than a line or two in most songs, it really becomes the featured rappers’ album, not the album of the man you came to listen to.

Another issue with the album is that his new hit single, “Sexual Eruption” is nowhere to be found on the album. It will, however, be on his next album, Ego Trippin’, which is expected to be released in March.

This album, though it has some interesting tracks, is really not worth your time unless you are an absolute die hard Snoop fan.

It seems nothing more than a way to hold fans over until the next album release. Snoop still has it, but he just wasn’t very prominent on this album, which kills the listening experience.

The best advice is to wait for Ego Trippin’. It will be well worth the wait.

- Christopher Boulay / Managing Editor

Snoop Dogg

There is always an amazing The Cool album that comes out so late in the year that it doesn’t have the chance to get on any Top 20 lists and sometimes goes unnoticed because of it. Lupe Fiasco is in this position right now with the release of The Cool being in late December.

The thing that will save Lupe is the fact that he has released one of the best hip-hop albums in the past few years.

The Cool can easily rely on its amazingly smart and catchy lyrics that flow almost effortlessly through the album’s hour-plus run time, but Fiasco decided to up his game by having a collection of solid beats to join into the mix. I feel personally that Lupe has made the one album that can nip at Kanye’s heels. While The Cool has strong singles like “Go Go Gadget Flow,” and “Superstar,” it still works as a full album without a single dull track to be found.

“Superstar,” the record’s best track, shows Lupe telling his side of what it really feels like to be one of hip-hop’s hottest artists.

While he might like the fact that everybody loves him, he can remember the days when everything seemed perfect, “…Everybody gets a nice autograph picture/ One for you and one for your sister/ Who had to work tonight but is an avid listener/ Every songs a favorite song/ And mics don’t feed back.”

Even though this record has been out for over a month, it is still probably new to most of you, so do what you can to get your hands on this one before he blows up on MTV later on this year.

Lupe Fiasco

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

Nada Surf

Lucky is the latest Nada Surf album and Lucky the first album from them that I have listened to fully. The only song prior to this album I really enjoyed was their song from way-back-when called “Popular.”

The band kept their unique sound, but that sound doesn’t distinguish itself from each particular song on the album, meaning a lot of the songs on Lucky sound the same. There are a few, though, that I enjoyed and thought were unique to Nada Surf.

“The Fox” is a great song with an eerie and exotic edge coming from some instruments I cannot quite name. The drums are powerful and add to the song’s creativity. “Weightless” is another one of Nada Surf’s better songs on this album, as well as “Beautiful Beat.”

“The Film Did Not Go Round” is my favorite track on the album. It has chilling vocal harmonies and leads the listener into a dreamlike state. With lyrics like, “You showed me just how easy love could be / You showed me just how graceful it could be,” you know the song is describing the feeling of being in love and holding it close when you know it is gone.

The reality of lost love is apparent in lyrics like, “If not now, at the end of your lifetime.”

“See These Bones” has empowering lyrics like “Everyone is right and no one is sorry, that’s the start and the end of the story.” This track explains how people are ignorant and won’t admit when they are wrong. The lyrics are telling the listener to realize what it is to be alive and to appreciate life and to not use ignorance as an excuse.

These few songs were well written and I enjoyed listening to them. Aside from those, Lucky is a Nada Surf album that has a similar sound throughout. It may not be worth buying the entire album, but definitely download the songs that I chose and give them a chance.

- Amanda Ciccatelli / Staff Writer Lightspeed Champion is the newest project from Devonte Falling off the Hynes, ex-member of the awful band Lavender Bridge Test Icicles. While Test was closer to indie-punk, Lightspeed is some of the most wholesome indie-rock since old Cursive or Bright Eyes. It wasn’t surprising to find out that Saddle Creek Records everything-man Mike Mogis had his hands in producing Falling off the Lavender Bridge.

With his smooth vocals and female background singer, Lightspeed Champion has made a simply relaxed album that comes off as airy and mellow, leaving the listener so relaxed that you can’t feel anything but happy. Don’t let that statement deter you from giving this a listen though; it still possesses enough masculinity that it doesn’t come off as something that is too feminine.

The album starts off coincidently with the track “Number One,” a folk-heavy instrumental track with enough guitar twang that it could be mistaken for a country song. It blends right into the record’s second track, “Galaxy of the Lost,” which remains my favorite on the album. It easily introduces the listener to Hynes’ soothing vocals and to what Lightspeed Champion is going to be about for the 40 minutes that follow.

If you are looking for a nice, calming album with enough heavy contrast to please any musical aspect, Falling off the Lavender Bridge is exactly what you are searching for.

You can still stream the entire album on the band’s MySpace if you don’t have the patience to download it or, god forbid, buy it.

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

Lightspeed Champion

Fall Out Boy opened the floodChampion gates for the Chicago-area pop-punk wave, and The Audition rode that wave all the way to the recording studio. The guys have energy and spunk, but they simply lost in the masses of Fall Out Boy wannabes. If these guys had come out 5 years ago, they would probably have been a hit; but because of the oversaturated market for their music, The Audition simply does not have enough originality and signature to set themselves apart.

The band’s third and latest release, Champion, is decent. The hooks are catchy and the vocals exceed much of their Chicago brethren.

Their first single, “Warm Me Up,” is catchy and even a little layered, with its many tempo and rhythm changes. It’s even got the obligatory sexual innuendo necessary to be accepted on the Warped Tour: “Come closer to me baby, I’ve got everything you need to feed your hunger pangs for tonight. Warm me up beneath the sheets babe, I’ve heard all about how you can save.”

My personal favorite on the disc is track three, “Heaven for the Weather.” The lyrics are slightly poetic, and the hook is simple yet memorable. There is a definite groove to the song—up and down, but it all strings together well.

The guys tend to be slightly repetitive.

