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CENTR A L CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSIT Y Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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Volume 106 No. 10

CCSU Adjunct Prof. Considers Bid for Governor

Walsh: Start Managing Your Money Now MATT KiERNAN ThE RECoRDER

likely to move into states such as New York and Massachusetts.

“If we don’t get our act together, we’re going to be in a recession a lot longer,” said Lamont.

Lamont believes that Connecticut hasn’t been making smart, long-term investments that will improve itself. He praised President Barack Obama for his “political entrepreneurship,” which he cited the president’s stance on energy and healthcare.

The CCSU finance association invited Vice President of Finance Industry Regulatory Authority Gerry Walsh to discuss with students her ideas on how to approach saving, investment and avoiding debt.

“The United States hasn’t been a nation of savers,” said Walsh to an audience in Alumni Hall. Walsh says the country uses too many credit cards to pay off their debts and their debts are compounding at enormous rates.

Walsh advises that the best ways to establish a person’s credit score are to apply for department store and gasoline credit cards, take out secured loans, apply for a bank or credit union loan and to ask a friend or relative to co-sign a loan or credit card application.

“What you want to do is make sure you have the greatest, cleanest track record you possibly can,” said Walsh.

A table was shown for measuring a person’s credit score and was divided as payment history holding 35 percent of the total, amounts owed 30 percent, length of credit 15 percent, type of credit 10 percent and new credit 10 percent.

“The higher the score, the lower your interest rates are going to be for when you take out a loan,” said Walsh.

Walsh suggested that students should be looking into retirement to make sure they’re secure in the future. Although it’s difficult to imagine, Walsh says it’s important for students to envision themselves years in the future.

Before students invest, they should create a “spending” plan that includes both saving and investing.

Paying off personal loans and credit card debts are also important for students so they can be free to use their money elsewhere.

“Put together a budget that allows you to save, spend and enjoy,” said Walsh.

Investments also work out better when the investor knows about the subject and if they don’t know much about it it’s smarter to not buy into it.

See Entrepreneurship Page 3

See Managing Your Money Page 3

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

All Eyes On Ned Lamont Former Senate candidate and CCSU political science adjunct professor Ned Lamont announced he is considering running for governor of Connecticut, days before Gov. Jodi Rell declared she will not run.

During his lecture Thursday on the value of an entrepreneurial culture in the state, Lamont was asked directly if he was running for governor. He responded that he was

filing for a “state-wide office.” The day before, Wednesday , Nov. 4 he announced that he formed a committee that would review the possibility of running for governor.

“I have been constantly reminded during these conversations that Connecticut is not living up to its potential and that too many of our families are still being left behind,” Lamont posted on his 2010 Exploratory Committee’s

Web site. “Simply put, Connecticut’s current Chief Executive is not getting the job done.”

In 2006 Lamont defeated incumbent and current Sentator Joseph Lieberman (IConn.) in the Democratic primary, but lost to Lieberman for the Senate seat on Nov. 7, 2006. His campaign focused on portraying him as the anti-Iraq war candidate who would question former President George W. Bush.

Entrepreneurship to Aid Connecticut Economy?

MATT KiERNAN ThE RECoRDER

CCSU adjunct political science professor Ned Lamont’s lecture Thursday focused on entrepreneurship and how it can contribute to Connecticut’s job market and economy.

“There’s nothing better than starting a small business or working on a small business,” said Lamont to an audience of faculty, students and members of the New Britain community in the Marcus White Living Room.

Lamont recalled the ingenuity of Eli Whitney, who lived in the state and invented the cotton gin.

Lamont says Whitney modernized manufacturing and sees no reason why such progress can’t be recreated in today’s economy.

“You have to ask, ‘what happened? Why we are slipping?” said Lamont.

What is required of the state, according to Lamont, is bringing in more jobs and make it appealing for college graduates to remain in Connecticut. If there is an attractive job market, students will be less

In The Recorder This Week:

A World in Black and White?

Page 2

Excellent Teachers Awarded

Page 4

Christmas Comes Early to the XL Center

Page 6

Bringing Weezer to Central?

Page 8

Talking with Taking Back Sunday

Page 9

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT: www.centralrecorder.com

News

2 THE RECORDER Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Recorder

Student Center 1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT 06050 T 860.832.3744 editor@centralrecorder.com centralrecorder.com twitter.com/therecorder

Editor-in-Chief Melissa Traynor Managing Editor Edward Gaug Art Director Geoffrey Lewis Copy Editor Elizabeth Mitchell News Editor Matt Kiernan Opinion Editor Christina LoBello Entertainment Editor Michael Walsh Lifestyles Editor Samantha Fournier Sports Editor Christopher Boulay Carmine Vetrano, Assistant Web Editor Alex Jarvis Writers Brittany Burke Kim Scroggins Don Weber Timothy Farrell Christopher Machnich Faustine Colin Photographers Kalin Bucholz About 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.

Meetings for The Recorder are held on Mondays at 8 p.m. in the Blue and White Room in the student center.

A World in Black and White?

History Prof.

Takes on Racial Issues Surrounding Obama’s Presidency Faustine Colin The Recorder

Remarking on the connections between racial tensions in America and criticism of President Barack Obama, CCSU history professor Katherine Harris delivered a lecture highlighting key criticism of our new President.

When she was asked to talk about this topic, she immediately thought of the book “Here I Stand”

by Paul Robeson.

“I opened to this page and the quote that he mentioned is very revealing to our topic, Paul Robeson wrote ‘Here I Stand’ in 1957,” she explained.

“This comment I couldn’t let go by: ‘A century has passed since Frederick Douglas pointed out that the relation exiting between black and white people of this country is a central question of the age,’” she went on to quote.

“Paul Robeson was quoting Frederick Douglas, who wrote that in the 1840 but now we are in 2009 and we are still dealing with that question.”

Harris went on to ask that question. “Is the issue of race a static concept that is something unchanging?” she asked, “Is race an invisible entity?”

Since Americans have elected an African American president, some people consider that racism is not a problem anymore and that “race is now invisible.”

And Professor Katherine Harris added “Can the discussion on the topic become a source of a transformative dialogue on race, trust, reconciliation and humanity?”

She also cited bits of information from the New York Times article “As Race Debate Grows, Obama Steers

Dr. Harris spoke last Thursday about racial tensions during Obama’s presidency.

Clear Of It.” Obama said that he is not the first president accused of being a communist or socialist.

Harris explained that Obama pointed out that presidents before him have been criticized in that respect. “Are there people who don’t like me because of my race? I’m sure there are,” Obama was quoated as saying.

“The things that were said about Roosevelt were pretty similar to the things that were said about me.”

Obama was also quoted as saying, “race is such a volatile issue in this society” that it is diffuclt to determine whether it is a “predominant factor” in

political discussions or part of the background.

Other views published in the New York Times included those of columnist Maureen Dowd, who is blamed for stirring up the race debate.

Harris commented that there is also a tension between conscious and unconscious racism in the United States. She said thast unconscious is obviously harder to detect and therefore harder to eradicate.

Professor Harris added that many of these events reflect the issues of race in the States.

She recalled the arrest of

scene @ ccsu A Weekly Stand-Alone Photo Captured at CCSU

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Kalin Bucholz | The Recorder

Taj, a performer from Hartford’s Polo Club, made an appearance at this year’s PRIDE Masquerade Ball.

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his home after a neighbord called police with suspsicions that he was trying to break into his house.

He was arrested, according to police, for exhibiting “tumultuous behavior.”

A reporter asked Obama what he thought about that event and the police officers specifically, to which he responded, “they acted stupidly.”

When Obama arranged for he, Gates and the overseeing police chief Sgt. James Crowley to memet over a beer and discuss the issue, Harris was dismayed to see that critics had called the situation “two black men ganging up on Crowley.”

She pointed out that Vice President Biden also attended the meeting.

Race remains a factor American society. Another example that illustrates this fact is when President Obama went to a school in Texas. It was a very “Innocent speech,” said the speaker.

But some conservative parents saw he opportunity for the president to impress young minds. It is how an “innocent event,” Harris said, becomes an incident with racial undertones.

Furthermore, the subject of healthcare is very sensitive. There is a theory that says healthcare reform should be used in order to pay back the African Americans who were slaves, or “healthcare are retibution.”

The current debate on healthcare was “linked to something that had nothing to do with healthcare.”

The lasting effect of comics and images portraying Obama negatively “has done a lot of damage,” said Harris.

On a large screen she showed a few examples of images such as the food stamps that, she pointed out, are commonly associated with African Americans or people in need.

She explained that the world is binary, in a world in black and white.

Harris also said that regardless of the social and racial circumstances, Obama’s election “is a political and a social miracle.”

3

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / NEWS

Kalin Bucholz | The Recorder

Start Managing Your Money Now Continued from page 1 When looking to invest, students must realize the risk tolerance involved and that when they invest in securities, there’s always a risk involved.

Stocks carry a high risk while mutual funds have a much smaller risk because of investors pooling their money into a wide range of companies.

It’s also important for investors to invest for the long-term and stick

to their plans. The long-term can pay off much greater than the shortterm and short-term fluctuations can be dramatic.

FINRA is the largest regulator

of securities firms in the U.S. and monitors approximately 664,000 registered securities representatives, 171,000 branch offices and 4,800 brokerage firms.

The company fines firms that are caught committing illegal acts and educates investors looking to be involved with the stock exchange among other things.

At the Web site finra.org/ brokercheck, students can view a broker’s history to see if they’ve had trouble with the law and see if they’re registered with FINRA. FINRA is going to release in the coming year a financial capability

and literacy survey consisting of 2,000 national telephone respondents and 25,000 online survey respondents to determine the average person’s knowledge of financial terms of U.S. citizens.

Entrepreneurship to Aid Connecticut Economy?

Continued from page 1 “He is making long-term investments that can make great advances for this country,” said Lamont.

Lamont recalled bringing his son recently to the Department of Motor Vehicles and observed that the procedures are incredibly inconvenient, given the amount of people crowded in the building. He wondered why it wasn’t possible for people to accomplish DMV transactions online, which could be facilitated by technology.

He said that technology is the key to creating more jobs and that although some jobs may be lost in

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

an area due to a rise in technology, a greater number of jobs would be created in another.

Public transportation is a possibility for bringing in more money into the state. The idea of creating a train line to run from Springfield, Mass. to New Haven would provide added revenue to the state and lower costs for travelers.

Making investments in higher education is another important step to improving Connecticut’s economy, according to Lamont.

More accessible education means a smarter and skilled workforce.

“They’ve got to be able to think and create and that’s the most important thing,” said Lamont.

Former CCSU Prof.’s Books Highlight German Fighter Pilots Matt Kiernan The Recorder

Former CCSU history professor Peter Kilduff visited the campus bookstore to discuss his books “The Red Baron: the Life and Death of an Ace” and “Black Fokker Leader.”

