(11/23/10 5:00am)
According to a recent New York Times article, students in college are increasingly plagiarizing because they see nothing wrong with it. Many students in our generation assume that online sources are at their disposal as stores of information, ripe for the picking.However, the article also says that the majority of recent plagiarism cases at the University of California, Davis, were not because students were unaware that they were cheating, but they occurred instead because those students were too lazy to try to write well themselves. The Times article seems to me to be an oversimplification. It's true that students don't come to college fully aware of what constitutes plagiarism and what the consequences are. But I think the underlying factor is much closer to a recent interpretation offered in the Huffington Post by David Callahan, editor of cheatingculture.com. In the article, Callahan writes, "Surveys find that between two-thirds and three-quarters of students admit to some cheating in the previous year." The article also claims that small colleges at which students may focus more on learning for the sake of learning, think about grades as a way of measuring how much students are learning and thus experience less cheating. Larger schools, at which students may view college more as a step toward getting a job, may experience more cheating. Perhaps Callahan's interpretation can also be understood as saying that students in small schools are valued more as individual entities and thus feel worse about violating that trust and breaking their academic integrity. Students at large schools, though, may be viewed merely as numbers and thus lack the close relationship with faculty that would perhaps deter them from cheating. Now, Brandeis is not a large school and is definitely no UC Davis, but that doesn't mean we should be ignorant of the temptation to cheat. As a small research university, Brandeis has to make sure it distances itself from the cheating culture found at large universities and emulates the academic integrity of small liberal arts colleges.However, the University is in an awkward position when it comes to this. By all accounts, we are a small to medium-sized school, a far cry from the large schools Callahan references. But just like the large schools to which Callahan refers to, this university certainly has its share of majors designed to prepare students for the workplace. A large number of students who major in Business or Economics have clear professional aspirations. Additionally, there are many students at Brandeis who choose to major in sciences-especially Biology. These students likely view their majors as steps in the professional ladder, and many plan on applying to medical school. Perhaps the environment that promotes cheating can easily be found here, too-not as a result of our numbers, but because of the academic climate. Do we do enough to promote, as a small liberal arts school would, learning for learning's sake? Or is this university simply one of the steps to making money after graduation? There are a few things we can do to make sure that the former is true. One possibility is to foster faculty-student interactions. The recent Wabash report informed us that many students do not feel they have formed close relationships with professors. By encouraging such relationships, we can make sure that students don't get an experience similar to that of a large school. Just as the faculty strives to develop relationships with students, students would benefit from seeking relationships with professors. This, perhaps, would create a climate in which students don't want to cheat because they feel obligated to maintain the trust of their professors. Additionally, the analysis of studies concerning the patterns of cheating in colleges across the country can help our university understand the larger context of our academic community. Perhaps it would be beneficial for the University to conduct its own anonymous study inspecting just how many students here have cheated on assignments or exams and then compare the results to patterns at other universities. If we find a disproportionate number of instances of cheating at Brandeis, maybe it's because we are-whether we realize it or not-trying to emulate the large schools where students show up and professors don't even know their names.This all being said, it is still very possible that we don't actually have a problem with cheating. However, we should still strive to check our academic climate so that with our dual position as a pre-professional school and small liberal arts college, we don't fall off to the wrong side. Understanding that we have the potential to foster an atmosphere of academic integrity should help us to avoid the trap of unwittingly fostering the opposite.We should take heed of small liberal arts schools. We should make the academic climate centered around learning and not about a career so that when students are tempted to cheat, they'll feel guilty for going against their academic principles.
(10/26/10 4:00am)
In 2008, Kings of Leon made its way onto iPods everywhere with the release of its song "Use Somebody," a soaring, adult-contemporary, radio-station-friendly rock song displaying the boozy southern rockers' softer side, off their 2008 album Only by the Night. But Kings of Leon, consisting of the Followill brothers Nathan, Caleb and Jordan and their cousin Matthew, have been around much longer. Kings of Leon has been releasing material since 2003 and were rock stars in England before they were considered such in America, winning awards and topping the charts. However, older fans bemoaned Only by the Night, saying Kings of Leon sold out because it was less of the blues/southern-rock revival sound the band was known for and more of the arena-rock sound that is synonymous with bands like Nickelback. While I don't really agree with that sentiment, I did see that "Use Somebody" was not Kings of Leon's best.I'll admit that I didn't start to really listen to Kings of Leon until I heard "Use Somebody," but the song intrigued me, so I went and sought out more of its songs. What I found were songs much more daring and impassioned than anything on Only by the Night. Songs like "Holy Roller Novocaine" and "Knocked Up" from previous albums were simply better because they had a sound different from anything I'd heard; some parts are understated, others are a flagrant display of booze, sex and religion and how the three aren't always separate. So with its new album, Come Around Sundown, released Oct. 12, I was hoping to find something more rebellious and aggressive that was lacking in Only by the Night. Come Around Sundown lived up to my hopes, and in a way, it didn't. The album isn't great, but it's not terrible. The album resides in the limbo between great albums and horrible albums; it's the "we can make decent songs that will get attention and sell records because, well, we've done it before" album. For the most part, it's a solid album that's an improved follow-up. The album will probably gain Kings of Leon some more Grammy awards, as well as performances on a litany of talk shows and award shows, but musically, there's still something missing.The album opens up with "The End," a song that feels a bit clichéd because the lyrics are basically lead singer Caleb Followill moping around. The vocals themselves are powerful, but that can't hide the overly sappy lyrics; the mopey feeling is exacerbated by the singer belting out, "This could be the end" one too many times. Then the song ends with an overwrought and overused sentiment: "Cos I ain't got a home/ I'll forever roam." Despite my misgivings about the content, the song is one of the more interesting ones on the album due to the beautiful, understated guitar in the background that goes a bit screwy during the chorus and bridge."Mary" is possibly the best song on the album. It's different from anything Kings of Leon has done before: doo-wop! Well, at least something reminiscent of doo-wop, chock full of "ahhs" that could be played over any scene of a '50s-era school dance as couples sway back and forth with their poodle skirts and cardigans. With a relentless guitar riff backed by a simple and direct drumbeat, "Mary" is a bit sloppier than the other songs, echoing the seemingly teenage, tortured relationship. Other notable songs are "Back Down South" and "Pony Up." "Back Down South" is a lazy southern-rock song full of twang, fiddles and plenty of talk of dancing, beer and gettin' romantic underneath the stars. While "Pony Up" features an eccentric guitar riff and a cowbell that makes the song feel lively as Caleb Followill sings of a rowdy fight, it still keeps that gritty southern feel with the lyrics. Come Around Sundown falls flat because it tries too hard for the big choruses that'll get everyone singing. For example, "The Immortals" feels slick and cool during the verses due to the prominence of the bass but falls when the "big" chorus comes in changing the pace of the song. "Pyro" is another song that had potential, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Like "The End," "Pyro" is a downer, with Followill singing "Everything I cherish is slowly dying or it's gone," solidifying himself as a degenerate destroying the lives of those around him as he wails that he "won't ever be a cornerstone."Like I said, there are no major issues with this album. Come Around Sundown is simple but sometimes intricate, well-thought-out and exultant here and there. It's an improvement, but it didn't feel ballsy, something that makes songs like "Knocked Up" and "Holy Roller Novocaine" so remarkable.