The choruses are great - I love the chorus; I just don’t need them so many times. Too much of the disc is devoted to the repetition of the same pop rhymes, over and over again. They need to cut back on the chorus and increase the originality.

The problem is the band does not fall into a definitive category. The sound is too raw for radio play so they miss out on the teeny bopper audience, but at the same time they’re too “poppy” for the hardcore audience. It’s a tricky situation for a band to be in, and a situation which is not going to help the guys in The Audition sell more records or gain more acclaim.

- Matthew Jurkiewicz / Staff Writer

The Audition

Flogging Molly

F log g i ng Molly is that Float other Irishpunk band that isn’t the Dropkick Murphys, to put it in the broadest, simplest terms.

While that is a completely misleading statement, to the casual listener, Flogging Molly doesn’t show a lot of contrast from their tartan brethren from Boston.

Irish culture continues to be Flogging Molly’s main idea stream on their newest release, Float. While I used to love Flogging Molly back in high school when Drunken Lullabies stayed in my CD player for weeks on end, there really hasn’t been a lot of growth in the past six years that makes FM anymore interesting then they were when I was 16. Sadly Flogging Molly has been unheard from since they released Within a Mile of Home back in 2004, the Dropkick Murphys have released two amazing studio albums that have made me forget about everything FM has done.

While I might not particularly care for Float, I can appreciate the precision that the seven-piece band uses when crafting the album’s instrumental pieces. Sadly, the band’s vocals negate anything I can find to like about this album. Every song manages to sound the same as the one prior, leaving me wishing for more contrast.

I am sure people will disagree with everything I have just said, I think Flogging Molly has began its descent into punk obscurity. For those of you who want to form your own opinions of Float, you’ll have to wait for the album’s official release in March or use your sleuthing skills online to dig up your own copy.

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

11

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Godzilla Has Nothing on Cloverfield Matthew Jurkiewicz

Staff Writer

Be honest: every time you’ve seen a Cloverfield trailer or ad over the last month, you’ve thought it was going to be stupid. It’s okay to admit it. We all thought it. It’s a rather stupid premise to produce. I mean, come on, a giant monster destroying a major city; it’s been done before—King Kong, Godzilla, Godzilla a second time, then King Kong again. Really, unless it’s more entertaining than all three of those, it’s not really worth making.

Somehow, against all odds, J.J. Abrams has managed to produce a movie that truly is that entertaining.

Okay, it’s not as grand and artistic as the recent King Kong, but then again, it doesn’t leave you sitting for three hours. As for Godzilla? I can say this with complete certainty and honesty: Cloverfield blows every Japanese Godzilla film out of the water, and puts the 1997 American version to complete shame. The Matthew Broderick version looks like a high school AV project by comparison.

The story is simple: Robert Hawkins is moving to Japan to start a new job. The day before he leaves, his brother, his brother’s girlfriend, and his best friend throw him a going away party. All is going well until Robert’s oldest friend, Beth, shows up, fights with Robert and leaves in

Sweeney Todd:

Like Any Other Depp/Burton Flick JOdy Wiles

Staff Writer

Being that my mother is a huge Johnny Depp fanatic, she went to see his newest movie, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the very Friday night it premiered in theaters. Though I was not nearly as excited as she, I did want to see it. So that evening, we went to a 7:00 p.m. showing at a movie theater in Southington.

Later that night my sister asked us what we had thought of the movie adaptation of the famous Broadway musical. My mom said it was absolutely fantastic, so good, and they had to go and see it right away. The look on my sister’s face was priceless as she turned to me for an honest and less-biased answer. What I said was, “It’s good, and worth seeing, but it’s not Johnny Depp’s best, or Tim Burton’s best.”

Sweeney Todd is the story of Benjamin Barker, a talented barber from London whose beautiful young wife unintentionally attracts a corrupted London judge. Judge Turpin, played

by Harry Potter’s Alan Rickman, has Barker, played by Johnny Depp [Pirates of the Caribbean], falsely charged and imprisoned in order to win the attention of young Mrs. Barker. Fifteen years later when the barber returns, now as Sweeney Todd, he takes up residence above Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, played by Fight Club’s Helena Bonham Carter. With the help of Mrs. Lovett, who has secretly loved Todd for many years, Todd seeks revenge on the dishonorable Judge Turpin.

We all know that Johnny Depp is an accomplished actor, but did any of us think that he could sing? Though Depp went to Hollywood at a young age as a rock musician, he found his stardom through acting. Now, he has returned to his musical beginnings. As it turns out, Depp has quite a talent for musicals, as do the rest of the cast. Even Sacha Baron Cohen, star of 2006’s Borat, sang impressively for the role of Signor Pirelli, performing the entire score of Fiddler on the Roof for director Tim Burton.

Helena Bonham Carter spent weeks with a vocal coach and studied baking to prepare for her role. When we are first introduced to Mrs. Lovett, she is baking meat pies in her pie shop and singing rapidly about their horrific taste, how they are the worst pies in London. Carter rehearsed her songs as she baked to prefect the quick rhythms of the songs and the intricate techniques of piecrust making. Her hard work and passion paid off in spades, with Mrs. Lovett appearing as an intense and eccentric character.

Tim Burton directs and Stephen Sondheim composes. With an ending that is both ironic and filled with justice, Sweeney Todd is a musical story of loss, revenge, murder and suspiciouslymade meat pies. It is certainly worth seeing.

a rage. That point, about twelve minutes in, is the end of the plot development. Because following this point, only one thing matters: surviving.

A tremendous tremor shakes the party, following which a massive explosion lights up the sky a few blocks away. All hell has officially broken loose by now, and the movie becomes the longest chase scene in history.

But that’s in no way derogatory. The action is intense; the scares are many and unpredictable; and the story is enough to string the movie together, but not so much as to bog the film down. Relating any more of the story is impossible due to the necessity for the sense of surprise, which is so vital to the film’s success.