Manfred von Richtofen, also known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot during World War I who shot down an astounding 80 planes during his war career. He was dubbed the Red Baron because his and the planes belonging to his crew were painted red.

“If you can see me, you might as well get a good look at me,” said Kilduff describing Richtofen’s attitude towards aviation.

The book “Red Baron” took over 50 years to finish and interest in the subject was sparked when Kilduff was a teenager. While growing up, Kilduff was interested in reading books and eventually stumbled upon tales on WWI airplanes and was immediately stricken with enthusiasm for them.

After becoming interested in airplanes, Kilduff took German classes during high school and

college, which proved valuable in the long-run because of his ability to translate works and memoirs.

This gave him an advantage over other authors writing on the subject because they were not bilingual.

“Learning a language is so specific. You really have to get into it,” said Kilduff.

Kilduff interviewed 30 men who flew in WWI who described the horrible noises of their engines and clatters of machine guns. He also translated letters Richtofen sent to his mother and articles from friends.

“This book represents the culmination up to this point on Richtofen,” said Kilduff.

Kilduff believes that most Germans of the current generation dislike military history and the idea of “military heroes” because of their country’s past in wars.

“Black Fokker Leader” is based on the life of another German fighter pilot during WWI named Carl Degelow. Pilot Degelow took down 30 planes in his career, giving him the reputation of an “ace.”

Degelow was a university student when the war broke out and he joined the infantry in the

trenches where he soon realized he’d rather be in the air. While sitting in the trenches one day, he saw a plane circling above and thought it would be much safer up there than down below and thought he would succeed greater things in aviation.

“He felt that as a patriot, as a good German, he could best serve his country as a fighter pilot,” said Kilduff.

Degelow was almost thrown out of his air squadron during a target practice where men were still setting up targets and Degelow flew down and shot at them by accident, during which one man was shot in the foot. Degelow was able to transfer to another squadron, however, and eventually became leader of his own.

Kilduff had two years’ correspondence with Degelow and was able to get some of Degelow’s own words of his story.

“I like people like Carl Degelow who do things their own way,” said Kilduff.

“Red Baron” and “Black Fokker Leader” are available on amazon. com and the campus bookstore.

Speaker Weighs in on Obama’s Visit to Middle East Matt Kiernan The Recorder

Professor of International Politics at Trinity College Dr. Raymond Baker spoke to students and faculty in a speech titled, “Obama, Islam and the Muslim World,” which opened up discussion about President Barack Obama’s presence in the Middle East.

“Community building is at the very heart of the message of Islam,” said Baker to an audience in the Marcus White Living Room.

Baker provides consultation services to the Department of Defense and the Pentagon as well as other government agencies and is a former president of the International Association of Middle East Studies.

Obama, who had given a speech in Cairo, Egypt in a call for peace between America and Muslims as well as Muslims in America, was critiqued by Baker as an elegant and beautiful speech but was questioned if there was truth behind the words.

“That first speech could not have been more welcome,” said Baker.

When Obama speaks of building a more peaceful world and doing away with stereotypes of Muslims and stereotypes of America, Baker feels that the policies of the Obama administration aren’t very much different from those of the Bush years.

“The core policies are of a military-interested empire,” said Baker.

Baker feels that America likes

to describe itself as a gentle giant who sleepwalks into countries with the front of good intentions but is often motivated by selfish interests that include using other countries’ natural resources. He thinks that there’s a common belief that there’s a recipe for “every war is a good war.”

There is a belief that Muslims keep one eye on their sacred text, the Qur’an, and one eye on the reality that’s occurring around them.

They’re called to pay attention to every moment’s reality and work to improve the world. The Qur’an of Islam details the guidelines for how their Muslims should conduct their lives and was written by the founder of the religion Muhammad’s followers after his death.

After the attacks on 9/11, Baker feels the invasion of Afghanistan by America was the wrong thing to do and that it was more of an emotional reaction rather than a well-thought out plan. Afghanistan wasn’t a threat against America because it’s a third-world country that could not defend itself.

“The global war against terror gave justice to the attacks on American soil,” said Baker describing how the invasion gave emotional justice to America.

While Baker thinks that the Afghan people are better off without the Taliban, he also thinks that Iraq may have been better off with Saddam Hussein. After Hussein was taken out of power, Iraq was left in ruins with much destruction done to its country.

4

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / NEWS

Excellent Teachers Awarded Matt Kiernan

The Recorder The Excellence in Teaching Awards ceremony honored CCSU professors who strive for exceptional methods of teaching and look to become major parts of their students’ educational experiences and lives.

“It’s really important that we get together and recognize those who excel,” said President Miller at the ceremony in the Bellin Gallery.

The recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Award were assistant professor of music John Seddon IV and professor of management and organization Kathleen Wall. They were joined as finalists for the award with assistant professor of teacher education Barbara Clark, associate professor of finance Joseph Farhat and associate professor of English Jason Jones.

“It’s even more poignant for me because the university’s mission is a teaching mission,” said Wall after receiving her award.

Other awardees in the ceremony were professors who were semifinalists for the Excellence Award and those who made Honor Roll.

Before the winners of the Excellence Award were read, professors were reminded throughout the ceremony that they were all winners because of the contributions they make to the university and differences they make in their students’ lives.

Every professor who attended heard comments from their students who wrote statements that affirmed their talents for teaching and influences they have on their

classes.

“He always works until the job is done no matter how many tasks there are,” said a student about Seddon.

“On many occasions our class would stay longer just to learn about the lesson,” wrote a student about semi-finalist and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Kathleen Bantley.

“His way of teaching made me rethink about my career goals,” wrote a student who changed their major to accounting after taking a government accounting class with Honor Roll member and Professor of Accounting John Rasimas.

A video was presented to professors of CCSU professors, who look to come up with interesting ways to draw their students’ attentions, which included English professor Jason Jones who uses internet applications such as Twitter and sometimes Facebook to keep his classes working together on class work.

A committee was formed to search for professors who were doing exceptional work in the classroom and started to receive nominations from students during the middle of April. Committee members visited classrooms without letting professors know of their presence to gain an idea of their ways of teaching and to look for those who deserved the awards the most.

“I’d like to thank my colleagues and my wife and dad but most of all my students,” said Seddon after receiving his award.

Winners of the awards presented papers in the Gallery that

Kathleen Wall of management and organization won an Excellence in Teaching Award.

represented how they teach and the processes it takes to improve their methods. Professors who were finalists for the Excellence Award attended half-hour interviews to

make the selections more personal and give them a more arduous process for finding who the right winners were.

Committee members were

Kalin Bucholz | The Recorder

commended for the difficult work that was involved with finding the professors who won that required a lot of time and energy.

Editorial/Opinion

5 THE RECORDER Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Editorial

Newspaper’s Step Towards Professionalism A Correct One Mistakes happen. Fortunately, while we are still in college and in a learning environment, we can learn from them. The Mirror at Fairfield University recently experienced pressure from the university to revise its editorial policies after a column in the newspaper’s Coffee Break section offered tips to girls who endure the “walk of shame” from a stranger’s bedroom one morning after and congratulated respective guys for ridding themselves of “stage five clingers.”

The column also went into detail about how women should congratulate themselves for giving the guy “a great story for the rest of [his] life” after a one-night stand.

As of October, when the column ran, Fairfield had threatened to withdraw its financial and facilities support if the desired revisions were not produced. That time period

ran out Monday. Fortunately, The Mirror decided to take the up the university and take a setp towards developing a more professional code and written procedures.

Does this situation sound familiar? While The Recorder’s own run-ins with controversial printed content have come under completely different circumstances - fortunately the First Amendment protects our work from financial retribution, as CCSU is a public university, and Fairfield is not the lesson is essentially the same.

Newspaper columns published in poor taste will always incur the wrath of students and administrators.

And even though Fairfield explicitly does not have to adhere to protecting the newspaper’s First Amendment rights, the administration is offered an extremely generous provision in

Say What?

exchange for maintaining university funding, which, according to a university statement, includes financial and facility support. The Mirror’s current agreement includes $30,000 per year over four payments with the provision that they print 12 issues per semester.

From one student newspaper staff to another, it was wise to accept the terms of the university. From an outsider’s point of view, at least, their terms seem benevolent and with sound intentions. Regardless of whether The Mirror’s “He Said” column, which went on at length about embarrassing sexual relations between students, was actually offensive, the university’s offer was a fair and magnanimous one.

According to a letter by Fairfield’s officials, the university required an agreement written by The Mirror staff to contain “provisions that

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

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guidelines makes all the difference.

Unfortunately the pressure comes at a time when the administration’s side is presented as a reprimand after controversy, but such is the story of student newspaper evolution and growth.

It happened at The Recorder, but the newspaper is the better for it for having developed a code of ethics, which was born out of a similar situation. Our living ethics code document aims to prevent said offenses and provide direction as to what to print in good taste and with good judgment.

And again, while The Mirror is going to be subject to harsh criticism regardless, creating a document, at the very least, serves as tangible evidence that the newspaper is reacting positively and maturely.

Skimping on ‘Green’ Will Cost Us Later Christina LoBello The Recorder

“More recycling bins would be better. There are a lot of trash cans with one recycling bin. They should be spread out more around campus.”

sufficiently address the deficiencies in the current guidelines, particularly as they relate to the use of vulgarities, obscenity, sexist, racist, or homophobic language, etc.” The letter by Vice President for Academic Affairs Rev. Paul Fitzgerald, S.J. and Vice President for Administrative & Student Affairs Mark Reed also indicates that while the agreement should include safeguards and and editorial prepublication review by the students themselves, it will be absolutely free of influence or review by any administrative or faculty entity.

According to Editor in Chief Tom Cleary, the newspaper put in writing an already unwritten practice for scanning to edit out or cutting articles altogether that may be offensive in nature. But putting pen to paper, and establishing the importance of procedure and

Of all places, our college campus is probably not the most aware of environmentally friendly practices.

In an informal survey, I found one student who knew of and cared about the term “going green.” I was amazed at just how many of them were oblivious or did not care. With all the commercials, and billboards advertising going green, the “save the planet” signs on reusable grocery bags, and trendy hybrid cars, one would think that students would at least have an idea of what it is. Apparently, that is not the case.

By definition, going green is doing several eco-friendly activities in order to conserve energy, and reduce pollution all the while

saving money in the process. These activities include but are not limited to recycling, using a reusable water bottle, and on a global level, stopping the production of cutting down tropical rainforests.

This issue may seem like it won’t affect students, when sooner than the long run, it will. Students’ future is rapidly approaching and the decisions made today to make a greener campus will certainly yield results. Often college students must be personally handed a cause or assignment to care about something.