(10/12/10 4:00am)
I really wanted to like this place. I'm pretty sure I heard from at least four friends that Solea was one of their favorite restaurants in Waltham, so I tried to go without any expectations. But in the two times I went, I left rather disappointed in my expectation to be satisfied, if not at least as blown away as my friends were.Solea, on Moody Street, is one of the most popular restaurants in Waltham; it is well known even outside the city. It presents itself primarily as a place for tapas: Spanish small plates that are appetizer-sized, of which you will need to order at least two or three per person to leave feeling full. This makes it a lot of fun to go out for tapas in larger parties, when you can order perhaps 20 different dishes for eight people and get to try a little of everything. If you've never had tapas but are more familiar with Asian cuisine, the analogous experience is Chinese dim sum, which are tapas with the added convenience of a Lazy Susan for sharing and usually much, much cheaper.My first time at Solea was more of a quick snack at the bar: pimiento de piquillo (a roasted pepper stuffed with crab, shrimp and pearl onions, all in a pool of langostino sauce) and tortilla española (an omelette of potatoes and onions). The stuffed pepper was fine, dominated mainly by the crab (not a bad thing in this case), but it was nothing spectacular; the sauce of langostino (a squat lobster-what looks like a truncated lobster but is actually a relative of the crab) was tasty for the first few bites but quickly became dull. The tortilla española, served slightly warm, was a real disappointment as the second plate. It is usually served cold (which lets the lighter flavors of the onion and good-quality oil come out) and was even listed as such on the menu. When not cold, it's served fresh out of the pan-very hot, but never warm. In any case, there would not have been much to show off anyway, cold or hot. The potatoes were mushy and there were hardly any onions to speak of; the dish was embarrassingly bland. Now, I know what some of you who are familiar with this dish may object to: It's supposed to be simple, homey and nothing spectacular, given that it contains only three ingredients! But I have made this dish myself plenty of times at home, in just as simple a preparation (okay, maybe with the odd bits of bacon or red peppers thrown in), and it's been much better. Besides, when you're working with fewer ingredients, it's a rare opportunity to cook such ingredients to the best of your ability with nothing to hide them behind. There is sometimes nothing better to eat than a simple dish done well. But Solea's tortilla seemed slapdash and careless.The next visit was inspired by my desire to finally try the traditional Spanish paella: a large, heavy skillet filled with saffron rice, some vegetables, a great variety of meats and lots of seafood. Solea's paella includes chorizo, pork sausage, shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, fish and chicken with peas and slivers of artichoke hearts. This dish is very much a departure from the simple, small dishes. Unfortunately, while the portion served was generous, the dish was stingy with flavor. None of the meats were grilled or sautéed with any other spices or flavors; they barely tasted like themselves, most of them having instead the effect of generic filler-especially the chicken.The second meal actually ended pleasantly; I wasn't really feeling it, but I thought I should give Solea's desserts a chance-one last opportunity for the resteraunt to redeem itself. And it did, kind of. The churros con chocolate were a delight: four thin, medium-length tubes of delicate, crispy, deep-fried dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar and served with a tiny pitcher of warm chocolate ganache. After the wonderful churros were gone, I found myself drinking the rest of the leftover ganache straight out of the pitcher. But at eight dollars a plate and with a good, easy recipe for ganache at home, I think I'll be on the lookout for a good recipe for churros instead.Maybe I'll get around to trying you again, Solea, but for now, I'm going to look elsewhere for my tapas cravings. Next on the tapas list to try: Ken Oringer's popular Toro in Boston's South End.Solea can be found at 388 Moody St. in Waltham; visit its website for menus, contacts and directions at solearestaurant.com.
(09/07/10 4:00am)
I'm embarrassed to say it, but I shopped 11 courses my first week this semester. I spent numerous hours in several classes that I eventually decided not to take. Much of my free time disappeared, and I found myself with barely enough hours in my schedule to unpack my belongings and set up my room.This made my first week fairly unpleasant, to say the least. But what if college were always like this? What if we always had to spend this much time in class per week? Apparently, in 1961, this was exactly the case. A recent study performed by Philip Babock and Mindy Marks, two economics professors at the University of California, finds that students in our generation spend 10 fewer hours in class every week than did students in 1961. The study claims that the reason students are spending less time in class has to do with "market pressures." Simply put, the current market empowers students with technology and endless amounts of television and has caused them to desire more time for leisure. Thus, universities have had to accommodate for this trend by cutting down on class time and increasing the budget for student activities. The professors conclude that students in the current generation are simply lazier than students of the past. We do not take academics as seriously, and we view college as a mere vacation.Needless to say, the conclusion is quite troubling. Why have these professors decided that our generation is lazier than their own? If you ask me, the college students of 1961 were just as guilty as we are. While they may have technically spent more time in class, this does not mean that they actually were less lazy than we are. I'm certain that students of the '60s wrote papers the night before they were due. I'm sure that the culture 50 years ago allowed for plenty of time to blow off steam. An adolescent student's psyche will always be the same. Kids will be kids. Yes, they may have spent more time in class. But this does not make the institutions of old any better than those of today. This does not mean that our parents and grandparents actually learned more than we did. Nonetheless, it is still valid to explore why our generation is spending less time in the classroom. As Raphael Pope Sussman, editor of the editorial page of The Columbia Daily Spectator notes, one possible reason is that given the current job market, students need more time outside of class to explore career options and develop themselves as people. If we do not have as much time in class, we are more able to pursue other interests, whether they are extra curricular or pre-professional. We go to college to learn. But we also go to college because we need a diploma for any stable job that we want to get after we graduate. Simply put, spending hours in a classroom may make us better people, but it is not the sole goal of higher education. The current model may even be better than that of the 1960s. I know plenty of Brandeisians who pursue myriad interests outside the classroom, all of which would be impossible if they were taking 10 extra hours of class every week. These pursuits are integral parts of the undergraduate education and are essential components to ensure success in life and a career. The classroom does not teach us how to work with people. Most of the time, it only teaches us how to work with ourselves. This is a vital skill to learn in college, but not any more valuable than pursuing interests outside of the classroom.I strongly disagree with Babock and Marks. Personally, having experienced what it is like to have 10 extra hours of class in a week, I know that I would be no more educated if this were the norm. Our generation has inherited an educational system that is very different from that of half a century ago. Like most things, schooling has changed significantly in the past 50 years. Our job is to embrace this change and make the best of it. Take Sussman's advice. Use those 10 hours a week for something else, something to enrich your life or your career.
(08/24/10 4:00am)
During the months before he started at Brandeis, Samuel Shankland '14 did not fill his summer with a mindless job, lazy days at the beach or soaking up the fleeting luxuries of living at home with parents. Shankland, a California native who took a gap year before entering college, spent his time preparing for the United States junior chess championship in July, at which he became the newly crowned U.S. junior chess champion. Shankland has been playing chess since he was seven years old, a hobby that colored much of his young life with accomplishments and sacrifices. He entered his first chess tournament when he was 10, and only six years later had became the youngest adult state champion in California, according to his personal website. Now, after 11 years of playing and a United States championship title later, he says he plans on quitting the game upon entering college.When asked what motivated Shankland to become so involved with chess, he casually said, "I like to win. I was always a decent athlete but never amazing. But then I found this game and started killing everyone instantly and moving up the ranks."According to his personal website, Shankland came in fourth place at the kindergarten-sixth grade California state championship soon after he began playing in tournaments. Three years later, he became a national master, a title created by the United States Chess Federation, which means that on a scale of 0-3000, he had a rating of at least 2,200. In 2008, at the age of 17, he tied for first place to become the 2008 world under-18 co-champion in Vietnam.For the past year, Shankland has been living in an apartment with three friends, working as a "full time chess professional" with two of his roommates. According to his website, he spent his days playing, teaching, giving lectures, and writing articles about chess. In July, he traveled to St. Louis to participate in his latest and final tournament, the U.S. Junior Chess Championship. While Shankland was victorious at the championship and subsequently qualified for the World Junior Championship in Poland, he decided not to go, telling The New York Times, "I'm not turning my life upside down on such short notice." Further, upon his successes in St. Louis, he has decided to quit his life in professional chess altogether. The 18-year-old whose website boasts that he has one of the "steepest learning curves in American chess history," says he is quitting because of "a lot of political problems, essentially." Although Shankland is currently an international master, various technicalities, which Shankland describes as "ludicrous," have kept him from becoming a grandmaster, the highest title a chess player can achieve. On failing to become a grandmaster, Shankland told The New York Times, "Everybody says it is not supposed to be easy, which is fine by me. But it is supposed to be fair." Shankland says that he hopes to have a "typical college experience" at Brandeis, although he does plan on playing for the New England chess league. When he was playing professionaly, he says he "only met older people [and] didn't get a sense of what it was like to be a teen.""I want to have a good time, meet a lot of interesting people [and] take a lot of classes," Shankland says. Shankland says that he has had to make sacrifices in order to succeed as a chess professional. In high school, Shankland says teachers were often unsympathetic to the time and dedication required to perform in chess tournaments. "It was tough," says Shankland. "I missed two weeks of school in 2007, and teachers [were] not very understanding." He adds jokingly, "Next year in 2008 [for the World] under 18 [championship] I took first...so they were a little bit more appreciative then." Like any athletic sport, chess tournaments are physically strenuous and require much preparation. Shankland says that in order to prepare for a tournament he must "exercise and keep in shape," and says it's important to "be in form." He describes a tournament in 2008 in which he lost 8 pounds over the course of a week. Max Enkin '11, a chemistry major who also dedicated much of his young life to chess, says that he also made sacrifices in order to participate in chess tournaments. "When I was younger,... I spent a large period of my time playing chess. I really didn't do anything else; I went to tournaments every weekend, and had multiple chess coaches," says Enkin. Enkin says he had to study a lot of chess moves before going to tournaments. Such studying, he says, helped him to prepare for life as a college student. "It really shaped the way I study in school,"says Enkin. "It's a very logical and mechanical game and sparked my interest in math and sciences. It has a lot of memorization with learning new openings and right moves in certain positions. ... If I didn't have chess in my life, I would probably have different interests." Shankland is unsure about how his interest in chess will affect his college academic experience. For now, Shankland says he "[hopes] to take a whole wide range of classes and hopefully find something that inspires me.