The entire film is shot from the perspective of a hand-held camera being wielded by Hud, Robert’s best friend. For any who have seen The Blair Witch Project, this will come as nothing new. Surprisingly, the angles and shots are amazing, but at the same time, it is totally within belief that these images were captured by one man with a hand-held camera.

Hud, the cameraman and “pseudonarrator,” actually becomes the audience: he asks the questions we want to ask, and he makes the jokes that lighten the mood after an intense sequence.

And believe me, there is no shortage of intense sequences. The action and fighting styles are very

similar to those seen in Black Hawk Down. The story is there, but the fact that you are in the center of the action itself is the most important aspect of the shots. Everything you see is seen through the eyes of someone that is running for their life. It is the single most intense PG-13 film I’ve ever seen.

Truly, it missed out on an R rating by the skin of its teeth, but it is better for it. Unlike the other horror and action movies which are dominating the cinema of late, Cloverfield is not the “gore-porn” that fans have come to expect. There is no gratuitous swearing or sex, and that makes the film infinitely better. There were definitely points where a nipple or Fword could have been added; but for a rare occasion, the director showed restraint. The movie did not shock with sex and swears, but rather with action and tension.

Okay, though I loved it, it’s no Oscar picture. The story isn’t totally developed, most of the characters are shallow and 2-D and the shaky camera could possibly incite motion sickness. But it is totally worth the $10 ticket fee. The sound and visual effects necessitate a theatre experience. Best of all, it’s barely 90 minutes long. It never bogs down, and it never leaves you wondering when it will end. It will knock you back against the seat and leave you there the entire time the lights are off.

27 Dresses, One Feel Good Chick Flick Amanda Ciccatelli

Staff Writer

If you love romantic comedies and happy endings, 27 Dresses is the perfect movie for you. Although the film is constantly predictable, it is light-hearted and feel-good for all ages. Katherine Heigl gives every young girl the hope that she too will someday find her match and wear the perfect dress on her wedding day.

Heigl does not play the popular “sex object”-type character, but rather a simple girl named Jane who doesn’t live a glamorous life.

Jane is an idealistic romantic as well as a selfless person. She is a yearly bridesmaid who is unable to see her own happy ending while she watches her friends live their happiness.

Throughout most of the movie, Jane is uptight and has the need to take care of others and not herself. She is so focused on the needs of others that she’ll even lift up the bride’s dress in order for her to pee properly before getting hitched.

Jane has a hardworking job in Manhattan where she works for her boss and long-time crush George, played by Edward Burns. She is at his beck and call by greeting him with breakfast each morning and in return she only receives his gratitude. The frustration of her unrequited crush on Burns drives her to live vicariously through other women’s weddings.

She plans each of the 27 weddings while sporting each unique and often hideous dress. She even has a special closet exploding with all of the 27 bridesmaid dresses.

A visit from Jane’s baby sister, Tess (Malin Akerman) allows the meeting of Tess and Jane’s beloved boss, George. The two fall in love and plan a wedding, which crushes Jane, although she still plans the wedding and bears the pain to help her younger sister. During the two weeks of the couple’s meeting, Tess molds her personality to match George’s to make him fall in love with her. Jane becomes infuriated and lashes out at her sister with a cruel, embarrassing and humorous slide show at the engagement party.

The best part of the film is by far the annoying but charming newspaper wedding

column writer, Kevin (James Marsden). He begins by researching Jane’s wedding obsessions to use as his big breakout story, but he and Jane keep running into each other, against Jane’s wishes. Jane starts to see the nice side of him and becomes vaguely interested in him, until Kevin’s story about Jane gets published on the font page of the commitments section without his permission. Jane is humiliated and angry at Kevin until she realizes she was actually falling in love with him.

27 Dresses was written by The Devil Wears Prada’s screenwriter, Aline Brosh McKennabut, who created an alluring idea of a woman looking for love through the lives of 27 brides. The film is more creative and different than any romantic comedy I have seen in a long time. 27 Dresses gives any woman the feeling that true love is out there, but it may take a number of ugly dresses to find it.

12

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

A Few Quick Minutes With Bayside Edward Gaug

Entertainment Editor This week I had the opportunity to talk with Nick Ghanbarian, the bassist of Queensbased punk rockers Bayside. As they start to gear up for their upcoming cross-country tour, Nick talks about what it’s like to tour the smaller places, keep active while on the road and how hockey keeps him sane when he’s not at home.

Edward Gaug: How is 2008 going for you and Bayside as of right now?

Nick Ghanbarian: Great, we basically had the most time off we’ve had in year or so. We’re happy to be taking some time off, but we’re about to go back on tour and we’re readying the wagons right now, getting ready and we’ll be leaving in about a week for our next tour.

Gaug: I was looking at your tour schedule and it’s pretty much every night for almost four months, how do you think this nationwide tour is going to help you guys out as a band after releasing The Walking Wounded about a year ago?

Ghanbarian: This next tour is going to be the first one that we are headlining a smaller city tour and headline the whole country that includes the major cities as well as the smaller surrounding ones, too. With playing smaller places, I’m not sure what to expect yet. We get tons of MySpace messages asking us “When are you coming here?” and “Why do you always go to Chicago?” so we’re playing places like Urbana, Illinois this time, so, we’ll see.

Then following that, about two weeks later, we are going on tour with The Starting Line. It should be fun, we’ve basically toured nine and a half months straight when our album came out last February and we just had about seven weeks off and we’re going right back into it before we start writing.

Gaug: Alright, you were saying that you were kind of steering this tour towards the smaller cities, it also looks like you are playing a wide selection of venues ranging from large ones like House of Blues in New Orleans to smaller venues like the San Jose Skate Park.

What were some of the thoughts when you were putting the tour together?