It especially makes sense if the issue affects them personally.

According to goingreenmatters. com, out of 25 greenest colleges in the country, only Yale University in New Haven, Conn. is ranked in the state. It’s understandable that going green will become expensive, and CCSU may be suffering under

tighter budgets, but certainly there are small, less costly steps we can take.

CCSU can help the environment without skyrocketing student fees.

We can do simple things such as unplugging unused computers, use a backpack instead of a plastic bag when buying something small, reuse paper, walk or use public transportation when you can, take shorter showers and always recycle.

That’s why there are those clusters of brown green and blue bins everywhere.

As far as education on the matter goes, students don’t have to look very far to educate themselves.

It takes no extra energy to read up on the topic or even take an environmental science course. It’s an interesting subject, but more importantly, it’s the future of our planet.

6 THE RECORDER Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Upgrade Javapalooza, a Quiet Oasis KiM SCROGGiNS ThE RECoRDER

Any hard-working individual knows how important a good cup of coffee in the morning is.

Javapalooza in Middletown is the remedy to anyone in need of a caffeine fix.

Though the coffeehouse lies right on Main Street, the entrance is tucked away giving the shop a quiet and private feel which is a nice contrast to the business of the street.

Though the shop is small, it’s a good place to meet with friends or to get some work done.

Javapalooza carries a mix of micro-brews, teas, various organic blends, and fine wines.

Of course, no coffee shop is complete without biscotti and other assorted pastries. Soups and sandwiches are also available up at the counter and are made fresh every day.

The coffee flavors are something else. To name a few, there’s a

Pumpkin Pie Latte which is a mix of pumpkin spice, cinnamon, espresso and steamed milk or a Milky Way Expresso made of chocolate, vanilla, caramel, espresso and steamed milk.

They also feature seasonal drinks which include an Egg Nog Latte, Chainog, Chaider and Hot Cider.

To appeal more to the younger crowd, the shop offers live music and free wi-fi. The entire layout of the shop is a mix of leather seating and wooden chairs and the walls are covered in posters of music artists from the 70s through the 90s. The overall ambiance of the shop is both comfortable and casual.

Javapalooza is located at 330 Main Street in Middletown Conn., and is open Monday to Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sundays 9 am – 5 pm. Prices range from $1.55-$4.80 for drinks and $6-50-$7.35 for food. Even us poor college students can go in and afford a quick and easy meal.

From school, it is roughly a 20 to 25 minute drive and is right off exit 15 on Route 9 South. Go and check it out!

Photo courtesy of Mark Coatsworth

Christmas Comes Early to XL Center KiM SCROGGiNS ThE RECoRDER

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra looks to put on a show that will provide its audience with a little bit of Christmas cheer just before the rush of the holidays.

Nov. 14 will bring the TransSiberian Orchestra to Hartford’s XL Center stage to perform their annual winter show. Although called an orchestra, there is a mix of strings, keyboards and electric guitars that give the group a unique blend of sound that covers multiple genres.

The band, which formed in 1996, combines a musical act with a storytelling twist. Among the laser lights and the fake snow, traditional and original Christmas carols are sung or played to tell the overlooked story of what happens on Christmas Eve. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has over 80 shows planned for this year with some double performances where the group plays both in the afternoon and again in the evening. However many times the group performs in a day, the show is always the same except for a few changes towards the end for some variety.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra currently has five studio albums

released with their latest being Night Castle. The band has also done covers of “The Hall of the Mountain King” and “O, Fortuna” and has even been known to surprise their audiences with their own renditions of songs by groups such as Led Zeppelin.

For those who aren’t familiar with a Trans-Siberian Orchestra show, it is divided into two segments. The first half is the narrated Christmas story in which the narrator reminds us that “We are all pursuing magic.”

The second half is when they play music from their other albums.

Their song “Wizards in Winter” off of The Lost Christmas Eve has even become the signature song of the Miller Lite commercials when the holiday months approach.

“People should come see TSO live because they like the feeling of old rock live music and an awesome lights show,” management said. “We put on a show that we hope the audience will enjoy every year and one that will keep our fans coming back.”

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, Trans-Siberian Orchestra has a little something for everyone, making it a show you won’t want to miss. Tickets for this event are on sale now and show times are 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

&

SGA Conference Committee presents,

National Conference on Student Leadership Seminar November 20, 2009 2pm - 5pm Connecticut Room

November 21, 2009 9:30am - 4pm Constitution Room

What to expect: Best Presenters and Workshops Meet Exceptional People Materials and handouts for sessions Free Food

There will be a $5 deposit to hold your seat. Tickets will be on sale on October 21, 2009 at the centix box office. Tickets are first come, first serve.

For more info contact Senator Smallhorne or Senator Morgan in the SGA office.

7

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / UPGRADE

REVIEWS

There has been a lot of excitement about Weezer’s new album Raditude after their previous record, The Red Album, was a huge hit with songs like “Pork and Beans” and “Troublemaker” hitting the top of the charts.

While listening to Raditude with my dorm neighbor we both sat in a state of shock as we heard the collaboration of Weezer and Lil Wayne. I will attest that it’s totally normal for bands, who have been around long enough to have multiple

albums to search for a new sound and explore new horizons, but as my friend and I listened to “Can’t Stop Partying” with our jaws on the ground, we decided that Weezer had gone just a bit too far from their original and lovable sound.

Lil Wayne, as always, added his insightful lyrics on getting girls and drinking goose, with his slurry, synthesized singing. “Can’t Stop Partying” is this album’s first single to hit the radio. Perhaps Weezer believed that they may have to compete with an edge, by incorporating the same sound that has gotten Lady Gaga and Britney Spears to the top of the Charts.

But as I listened to the rest of the album, it saddens me as a Weezer fan to say that it didn’t give me much optimism for the album’s overall quality. Almost every other song was either filled with corny lyrics or bad beats or was a love

song. There were moments of applause with songs such as “I Want You Too” and “The Girl Got Hot.” which hold onto the same humor in Weezer’s older work. “The Girl Got Hot” makes you unable to not tap your foot and nod along and gives hope to all those teenage girls who want to grow out of their awkward phase.

And I will admit there were moments where the new poppy sound worked for them, but it did not make up for the mess that was “In the Mall.” which made me want to jump out of my 5th floor dorm window. On a final note, I would like to dedicate this short verse to Weezer, to express my true feelings about Raditude: Weezer, you will now be known to me as “Weezey”, for you have given up your totally rad sound for something that is nothing short of sleazy.

slightly different than what most Creed fans are used to. The hard riff in the very beginning of the album’s first track “Overcome” almost smacks you in the face as if to say, “Hey! Remember us? We’re back!”

Full Circle is dedicated to lead singer Scott Stapp’s comeback after battling drug and alcohol abuse.

Most of the songs here you’ll probably find to be repetitive. Stapp sings about how he is a changed man and vows to keep it that way.

But what else did you expect him to sing about? It’s only been eight years since their last new studio album release.

Despite the loud opening, the

rest of the album carries on in the typical Creed fashion. Stapp’s singing is more in your face but still has that sound where you think he’s trying to swallow his tongue. That, mixed with the lighter twangs that they call guitar solos, and it’s hard to say whether or not Creed really left.

It seems that they picked up right where they left off.

The band’s toils inspired the album title and are evident in the overemotional content of the tracks.

For example on “The Song You Sing” we are hearing about Stapp’s emotional self-discovery. “Woke up and had a face to face/Guess my reflection had a lot to say.” Deep,

right?

Unfortunately no song on this album will ever be the hit that “Higher” was and probably still is.

In fact, Creed has lost some of that touch that just made their bad music sound good. There isn’t one person I know who does not know the words to “Higher,” whether they’ve heard it once or a million times.

Creed has gone past their prime and the members should probably stick to their side projects like Alter Bridge. As expected, this album wasn’t bad but wasn’t great either.

Looks like Creed likes to settle for mediocrity.

don’t expect quite the same “rock” feel. To be clear, Phrazes of the Young reeks of They Might Be Giants. Even the vocals sound incredibly similar.

Casablancas really separates his album from most other solo albums as it seems like he wanted to create something different. The album is conventionally indie or college rock and contains the types of songs you could imagine Ivy League radio stations wearing out.

That said, the album is good, especially if you like They Might Be Giants or The Flaming Lips. The synthesizing isn’t quite as complex as those bands, but vocally and lyrically this album could hang with

them.

Phrazes of the Young is a fairly slow album and while it likely won’t be notching up top charts. The lyrics are slow and clear enough where you will find yourself quickly picking up the words. In this sense Casablancas does a good job of avoiding massive instrumentals.

Listeners will actually be able to immediately grasp the lyrics he says the first time they hear this album.

The album’s eight songs are all fairly similar and those of you familiar with Harry Nilsson’s The Point will likely reminisce a little bit with the catchy tunes and simple visuals. Each song has very different

lyrics but the instrumentals make for a reoccurring theme. The style is relaxing and certainly unique.

Julian Casablancas produces a good solo album here. It doesn’t have many tracks, but at the same time the length isn’t too short. If the album was longer it may be too tedious, but this isn’t the case with the roughly forty minutes of calm tunes. This is most definitely a coffee shop album, and it doesn’t try to cover that up. Casablancas doesn’t revert to the upbeat tempo of The Strokes. He keeps each song slow and crafty. Phrazes of the Young is a spirited album that serves the purpose of just listening to it.

Weezer Raditude Geffen November 3, 2009 Rachael Bentley The Recorder

Creed Full Circle Wind-Up Records October 27, 2009 Kim Scroggins The Recorder

Even if you’re not a fan, you at least know of Creed, the band known for having a lead singer who passes out drunk on stage before a sold out crowd. After disappearing from the scene back in 2004, the band returns with their new release Full Circle.

The album opens up in a style

Julian Casablancas Phrazes for the Young Cult Records November 3, 2009 Don Weber The Recorder

Julian Casablancas, vocalist/ songwriter of The Strokes, makes his solo album debut with Phrazes of the Young. The album uses similar synthesizing of an instrumental array. It is roughly forty minutes long and has eight tracks that are very different from the norm.

If you’re a fan of The Strokes and songs like “Last Nite” or “Reptilia,”

Anticipated November Albums

Mike Theodore The Recorder

50 Cent Before I Self Destruct November 16, 2009 Okay, how many times has this album been pushed back? Before I Self Destruct is hip hop heavyweight 50 Cent’s fourth studio album. Much of the anticipation of the album is stirring up from comparisons to his past works which launched the artist into a major spotlight. 2003’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ scorched the sound scan selling 872,000 copies it’s first week and went on to sell 12 million copies worldwide. His sophomore success of 2005, The Massacre, went on to sell 1.15 million copies in four days, going 5-time platinum in the US alone.