(04/20/10 4:00am)
I have a really hard time planning ahead. Sometimes, I?plan out my entire week in incredible detail, budgeting every minute of every day. Ultimately, though, these schedules are epic failures; I end up in an even more unproductive state than when I?started. Luckily for me, it was in the midst of one of my highly unproductive spells when I received the unsettling news that it's that time of year again: preregistration. How in the world was I supposed to think about next semester, when I can hardly think about what I will be having for dinner tonight? Luckily, Brandeis provides us with a plethora of resources to successfully navigate the important preregistration process. We have access to past course syllabi, course evaluations, sage's degree audit and the wise counsel of fellow classmates. These resources are among the true benefits of attending a small liberal arts school that is really focused on the success of its undergraduate population. However, as fortunate as we are to have the resources we do, they are far from perfect. The process of properly researching courses for preregistration can be stressful and cumbersome, and this can be attributed to faults in the system. The Office of the Provost and the Student Union-the two bodies that help manage the Course Evaluation Guide-can do an even better job in writing, presenting and managing it. Before getting into the nitty gritty details of what can streamline the process (and risk putting you to sleep), it's important to put this issue in perspective. Because if preregistration wasn't valuable, this whole article would be a waste of space. The suggestions that follow aren't just a laundry list of demands; rather, they are real problems that Brandeis students should take to heart. Enrolling in classes a semester early does a few things, including (but not limited to) aiding departments in seeing what courses interest students and helping students seriously plan their course load (instead of throwing it together haphazardly at the beginning of a semester). But perhaps more importantly, in light of recent fiscal problems at our university, preregistration helps show Brandeis that those small courses that seem to be financial burdens are worth keeping- if enough students sign up. Having said all that, what follows are a few suggestions to ease the preregistration process and make it far less stressful. For starters, the website has to be less hidden. While I cannot generalize for the entire student body, I would venture to guess that a sizeable number of students have not laid eyes on the course evaluation guide. In order to access the website, one would have to know that it is conveniently hidden in the bottom right corner of the Union website. Or alternatively, one would have to know to search (exactly) "Brandeis course evaluations" on Google (which doesn't even take you directly to the Course Evaluation Guide). Instead, the course evaluations website should be linked directly to LATTE, where everything else relating to our courses is found (I would say it's a fair bet that traffic on the LATTE website is much heavier than on the Union's website). This would gain greater publicity for the guide and conveniently place it on the same website where syllabi are found, thus making it easier to bounce between syllabi and course reviews. Secondly, course evaluations should be mandatory for every class. That is to say, in order to receive credit for any of courses, we should have to complete an evaluation. The completion rate last semester was an abysmal 57 percent, but it should have been 100 percent. There is absolutely no excuse why students should remove themselves from this highly important process. When students choose to not evaluate their courses, which evidently occurs quite often, it hurts the entire student body as well as faculty who try to better plan for courses offered in the future. Additionally, faculty members are often nominated for awards based on reviews written in the course evaluations. By not filling out course reviews for that amazing class you took, you may be depriving your professor of his or her well-earned award. The reviews suffer because they do not express a broad opinion, and the guide suffers as a whole because it is incomplete. Let's be honest with ourselves here: While course reviews may involve some work, most students' choice not to do them has nothing to do with lack of time. The reason people do not evaluate their courses is sheer laziness. While the raffle that the Course Evaluation Committee organizes is creative (every student who completes his evaluations is entered into a raffle to win an iPod, among other items), it does not provide enough of an incentive (don't most of us have iPods anyway?). If, however, we were obligated to evaluate our courses in order to receive credit, we would (maybe grudgingly) fill out the reviews and thereby benefit the entire Brandeis community. Finally, midsemester evaluations should also be mandatory and incorporated into the overall review for a course. Many professors in large introductory lectures often offer questionnaires that seek to improve the quality of teaching. While there are no statistics kept on how many students fill out midsemester questionnaires-let alone how many classes actually offer them-I would venture to say that very few students complete them. These questionnaires, though, may be even more valuable than the standard course evaluations: They actually can affect our own classes, not just give advice to future students. In short, it wouldn't hinder our already busy lives to fill out brief course reviews twice in one semester. Teachers should be obligated to offer them, and students should have to fill them out. I need not dwell on the value of course evaluations; many who take registration for classes seriously consult the online guide. The information provided can significantly affect course decisions. It gives students who know nothing about a professor a basic idea of what to expect, as well as information about the class itself and the workload. While the points above may seem too technical and unnecessary, they would go a long way toward perfecting the invaluable guide and, ultimately, our education.
(03/23/10 4:00am)
Its too bad that about a quarter of the way into our meal, the lights in Clink were abruptly and drastically dimmed. Before the ambiance turned subterranean, the dining room was a pleasant mix of clean, minimalist furniture and tableware and warm New England touches. We'd entered through the dignified gray stone facade of the Liberty Hotel, a former prison whose dark past remains only in iron bars on windows and a Panopticonal layout; we'd been impressed by the lobby's combination of old-fashioned red brick and modern, earth-toned furniture and fixtures. The décor shares its blend of classic and contemporary with the fresh, earthy menu items, of which some of the most intriguing ended up on the Restaurant Week menu.My friends were content with their choices of dishes, but I'm positive that I came out on top with each course. The Bluebird Grain Farms-Clink wants you to know the provenance of its dishes' ingredients- farro soup with black cumin yogurt was pleasantly tangy, its combination of flavors slightly foreign to the tongue, although it benefited from an added dash of pepper. The roasted beet and mozzarella salad with arugula and white balsamic vinegar was a standard dish with exceptionally fresh ingredients.My slow-poached duck egg with red lentils and brioche toast was irresistibly rich, though. At first bite, the lentils were too salty, but the combination of perfectly poached egg, lentils and sweet brioche toast cut the brininess in favor of a complex meld of flavors. The brioche and the rather sweet bottle of Tupari sauvignon blanc we shared salvaged the lentils, leaving only indulgent bliss.The classy, hearty character of the starters carried through to the main courses: Two members of our party ordered red wine-braised short ribs with Anson Mills polenta and horseradish gremolata that they said compared favorably to short ribs eaten two days earlier, and the wild striped bass with heirloom beans and sofrito was satisfying, if unremarkably spiced. But the housemade corn pasta with wild mushrooms and truffled breadcrumbs that I, along with the other three vegetarians in our party, ordered was the superior dish. The tender pasta was studded with lemony greens, and although the truffled breadcrumbs also suffered from an excess of salt-a surprisingly amateur mistake-they were an apt topping.Tucking into our desserts revived us from the torpor of an hour of dining in the dimly lit room; from my green apple, rhubarb and raisin cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream, an updated and less-sweet version of cloying rhubarb confections, to the tangy candied citrus and ginger compote that topped a friend's key lime panna cotta, the desserts rounded out the modernized Americana of the main courses and appetizers.Clink was very good, and it was one of the better Restaurant Week menus offered this season, but neglect of several details caused it to fall short of greatness. Lazy presentation of the short ribs, a chilly and dim dining room and a heavy hand with the salt could be easily rectified; luckily, the sheer goodness of the ingredients and balanced complexity of the meal meant that we did not have to sweat the small stuff.