Ghanbarian: Some of them go hand in hand, we are playing places we’ve never been to and we are taking it easy, figuring we’ll have a nice easy show. Then there are places like the Ventura Theater that’s like an hour outside of L.A. which we’ll do fairly well there. That will pretty much be a normal L.A. or Anaheim type show, but it’s not L.A. proper, I suppose. There are some places we’ve been to like New Orleans and places we’ve never headlined before.

We’ll see what happens; in smaller cities, the population is not quite the same and some of those places are smaller venues. There’s some other places that are smaller, but close to major cities, so we’ll have some run off of kids coming from the bigger cities. It’ll be fun, I know that much.

Gaug: You’ll probably have your core of fans at the shows, but this tour should help you find some new fans that are just discovering Bayside and will give you a listen because you are coming closer to them than usual.

Ghanbarian: Yeah, I hope so, especially after doing Warped Tour this summer, you don’t draw 10,000 people in Boise, Idaho and places where the population isn’t that big. You are going to be getting the people from the surrounding area instead. I feel like a lot of people who saw us at Warped Tour will have us come closer to them this time, so I think a lot of those kids will be coming out.

Gaug: With a giant tour like this you must be really busy, what do you do personally to keep your sanity being on the road this long?

Ghanbarian: Well, I’m a diehard hockey and New York Rangers fan so that’s in my brain about 90 percent of the time. We try to get some non-band stuff down, work on the Internet and see what the city is like, take a walk around, see if there is anything cool out there. If it’s nice out, we bring our bikes with us, and this tour we’re talking about bringing hockey equipment with us. We are trying to be more active and spend less time sitting around. I think we’ve done that long enough and were getting older and fatter now.

dependent record label and have their albums pushed back. Then, you don’t have much say about when your album comes out, but our album will be out this year. I don’t think we’ve gotten any backlash for that kind of publicity in AP or anything like that saying that something was coming out and it didn’t. Besides a couple disappointed fans, I don’t think anyone really cares if they’re wrong a year later.

Gaug: Alright, I’m going to throw a hockey question out there for you. Would you like to see the Rangers play an outdoor game like the Penguins and Sabers did, but at Yankee Stadium or Shea [Stadium]?

Ghanbarian: They know that they can rely on the words that come out of our mouths when we talk about our music on MySpace or our website instead of AP anyways.

Ghanbarian: I wouldn’t mind that at all. I’m totally for promoting hockey to people who don’t know anything about it, so I think that would be a good starting point for some people to see a bigger team like the Rangers. I wish they were better though, because we are pretty hard to watch. It would be a spectacle though.

Penguins and Sabers were cool, but they need bigger teams to play like the Rangers and Red Wings and the turn out would be so much bigger. Maybe next year?

Gaug: You brought up earlier something about a new album. AP [Alternative Press] put you guys in their “Most Anticipated” albums of ‘08; do you think publicity like this hurts you or helps you as a band when you might not have something recorded yet?

Ghanbarian: I don’t think it does either really and I think they themselves know that they’re not right 100 percent of the time and they have printed retractions when they weren’t right.

Sometimes albums that they talk about don’t come out and they apologize with a follow up.

We are good for our word so we’ll definitely have an album out this year, but there’s a lot of bands that have things happen and can’t get out a record because they’re not on an in-

Gaug: It probably wouldn’t be a big deal to your diehard fans if that happened.

Gaug: Bayside will be up in our area in Hartford on the 25th, is there anything that you think the reader of our paper should know about you guys or anything you would like to tell them?

Ghanbarian: We haven’t been in Hartford for a little bit; we actually haven’t been back to Connecticut in a while. We have played Toad’s Place before which is in New Haven so it’s not too far away and we have headlined The [Webster] Underground before. Our shows, if you have seen us before or not, are energetic so we demand a lot of the crowd and it’s not like someone is going to see us and just stand there. There is a lot of crowd participation and they can use it almost as therapy for the night. If their week is going bad or having a rough couple of days, it will be like when I was going to see my favorite bands growing up, that’s how I hope it would be. We give it our all and we have positive energy when we play and people leave having fun and feeling better. When I was 15 and seeing Bad Religion that is exactly what I wanted and the same thing with Bouncing Souls, or any of those bands. Not only do I want to see musicians, I wanted to do something positive with my life and not be a slacker.

13

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Mars Volta

= recommended

Freaks-Out

at Toad’s Place

WEEK OF JANUARY 23

01/29

MUSIC

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

An Inconvenient Truth

01/24

RAQ

Toad’s Place / 8 p.m. / $14 Self-described as high performance rock ‘n’ roll, RAQ has been going strong since its 2001 inception. With their unique sound, featuring complex song structure coupled with quirky-yet-accessible lyrics and a healthy dose of full-band improvisation, RAQ delivers a strong presence to their allegiant fans nationwide.

Opening: Barefoot Truth 01/25

Dan Ivers

Opinion Editor My tickets to the January 11 show at Toad’s Place read “An Evening With The Mars Volta.” The Texas band that rose from the ashes of postpunkers At The Drive-In has apparently reached the point in their career where they can forget about opening bands and reserve an entire theater for nothing but their bombastic, idiosyncratic and Latin-influenced metal.

While “An Evening With…” is usually reserved for the likes of Barry Manilow and Huey Lewis, it fits The Mars Volta well, giving them plenty of time for their ten-minute opuses to produce the desired effect.

After a long wait, the ninepiece band finally took the stage and launched into “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of),” a classic off of their debut album De-Loused in the Comatorium. Slowly, billows of pot smoke began ascending toward the rafters as singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala yelped his abstract, bilingual lyrics (the song’s chorus “Exoskeletal junction / at the railroad delayed,” got a big shout-along from the crowd).