Will controversies with the likes of Fat Joe and Rick Ross and constant album leaks throughout the summer and fall be enough give Curtis another international success?

Lil’ Wayne Rebirth November 24, 2009

Rihanna Rated R November 24, 2009

Britney Spears The Singles Collection November 10, 2009

Susan Boyle I Dreamed a Dream November 23, 2009

Lil’ Wayne is arguably one of the hottest MCs in today’s world of hip hop. Weezy’s last album Tha Carter III was his biggest success ever and dominated hip hop, selling over a million copies in a week in the United States in 2008. But this time, Wayne’s decided to try something very different. With the recent success of Tha Carter III, Lil’ Wayne has decided to release a rock album, working with artists like Fall Out Boy, Lenny Kravitz, and Korn. “Prom Queen,” the album’s first single which was leaked in early 2009, was rather favored by fans and radio, reaching the number fifteen spot on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the album continued to fail to pick up as much interest as Tha Carter III, causing the label to push back the release date consistently. Not to mention, Lil’ Wayne has recently plead guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and is set to be sentenced in February 2010. Many fear that this album will never see the light of day.

Rihanna. Now there’s a name we’ve been hearing a lot lately.

February 8, 2009 is one night neither she nor her pop sensation ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, will forget. Rihanna’s performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards was canceled because of an alleged altercation with Brown, who was later charged for assault and criminal threats.

Finally, there was the leaked photo of the damage done to RiRi’s face as a result of the altercation which was obtained and leaked by TMZ. com. Since then, Rihanna has collaborated on the hot summer single “Run This Town” with artists Jay-Z and Kanye West and released her first single written by NeYo off of Rated R, “Russian Roulette.”

Other singles include “Wait Your Turn” and “Hard” featuring hip hop artist Young Jeezy. With all of the drama that has been going with RiRi lately, expect this album to be a lot more edgy. Rihanna collaborates with superstars The Dream, Justin Timberlake, NeYo and Akon for the gritty album.

Britney Spears and Jive records announced through Twitter that they would be releasing a compilation of Britney Spears’ hit singles from the past decade or so and that they would be recording some new material to add on to the collection. “3,” which has generated a much airplay as almost any of Britney’s songs, is the leading single for the album. As a bonus for her fans, the album will be released in three different versions: A standard album release, a CD/DVD combo, and an ultimate fan box set. The CD/DVD includes all of the music videos for her singles. If you’re an ultimate fan, you can buy the fan box set which has each single on a separate CD with a B-Side for the remix.

Surprisingly, this may be the most anticipated album for the month of November. The Scottish 49-year-old second place winner of hit TV show Britain’s Got Talent shocked the world with her amazing voice in 2009 and is now ready to live a dream that she thought she would never live to experience.

The album, which will be released on Nov. 23, became Amazon’s best album presales and is predicted to do very well on the global market.

The video of her audition gained the attention of over 2.5 million viewers in less than seventy two hours and was viewed over 66 million times the first week, setting an online record for Youtube. Susan Boyle’s talent and story managed to captivate the attention of reporters from China, Brazil, areas in the Middle East and the United States.

Everyone loves a rags to riches story.

Susan Boyle gives the world hope as a clear example that dreams really do come true.

8

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / UPGRADE

Everyone Wants Weezer

Students Compete and ‘CLIQ’ to Bring the Alt-Rock Band to CCSU Michael Walsh The Recorder

In a Facebook-driven initiative, CCSU students are banding together in an attempt to win a free Weezer concert on the Blue Devil campus.

As of Monday night, CCSU held onto 38th place in the T-Mobilesponsored contest with a total of 1,390 votes, a number that might not seem substantial when comparing it to the leading total of 8,932 votes, held by Florida State University.

But the student who started the Facebook group calling for students to vote in the contest sees things a bit differently.“When I first started this group, I knew that we couldn’t accomplish the goal,” said Justin McGregor, a sociology major at CCSU. “A tiny part in me hoped that maybe we would possibly win and at the very least get our names out their and for people to see that we want a high quality band in Weezer here at CCSU.” As of Monday night McGregor’s Facebook group currently had 3,092 members, a total not indicative of the actual number of votes the school has. “Hypothetically, if we got every student to band together it would be possible to do. But the likelihood of that happening is slim,” said McGregor. “Mind you that

Photo courtesy of Weezer

only one third of the people voted.

You got to expect that when people join Facebook groups, because they don’t look, they just join and sign off,” said McGregor. If all 3,092 members cast a vote for the school,

CCSU would be in a much healthier 13th place.

Even if CCSU can’t pull off a miracle and come from behind to win the contest, McGregor hopes the efforts of the students

to compete with large schools such as Purdue University, Rutgers University and the University of North Carolina leaves a lasting impression elsewhere. “Maybe CAN will see this and try and bring

Weezer or a big name band here instead of the spring concert we had last year. I hope this gets the eyes of CAN,” said McGregor.

McGregor’s outlook on T-Mobile making the contest winnable to schools with smaller student bodies wasn’t quite as bright. “I personally think they don’t care about the smaller schools. All they care about is the advertising that comes from everyone seeing the T-Mobile advertisements on the voting page.

I think they would ideally like the bigger schools to win, because the bigger the school, the more people that see their advertisements,” said McGregor. T-Mobile was unable to be reached for comment.

McGregor likened the social networking site’s contest to similar groups such as the online petition to bring Paranormal Activity nationwide.

“It can work and it does it work for large active communities,” said McGregor. “Facebook is a great medium for this kind of thing. It’s basically free advertising for both T-Mobile and Weezer.”

While winning the contest might be a fantasy at this point, you can still do your part and try and help McGregor make some notice.

Just log on to Facebook and search for the “Free Weezer Concert at CCSU” group to cast a vote.

Photo slideshows and video at:

centralrecorder.com

PRIDE’s Annual Masquerade Ball Devil’s Den at 10PM Era Night ‘The Great Porn Debate’ with Ron Jeremy

Kalin Bucholz | The Recorder

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / UPGRADE

9

TAKING BACK SUNDAY On the line with guitarist Matt Fazzi Rachael Bentley The Recorder

The Recorder talked to guitarist and vocalist Matt Fazzi of Taking Back Sunday, learning about his past concert experiences in Connecticut to challenges faced as the newest member of the band. Taking Back Sunday played a co-headlining show with All American Rejects on Nov. 6 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Rachael Bentley: Where did the band name Taking Back Sunday originate from?

Matt Fazzi: The band name comes from a song title of a band that kind of existed in the Long Island scene.

Back when Taking Back Sunday” first started they had a song called “Taking Back Sunday and the singer of this band, who I think [guitarist] Eddie Reyes was close friends with, passed away. So it’s kind of an homage to the band. I kind of think the bigger picture is just more or less an ode to that band, but it’s also about remembering your roots and your friends.

RB: What kind of genre do you consider your work to be, and what are some of your personal major influences?

MF: I would consider our band to be just a rock band. In simplest terms, we’re just a rock band, but I mean people want to call us an emo band. I think that emo kind of died a long time ago with bands in the ‘90s

like Jimmy Eat World and Mineral jumped though the air and tackled me, coming in and being the new and that sort of thing. So it’s not him. He must have been half of guy was the most intimidating thing. really something we identify with at the security guard’s size. It was the Just trying to bring something new all, but it kind of just gets attached most punishing and brutal thing to the table and bring something of to you. We’re just a rock band. For I’ve ever experienced while playing my own style and my voice into the me, The Beatles are at the top of the a show. He jumped up, got excited, new record New Again. list, no question. A cool second for and literally two second later, was me would be a band called Tears for manhandled by this huge football RB: What do you think you’d Fears, believe it or not. There are just guy. I wasn’t very excited about that want to contribute the most? so many bands we all listen to, with because our fans are always super very different and eclectic styles of mellow and even when he got on MF: For me, it’s all about the music.

I like giving Adam music. I mean, I like [Lazzara] the freedom a lot of R&B and jazz “There are just so many bands we to stretch out the lyrics, even, so we have a because he’s a great pretty diverse set of all listen to, with very different and lyricist and a melodic influences. But for me eclectic styles of music. I mean, writer. I wanna give him I’d have to say it’s The the space. It also gives Beatles and Tears for I like a lot of R&B and jazz even, me the space to handle a Fears, hands down. so we have a pretty diverse set of lot of the music so it’s a cool relationship where RB: You’ve been to influences.”

I get to contribute to the Connecticut three musical base for songs times, playing at The Webster and also at the Comcast stage he wasn’t trying to rip our hair and Adam kind of gets to work with Theater with Blink 182. How was our or anything, but that was a little it. We get to work together; it’s a bit extreme. I will never forget that good balance. that? show, it was really great and being MF: The last two shows have able to go back with Blink 182 and RB: What is one thing you would tell fans about living big life been fantastic and so much fun. Weezer was really, really awesome. moments and performing under The headliner we did, I’ll never forget that show for a few different RB: What has been your biggest pressure? reasons. It was a great show to begin challenge in getting to know the with but that was also the day that band and getting a connection MF: Well, I still get nervous for some shows. I don’t get nervous Michael Jackson died, so I’ll totally with the guys? too much anymore, just because remember that forever and ever.

MF: I’ve been friends with them for I’ve been touring and playing And also that same night during our several years now. Maintaining and music for so long. I’ve always tried set one of the kids got up on stage building a friendship was probably to be so prepared that even in the in Hartford and the beefiest security the easiest part of it. That had a really most extreme circumstances, even guard ever, like 6’5’’, gotta be 250 big impact on me joining the band. playing massive shows, that playing pounds, just absolutely decked this So that made it easier when they all the music is kind of second kid. From all the way across the gave me the opportunity to join. nature. In those times, where you stage he just ran across the stage, Plus we get used to each other and tend to over think those things, it’s play music. It just got natural. For good to have it be second nature,

“

”

and already know what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s easier to maintain your sanity and your calm and deliver your parts if you’re just so well rehearsed that you don’t even think about it. But luckily we’ve had so much experience touring and playing shows that were not too intimidated by big shows anymore. We just approach all the shows the same, even if it’s for 2,000 or 60,000. It’s truly a passion and we’re extremely fortunate to be able to do what we do every single day.

RB: With regard to your newest album, New Again, what is your favorite song to practice and record?

MF: There are two songs on the new record that I really, really enjoy playing. One of the songs is called “Carpathia.” It’s got some really nice three-part harmonies and some cool instrumental stuff going on.

Then I enjoy a song called “Lonely, Lonely,” which is one of the shorter tracks on the album. It’s like a freight train song of 120 percent the entire time. It’s got a really cool kind of sassy energy to it, that I really like.

It’s super, super fun to play.