(03/02/10 5:00am)
Amber Kornreich '12 has been president of Brandeis Democrats since the beginning of Spring semester. When Kornreich. an Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies major, is not coordinating or participating in political activism, she volunteers for the Waltham Group, where she is a coordinator and co-founder of Brandeis Buddies, or writing for the Brandeis Law Journal, where she is chief features editor. Kornreich spoke to the Justice in an e-mail about her political views.JustFeatures: When did you first get involved in politics, and when did you first identify as a Democrat? Why?Amber Kornreich: When I was a little girl I traveled with my mom as she campaigned for a judge, and since then I've been interested in and fascinated by politics. I worked on a political campaign in Miami the summer after my senior year of high school. Once I felt how electrifying campaign work could be, I was addicted. When I arrived at Brandeis, I was warmly welcomed into the community of political activists here, and they really showed me the ropes. I've really cemented my attachment to the Democratic Party in college. JF: What do you think is the most important issue that Obama should focus on while he is in office and why?AK: Jobs. With the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent, many American families are hurting. It is absolutely essential that emergency unemployment benefits be extended to these Americans. The cost of inaction is undoubtedly greater than the effect of any short-term increase to the deficit. The problem of unemployment is too large, and the impact on American lives is too real. JF: What do you hope to accomplish from Brandeis students as president of the Democrats?AK: I hope that Brandeis Dems meetings and events can continue to be an open forum for students to discuss issues of global, national, state and campus politics and [we] keep on the tradition of being heavily involved in the campus world outside of politics ... I know we will keep gaining new members, and, no matter the size of the club, we'll keep engaging in activism. JF: How do you feel about the political atmosphere at Brandeis?AK: I think the political atmosphere at Brandeis is invigorating. ... I'm always delighted at how available a quick political chat with students or professors around campus is, and virtually everyone, whether they choose to be involved in activism or not, has really considered their opinions about the state of the world. I love to hear a variety of perspectives. JF: Who would you say were the top five best presidents?AK: Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Bill Clinton.JF: Oftentimes, as people get older their political views begin to shift. Do you predict that this will happen to you? Why or why not?AK: I do not want to rule out evolving emotionally, intellectually and therefore politically in the future.I know that my values will remain constant and I want to work to ensure the party continues to represent those values. JF: What do you view as the current strengths and weaknesses of the Democratic party?AK: I think the strengths of the Democratic Party are, and will always be, its dedication to the pursuit of values of equality for all Americans, insistence on protecting civil liberties, and its flexibility to adapt its views to changing times.-Condensed and edited by Arielle Schwartz.Nipun Marwaha '12 has been president of Brandeis Republicans since last spring semester. Marwaha, an Economics major and Legal Studies minor, is also a member of the Mock Trial team and a former senator of the Student Union. Marwaha discussed his reasons for becoming a Republican through a phone interview with the Justice.JustFeatures: When did you first get involved in politics, and when did you first identify as a Republican? Why?Nipun Marwaha: I first got involved in politics halfway through freshman year. I lived next to a hardcore Republican. My roommate was an Obama maniac, so it evened out. I believe that personal responsibility is the most important thing that people need to have and that the government should not be responsible for people's actions or inactions. I went to the election meeting for Brandeis Republicans last year, and I originally ran for vice president. Then the president resigned and I became the new president.JF: What do you think is the most important issue that Obama should focus on while he is in office and why?NM:?The unemployment issue is the most important issue that Obama should focus on. The government should start cutting taxes so people can start their own businesses and reinvigorate the national economy.JF: What do you hope to accomplish from Brandeis students as president of the Republicans?NM: I hope to start dispelling the image of [all Republicans being from] the Yosemite family. ... Not all Republicans are evangelical social conservatives. The Republican Party is actually about political conservatism. In other words, the government should be limited and the individuals should have more rights. JF: How do you feel about the political atmosphere at Brandeis?NM: Brandeis influenced my political beliefs the most. I found that at Brandeis, people often did not think about the practical outcome of their political beliefs. People need to do something in order for it to be done right. If the government keeps helping us, it is like giving a mouse a cookie. People become lazy and won't want to do anything if the government keeps helping us so much.JF: Who would you say were the top five best presidents?NM: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. JF: Oftentimes, as people get older their political views begin to shift. Do you predict that this will happen to you? Why or why not?NM: I don't think so. Usually people shift from liberal to conservative over time. Since I'm already a conservative, I firmly believe in personal responsibility and freedom to choose one's own path. JF: What do you view as the current strengths and weaknesses of the Democratic Party?NM: A current strength of the Democratic Party is the grassroots Astroturf that people are fighting against government so that the government will not control their rights. A current weakness of the Republican party is that the evangelicals are trying to control people's actions, which is dissuading people from the party.-Condensed and edited by Arielle Schwartz.
(01/26/10 5:00am)
It's difficult to appreciate Heidi Montag as a human being.At first glance, she isn't much more than your typical blonde bimbo socialite: a plastic Barbie making bank from a talentless role on a "reality" show gallivanting around Los Angeles to fill the narcissistic need for attention like a spray-tanned crack addict with a flesh-colored beard creeper of a husband. But there's another side to her-a weird one. Her personality is fragmented and strange, bouncing from the hyperbolic fame whore staging fake, elaborate photo ops for the paparazzi and claiming her album to be on par with Michael Jackson's Thriller; to the self-effacing, D-List-embracing character portrayed in "Overdosin'"; to a pseudo-born-again conservative Christian spouting off 140-characters-or-fewer Bible verses on Twitter with one hand while signing off on photo stills for her Playboy spread with the other.Not unlike Sarah Palin, Heidi Montag is either a comedic genius or an airheaded blowhole. It is possible that she may be a combination of both. For a while, I thought she could be the Antichrist.And now, after endless unnecessary EP releases and a doofy, worm-like performance at the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant that seemed like a PG reinterpretation of Britney's 2000 VMA performance, we have Superficial, a gift that truly keeps on giving.One couldn't stand to write a review of Superficial without first exploring the "vocals": The work done on Heidi's voice is, if nothing else, astounding. While many rich, socialite brats and mega-pop stars-yes, even my beloved Britney!-are no strangers to Auto-Tune (I've been told that the pitch correction for Paris Hilton's debut took over eight months), Heidi's digital reconstruction is downright impressive.It seems that not only can Heidi not sing-at all-but that the engineers couldn't even stand to allow an instance of her true voice sound for a single second on the album without first melting it down with a pitch-assisting machine. At least Paris Hilton could command a lazy, if not a slightly sultry, whisper: Heidi doesn't even get the option of breathing on this mess.That being said, Heidi spent a reported cool $2 million on this album to get the finest in the industry, and that she did: With songwriting credits from Cathy Dennis, Steve Morales and Chris Rojas, Superficial has a slew of songs that are well written and, in theory, quite good."Look How I'm Doing" and "Turn Ya Head" are delicious guilty pleasures, providing thick, dance-worthy synths piled atop Montag's verses to the point where the lyrics are barely intelligible. Further on, "More is More" is about as close to a genuine hit as Heidi comes on the album, meshing a naughty chorus ("More is more on the dance floor, it's f--king chaos in here") with a vaguely addictive synthesized beat."Twisted" is another delight, reveling in Montag's toilet paper-thin delivery and manic, computer-controlled pitch changes. It's actually a pretty well-written song-its only downfall is that it wasn't released by a real artist first.In her riskiest move (can I really call it that?), Heidi takes the already hypocrisy-ridden "Christian" side of her persona and drives her values even deeper into the ground with "I'll Do It." The song, a slinkier reaction to the album's mostly hasty offerings, features a handful of awkward come-ons meant to sound enticing (a failed attempt), while simultaneously presenting the album's greatest lyrics: "I brought some treats / I know that you gon' love 'em / Come eat my panties off of me."There are some hilarious, just-plain-bad numbers as well, including "My Parade," which includes a farty marching-band stomp and a truly hellacious set of lyrics about being defiant and young. Picture a balloon slowly deflating while being held by a sad, crying clown-that's "My Parade" in visual form.Heidi's oft-published delusions of grandeur help to solidify this album's non-genius genius, as in this morsel from Entertainment Weekly:"Most artists, it's not their own money, but I've actually gone broke putting every dollar I've ever made and my heart and soul into this music. For me, I have a different appreciation, a different understanding, and a different love of my music and for my album than any other artist possibly could."If that's the case-if we are to believe that Heidi's heart and soul are found here in these songs (none of which have been penned or even co-penned by herself), you'll learn nothing that you haven't already on the cover of Star Magazine aside from the fact that she wears edible undies from time to time.To be blunt, I don't think Heidi knows who Heidi is. Fake and real seem to be distinctions that serve no purpose in Heidi's blurred perception of the world. How she actually wishes to be perceived is an even deeper mystery. She is superficial, and superficiality may be her only reality. So really, the album is actually quite personal and deep when you think about it.Just kidding.For tongue-in-cheek pop flop enthusiasts like myself, Superficial is truly a gold mine: In all honesty, it's a fun album. She's a terrible singer, but there's a certain cheeky, camp appeal to the whole ordeal.Surprisingly hooky, hilariously bad and devoid of vocal talent, Superficial is not, as most would expect, an utter train wreck-it's just a good ol' shit show.