Next was the pounding jazzband freak-out “Viscera Eyes,” with Bixler-Zavala shouting what sounded like ancient Aztec curses over trumpet lines from Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales’ brass section. Despite sound quality that left a little to be desired, the musicianship was undeniable.

New drummer Thomas Pridgen’s thunder never ceased throughout the show, and along with bassist Juan Alderete, their rhythm section powered the band’s epic build and release tactic. Two additional percussionists, employing wind chimes, tambourines and cowbell (yes, cowbell) pitched in some additional weirdness. Some half-assed mosh pits emerged in the packed-in crowd, but they served more to disturb the aura of the tranceinducing music than enhance it.

Conventional song-craft would dictate a couple of verses and choruses, followed by a bridge or a guitar solo. The Mars Volta takes this template and stretches it as far as one’s patience will allow and sometimes further; but what in one moment sounds like just a bunch of chaos and noise will suddenly spawn a burst of awe-inspiring beauty. After the sec-

ond chorus of “Tetragrammaton,” the band embarked on a 15-minute journey of disjointed sounds and guitar riffs over the steady drum and bass.

Bixler-Zavala inserted some high notes here and there, but unless you can stay relatively stoned (difficult in Toad’s Place), this starts to get on your nerves. “Drunkship of Lanterns” was a notable exception, as Bixler-Zavala’s spasmodes, accompanied by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s guitar effects, were consistently enthralling.

All in all, the Mars Volta gave the crowd exactly what they would have expected. They were simultaneously ingenious and absurd, juxtaposing Hendrix-like guitar solos with sounds that seemed like someone just farted in outer space. Their music is not for the unadventurous, or the sober for that matter. If you have the patience for 12-minute songs with multiple movements and lyrics inspired by a Ouija board - or if you just appreciate something very, very different - their display of showmanship and musical mastery can be mesmerizing.

Bayside

The Webster 7 p.m. / $13.50 Long Island-based Bayside formed in the winter of 2000 and quickly started developing a local following with their melodic brand of moody, guitar-driven emo. They soon hit the road, sharing stages across the United States with bands like the Alkaline Trio, Taking Back Sunday, and Further Seems Forever along the way.

Opening: Straylight Run, Four Year Strong

FILM 01/23 – 01/26

American Gangster

Cinestudio / 7:30 p.m. / $7 From Public Enemy to The Godfather to Scarface, movie audiences have been fascinated by the gangster’s familiar - if more violent and corrupt - pursuit of the American Dream. Denzel Washington is a brilliant mixture of charisma and brutality as real life 1970s kingpin Frank Lucas, whose dreams for success (and a home in the suburbs for his family) come at the price of supplying heroin to New York’s greater metropolitan area.

01/27 – 01/28

Redacted

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

Juno: The Comedy of Teen Pregnancy Vickie Wall

Staff Writer

Having watched the trailer for this movie a long time ago when it first came out, I thought it was going to be hilarious and I could not wait to see it.

Ellen Page stars as 16-year old Juno who gets pregnant by Paulie Bleeker (Superbad’s Michael Cera).

The first two minutes of the film start you off laughing, setting the tone for the remainder of the film. Ellen Page really steals the show whenever she is on screen. She is offbeat and quirky in her manner, actions and even everything she says. She is oblivious to how she sometimes is inappropriate, but the audience laughs all the same. Quotes like: “You should have adopted a baby from China, I hear they give them away like free iPods,” or “Hold on, I’m on my hamburger phone,” leave you laughing out loud because what she says is so bizarre and amusing.

The film handles a tough issue such as teenage pregnancy and adop-

tion in a comical sense. It is an unplanned pregnancy, but Juno must tell Paulie Bleeker, her best friend, and – gulp – her parents. Juno then makes the decision to give her baby up for adoption. In comes the Lorings, a couple played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, who wish to adopt Juno’s baby.

The adoptive parents are in sharp contrast with each other. Jennifer Garner’s character, Vanessa, is an uptight and intense woman with OCD, whereas Jason Bateman’s character, Mark, is a carefree musician who makes his money through writing jingles for commercials. Right when Juno is introduced to this couple, she hits it off with Mark because Juno is a musician herself, and she soon finds other similarities as well.

From there it is one comical scene after another. Mostly everything that is said is sarcastic, and different jokes appeal to different types of people. The audience sees the relationship between Juno, her parents, the Lorings and Paulie Bleeker change and sometimes grow; meanwhile, her best friend Leah, played

by Olivia Thirlby, sticks by her side through the entire pregnancy.

The film is a comedy with a little romance on the side, and there is instantly on-screen chemistry between Michael Cera and Ellen Page. Both engage in witty banter with each other and it is adorable. The only disappointment in the film was that Michael Cera was not there for most of it. The way it was shown in the previews was that he would be a main character, but he really wasn’t.

If you have not already seen Juno, you will be pleasantly surprised and not at all disappointed. It has all the components of a great comedy: a good cast; lots of laughs; quick comebacks; a fabulous dialogue and an overall humorous atmosphere.

Although many people cannot directly relate to the main character, Juno, it is funny nevertheless. If you loved Little Miss Sunshine for its type of humor, than you would definitely find Juno a smash hit, and it would belong in your collection when it comes out on DVD.

Not to lessen the positive rewards of making An Inconvenient Truth for former V.P. turned activist Al Gore (like winning the Academy Award® for Best Documentary and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize), but the more amazing impact of this eye-opening film has been the turn in public determination to pay attention to the threat of global climate change.

01/23 – 01/24

Honeydrippers

Real Art Ways / 8 p.m. / $6.75 John Sayles is not only in form but beyond his form. Honeydripper is his best film since Lone Star. Set in the 1950’s Alabama with an amazing cast of African-American actors, it’s got a classic story line that deftly compliments the proverbial Sayles politics.