10

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / UPGRADE

Theatre Students and Faculty Performing Genuine Shows This Fall Don Weber The Recorder

The CCSU theatre department has been running through 16 Shows in 16 Weeks, a program title most suitable to their performances this fall. Professors and students alike have taken the helm at performing various shows so far.

This past Friday the department performed “30 Minutes of OldFashioned Russian Laughter,” which consisted of two works, “Swan Song” and “Drowning.” Each segment was very different and portrayed in its own light. Both plays were written

by Anton Chekhov, and contain humor worthy of both adults’ and children’s laughter.

“Swan Song” focuses on an old comedian Vasily Svetlovidov, played

by Professor Thom Delventhal, who reminisces of his younger years before being reassured by a prompter friend Nikita Ivanish (Professor Josh Perlstein). Svetlovidov has a vivid, outlandish personality which hasn’t left him over the years while Nikita balances Vasily’s energy with the imaginable tired enthusiasm of an old prompter trying to sleep.

Drowning is unique in the sense that the two professors acting are now joined by co-director Professor Ken Mooney and the three recite their performances to the audience.

Drowning touches on a more dramatic take on love, both fresh and old.

On Saturday November 7, the students took their turn at performing an original work, Early Stages. Early Stages is a show for younger audiences but could easily be nostalgic to adults, young and old. It plays on the twists of dreams and nightmares treading on the connection between the two.

Slightly abstract, the play’s set was well designed and the costumes were fantastic.

The play revolved around a young girl who plays with her toys through dreams before being challenged by nightmares. The play is similar to the realities of dreams and nightmares as they must all come to an end.

Both performances were very well done and displayed the passion for theatre at CCSU. The students and professors clearly spent time working hard on their performances and certainly do the school and program justice.

The 16 Shows in 16 Weeks series continues through December, with upcoming performances like “The Unseen” and “Feeding the Moonfish” this Thursday at 5 p.m. and Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre. In addition, Cirque du Fantasia will be performed the following week at the same times in Torp Theatre.

These shows by Second Stage Productions are all free and well worth the time. Most are short and won’t exceed an hour.

Remember to keep your eyes open for the performances this fall. It’s a good way to support your fellow students and professors and a good way to give yourself some added entertainment.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Worldwide

All Saints Day A Worthy Sequel for Boondock Saints Fans Kim Scroggins The Recorder

It’s been ten years sine we were first introduced to Troy Duffy’s dynamic duo of the McManus brothers, also known as The Boondock Saints. Once the long anticipated sequel All Saints Day premiered in select theatres this week, it was met with more hype and fan support than even Duffy expected.

Duffy follows much of the same format as the first film in All Saints Day. It carries much of the comic strip theme (whether that was intentional or not) jumping from the storyline to flashbacks sequences on more than one

occasion. Though these scene jumps by no means effect the quality of the film, some may leave you lost for a moment asking, where the hell did that come from? Or, was that really necessary? But in the end, they leave you thinking and I believe that that is Duffy’s point. To fully understand a Troy Duffy film, you need to have a bit of an imagination or else some parts of the movie just won’t make sense.

All Saints Day is missing a couple of the characters that had a strong impact in the first film and their presence is greatly missed by serious Boondock followers. Their replacements don’t quite meet the expectations avid fans may have.

Characters such as Eunice manage

to get under your skin. Maybe it’s the bad acting or the high heels that make her seem out of place in this sort of movie, though you can tell that she was an honest attempt at being a successful fill in for Willem Dafoe’s rather unforgettable character. At the same time, these characters essential to the film and without them it wouldn’t have had the same effect, though Duffy manages to throw in a few surprises here and there.

This is the type of sequel that can be seen without needing to see the first movie to understand what is going on. However, it may not be a bad idea to see the first movie anyway, since Duffy sneaks in small excerpts from the first movie for a

laugh or two. If you’re not familiar with the first movie, you won’t appreciate them as much as the guy chuckling next to you.

I haven’t met one person who has seen the original Boondock Saints and disliked it. That being said, I am not going to sit here and tell you why you should go see it or why you should like or dislike it.

That responsibility is all yours.

And not to be a spoiler or anything, but the ending leaves a pretty strong hint that a third movie could be in the making. Let’s just hope they don’t take another ten years to make it, because I don’t think I could handle the wait.

Clooney, Bridges Brilliant in Bizarre Goat-Staring Experiment Michael Walsh The Recorder

At a certain point in The Men Who Stare at Goats, the entire ensemble cast of George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and yes, Goat, comes together to form a troupe of actors that makes everything about the offbeat film feel right.

And the absurd and ridiculously beyond belief yet still more true than you would want to believe story that leads up to and culminates in the uniting of these mega actors is a fine tale of journalism, politics and army experimentation of a different kind, best served with a hint of dark satire and a dash of farcical screwball comedy.

The Men Who Stare at Goats, based on Jon Ronson’s book of the same name, is a look inside the attempts of US military forces to adapt and use psychic powers such as remote viewing and invisibility.

More specifically, the film follows reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) as he stumbles across an ambitious story when he meets special forces operator Lyn Cassady (Clooney) who agrees to take Wilton along on his bizarre mission.

As attractive as Goats is, it’s a film that takes a little brain muscle from its viewers to be liked. The film develops slowly, following Wilton and Cassady around parts of the Middle East while interjecting flashbacks featuring the characters of Bridges and Spacey to help tell how exactly Cassady ended

Photo courtesy of Overture Films

up where he is. Because of the intermittent disruptions the film doesn’t find its absolute bearings until a little more than halfway through the film. But once the film does develop and retain its lovable satirical style the eventual payoff is huge and redeeming.

And as much as any film of its kind, Goats is a film that absolutely relies on its ensemble cast. Similar to how the Coen Brothers’ spy farce Burn After Reading used its cast of actors to gain an advantage, so does Goats. Even with a witty and smart screenplay from Peter Straughan,

the right actors are needed to help turn that subtle, strange and offbeat humor into something that works.

And can you think of a better actor to play a hippie-like army lieutenant versed in the studies of New Age army techniques than Jeff Bridges?

This perfect casting is what gives Goats its absolute strength during its bouts of laughter and moments of idiocy. Clooney, much like with Burn After Reading, gives an outstanding comedic performance of the paranoid kind. And the usually more serious Spacey turns in another one of his brilliant comedic

performances. Tied together by McGregor and small roles from the likes of Stephen Root, Stephen Lang and Robert Patrick and you really have a cast that is absolutely perfect for the goofy screwball type of humor that Goats truly is.

The Men Who Stare at Goats has all the makings of being a cult movie. There’s really a market of people out there that’ll love this film. Conversely there’s a market that won’t really want to have anything to do with it after seeing it.

It isn’t the flashiest of films, it isn’t the funniest and it isn’t the most remarkable, but it makes up for all of that by being a well-acted and strangely satisfying comedy carried by the likes of its bizarre moments and strong comedic cast.

With inspirational lines of dialogue relating to one’s destined path such as “So Anne Frank wants to grow up and be a high school teacher? Tough titties!” and the supposed origin of the creation of the Army’s slogan “Be All You Can Be”, The Men Who Stare at Goats is one of those special films that will strike numerous chords with its intended crowd. It was evident from the beginning with its silly trailer and mocking poster art where it displayed the goat as one of the film’s stars that this film didn’t care about being taken seriously. And that’s a good thing, as it continues and succeeds at the ever-increasing style of odd, partly dry and satirical humor seen in films such as Burn After Reading and The Informant!, a type of humor I hope sticks around.

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / UPGRADE

Calendar 11.11 - 11.18 as clearly as their place in the chain of affections, and gets at the power relations that the most intimate connections depend on.” - Richard Brody, The New Yorker Revolving around the personal and professional entanglements of twin sisters Jennie and Lauren, Beeswax is a story about families, friends, and lovers...and those moments that bring all of them together.

11.13 - 11.18 In Search of Beethoven @ Real Art Ways Hartford, Conn. $6.25 / 7 p.m.

MUSIC 11.11 The Cool Kids @ Toad’s Place New Haven, Conn. $18 / 8 p.m.

11.12 All Work/ All Play Party @ The Warehouse Hartford, Conn.

No cover / 9 p.m.

11.13 Bottle Up and Go @ The Space Hamden, Conn.

11.13 Trey Songz w/ Miloh Sheff and The Paperboyz @ Toad’s Place New Haven, Conn. $30 / 8 p.m.

11.17 Rakim w/ Rhymefest @ Toad’s Place New Haven, Conn. $25 / 8 p.m.

FILM Through 11.12 Beeswax @ Real Art Ways Hartford, Conn. $6.25 / 5 p.m.

“Sweet-toned romantic drama...

[Director] Bujalski brings together a tangy array of people whose place in the economy is sketched

“It’s alive, and gloriously so, like an animal bursting out of its cage...

Beethoven is like the Citizen Kane of the genre.” - Slant Magazine “...a splendid work that will be a revelation to the uninitiated and a joy to music lovers.” - Kevin Thomas, LA Times 11.11 – 11.14 Julie & Julia @ Cinestudio Hartford, Conn. $7.00 / 7:30 p.m.

Written and directed by Nora Ephron, based on ‘My Life in France’ by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme, and ‘Julie & Julia’ by Julie Powell. Cast: Meryl Streep.

Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina. Bon appetit! Nora Ephron’s delightfully sensuous film is famously based on the odysseys of two women, beginning with Julia Child’s discovery in the restaurants and open air markets of Paris that teaching America how to cook would be her life’s work.

Inspired by her example some 60 years later, over-qualified office worker Julie Powell dreamed up a blog that detailed her Herculean quest to cook in one year (in her

cramped Brooklyn apartment) all of the recipes in Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Meryl Streep’s fearless performance as Julia Child is a masterful piece of work from America’s finest actress.

“Julie & Julia makes deboning a duck a feminist act and cooking a great meal a creative triumph!”

Dana Stevens, Slate.com 125 min.

11.15 – 11.17 It Might Get Loud @ Cinestudio Hartford, Conn. $7.00 / 7:30 p.m.

Directed by Davis Guggenheim.

With: Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White. Davis Guggenheim, director of the Academy Award-winning Inconvenient Truth, has made a new film to rock your worldview.

Guitar heroes from three different generations and countries - Led Zepplin’s Jimmy Page, U2’s The Edge and The White Stripes’s Jack White - each give a glimpse into their inspirations and techniques, before playing together on a sound stage in Los Angeles.

The musical connections between a British blues rocker, an Irish post-punk experimenter, and a 21st century alt-rock kid from Detroit who’s in love with country roots, are nothing less than cosmic.

We promise to crank up our speakers to ‘11’ for the unlikely trio’s versions of Kashmir, Seven Nation Army, Bullet the Blue Sky, and The Band’s classic The Weight. “Does this sound like rock heaven? It is.” Peter Travers, Rolling Stone 98 min.