(01/19/10 5:00am)
I had been feeling more ambivalent than usual about Facebook. Last month, when I logged on, my News Feed informed me, "Lizzy Branson commented on her status." It did not tell me what the original "status" on which she commented was, and when I realized I wanted to know, I realized more than ever that I really didn't want to know. I then stumbled upon William Deresiewicz's excellent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education titled "Faux Friendship," which I recommend to anyone whether or not they have lingering doubts about Facebooking. In it, Deresiewicz raises persuasive points about how Facebook has accelerated the perversion of the idea of friendship. His article explains the history of friendship better than I can, but it got me thinking. I found his points troubling and it led me to re-examine my relationship with Facebook. Later that week I deactivated my account, and this week I deleted it permanently.I'm still confused by the way Facebook perverts the definitions of, and relations between, public and private such as how people post intimate and embarrassing pictures of themselves and become appalled when people look at them. But this has been a social phenomenon whose full implications remain to be seen. The more pressing question to me was what keeps people using a thing most people complain about using. We've all heard people complain-indeed, have ourselves complained-about the massive time suck that is Facebook and about its too-obvious tendency toward what can only be described as creepiness. Yet very few are willing to just abandon it.Facebook is useful for some things, such as event scheduling and photo sharing. Simply, it is the most popular medium, the lingua franca of the Internet. This does not, of course, explain why someone made an account in the first place-bad ideas have the most profound inertia-which is my concern.The photo-sharing aspect is, for many, a disgusting feedback loop in which the obsessive documentation of an event exceeds the importance of the event in itself. Cultural commentators have been noticing this phenomenon since at least as recently as Don DeLillo's "Most Photographed Barn in America" in his 1986 novel White Noise-a memorable scene in which people take pictures of a barn because that's what you're supposed to do, but no one really knows why; indeed, no one even really actually looks at the barn. Facebook has simply accelerated and democratized this process. Few parties are complete without someone trying to document the too-typical wild and crazy things that happen. Just like the discovery of halitosis created new needs, Facebook has helped create a new need: It has helped make people realize how desperate they are to prove to people that they do, indeed, do things. People tout the idea that Facebook gives them an opportunity to "keep in touch" with long-lost friends. Deresiwicz argues that it doesn't: It gives you the impression that you are keeping in touch with them. By all means, have meaningful connections with people you vaguely remember from middle school. I'll allow that this is a possibility greatly facilitated by Facebook, but there's often a good reason people fall out of contact, and when there isn't, or coincidental happenstance intervenes, there's no reason why Facebook's cumbersome messaging interface or totally public Wall are superior to e-mail or telephone. True, Facebook can help facilitate reconnecting with someone, but the Internet-combined with the power of mutual friends-provides other means of doing the same thing. The difference is, again, laziness: We all want to believe we live in a world where we can stumble across long-lost friends when in fact it's never been easier to reconnect with them-all one needs is an actual desire and moderate effort. Facebook gives us the illusion of reconnecting easily. Our generation is so terrified of a gnawing sense of a lack of identity that we must list the cultural products (books, movies, TV shows, etc.) we enjoy and hope this speaks enough of our personality. I think of this as a Chinese restaurant menu, in which there are certain obvious combinations of acceptable responses. For example, the very popular "I really like almost anything except country and rap," at the end of lists that don't usually include Tuvan throat singing, big band swing, and Gregorian chants. If a list did include Tuvan throat singing, big band swing and Gregorian chants, one would have to sift through other clues to find out if that person is actually interesting. The irony dodge is, of course, the other obvious way out (are her favorite books really Dennis LaHaye's "Left Behind" series?).We've grown so used to this, or set up our Facebook accounts so long ago, that we may have lost sight of how this is as fundamentally narcissistic as it is pointless. For whom do we make these attempts at self-definition, in terms almost exclusively of likes and dislikes? No one really believes that Facebook is a great way of meeting people. What it really has become is a way of evaluating people. It should strike more people as profoundly unsettling how people feel compelled to go from meeting a real-live person to evaluating his online representation of himself. With Facebook, you can keep in touch without keeping in touch, broadcasting whichever aspects of your life seem the most salient, and congratulate each other on your birthdays. Your college friends can see pictures of each other at the same party they went to, and your hometown or high school friends can look on from time to time. All that results is a combination of narcissism, in-group exclusion, and laziness-laziness as updating instead of communication, as reading passively instead of listening actively-most of us hope to move beyond by, at the very latest, high school graduation. Indeed, along with the Chronicle article, it may be my impending graduation that has made me conscious of the perplexing immaturities inherent in the Facebooking experience. I have decided that Facebook is something better left behind to the proverbial dorm room of history.
(11/24/09 5:00am)
In one smooth motion, women's basketball guard Carmella Breslin '10 caught a pass at the 3-point line and knocked down a basket to break a 23-23 tie and help spark life back into the No. 9 Judges in last Saturday afternoon's game against the Bates College Bobcats. The Judges rose to victory in the two-day, four-game Brandeis Basketball Classic over the weekend and clinched the title with a 63-41 win over Bates. The win over Bates followed a 56-49 win over the Wentworth Institute of Technology to open the tournament. The Judges are now 4-0 to start the season after having also defeated Babson College on the road 68-58 last Tuesday. Brandeis and Bates had been neck-and-neck for the majority of the first half last Saturday. Both teams were searching for a chance to take the lead, and with 30 seconds left in the half, with the score 26-23, the ball landed back in Breslin's hands. Taking a moment to glance at the clock as she pushed the ball upcourt, she attempted a layup against two Bates defenders but missed. Forward Brighid Courtney '12 capitalized on the rebound to put the Judges up by five as the teams headed into the locker rooms for halftime.The slow start, seemingly characteristic of this year's women's basketball team, remained a struggle for Brandeis. Assistant Coach Scott Foulis discussed some of the factors behind the mistakes. "It's a big group of freshmen [head Coach Carol Simon and I] are still trying to integrate. Upperclassmen are being put in roles they haven't played before and injuries remain a big factor," Foulis said. "Right now, it's about consistency [and] getting into a flow."Forward Courtney Ness '13 reiterated Foulis' sentiments. "We owe it to each other to keep pushing [our level of play]," she said. "Brandeis has a huge reputation, and we've settled for just having the name and have forgotten about building ourselves. [Against Bates] we really worked to build the [current] team."The Judges' improvements in the early minutes were proven by Saturday's success.Once again, guard Jessica Chapin '10 led the team with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Not to be outshone, Courtney notched 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her first career double-double, demonstrating formidable strength beneath the basket. Brandeis' post players, Courtney, Ness and captain/center Kasey Gieschen '10 provided important inside play against Bates' key players, including Bates' "go-to player" according to Breslin, senior forward Lauren Yanofsky."Most of their plays run through [Yanofsky]; she was the key to their game," Breslin said.Courtney also noted that the Judges handled Bates very well throughout the game, saying that Bates "had a good defense and strong players but [the Judges] did a great job [against Bates]." Essential to the power behind the Judges defense was movement off the ball and "awesome help-side," she continued.In the win over Wentworth, the Judges' lackadaisical ball movement and lazy defensive play nearly cost Brandeis an opportunity at the Tip-Off Tournament Championship game and their first place title. However despite a poor shooting performance in compairson with the rest of her week, Chapin led the team to victory shooting 5-for-17 from the field and 2-for-7 from behind the three-point line to net 14 points and six rebounds, while teammates Gieschen and guard Dianna Cincotta '11 both contributed 8 points and three rebounds. The Judges shot a mere 29 percent from the field and turned the ball over 21 times. Breslin commented Friday on the team's lack of intensity."We talked a lot about warmups and getting into the game prior to [tip-off]," Breslin said. "Sometimes, though, it's an individual thing. You need to get yourself inspired, and it's easier to motivate others if you're motivated."In the team's second game of the season last Tuesday at Babson, Chapin again led the Judges with 33 points, 1 point shy of a school record held by Pam Vaughan '89. She also added 10 rebounds, six steals, two assists and one blocked shot in the win. Geischen added a dozen points and three rebounds, while forward Shannon Hassan '12 posted 4 points and six rebounds to guide the Judges to victory.Brandeis will try to extend its winning streak tonight at Wellesley College at 7 p.m. before hosting Tufts University Sunday at 1 p.m.