ART Present – 02/24

Peter Bosco

New Britain Museum of Art / 12 p.m. / FREE Fading Places reflects the disappearing structures Bosco has encountered throughout his lifetime. Bosco believes nothing is permanent and creating a photograph, on some level, is acknowledgment that “loss is inevitable.” He says many of his images represent a “desire to preserve cultural and socially referential vestiges unique during my lifetime.”

Present – 02/24 NEW/NOW EAT New Britain Museum of Art 12 p.m. / FREE

If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen Brian De Palma’s new film playing at your local multiplex, it may have something to do with Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly’s demand for a boycott of the anti-war movie he calls “treasonous,” going so far as to call for demonstrations outside theaters where the film is showing. If (like us) you want to make up your own mind, your only chance to see Redacted is at Cinestudio.

The EAT collaborative came together to create a visual metaphor that explores how consumerism affects the collective aesthetic. The group consists of educators, animators, advertisers and technologists.

The EAT collaborative members are from North Carolina; several of them have studied at the North Carolina State University College of Design. The project is an on-going collaboration that uses cutting edge technology and design to address contemporary issues in culture.

Lifestyles

14

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Tea Bag Time

Cold Remedies from our Writers at The Recorder Karyn Danforth

Lifestyles Editor

This cold season we are all looking for an easy and reliable way out. No one wants to be in class with sickies who sniffle and snort their noses, and we sure as hell don’t want to be the snifflers. A few members from The Recorder have been gracious enough to share their tried and true cold remedies.

Victoria Wall – If I’m not feeling well before I go to bed, I take a huge dose of Nyquil to help me go to sleep. The only downside to this is not being able to wake up on time for class the next day; I am almost always late anyway. I’m kind of in a fog, but at least my nose isn’t running.

Aril Grain - A cold remedy that I have tried is an Indian mustard bath. You add a packet of powdered mustard, wintergreen and

eucalyptus to your bath before you go to sleep.

The experience is actually quite uncomfortable since you immediately start sweating like a 300 lb linebacker in August and it is hard to endure the full 20 minutes. Once it’s done, however, the next morning when you wake up you feel 100 times better. Some health food stores carry it, but it’s probably easier just to get it online.

Jody Wiles - Most of my friends just ignore their colds, in fact some of my friends claim they don’t even get sick anymore!

Marissa Mancini - When I have a cold, I drink a lot of orange juice and mint tea. To clear up my nose, I fill my sink with steaming hot water and tea tree extract or a mint tea bag. I lean over the sink with a towel draping over my head and sink to create a steam bath.

I stand there until I can’t stand any longer and let the steam clear up my sinuses.

Dan Ivers - Mind over matter. If you don’t think you’re sick, you’re not.

Laura Caron - Mulled Wine, a sure-fire way to cure what ails you!!

Ingredients: One bottle of a hearty red wine (any kind) One cup sugar (raw is best) One cup brandy (to taste, more or less) One orange (peel off two pieces of orange rind, no white) Three sticks cinnamon Four all spice berries Six cloves Put all ingredients in a large pot. Heat on high until it just starts to bubble. Turn off burner. Let it cool 15 minutes before serving or cool all way and store. Strain before storage or serving.

Tech News Marissa Blaszko

Staff Writer

Marissa Mancini

Staff Writer

The basics of tea: it is black, green, oolong or white. Anything else is a tisane, or herbal infusion, which is a blend of herbs, flowers, roots or spices. Tea contains polyphenols, which have antioxidant characteristics, while tisanes have relaxing or stimulant-like properties.

Tea of the week: Tazo Refresh Refresh is a tisane and contains hints of tarragon, spearmint and peppermint. The mints in this tisane aid in digestion and calm the stomach.

Feel a headache coming on? Menthol, the active ingredient in peppermint, helps relieve headaches. Peppermint also contains B vitamins, which help improve concentration and performance in the brain and nerves. Feel a cold coming on? Create a steam bath with hot water and spearmint to clear up your nose. Feeling hairy?

Studies show that spearmint reduces the ‘masculinising’ androgen hormones in the body when used on a regular basis. Can’t sleep? Tarragon helps calm the nerves and aids in sleep. Got the hiccups? Chew on a tarragon leaf!

The people have spoken—and the moguls at the annual Consumer Electronics Show have listened. Unfortunately, I’m not too sure exactly what they’ve been listening to. We said that we wanted anti-virus software that doesn’t take a professional two hours to install. We want longer battery life in our mp3 players, and cell phones that don’t make that stupid “signing off” noise when you have to turn them off during class.

But instead, we got a leopard skinned personal taser that functions as an mp3 player for a few dollars more.

Panasonic released a 150 inch TV that won’t fit through your doorway and isn’t even being released until five years from now. SkyMall made an alarm clock with a humanoid face that insults you in the morning. FyreTV released a TiVO-knock off made only for porn.

Welcome to the future.

The most useless innovation of the year is the “Lower Trip / Bumper LCD TV.” That’s right—a tiny screen located on the bumper of your car, just in front of the tires. How does RCA Mobile spokesperson Steven Hayes justify this gadget? He spoke to Gizmodo.com about the innovation. “When you’re cruising down the streets in Southern California, you gotta let everybody know what you’re watching on your screen, so you need to put RCA Mobile TVs on the outside of your car.”

But not everything that came out of Vegas this year was a total waste of time and money. SkullCandy, a little-known mp3 com-

gizmodo.com pany, has released its Double Agent—a new pair of Bose-like headphones with a preloaded San Disk card full of free music. According to Engadget.com, the Double Agent can hold any size SD card and functions like an Apple iPod Shuffle, with the controls built right into the headphones. Not available to the public yet, the latest line from SkullCandy will hit stores in Spring 2008.

Digitalcamerainfo.com cited seven types of digital picture frames at the CES this year, making it one of the most popular and possibly tackiest gadgets of the year. Essentially, these little energy-sucking gizmos are 4-by-5 inch TVs with no tuners and crappy plastic frames.