CCSU Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 11.11 - Semesters, 7:00 p.m.

11.15 - Torp, 7:00 p.m.

11.12 - 5 p.m., 11.13 - 7:30pm The Unseen, by Craig Wright, directed by Eve Galanis and Feeding the Moonfish, by Barbara Wiechman, directed by Ashley Carvalho @ Black Box Theatre, Maloney Hall 11.16 CAN Comedian Sheng Wang @ Semesters 8:00 PM

P dcast of the Week: THE MOTH Melissa Traynor The Recorder

The Moth podcast is truly a hidden gem. It reinvigorates the art of storytelling, complete with witty remark and captivating orators and successfully provides social commentary in some of the most amusing and hilarious tales.

What exists primarily as a live story-telling tour around New York, Chicago and LA has now expanded to include a larger tour with more stops, a Moth Radio Hour and a free weekly podcast to be found at iTunes. The speakers relate their tragedies and moments of uncanny, comedic revelations without notes to a live audience while the show is recording. Often the funny stories

are uplifting, or so embarrassing that listeners would feel better about themselves for not having experienced the teller’s ordeal.

Each podcast or single story is taken from a particular show where storytellers, often writers or comedians, tell a tale that fits in with a specific theme of the event. For example, some of the recent Moth podcasts features “crack-ups” stories about comedy and catastrophe in real life situations. The podcast posted on Oct. 19 relives the story told by comedian Jessi Klein, who also works at Comedy Central. She began her 15-minute story about her experience attending her younger sister’s fanatical dream wedding at Disney World when Klein was turning 28.

“I decide that if I’m single and I’m going to spending my birthday weekend at Disney World, then I am definitely f***king one of the

characters while I’m there,” she said, followed by an eruption of laughter.

“And I kind of put my hopes on Tigger.”

Without giving away the ending, it is not Tigger she spends the night with, but rather another furry creature from the “C-list” Disney World characters.

The storytelling assembles an impressive range of human experiences, and despite how tragic or uncomfortable, they always manage to provide ingenious literary technique and allure. It also proves that every-day people can have extraordinary situations. No, there isn’t some way to check up and find out whether the storytellers are lying. But even if they are, it doesn’t matter.

Recommended Moth story podcasts: “Out of Print” by Kevin Wilson; “Rookie Reporter” by Lewis Lapham

11

12

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / SPORTS

SPORTS STARTS ON BACKPAGE

Leah Blayney and Mick D’Arcy Earn Major Northeast Conference Women’s Soccer Awards ccsubluedevils.com

Central Connecticut State University senior Leah Blayney, the conference’s leading scorer, was named the Northeast Conference women’s soccer player of the year.

Head Coach Mick D’Arcy earned his fourth NEC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Blue Devils to a 9-0-1 conference record. Senior Karise Hilt and junior Beth Lloyd were named to the NEC First Team, while senior Caity Casey and sophomore Brittany Jackson were named second team All-NEC. Blayney’s impressive senior campaign was highlighted by her success in her opponent’s half of the field. The midfielder earns CCSU an unprecedented eighth Player of the Year honor all-time and its first since 2005. Hailing from Katoomba, New South Wales, the overwhelming vote-getter for this honor ranks second on the team and in the league with 10 goals but tops the leader board with 13 assists, eight of which came during conference contests, and 33 points.

Blayney recently was named adidas/NEC Player of the Week and is tied for 16th nationally in points per game (1.83). Her tallies for goals and assists helped pace the Blue Devils for a league-leading mark of 46 goals and 2.42 per game as well as 49 assists and 2.58 per game. This is Blayney’s third allNEC first team selection.

D’Arcy earns NEC Coach of the Year accolades for the fourth time since he joined the head coaching ranks at CCSU in 2000. Since his inaugural season, D’Arcy has led the Blue Devils to four regular season first place finishes, eight straight postseason appearances and five conference tournament crowns, four of those won at home in New Britain, CT. CCSU notched an undefeated regular-season NEC slate (9-0-1) that marks its fifth time in history doing so. CCSU outscored their conference opponents 33-8 in 10 games as it enters the postseason ranked first in shots (282), points (141), goals (46), goals per game (2.24), assists (49) and assists per game (2.58).

Cochran Earns Third NEC Honor of the Season

ccsubluedevils.com

Freshman Emily Cochran earned Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week honors after leading CCSU to a 2-0 week, with home wins over Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson. The outside hitter led CCSU with 19 kills and 18 digs in the 3-1 win over Sacred Heart on Friday and recorded a team-high 14 digs in the Blue Devils’ sweep of FDU on Saturday. The Adel, IA native finished with 3.57 kills and 4.57 digs per set on the week and recorded a hitting percentage of .222.

This week’s accolade marks the third for Cochran this season. She is the third Blue Devil in the past four years to collect three NEC Rookie of the Week honors in a single season. Current junior Amanda Bayer received the award five times in 2007, while senior Jamie Baumert garnered four Rookie of the Week accolades in 2006.

Cochran and the Blue Devils are now 16-13 overall and 10-3 in the NEC. CCSU is third in the conference and have clinched a berth into the league tournament to be held at top seed Long Island on November 21 and 22. It marks the seventh straight season Central will be competing in the Northeast Conference playoffs. CCSU finishes out the regular season with a home match against Bryant on Wednesday, followed by two road matches with LIU and St. Francis (NY) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Empty Net Aides the Win Brittany Burke The Recorder

In a last ditch effort to win, the New York University club hockey team pulled goalie, Eric Meyers from his position between the pipes for the second time that night. In their previous attempt at an extra man on the ice, neither team was able to score, but that was not the case in the third period.

With 2:37 left in the third, CCSU was already up 7-4 when senior; Dane Anderson made a shot on NYU’s open net, scoring their eighth goal of the night. Anderson, whose first goal came at the end of the first period, got assistance from sophomore David Hotchkiss and senior Erich Stoneman in the Blue Devils’ attempt to lengthen their lead.

After the first goal scored on an empty net it would have been wise for NYU to put Meyers back in, but they opted to still play the extra man.

NYU was able to hold CCSU back at their own net for two and a half minutes, but with 7.9 seconds left in the game Blue Devil freshman Jaime Germaine scored the second empty net goal with assistance from Evan Mink, ultimately ending the game at 9-4.

The third period was a comeback for CCSU, who started the game off strong but fell apart in the second period.

“Second period they got away from the system that we wanted and some individualism came in to the game, and then they obviously took twelve minutes in penalties, that also hurt,” said Head Coach Ben Adams. “That combination will kill any team.”

Both teams came out strong for the opening half of the first period holding the game at zero for twelve and a half minutes. The defense was clearing the net when pressure was put on the goalie, and when NYU

Photo courtesy of CCSUBlueDevils.com

Swimming and Diving Falls to New Hampshire, 181-110 CCSUBlueDevils.com

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

Goalie Ross Mocko solid goaltending kept CCSU in the game against NYU.

was able to take a shot goalie, Ross Mocko was able to make the stop.

NYU ended up going scoreless for the first period, allowing CCSU to score four.

“I think we are a very streaky team and we score in bunches. We don’t have a rhyme or reason to that but they don’t space out their goals. It always seems to come in all four minutes and that’s it, and then there’s nothing for the period,” said Coach Adams.

Once the first goal was scored by Senior Captain Joe Dabkowski with help from brothers Rob and Mike DiClemente; three more followed.

The third goal, made by Erich Stoneman was on a power play, while NYU’s Dustin Lockwood was in the box for roughing.

CCSU ended the period on a high note, leading 4-0, but when they took the ice for the second things began to fall apart.

The defense that contained NYU and allowed no goals during the first period was getting sloppy, making it easy for NYU to score their only four goals of the night. The power and accuracy in the passing game that lead to CCSU’s prior four goals was diminishing and the only point for CCSU in the second came from

Senior Matt Williams, assisted by sophomore Jeff Pease and freshman, Jonathan Knobloch.

The Blue Devils left the ice with a one goal lead, six new penalties and twenty minutes left to play.

Halfway through the third period things started to look right for CCSU. They began to get back to the level of play which initially put them up by four in the first.

Their puck handling improved and the defense was stepping up in front of the net, allowing for another goalless NYU period.

“The Captains did a good job pulling everybody together and rallying the troops…They came out second half of the third, after they killed off some more penalties and they put their heads and worked hard,” Coach Adams said of the turnaround in the third, and captains Dabkowski, Mike DiClemente and Thomas Carroll.

CCSU ended their three-game weekend on a high note, after going 1-1 Friday and Saturday against Holy Cross and Montclair.

They play home again on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 9:05 p.m. against league rivals Marist College with hopes to move up in the SECHL rankings.

Freshman Taylor Friedmann won two individual events, but Central Connecticut State University dropped a 181-110 decision to New Hampshire on the road on Saturday afternoon.

Friedmann took gold medalist honors in the 1,000 and 500 free, touching in at 10:23.56 and 5:08.68, respectively. She also took second in the 200 butterfly, recording a time of 2:13.93. CCSU had top three finishers in both events won

by Friedmann.

Senior Kandra Kane took second in the 500 free (5:10.14), while freshman Lauren O’Kelly was third in the 1,000 (10:47.17).

Kane recorded another silver medalist performance in the 200 free, as she finished in 1:56.78.

Freshman Katie Lang was the only Blue Devil other than Friedmann to win an event on Saturday. She took first in the 200 IM, touching in at 2:17.90.

Sophomore Kristen Malski was second in the event with a time of 2:18.85. Lang also placed second in the 100 fly (1:02.11).

Senior Kristen Rossi led the Central diving unit with a second and a third place finish. She was second in the one-meter event (217.50 points) and third in the three-meter (173.47 points).

Sophomore Madison Vestergaard added a third place finish in the onemeter dive (199.80 points).

CCSU falls to 2-3 in dual meet action this season. The Blue Devils will continue dual meet competition next Saturday, Nov. 14 at Boston University.