(11/10/09 5:00am)
The second in a three-part series about the production of 'Bare'It is a lazy Saturday afternoon when I walk into the empty Slosberg Recital Hall. The hall is dark except for the lightened patch of flat stage down below rows of seats. Melodic piano playing fills the empty space with a sense of harmony.Kat Teeter '12 and Nicole Litvak '12, the stage manager and producer/assistant director respectively, of Brandeis University's upcoming pop opera, Bare, sit in the front row of the hall. They are intently watching a scene between Austin Auh '10 and Mark DiCampo, an off campus actor and new addition to the cast. "Take a look into these big, brown eyes and you'll understand," sings Dicampo, who is the production's newly-installed Jason, the character who struggles with his homosexual feelings for his best friend, Peter (Auh). Dicampo exudes a sense of natural stage confidence, and it is clear that he and Auh have already formed an excellent dynamic both on and offstage. The two look at one another often, and their willingness to take onstage risks for various tender moments transcends their lines and lyrics. Within the past two weeks, Bare's production team and cast members have undergone significant tests of endurance. Several weeks ago, for personal reasons, Robert St. Laurence '11, Jacob Lazar '10, Rachel Copel '11 and Hank Lin '10 who played the characters of Jason, Allen, Nadia and the Priest, respectively, decided to leave the show. On Monday, Janel Rabbani '11 and Julie Stein '11, who played the roles of Tanya and Rory, also decided to leave the show for personal reasons. Auh, who in addition to playing the role of Peter, is co-director and putting on the show as part of his senior thesis, says that the actors who left the show several weeks ago expressed concerns over the direction and design of the production."[They left the show] not mostly because they disagreed [with its direction] but because it was not what they expected and more work than they thought it would be. After talking with them, four of them decided to leave for personal reasons," he says.The six actors declined to comment on their decisions to leave the show. So far, the show has replaced the roles of Jason, Nadia, the Priest and Allen, although the production staff is still looking to fill the roles of Tanya and Rory.Almost immediately, they began to get in touch with individuals who they felt might easily fill certain roles. They also planned open auditions, with one in particular devoted to auditioning individuals for the role of Jason. They sought a very specific actor for this particular role and knew they needed someone who could hit a high G note. When it came time to find an individual who could embody of all Jason's qualities, Bare's production staff received a suggestion from co-director Pamela Wolfe. One of her voice students, a non-Brandesian who loved the musical and theatrical realm, would fill the play's major void. The team welcomed 27-year-old Mark DiCampo to their theatrical ensemble. However, because DiCampo is not a Brandeis student, it is questionable whether Bare will continue to be supported by the Brandeis Ensemble Theater. Still, Auh contends that Bare is prepared to continue whether or not Bare supports the show or not. "We're not really worried [about BET]. It's more of, just to let you know that we don't want to leave [BET], but we understand [the] guidelines that you follow," says Auh. Quickly, they began to fill the holes in their cast, choosing Jared Field '11 to play the Priest, Abigail Clarke '12 to play Nadia and David Ferralozzi '13, who was already involved in the show as a rehearsal pianist, to play Allen. In regards to the production team's reaction to the loss of the original four actors, Teeter says, "It was rough and a big blow, but we all put our heads together and were like, 'How are we going to make this work?' and we did."Auh explains that the show has already begun to move forward with its new cast additions."The [new cast members] we picked up are learning the music fairly quickly and we don't really have to reteach a lot of blocking, so we're kind of just moving on already," he says.After the rehearsal, I sit in a small, somewhat dilapidated lounge tucked off to the side of the Slosberg Recital Hall. Litvak sits in the weathered chair to my right, Teeter sits to her right ,and to my left Auh and DiCampo share a couch. DiCampo sits comfortably with his legs crossed, arms back above his head as he describes his history with music and theater. He went to school to study music and voice at the New England and Boston Conservatories and now teaches and performs music full time. When Wolfe came to him with the opportunity to play Jason, he immediately decided to look into it. Of playing Jason he says, "It will be fun to work with this group. This is a space and environment I haven't performed in before."Among numerous moments of laughter, Auh nearly finishes DiCampo's sentences, clearly relieved and excited with the significant progress made after what potentially could have been his production's downfall. Auh says that he is not the only cast member excited about the show. He says that there are no major divisions within the cast and that everyone has been very supportive.Diana Flatto '12, assisant stage manager of Bare, says that the cast has remained close despite the loss of certain actors. Flatto says that the cast "really [cares] about the show and Austin's vision."The cast is currently preparing for its first group rehearsal with the new actors, which will take place Tuesday Nov. 10. The cast and crew also look forward to their coffeehouse next week.At the coffeehouse, they plan to begin to raise money for the Waltham House, one of only two GLBTQ homes in the United States, or places which provide support and shelter for teens. The team will also raise money for the organization at performances; instead of charging admissions for their show, they plan to ask for donations. Currently, they are also looking into coordinating another fundraiser to fulfill some of the "Wish Lists" of teens in the home in time for the holiday season. As of now, the production team is in high spirits and looks forward to the show's opening with great anticipation. Auh says, "So far the response we have been getting from people is very good. I think, I hope, there will be a positive response overall to it." -Rebecca Klein contributed reporting.
(10/06/09 4:00am)
At the sandwich counter, the pressure is palpable. Some students falter, stutter, repeat part of their order and then start all over again. Mishaps are inevitable. The boy before you took the last wheat wrap; they've just doled out the final scoop of hummus. It's in these moments of panic, of the urgent need to modify an old favorite or concoct something completely new on the spot, that the imagination emerges. Suddenly the tired display of congealed egg salad and watery tomatoes becomes an opportunity for spontaneous culinary creativity. Today it might be sprouts on a bagel; tomorrow could bring the urge for tofu and mustard in a grilled spinach wrap.I conducted a series of interviews with customers in Usdan Café and Usdan Boulevard between noon and 2 p.m. on weekdays. In the line at Montague's (the sandwich station in Usdan Boulevard) and sitting at tables with friends, students divulged the recipes for their signature sandwiches. Below are some of the best. Vegetable wrap IJust one person stands between Siddhi Krishna '12 and the vegetable wrap she's arranged to near perfection. "I'm a strict vegetarian," she tells me. The sandwich begins, she says with surprising enthusiasm for someone who's just been asked what they're having for lunch, with a wrap. "Either plain or wheat: I think the tomato and spinach are weird." Inside the wrap is an eclectic mix of cheese ("depending on what they have"), hummus and a smattering of vegetables that generally includes cucumbers, olives and peppers. Everything except tomatoes, she adds: "They're watery" and make the sandwich sloppy. Always, she requests the sandwich grilled. "I like it melty," she says and giggles. "It's a grilled cheese in pocket form!"Vegetable wrap IIA backpack slung over his shoulders, fellow vegetarian Logan Uretsky '11 waits patiently for his turn at the counter. "Oh, yeah!" he responds when I approach him for the recipe of his yet unmade sandwich. "Sure!" The wheat wrap is slathered with a generous helping of hummus, followed by lettuce, pepper jack and cheddar cheese, cucumbers, sprouts and Caesar dressing. "How'd you come up with it?" I ask him. "I don't know," he shrugs. "I just did." Grilled? He shakes his head. "I don't like grilled hummus."TofurkeyNow that she lives off campus, it's been a while since Alana Tilman '10 has ordered her favorite Usdan sandwich. ("I like to get it upstairs because they can grill it," she tells me, and is shocked when I mention that the sandwich station in lower Usdan now boasts grilling capabilities too.) Seated at a round table in Usdan, reaching periodically into a plastic bag of carrots she's brought from home, she recalls with nostalgia the recipe for the perfect kosher sandwich. A few slices of tofurkey (across the table, someone makes a face like they're about to vomit) inside a whole wheat wrap are topped with Dijon mustard, Muenster and provolone cheeses, lettuce and tomato. "I used to get it very frequently on Sunday nights when there were limited options for dinner," she adds.Tuna melt IAmelia Rey '12 is about to make a decision. "I'm not sure yet," she says, when I ask her what she's ordering. "Usually I get turkey, hummus, tomato. But today I took a bite of someone else's tuna." By the end of our conversation, Rey has settled on the tuna, which she prefers on bread (she only likes wraps for turkey), with American cheese and tomatoes. "And maybe honey mustard," she adds. The sandwich tastes best grilled, she says.Tuna melt IIAt first, Avi Mendelson, a