They never match anything else in the room unless one lives in a minimalist steel-andglass box. What more, the tiny LCD screen makes a living room resemble the background in the Fox News studio when the only stories worth covering are “family goes on vacation to

Canada,” “Timmy’s first birthday,” and “amateur photographer takes pictures of clouds and calls it art.”

All in all, it wasn’t a great year for technology. There was more renovation than innovation, and yet most pedestrian electronics are still too complicated for the average consumer or even MIT graduate to figure out. CES promises consumers that their lives will be better when they’re hidden behind video glasses, or when instead of visiting Maui, they learn about it on the Travel Channel in HD. Still, it might be a good idea to be a little nicer to the friendly neighborhood geek - when their BlueTooth-HD-digital-TiVO-Franken-fridge inevitably crashes, the last thing that any consumer wants is to remember that one time sophomore year when they shoved the tech support guy into his own locker.

College Students: Suffering From Narcissism?

Marissa Mancini

Staff Writer

Treat others the way you wish to be treated - or so we learn in our youth. But what if you think only of yourself and fail to even consider others? Such displays of narcissism are on the rise among college students.

According to CBS News and AP, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University says today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors. Twenge and her colleagues had been issuing the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) between 1982 and 2006 nationwide. The NPI

asks for responses to such statements as “If I ruled the world, it would be a better place,” and “I think I am a special person.” The NPI scores have risen steadily since 1982, and by 2006 two-thirds of the students had above-average scores.

The rise in narcissism can be traced back to the 1980s. Twenge calls this time the “self-esteem movement,” asserting that the effort to build self-confidence had gone too far. She cites songs commonly sung in preschools such as “I am special, I am special. Look at me,” sung to the tune of “Frére Jacques.” Today, those preschoolers are all grown up and fueling their narcissist need for

admiration with technology through MySpace and YouTube.

Narcissists tend to have shortlived romantic relationships, are at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth and exhibit game-playing, dishonesty and over-controlling and violent behaviors. These people tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others.

Narcissism is not a bad quality, though. Narcissism can be beneficial when meeting new people. The transition between high school and college is not easy; freshman are barraged with a whole new lifestyle, and having a high sense of self - as op-

posed to fearing the worst - can help them adapt more smoothly to their new environment.

Permissive parenting styles can be to blame for this rise in narcissism.

W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia argues that more authoritative parenting and less indulgence is a potential antidote to narcissism.

It is obvious that people today are more worried about themselves and where they’re going to find a place in life and less concerned about the rest of the world. With rising gas prices and air quality becoming more and more polluted, is it necessary for the soccer mom in suburbia to be driving her kids to school in a five-mile per

gallon Hummer?

It would be worrisome if people answered ‘No, I’m not special’ to the NPI. A healthy amount of narcissism is admirable and necessary for good, positive self esteem. With preteens on MySpace today, what amount of narcissism do we have to look forward to ten years from now? The best advice we can give ourselves, as college students who may be raising children within the next five to ten years, is to be more authoritative parents and teach our children to appreciate rather than indulge.

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

True Life: I Worked at McDonald’s

Karyn Danforth

Lifestyles Editor

The unemployment rate is on the rise everyday. As more individuals are laid off, many barely making ends meet as it is, where can they honestly turn these days? People will practically do anything to make life affordable and provide for their families. High school and college students require money for paying rent, car insurance, phone bills and tuition, among other things. Not everyone can land their dream job, especially when they don’t yet carry the credentials nor have the connections to do so. With our current economic situation, you take what you can get and suck it up.

Is it really that painful, working at a fast food restaurant such as McDonald’s? It’s rather simple, and can be a great opportunity for individuals seeking to expand their leadership and business skills. Many who

work there long term end up becoming managers or can go on to create their personally owned enterprise of McDonald’s establishments. Is there money in that? Of course; most store owners have made decent lives for themselves and are very respected within their communities. With any major company there is always a chance to advance; that is, if you have the commitment and willpower to stay on track.

Sadly, the “stereotypical” McDonald’s worker is seen as lazy, unintelligent and incapable of advanced skills. This couldn’t be more untrue; in fact, these are the people who deal with more hardship and inconsistency in their lives then people who can completely bypass a fast food job in general.

McDonald’s can be demanding in more ways than one. Take socialization for example: since the key objective is “Fast, friendly service with a smile,” the public has a high

expectation for their quick, cheap meal. With most on the run, they expect instant gratification; if this is not met, most grow very impatient and can be rude. Once the employee puts on that uniform, they become a commoner. This doesn’t always give them the respect they deserve as a person. Employees deal with the crabby, insulting people who just don’t understand how much it can suck for them, the workers who have to grin and bare the customers’ needs and remarks. This applies to any customer service job, whether you’re a waiter, a supermarket cashier, and even a hairdresser! If someone is dissatisfied, employees have to give them what they want. The customer is always right, correct?

During my short few-week stint at McDonald’s over winter break, I was subjected to the annual SOR, which is when a McDonald’s representative comes in to do an inspection. Everything must be perfect

because the store is graded on cleanliness, quality and performance.

Prior to the visit, each of us individually had extra cleaning jobs and duties to be prepared for the visit; I even had to be ready for answers to questions such as, “What was the target rate of customers during lunch hour?” Seems ridiculous to most, but it is very important and crucial to the business. It was taken very seriously by most, as even the store owner was present, and our general manager was obviously nervous and eager to please. Hard work paid off in the end, as all of our scores were in the mid 90s. My co-workers and I were showered with praise, and then work continued in the same format it had always been in.

In retrospect, I have saved up a decent amount of cash for my next semester at college. If it will help me financially, why should I be embarrassed about having worked there? We’ve all had jobs that we’ve

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder been embarrassed to tell our friends about, but why should we care what they think? And more importantly, if they would make fun of you, are they really worth keeping around?