Photo courtesy of CCSUBlueDevils.com

13

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / SPORTS

Pick Your Poison

NFL Predictions for Week 10

We’re returning from two weeks of picks and the leaderboard sees Marc Chouinard creeping into first place, which isn’t a surprise considering he ranked high last season. As we head to the finish of the season, The Recorder wants to hear about your picks of the week. E-mail us at: editor@centralrecorder.com And, we are planning on announcing prizes soon.

christopher boulay Chicago at San Francisco

Sports Editor

Assistant Sports Editor

Managing / Photo Editor

Edward Gaug

MICHAEL WALSH Entertainment Editor

San Francisco

Chicago

Chicago

Chicago

Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota

Atlanta

Atlanta

Atlanta

Atlanta

Detroit at Minnesota Atlanta at Carolina Denver at Washington Cincinnati at Pittsburgh

CARMINE VETRANO

Denver

Denver

Denver

Denver

Cincinnati

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay at Miami

Miami

Miami

Miami

Miami

Jacksonville at NY Jets

NY Jets

NY Jets

NY Jets

NY Jets

New Orleans

New Orleans

New Orleans

New Orleans

Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee

Kansas City

Kansas City

Oakland

Oakland

Dallas

Dallas

Green Bay

Dallas

Arizona

Arizona

Arizona

Arizona

New Orleans at St. Louis Buffalo at Tennessee Kansas City at Oakland Dallas at Green Bay Seattle at Arizona Philadelphia at San Diego

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

San Diego

San Diego

New England at Indianapolis

Indianapolis

New England

New England

Indianapolis

Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore at Cleveland

This Week’s NFL Pick’Em Leaderboard Rank

Name

Total Points

Current Weeks

1

Marc Chouinard

89

18

2

Nicholas Menapace

88

17

3

Anthony Gonsalves

87

17

3

Brittany Burke*

87

16

3

Carmine Vetrano*

87

16

6

Matthew Kitson

86

17

7

Edward Gaug*

85

17

7

Michael Walsh*

85

17

9

Joshua Davenport

83

15

10

Ryan Kennedy

82

13

11

Christopher Boulay*

81

11

12

Tonya Malinowski

76

7

13

Timothy Farrell

74

17

14

Chris Culmone

68

14

15

Kevin Dennis

64

9

15

Michelle Traynor

64

8

17

Melissa Traynor

52

5

18

Nick Caiafa

48

0

* indicates the person is an editor at The Recorder **Only people included in this list will continued to be counted.

14

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / SPORTS

Volleyball Remains Tied for Second in NEC

Brittany Burke The Recorder

It was a tiring, hard-fought win for the Blue Devil’s volleyball team Saturday against NEC opponent, the Farleigh Dickinson Knights.

The Blue Devils are currently tied for second place in the NEC standings with Sacred Heart. Both Sacred Heart and CCSU hold NEC records of (10-3), with Sacred Heart sweeping Bryant University. CCSU and Sacred Heart are sitting behind the reigning NEC Champion, Long Island University, who is currently undefeated (13-0) in the NEC. It was LIU who handed the Blue Devils their first NEC loss on Oct. 18, defeating them (3-2).

The Blue Devils were able to improve their overall record to (1613) with a new NEC record of (103) with the sweep (25-19, 25-20, 25-15) against the Knights (7-23, 3-10 NEC).

This was the second time that the Blue Devils swept the Knights this season, the first sweep taking

Photo courtesy of CCSUBlueDevils.com

place at Farleigh Dickinson on Oct. 25.

“It’s always good to win. Whether it’s a sloppy win, or a well-played win or hard-fought,” said Head Coach Linda Sagnelli. “Whatever the way you win, you win.”

This win definitely can be categorized as one that was hardfought, with sloppy play coming from both teams. Both the Blue Devils and the Knights seemed to be making sloppy errors, which led to easily preventable points throughout the three matches.

The main thing that the Blue Devils needed to focus on was their blocking, an area of the game in which they normally excel.

“I thought our block was very slow today, where yesterday it was great. It was part of the reason that we had beaten Sacred Heart. Today it was the opposite. I thought it was very slow, which meant there were a lot of holes in our block and it made for a tough time defensively,” said Coach Sagnelli.

Despite the trouble they were

having with the block, Senior Captain Jamie Baumert ended the afternoon with nine successful blocks, and a new place in the CCSU record books. Baumert, who now has 467 total career blocks, surpassed former record holder Sarah Haase, who had 463 blocks from 1998-2001. Baumert officially passed Haase with her sixth block of the night and 464th block of her career.

There were highs and lows for the Blue Devils and the Knights, both of whom were coming off of matches with other NEC opponents on Friday night.

“We just came off of a really exciting match last night with Sacred Heart, which was very hard-fought.

And they came off of a hard match against Quinnipiac University last night,” said Coach Sagnelli. “So both of us were in the same situation where I think the kids were a little fatigued and nothing came easy to us today. I think we had to scratch and claw for each of our points.”

CCSU may have begun slowly, but the team always rallied together at the end, found their strengths and came away with a win. With a secure place in the top four of the NEC the Blue Devils are now looking ahead to their last home game of the season against Bryant.

“I think we’re growing together as a team and you find a reason to win every day, and we have Bryant, a team we’ve beat in three last time, but they beat just beat Robert Morris the other day, so you never know. It’s a crazy game and you just got to get out there on the floor every day and play it,” said Coach Sagnelli.

The final home game, which takes place, Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Bryant, is also senior night for Jenna Broadbent and Baumert.

Not This Time, Volleyball Gets Past Pioneers

Photo courtesy of CCSUBlueDevils.com

Carmine Vetrano THE RECORDER

The volleyball team picked up its biggest win so far this season, knocking off Sacred Heart 3-1 at Detrick Gymnasium.

“The monkey is off her back,” Head Coach Linda Sagnelli said.

“The last five times we played Sacred Heart were all great games, but we lost, and I can’t tell you how many hours of game film we watched.”

In a match that had NEC seeding implications, the volleyball team moved into a second place tie with the Pioneers in the NEC. The Pioneers (19-9/9-3 NEC) had the Blue Devils number so far this season, beating them in their previous two meetings; a Dartmouth Invitational and an away game at Sacred Heart.

CCSU (15-13/9-3 NEC) came out blazing, taking the first game 25-16. However, that momentum was given right back as Sacred Heart capitalized on some CCSU miscues, taking game two 25-16.

Game three saw the momentum shift to the Blue Devils after a beautiful running dig by freshman Emily Crochan, who ran half way down the outside of the court to keep play alive. Sacred Heart was up 19-13 before CCSU would eventually tie the game at 30-30.

After gaining a point, CCSU junior

captain Amanda Bayer aced the Pioneers, who looked fooled on the return, to give the Blue Devils the game three win.

“I called a timeout after [the Pioneers] got a couple of points,” Sagnelli said. “They served us aggressively and they got us out of our system. But I’m so happy we didn’t fold on them, the kids stayed strong, they kept their blocking assignments and played great defense.”

The Blue Devils would see a lead slip in game four that brought the score to 24-24, however a block by junior Tori Vaughan and sophomore Sara DeLacey brought the Blue Devils within one point to win the game. A miscue on the part of the Pioneers after Vaughan sent the ball over gave the Blue Devils the 26-24 victory to end the game.

Crochan led the Blue Devils with 19 kills and 18 digs. Bayer finished with nine digs, five blocks and 35 assists.

“This gives us confidence,” Sagnelli said after the game. “The NEC is very tough and any of the top four teams can take it . I’ve been seeing steady progress all along and their getting more and more confident. What a great time to do it.”

The Blue Devils play NEC opponent Farleigh Dickinson on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Detrick Gymnasium.

Men’s Soccer Falls to QU on Senior Night Christopher Boulay The Recorder Edward Gaug | The Recorder

Cavener Receives Academic Honors Christopher Boulay The Recorder

CCSU men’s soccer junior captain Robert Cavener was awarded the CoSIDA/Entertainment and Sport Programming Network The Magazine Academic All-District I honor.

Cavener, who scored one goal and had eight assists this season, was not only a bright spot on the pitch, but also off of the pitch. Cavener, a finance major, has a GPA of 3.73, something he is very proud of.

“I am really pleased to have earned something for not only on the field, but off of the field as well,” Cavener said. “It’s always good to be recognized. Things aren’t always going well on the field, but it’s nice to be recognized, especially in the classroom, as well. It keeps you on track.”

Regarding being awarded the honor, it took Cavener a little while to find out that he was even selected.

He said, “I didn’t even realize I had it until my dad told me. He was first on the scene.”

Cavener, who has been cocaptains with Eddie Floyd this year, was pleased with being officially named a team leader at the beginning of the season, and also praised the team’s other skipper.

“I have been happy with my overall performance. I was happy when I got the captaincy, and I feel that I’ve done a good job of it. Eddie’s done a good job of it as well,” Cavener said.

He will return to the team for the spring season, as well as the next fall season in 2010.

CCSU men’s soccer team fell 1-0 to Quinnipiac to end their season on a sour note on Senior Night at Arute Field.

Phillip Suprise scored in the 82nd minute when he received the ball into the box from Dominic Adams, and was able to put it past Paul Armstrong among a flurry of action around the net.

An emotional Armstrong recalled his time at CCSU after the match.

“I’m very sad that it’s over. It doesn’t hit you until the final whistle goes,” he said. “I thought I played well the whole game, but it’s pretty disappointing to finish on a loss.”

Armstrong also believes that he has accomplished many of his goals while he was at the school.

“My main reason to be here for four years, get an education, and have a good time; I’ve done that.

I’ve had a great time while I’ve been here, enjoyed every game I’ve played,” Armstrong said.

CCSU (6-10-1, 1-8-1) outshot Quinnipiac 10-6 during the match, but could not get the ball past keeper Frederick Hall, who made two saves and earned the clean sheet.

Chris Jones made one save for the Blue Devils for his work in net in the first half, keeping a shutout, and Armstrong made one save in his 45-minute effort.

In the second half, Hadji Diop made a spectacular run into the box, but was taken down by a questionable tackle. The referee decided it was no penalty and allowed play to continue, much to the chagrin of the Blue Devils bench and crowd.

The Blue Devils also had more fouls than the Bobcats (9-3-6, 6-22), with a final tally of 11-7. Connor Smith was given a yellow card in the 85th minute of play.

Five seniors played their final game for the Blue Devils: goalkeepers Armstrong and Jones, forward Diop, Midfielder Rafael Guimaraes and midfielder/defender Eddie Floyd.

“It’s been great. I’ve been through the best and the worst,” Floyd said. “Coach said it, it is about the relationships that we make. I’ve made some good friends the past four years.”

Floyd also reflected on the life lessons he learned while being a member of the team.

“You learn a lot. You go through a lot of things in your four years here,”

Floyd said. “I think everything that happens in the four years here, it makes something inside of yourself.

It makes you grow as a person.”

Captain Robert Cavener, who played his last match with these teammates Friday, was interested in learning about their futures, as he will be following in their footsteps after next season.

“I am interested to see where they go, especially the internationals.

With Paul, to see if he stays in the U.S. or goes,” Cavener said. “I’ve got a year left and I am gonna be in this position next year. It’s gonna go quickly. I am interested to follow them and see what they do.”

The Blue Devils had a disappointing season, losing their final eight matches of the campaign, with their lack of composure in defense becoming a huge factor for their slide.