first-year English Ph.D. candidate, is reluctant to give me the recipe for the sandwich he's just ordered. It's really not that strange, he says dejectedly. I tell him I'm sure it's a wonderfully tasty tuna sandwich, which seems to temporarily bolster his confidence. He's requested the sandwich grilled on wheat bread, replete with sprouts and pepper jack cheese. "That's one of the more exciting cheeses," he offers. And Dijon mustard. "Always an excess of Dijon mustard," he says seriously, "which I'm told is the very posh mustard to eat because it's French."TurkeyAs for classics, Ilon Osei '13 is sticking to the basics today. He's having turkey and mustard on white bread. "Sometimes grilled," he adds. Same sandwich every time? "I usually decide when I get up there," he says. "There's a lot of stuff going on in my mind." Q & A with Marie Martin, expert on Usdan sandwiches Next March marks Aramark employee Marie Martin's 22nd year at Split Personalities, the sandwich station in Lower Usdan. As the 1 p.m. lunchtime rush last Thursday slowed to a lazy trickle, I stood behind the counter and consulted her for her sandwich-making expertise.JustFeatures: What's your typical day like?Marie Martin: Hectic! No, I have a fun day here. I love my job. Oh, I love my job. I wouldn't be here if I didn't love it. If you don't like your job, why do you do it?JF: When do you get here?MM: I get here at 6 in the morning and then I leave at 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.JF: So when does Usdan officially open?MM: We open at 11:30 a.m., the stations. I'm in the back of the house from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m..JF: What do you do between 6 and 9?MM: I make sandwiches for the [Provisions On Demand] store, over there [Kosher To Go] and the Boulevard. Then I come out here and set this up.JF: What's your favorite part of the day?MM: No favorite part. Every day's a favorite part.JF:?What's the weirdest sandwich someone's ever ordered?MM: Weirdest! Oh my god, the weirdest sandwich. People get some weird sandwiches. Some people come in and say can I have an egg and tuna sandwich. Now I don't do eggs and tuna. That just doesn't work for me. . And then the dressing they put on sandwiches-Caesar dressing on egg.JF: Is it the same person who gets the weird sandwich?MM: There's always one student that has weird, weird [sandwiches].JF: How many sandwiches do you think you make in one day?MM: I count 'em every day. Yesterday I did 100.JF: How do you count them?MM: Well see, there's 12 [slices] a bag. If you count the bags, [you can count the sandwiches]. Last week, remember, we had the baguettes? I did 108 last Thursday. We're never busy on Thursday.JF: What's the most common sandwich people get?MM: Chicken. Everybody loves chicken.JF: What's your favorite sandwich?MM: My favorite sandwich is smoked turkey. I like smoked turkey-mine is weird-with lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, Granny Smith apples and walnuts. I wish they did it here. The apples, you'd have to put in lemon juice or else they'd turn.-Shana D. Lebowitz
(09/22/09 4:00am)
The first in a three-part series about the production of 'Bare'Halfway through their three-hour-long read-through, the cast and crew for Brandeis University's upcoming pop opera Bare erupts in laughter."There's a black woman inside the soul of every gay man!" declares Romy James '13, who plays Sister Chantall.Sitting in the Alumni Lounge of Upper Usdan on a lazy Sunday afternoon, the cast exudes a low-key vibe, coupled with what can only be described as bottled-up excitement for the upcoming months.Although this Sept. 13 read-through marks Bare's first official rehearsal, the cast members seem completely at ease with one another, and their time spent reading and singing the lines of the new-age play is comprised of moments of poignant emotion and drama, albeit still allowing for blips of gut-wrenching hysterics.Bare, originally titled Bare: a Pop Opera, merges a mainstream sound and comical elements with a serious undercurrent that delves into issues such as homosexuality and teenage pregnancy. Debuting in Los Angeles in October 2000, the off-Broadway musical follows the lives and struggles of high school students at a Catholic boarding school, in particular the complexity of the secret relationship between two gay students, Peter and Jason, played by Austin Auh '10 and Rob St. Laurence '11. Auh and his production staff plan to donate all proceeds from the show to the Waltham House, a center for GLBTQ youth.During the rehearsal, Auh, who is also co-director for Bare, observes his cast's interactions and takes notes in his script in between his own numerous lines. The production of this 13-actor play makes up his senior thesis. He is currently co-directing the show with his voice teacher at Brandeis, Pamela Wolfe.For Auh, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with two cartilage piercings and an energy that makes it seem like he's bouncing, directing Bare represents the opportunity to take a more psychological approach to theater. He pushes his cast to develop their characters beyond what unfolds on stage."I [want to] go deeper," he says of the rehearsal process, during which he'll meet individually with every member of the cast to help them develop their characters.Last Monday he met with Benny Gronich '12, who plays Matt in the show."We spent a half an hour going through the show, and we only got halfway!" Auh says as he breaks into a wide-mouthed grin that returns every few minutes or so while he discusses his plans for the production.Although Bare documents the emotional misadventures of a bunch of hormone-driven high school seniors at a Catholic boarding school, Auh wants his show to be anything but a superficial parade of feelings."The thing is," he says, "that when you're a teenager these emotions are the most important thing. I want them to come across without it being two-dimensional."It's clear that Auh has not only spent time coming up with his theories on what theater should and shouldn't be but also taken the time to explain them to people before. He's relaxed but passionate, gesturing repeatedly with his hands when talking about transcending conventional styles of performance.This is the first show Auh has directed since high school, but during the past four years, he's been involved in almost every facet of the campus' theater community. When he arrived at Brandeis, "I auditioned for everything." His first semester, he was in two shows ("a mistake," he concedes) and took part in a performance every semester through the first half of his junior year."Being in a show and directing it is really interesting," he says. "I'm thinking about my character in the context of the whole show-that's not something I usually do."Other cast members of Bare also feel as though performing in Bare will be a growing experience. St. Laurence, who is tall and lean and could easily pass for a college graduate, feels as though "the part of Jason [will] stretch me and put me out of my comfort zone as an actor. I am excited to break old acting habits and stretch my vocal range from classic to pop," he said.St. Laurence arrived at Brandeis his freshman year as a swimmer with some acting experience. He did not consider any auditions until that spring, when he landed a leading role in a show.Bare's cast members share an easy cameraderie. St. Laurence is able to create a realistic-looking relationship with Abby Armstrong '13 who plays Ivy, the teenage girl who falls hopelessly in love with his character.Smiling in near-disbelief at this opportunity, Armstrong is intrigued by and excited for her role. Throughout high school, Armstrong took part in many theater activities, even landing a spot in the prestigious Walnut Hill School in Natick, Mass. for a five-week summer program. Even so, it is clear that this modest first-year did not expect a leading role at Brandeis during her first semester.Armstrong's face comes alive as she describes watching a high school friend in a production of Bare a year ago. When she had learned that Brandeis would be performing the musical, she was immediately interested in playing Ivy. "I can't even imagine going through many of Ivy's struggles. I look forward to the challenge of playing her, especially singing her song 'All Grown Up,' because it is so moving," Armstrong says of her expectations for the role.While Bare isn't as widely recognized as A Chorus Line or some of the other shows that held auditions during the same week, the show's casting process was highly selective. Though neither Auh nor Lauren Elias '10, who plays Peter's mother, Claire, and is assistant directing, can say for sure how many students auditioned for the show, 35 were called back to try out for specific roles."There were a few people who just really jumped out," Auh says of the auditions.Bare's casting process was especially unique in that it was, as Auh proclaims, completely "color-blind." According to Auh, the script clearly marks each character's ethnicity, but "I threw out pretty much all the racial designations."Part of Auh's purpose in casting without respect to ethnicity was to "enforce diversity" and push against the paucity of minority actors in professional theater.Auh is majoring in Music and Psychology and says he wants to "try to be an actor" after graduation. When asked if his interest in psychology has anything to do with his feelings on character development, he answers quickly: "I do partly have a huge interest in psychology not just because I like knowing how people work. It does help a bit with trying to get into the heads of characters."In planning the performance, Auh wants to concentrate on helping the actors connect with the audience. Auh talks about private moments during the show, such as characters speaking to God, that actors can share with the audience.Says Auh, "There's a lot of opportunity to really break that fourth wall.