Even if you’re working a job that you know isn’t the greatest, it will shape you into a stronger individual that is more akin to understanding the ups and downs in life. For those who don’t experience it, well, they’ll just continue to be ignorant; but let’s be hopeful that won’t become a true statement. As the father in Calvin and Hobbes always tells young Calvin after doing jobs he despises, they just simply “build character.”

On Growing Up: Finding Your Own Home Jody Wiles

Staff Writer

From the moment that my final box was unpacked last September, I felt at home. Adjusting to dorm life was one of the easiest changes I’d made in my life. Soon I began making amazing friends, and I was really enjoying my American Literature class. Before I knew it, finals fell upon me, and along with them, winter break.

Now came the task of packing all my belongings again and returning home, or, more accurately, my previous home. During the four months of fall semester, Central had become my home. I felt more comfortable in a room I shared with a stranger and a bathroom I shared with five girls I’d never even met.

Unfortunately, I could not avoid the five

weeks I would be separated from my friends. I packed each and every last box, and on the last Thursday of the semester I moved them back to Cheshire.

Most of my vacation time was spent watching TV, playing my new Lego Star Wars game, beating Devil May Cry, and sleeping at ridiculous hours - when I could sleep that is; I was unable to keep a regular sleep schedule. I was sleeping five or six hours during the day and would be up all night. There was one week where I didn’t see the sun at all.

All of these factors - the lack of sleep; the over-exposure to my cranky grandmother; the complete boredom; and missing my friends terribly - led to my worst case of homesickness in years. Though I was at the home of my childhood with both my parents and my sister, I was lonely and melancholy.

Excitement arose as break came to a close.

Though I knew I would miss my family, I was very excited to get back home, start my classes, and see my friends. As much as I hated to hurt my mom’s feelings by being too excited, I couldn’t help it. I love my family, I always will, but I’m not the little girl they raised any more.

It happens to everyone, when one must realize it’s time to be on their own. Occasionally it’s a very dramatic change, when aspiring actresses move across the country and live alone in an apartment for the first time, for example.

Others times, such as with the young college student, it’s much more gradual. I’ve learned how to take care of myself and how to solve day-to-day problems. I can handle the things that college life will throw at me, and if something gets thrown at me from the real world - the world outside college - my parents

Have an interesting story about your “embarrassing” job?

Send in your answers to ccsurecorder@gmail.com and we’ll post them next issue.

will be there to help me out. It seems I have the best of both worlds.

The idea of writing this came to me the week of finals, as I began dreading the time I’d be spending in Cheshire. I wondered when the change of “home” had occurred. I had physically moved away in September, but when did the emotional move happen?

For weeks I struggled with what I wanted to say. Then, a few days before I was to pack my things all over again, I sat at my computer and began typing. All of a sudden I was realizing that it didn’t matter when school had become my home, and it didn’t matter that “home” wasn’t with my parents anymore. The how wasn’t important, and neither was the why; the only part that mattered was that the change had occurred, and I didn’t even notice.

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder Aril Grain

Assistant News Editor On the cobblestone block of Pratt St. in downtown Hartford, Sweet Jane’s Rock & Roll Eatery provides a comfortable spot for nightly entertainment without the pretension or overwhelming crowds of many other bars downtown.

Sweet Jane’s, named after the Lou Reed song, is not the kind of place where people go to be seen; rather where people are invited to come as they are, to relax and just plain have a good time.

Along with a full bar, Sweet Jane’s offers your usual pub fare, yet with a quirky twist. Tater Tots, baked antipasto squares and mini meatloaf sandwiches are some of the many menu selections; but the creative section titles, like “Kick Start My Heart,” “Green Day,” and “Jane’s Addiction” remind you that the music is what this place is really all about. Rock and roll memorabilia, including autographed guitars and band posters, set the stage in the dark yet colorful main dining and bar area, along with a floor-to-ceiling mural of a band performing in the street.

Upstairs, Sweet Jane’s has pool tables, dartboards, foosball and an Internet jukebox, but downstairs is where the action really is. With their mostly free weekly events and numerous drink specials, Sweet Jane’s provides a reason every night to come party like a rock star while supporting some amazing local talent.

Monday nights are jazz nights and feature the stylings of students from the Hartford School of Music.

“We had a kid here last night [Jan. 14] playing the drums,” said Chris Peters, Sweet Jane’s owner and manager. “He was 13 years old, but you’d never know it, he was that good.”

Tuesday is comedy night, headlined by Darren Rivera, bartender and regionally-renowned comedian known as the Latin King of Comedy. Comedy night boasts per-

formers from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York while also providing an opportunity for newcomers to try their hand performing in front of an audience. Think you’re funny? Strut your stuff at Sweet Jane’s and find out.

Rock & Roll Karaoke with DJ Robyn is on Wednesdays. Twodollar drafts and off-key ACDC - what more could you ask for on a Wednesday?

The newest addition to the Sweet Jane’s calendar is the Local Band Showcase on the last Thursday of every month. Like a mini Battle of the Bands, audience members get to see three to four bands from throughout Connecticut perform on one stage, in one night.

Every Friday and Saturday night, Sweet Jane’s hosts a different regional, national or international band or DJ. Most of these groups unfortunately require a cover, but it’s usually no more than five to seven dollars.

The event that for the past year has drawn the biggest crowd is Shag Frenzy night on the third Saturday of every month. With Johnny Strangler and Garage Flower spinning new wave, Britpop and indie tunes, Shag Frenzy nights always keep the dance floor full and create an atmosphere that makes you wonder if you’re really still in Hartford.

If your interest has been piqued, Sweet Jane’s does have a current MySpace page with a list of all their upcoming events. Or you can just show up at 88 Pratt St., since there’s always something going on. Sweet Jane’s is closed on Sundays.