Arts and Entertainment • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A9
This coffee tastes delicious. No joke. Tricia Peterson
Washburn Review
Graphic courtesy of ReThink Topeka
ReThink Topeka hosts final art walk Fatima Oubaid
Washburn Review ReThink Topeka is having its third annual Exhibition and Art Walk on Saturday, April 14 in downtown Topeka. The art walk will consist of many different activities, including lots of art, poetry, music, food and more. ReThink Topeka was first started in 2006 when a couple of local Topeka members decided to help rebuild the community through art and help improve the community’s quality of life, focusing mainly on downtown Topeka. “We were really tired of hearing negative things that were being said about Topeka,” said Justin Marable, one of the co-founders of ReThink Topeka. “So we formed ReThink Topeka to help change everyone’s view, not only inside, but people’s view outside of Topeka, as well.” The art walk is the biggest event put on every year by ReThink Topeka to help bring everyone together and get a chance to really see and appre-
ciate downtown Topeka, while also bringing local communities together. After having a bumpy start getting established and becoming well-known, ReThink Topeka hopes to have the most exciting and biggest art walk yet. “We started preparations eight months ago. Everyone that has been involved is determined to make this year the biggest and the best Art Walk,” said Bailey Marable, one of the co-founders of ReThink Topeka. “Since this will be our last Art Walk, we wanted to go out with a bang instead of just fizzling out. Now that we’ve had two years of experience, everything will be more organized, have higher quality everything and much more activities.” This year, ReThink Topeka received a huge response from local communities for visual arts and musicians. Over 90 artists submitted artwork, and about half of them were accepted into the show by a panel of jurors. Many bands are not only from Topeka, but bands from Lawrence and Kansas City are
scheduled to perform, as well. There also will be many children activities including sidewalk chalk, art activities and more. “I would love if dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people would feel proud to be from Topeka, instead of ashamed,” said Marable. “There are so many wonderful organizations and businesses all around town that have really helped make Topeka a great place to live. The Art Walk will be just another great opportunity for everyone to realize that.” For a small fee of two dollars, you get in to see all the venues and not to mention a neat button. For a complete list of venues, a schedule of events or more information, please visit the ReThink Topeka website at rethinktopeka.com. And don’t forget to check out the Art Walk finale on Saturday, April 14. Fatima Oubaid is a freshman mass media major. Reach her at fatima.oubaid@washburn. edu
‘Buddy’, good foreign film Cindy Rose
Washburn Review Netflix has a wide variety of movie genres to browse through and a great selection of foreign films. If you are already a fan of foreign movies, you probably know that Netflix is an excellent source for finding really good ones. If you are not a fan or are indifferent, give them a try anyway. Many of them are so good, you forget you are reading subtitles. Before long, you will find yourself enjoying and understanding more than just the words. Love scenes in foreign films are more erotic and natural, more mysterious and humanizing. The words can be so much more poetic and the phrases more eloquent. Their heroes and heroines aren’t necessarily cookie-cutter beautiful with perfect and thin bodies. I sometimes find myself feeling a little relieved of the pressure to look and be like the kind of people we see in Ameri-
can films. Foreign movies have unpredictable endings. That being said, in case I may have persuaded the uninitiated to give them a try, my first film is a lighthearted comedy from Norway called “Buddy.” “Buddy” is, well, a buddy
were being chased following one of their pranks. They are serendipitously picked up by someone who presents them to a local television station that happens to be looking for a new show. The station producers think the video diary is just what they’re looking for and believe it has the semblance of “Jackass, with a heart.” They contact Kristoffer with an offer, but are a little worried about airing Stig Inge’s Graphic by Linnzi Fusco, Washburn Review phobia and the fact movie. It’s about Kristoffer that his friends get laughs at his and Geir, two good friends with expense. The guys give the go relationship issues, who have ahead and soon become famous recently moved in with their when their reality show is a hit new friend Stig Inge. Stig is a with viewers. quirky web designer and works But fame always comes at out of his home. He’s also a a cost, and this proves true for neat freak with agoraphobia the trio. and hasn’t left the safety of the “Buddy” is a feel-good and complex where he lives for two fun date movie. years. Kristoffer and Geir are billboard hangers, and Kristoffer habitually films their lives and their pranks in his spare time. Cindy Rose is a junior mass Some of the tapes are dropped media major. Reach her at on the ground when the two cynthia.rose@washburn.edu