“I’m gonna go away from here with nothing but positive comments about the place. I’d recommend anybody to come here,” Armstrong said. “I love the place to bits. To play here for four years—I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

With the seniors leaving, Cavener lamented his teammates’ departure.

“It is gonna be a major loss,” he said, “as friends, as teammates.”

15

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, November 11, 2009 / SPORTS

Mallory’s Huge Day Can’t Stop Seahawks’ Shocker

Overcoming Diversity

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

CCSU Women’s Basketball 2009-10 Preview

Carmine Vetrano The recorder

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

Wide Receiver Josue Paul watches as Wagner celebrates an upset win over CCSU.

Continued from page 16

“When you lose, it takes [individual successes] away. I really wanted to win and end up undefeated in the conference,” Mallory said. “I gave it my all; we all gave it our all. It just didn’t work out for us today. Now we have to just focus on Monmouth.”

Mallory scored for the first time with 5:14 left in the first half on a one-yard run, after an 18 play, 99-yard drive.

Wagner’s Doscher had a huge game, taking part in all five of the team’s touchdowns, three through the air, and two rushing To open the game’s scoring, Doscher threw a 30-yard touchdown with 6:54 left in the first quarter, to wide receiver Morgan Mizell.

Special Teams were a huge problem for each team throughout the game, but a shanked punt by Blue Devils’ punter Greg Migdal, that only went five yards, with 1:35 left in the game, was one of the most cruicial mistakes of the game.

“We only punted once, and the freshman punter [Migdal] shanked it. They didn’t block it, he kicked it off of his ankle,” McInerney said.

Norris had a solid game for CCSU, including a 13-yard touchdown to Josue Paul on an impressive four play 71-yard drive, with just over 10 minutes to play, which made the score 27-20. Norris was 19-of-27 for 201 yards, and also had 13 carries for 51 yards.

Doscher struck again when he ran 20 yards to paydirt late in the second quarter after a masterful six-play, 71-yard drive. But the extra point would be missed, one of two missed kicks by Seahawks’ kicker David Lopez.

We didn’t play great today. We didn’t play good defense, we didn’t finish on [Doscher]. We gotta give him credit, and we had to make plays,” McInerney said. “I thought we improved in some areas. That’s life. Not a whole lot to say.”

Mallory scored on a two-yard run after a 16-play, 81-yard drive in the beginning of the fourth quarter. But another kicking miscue occurred as kicker Joe Izzo missed the extra point.

Despite the loss, Mallory doesn’t believe that the team will lose focus, and it is something that he will enforce with his teammates.

“Me as a leader of the team, I am going to make sure we stay focused,” Mallory said. “I am not going to let us slack. I will stay on everybody. We just have to work hard every single day.”

With 12:38 left in the fourth, Doscher threw a 32 yd td pass to wide receiver David Crawford to tie the game at 20-20.

Doscher scored with 6:40 left in the game on a two-yard run, but due to a bad hold, the conversion was not converted.

CCSU plays in their final home game of the season Saturday vs.

Monmouth.

Conference Notes- CCSU is tied with Wagner on conference record, but because of the Wagner win, they lead the tiebreaker for the conference championship.

CCSU needs to win out, and have Wagner lose one of their final games in order to win the conference and go to the Gridiron Classic, which is hosted by the Pioneer League Champion. Currently, Drake and Butler are tied for first place in the Pioneer League.

The 2008-09 season for the women’s basketball team is one that is going to go down in team history.

Last season, the women’s team won a total of 18 games (18-14) that included 12 wins in conference play and a trip to the NIT tournament.

One can say that is a huge turn around from the 4-25 record in 0708.

The 2009-10 team was picked third in the NEC preseason poll, and yet they are still looking to turn some heads as them embark on the 09-10 season next week.

Returning to the sideline for her third straight year is CCSU alumna Beryl Piper. Coach Piper guided CCSU to a 12-6 record in conference play, which was good for a second overall seed in the NEC tournament. After falling to St. Francis (PA) in the NEC semifinals, the Blue Devils were selected to play in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, the first time in the program’s history.

Coach Piper knew the 08-09 team was something different.

“After the Rhode Island Tournament I felt that we could make a push,” Coach piper said.

The team would go 14-9 after winning the two games at the Rhody Classic.

The 09-10 team shouldn’t disappoint either.

Coming back is NEC Preseason All-Conference Team member Kerrianne Dugan. Dugan, who was a second team All-NEC selection last season and played and started in all 32 games for the Blue Devils, averaged 11.6 points a game and 5.9 rebounds a game. The junior forward led the Blue Devils in minutes played with 1113 while compiling 92 assists and 50 steals.

Dugan also ranked sixth in the NEC in shooting percentage.

“She can do it all,” Piper said of Dugan in a simple yet powerful statement. “She is at the top in every category and fights hard.”

Joining Dugan is sophomore guard Shontice Simmons. Simmons, like Dugan, started in every game for the Blue Devils as a freshman and led the team in points with 12.5 per game, steals with 56, and assists with 110. Simmons was rewarded at the end of the season with an NEC All-Rookie Team selection.

“She runs the show,” Piper said about Simmons’ play. “She has floor determination and can buzz through the zone and shoot the three.”

Coach Piper preaches the depth this 09-10 team has this season and feels that every player has something to contribute to the team.

Also returning to the team is junior forward Lorane Crockett, who led the Blue Devils in field goal shooting with a percentage of 48.1 and three point shooting with a percentage of 41.8. She also led

the team in rebounds with 7.81 per game and total three pointers made with 51.

“Her pull-up jump shot,” Piper said about Crockett’s strength. “She probably has the best pull-up jump shot in the whole league.”

The team is battling through some hardships right now as they get ready to take on Maine on Nov. 13 up in Orono to kick off the season.

“We’re battling some injuries and this flu bug that is going around,” Piper said. “Its almost like we gain two, we lose two, we gain one, lose one,” she joked.

Piper expects the conference games to be a lot closer this season and feels that overall the competition has picked up. Yet she still has some unfinished business of her own.

“I would love to beat Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart,” Piper said. “We beat them all the time when I played and we shouldn’t lose to them consistently like this.”

But Piper has her eyes set on the rest of the league as well. “I still want to beat the teams we beat last year and lost to so that means to go undefeated,” Piper said with a smile. “I am excited to see the other competition and to see what other teams bring.”

With the majority of the players returning and the depth the team has, that might not be that hard to reach.

CCSU Women Fall In NEC Championship

Senior Leah Blaney attacks the Monmouth goal, but was unable to put a point on the board.

Continued from page 16 “I have to give a lot of credit to Monmouth. They came in and played very well,” D’Arcy said. “ I wish them the best of luck in the NCAA [Tournament].”

Monmouth outshot CCSU 1312. Caity Casey made three saves in her final match for the Blue Devils.

For Monmouth, Lia Fierro made three saves and recorded a clean sheet.

Blaney created some of the best

opportunities for the Blue Devils during the match, taking half of the team’s shots. “[The match] didn’t end the way we wanted it to today, but it doesn’t take away from my time with this team,” Blaney said.

The Hawks had five corner kicks, with the Blue Devils only able to get two.

The Blue Devils committed eight fouls in the match, compared to Monmouth’s seven. Jillian Cipriano received a yellow card in the 29th minute, Cara Cavallari was given a

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

yellow card in the 39th minute and Brittany Emin was also cautioned in the 86th minute. For the Hawks, Tracey Biederstadt was cautioned in the 74th minute of play.

Notes - The attendance of the NEC Championship was 826. This is CCSU’s first loss in the NEC Championship, previously going 7-0 in the final. Blaney was named NEC Player of the Year, and D’Arcy was named the NEC Coach of the Year. Blayney, Treager and Casey were all selected to the NEC AllTournament Team.

16 THE RECORDER Wednesday, November 11 , 2009

Sports 11.11

Blue Devils Can’t Hold On

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

CCSU Football Drops 32-27 Game to Wagner After Giving Up TD With 26 Seconds Left Christopher Boulay The Recorder

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Despite a monster effort from senior running back James Mallory, CCSU fell to Wagner in the last minute of a tight battle, 32-27.

CCSU (6-3, 5-1) loses its first conference game of the season, falling into second place of the Northeast Conferece, because of the Seahawks’ tiebreaker.

Seahawks’ quarterback Nick Doscher threw the game winning touchdown to Lon Woods, with only 26 seconds left in the game, as Wagner (6-3, 5-1) would put up all the points they needed, against a Blue Devils defense that had trouble adjusting to the Seahawks’ option running scheme and strong passing game.

Inside This Issue:

“We could not finish on [Doscher],” Coach Jeff McInerney said. “I could say we didn’t make the play, but I’m gonna say he made it. I didn’t have a good enough plan for him defensively, and we just have to do better.”

CCSU had one last chance to pull off the victory, but with one second left, and a near miracle needed, quarterback Aubrey Norris could not find an open receiver and was sacked.

Senior running back James Mallory ran for 180 yards and scored three touchdowns in the loss, putting him over the 1,000 yard mark for the season, including a touchdown on the first play of the second half, a 63-yard run, giving CCSU the 14-13 lead.

See Mallory’s Huge Day Page 15

Edward Gaug | The Recorder

Women’s Soccer Loses NEC Championship Game on Overtime Goal in 92nd Minute Christopher Boulay The Recorder

After an inspired performance in the semi-final, where CCSU defeated LIU 1-0, the Blue Devils’ women’s soccer team fell in a 1-0 heartbreaker to Monmouth in the NEC Championship on Sunday afternoon.

A goal by Hawks’ forward Mary Wilks in the 92nd minute sealed the Blue Devils’ (12-7-2) fate, and guaranteed that the regular season NEC champions will not be going to the NCAA Tournament, despite the squad’s 10-1-1 record in the conference.

“It was a great individual goal. She got it, turned and created some space for herself,” Coach Mick D’Arcy said. “She’s the leading goal scorer in the conference, and it was great execution on the play.”

CCSU won the first matchup of the tournament when Leah Blayney scored in the 71st minute to knock off the Blackbirds, and send CCSU to the NEC final, which they reached for the eighth time.

Despite the loss, the players tried to stay positive, as the season didn’t have the successful ending that the team had hoped.

“Yeah we lost, but I don’t think it takes away from the great season we had,” captain Clio Treager said.

CCSU looked strong throughout the first half, and a goal looked to be overdue, but in the second half the momentum shifted almost completely. Monmouth (15-4-1) was on the attack for the majority of the last 45 minutes, and had the best chances of the match.

See CCSU Women Page 15

NFL PICK ‘EMS How did you match up in Junior Captain Receives Academic Honors

See Cavener Page 14

Weeks 8 & 9?

See Pick Your Poison Page 13

Women’s Basketball Prep For 2009-10 Season

See Overcoming Page 15