If you are looking for good coffee in Topeka that isn’t PT’s, Kansas Daily Grind is the place to go. They serve coffee from the Roasterie Air Roasted Coffee, which is a coffee roasting company in Brookside, a neighborhood in Kansas City, Mo. It started in the basement of Danny O’Neill’s house in 1993 and since then, he has been cutting out the middle-man by ordering coffee beans directly from the farmers. This is great for local communities and for the people buying the coffee. They have their own cafes in Kansas City and Leawood. Located downtown on the corner of 10th and Quincy, it’s a nice spot away from campus to hang out or get homework done while enjoying a nice cup of coffee. The coffee is my favorite thing about KS Daily Grind and why I will keep going back. It’s not too robust, like I find Starbucks coffee to be, and it still has a lot of flavor to it. When I ordered my vanilla ice coffee, the cashier asked how much vanilla I wanted, and if it wasn’t enough, he would add more. Usually, you have to pay for extra, but I didn’t have to here, which I thought was great. They offer various pastries and sweets baked by Pink City Sweets daily, as well as biscuits
Picture by Tricia Peterson, Washburn Review
Local Flavor: Kansas Daily Grind features pastries from the local bakery, Pink City Sweets. Pictured above is their cinnamon swirl coffee cake. They also offer other items, such as biscuits and gravy and brats. and gravy, bratwursts and various lunch specials. I had never heard of Pink City Sweets, located at 3455 SW Brandywine Ct., so I wanted to try something made from there. I ordered a vanilla ice coffee and a cinnamon swirl coffee cake. The coffee cake was moist and a little crisp on the outside, just like it should be. There was just enough cinnamon as not to overpower, and the sweet bread was an almost pound cake-like texture, which I love. I would definitely order this pastry again, especially because the price was just right. With the coffee and my 10 percent student discount, I only paid $4.30, which is what you pay for the coffee alone at Starbucks. My only complaint is that
you have to pay for parking since it is located downtown. The price is $1 per hour, which I think is a little steep, so if you want to stay for long periods of time, you are paying for it. The student discount helps, of course, but it won’t cover the parking charge. To order the Roasterie’s coffee online, go to theroasterie.com where you can learn more about the coffee, as well. The Kansas Daily Grind has their website, ksdailygrind. com where they have a 10% discount coupon to download. Check out their Facebook page too. Tricia Peterson is a junior mass media major. Reach her at patricia.peterson@washburn.edu
‘Hunger Games’ sparks controversy Jordan Loomis
Washburn Review “May the odds be ever in your favor,” has become the most known phrase worldwide over a two-week time span— yes, I’m referring to Suzanne Collin’s “The Hunger Games” which hit theaters officially at midnight on March 22, 2012. Since then, the movie has eased its way into the top grossing movies on opening weekend with $150 million, earning the third top movie in opening weekend history next to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part two and The Dark Knight. The Hunger Games describes a post apocalyptic world where once the 12 separate districts of Panem attempted to overthrow the government in war and lost. In punishment, the Government has forced the 12 districts to provide one man and one woman between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight to the death in order to bring their districts honor and wealth to their families who would starve on their own. The movie follows young Katniss Everdeen, who at 16 years old, volunteered as tribute in her younger sister’s stead and recreates the emotional turmoil of having to comprehend the fact that she may die simply for the governments pleasure in the arena. Despite the expectations and fears that fans had regarding turning a 350-page book into a two and a half hour film, director Gary Ross, did an excellent job. Sure, the film had a minor number of missing details, five in the least, but critics are praising “The Hunger Games” as one of the most sensational films to hit the theaters this year. Personally, as a fan of the book series, I found that the film adaptation to be both riveting and emotionally gripping. Having seen the film twice now, I found that Jennifer Law-
Poster courtesy of TheHungerGames.com
rence, the actress playing Katniss Everdeen, pulled her youth in to making a strong rebel of a teenage solider. Josh Hutcherson, the lead actor playing Peeta Mellark, also moved into playing his emotionally conflicted role. Although the film is depicted to be a “simple adaptation” towards a novel filled with violence and heartache, “The Hunger Games” is a movie that takes a toll on its viewers and has them thinking about it far after the movie has stopped screening. One major setback has caused a major disturbance amongst movie critics across the nation—the film is receiving huge discriminatory comments towards three of its central characters. To anyone who has a Twitter account, I’m
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sure you’ve seen what I’m talking about. Far too many posts have been reoccurring since the film’s premiere about how three African American characters: Rue, Thresh, and Cinna ruined the film because of their skin color—critics are extremely disappointed in this outcome. If you’d like to see an example of this, please visit an article by Jorge Rivas on ColorLines.com. (http://colorlines. com/archives/2012/03/on_twitter_hunger_games_fans_demand_to_know_why_black_ characters_are_black.html)
Jordan Loomis is a freshman mass media major. Reach her at jordan.loomis@washburn. edu
Do you miss your TLC?
Dr. Iris Gonzalez is now taking appointments at Sunflower Primary Care. 3405 NW Hunters Ridge Terrace Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66618 Phone 785-246-3733