(12/09/08 5:00am)
GPA: Genuinely pesky aggravation, greatly pointless analysis, general pain in the arse, or, most commonly, grade point average.The abbreviated abomination makes me grit my teeth at the thought of it and roll my eyes at its mention. My parents think I'm just another whiney youngun' blaming the system for not catering to my laziness, but I know better. There is a problem with our academic system, and it's not just my lack of enthusiasm for it. The problem lies in that number that determines my worth as a student (or worthlessness, if you decide to round down).GPAs are silly. I mean, think about it-how meaningful is a number that averages the grades you get for multivariable calculus and acrylic painting? What exactly does a 3.5 GPA mean? Is the missing half-point a mathematical representation of my inability to attain academic perfection, if such a thing exists? GPAs are used in ranking and applications to compare students by seemingly objective means. But how can individual students' grades be objective when so many biased factors come into play? Grading style, learning environment, teacher proficiency-the list goes on. We have assessment tests like the SAT to compare students' academic standing on a standardized, unbiased basis (or at least as close as we can come to it). There is really no unbiased way to compare students' intelligence other than on basic skills like math and reading, because there is no overlying rubric to judge all people on the many complex layers constituting their individual strengths. Complete academic success is only possible with a specific personality type that thrives in this particular academic system. In the real world, one's success and intelligence are determined by many other factors that don't fall into the narrow means of assessment used in schools. Number grades should be limited to standardized tests and unbiased material-that is, material as straightforward and unbiased as math problems. Everything else that has room for interpretation should be treated and interpreted as such. If all "good" writing in society was judged by a single rubric pushed by English teachers, some of our most brilliant and creative minds would never have made it in the world of literature-e. e. cummings, anyone?The overemphasis on grades in modern academia has taken away the original meaning of obtaining an education-that is, learning as opposed to performing. As far as I can tell, students nowadays care more about the final marks they receive in a class than the knowledge they obtain from it. I can vouch for this phenomenon from personal experience-there has been many an instance where I threw my understanding of a subject to the wind, giving preference to blind memorization and regurgitation of facts and figures to obtain an easy A. I have asked friends (who seem brilliant outside of the classroom) why their grades suffer in school. Their response? School either fails to motivate, it's a waste of time, or it's too darn competitive. Coming from a high school where all 3,000 students' individual cumulative averages were calculated to the second decimal place, this is completely understandable. Is this really how we want the brilliant minds of our generation to approach academia?Up until the turn of the 19th century, the entire history of academics and schooling had been based strictly on a pass/fail system. In 1792, William Farish, a tutor at Cambridge University, invented a numeric system to rate a child's performance in school, paying no mind to factors like learning style and individual strengths that get overlooked by precise methods of assessment.The only benefit from using a numeric system to grade students' academic standing is the sheer convenience; it's much easier to compare two numbers than two people and, subsequently, two different breadths of knowledge. But really, education shouldn't be a matter of comparison and competition, because intelligence is about as objective as music or art. One individual's intelligence isn't necessarily better than another's; they're just different. There are are a multitude of catagories in which someone can excel. (You're smart enough, I'm sure, to figure them out yourselves.)The whole matter of grading becomes completely arbitrary when standardized tests are out of the picture. Different teachers have different standards, and depending on your luck one semester, your grades may or may not be subject to negotiation. This applies more so to writing-heavy classes than test-heavy ones, because academic writing leaves much more room for interpretation than a simple right or wrong answer on a Scantron test.Also, there are the students who thrive in one aspect of academics but completely fail at another-the quiet but diligent test takers versus the lazy but active discussion carriers. How in that case is it fair that exams comprise 50 percent of a semester grade, when participation only accounts for 10 percent? Before you completely brush off the pass/fail system as a mere slacker's dream, take into consideration a unique school like Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. Hampshire is one of several "alternative curriculum" colleges around the United States that stress individual motivation through independent study and project work.Hampshire also makes use of detailed written evaluations of student performance as opposed to grades. This, in essence, rids academia of all its unnecessary competitive components-by focusing on individual study and coherent evaluation of one's work by non-scaled means, the pressure to outwork one's peers is replaced with a focus and drive to learn. I'm not saying we should get rid of the grading system all together. I just think that, in an age where so much emphasis is placed on standardization and point value-SATs, GPAs, etc.-we often get so caught up in the system that we forget that we are more than just numbers on a grading scale. Something as fluid as education should not be evaluated within the confines of an exact numeric grade.We have standardized tests to compare our academic standing nationwide, and that's fine. But everything else-our work, our studies, our unique efforts and our collected bodies of knowledge-need to be shown appreciation for. Until then, I refuse to be treated as just another number.
(11/18/08 5:00am)
I remember a time when completing all of my assigned homework was a reasonable task that didn't require drudging into the wee hours of the night, depending on various caffeine sources to maintain focus and even just keep my eyelids open.This nostalgia for "manageable time" goes back to circa middle school-before my na'vely studious 14-year-old self had discovered the brilliance of SparkNotes or even considered the possibility of not doing an assigned reading. Homework was something that had to be done, no questions asked. Otherwise I wouldn't get the satisfaction of putting a glowing checkmark in the designated box of my student planner.Then came the high school curriculum and, subsequently, the college workload. My strict diligence was tossed away, along with my love for Saturday morning cartoons and a drive to maintain straight As. Was little Sam growing up? Perhaps. Or was little Sam discouraged, fighting to stay afloat in an increasingly overwhelming academic environment? Probably.It is a well-known fact that today's students, in their tremendous efforts to rise above the masses and excel in every aspect of their academic careers, work profusely and sacrifice valuable time. At the same time, it is a general trend among professors to assign reading way beyond any amount that would be considered doable, or sometimes even thinkable. What happens as a result? A great number of students just give up on attempting to finish all assigned work, and some choose not to do it altogether.From a recent article written in USA Today: "Nearly one in five college seniors and 25 percent of freshmen say they frequently come to class without completing readings or assignments, a national survey shows. And many of those students say they mostly still get As."The survey doesn't address whether those students are lazy, busy, intimidated, bored or geniuses. But it supports other studies that suggest a gap between what college professors expect from students and what students actually do."What does this tell of our academic system-that people who cut corners can still excel in the art of BSing on exams and do well? Do professors assign more homework than is necessary, hoping students will at least retain a portion of it, or do they really expect us to be able to finish hundreds of pages of reading on top of all our other responsibilities within the span of a few days?The beauty of college is that your success is solely dependent on your efforts, and nobody will bother checking up on your progress in class. If students are sincerely interested in a subject, they will read up on it more on their own, but otherwise, many will just do what it takes to get by with a decent grade. Especially in an era when accessing information is as easy as a click of the ol' Google, one can't help but ask the age-new question, "Why read 100 pages when I can read an e-summary instead?" Then there's the void between exams when teachers assign reading without consistently following it up with graded assignments, leaving students to shift their priorities elsewhere. Come midterm and finals period, however, we are bombarded with major papers in every class, often with deadlines within days of each other. All it takes is an all-nighter here and a crash course there to achieve the same impressive grades as our diligent and studious counterparts. Then as soon as papers are submitted and exams are finished, the information flees our memories like a bad dream, along with dozens of now useless mnemonic devices. Goodbye, knowledge retention; hello, 4.0 GPA. So, the solution? There is none, really. Some teachers have better methods of handling the issue than others, but for the most part, students are on their own. If time management isn't your forte, get ready for some lovely 2 a.m. runs to Einstein Bros. Bagels while frantically trying to meet your deadline in four hours.
(10/28/08 4:00am)
The day of October the 18th was blessed with many a profane omen. Despite suppression attempts by our resident shadow government, occult circles reported a wave of strange happenings throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A wave of babies were born prematurely, each with a lazy eye and the bones of their hands fused into the sign of the horns, and 666 calculators at Waltham High School simultaneously displayed the numbers 80085, or "boobs" in calculator code. Meanwhile, goats all over the state were reported as being "uncharacteristically restless." One local farmer stated that "some unseen force has disturbed their spiritual essence. Their goat soul, the force within that has sustained them as one of Earth's most powerful creatures for eons, has been disturbed. A dark force is gathering in the West." I myself got off relatively scot free, suffering only a colossal nosebleed in the shower and a shortage of shampoo. Ancient councils gathered in clandestine caves to seek out the meaning of these nefarious omens, but only I (and anyone else who bought tickets, really) knew the answer. Oct. 18th was a victory day, a warrior's day, a metal day; Amon Amarth was returning to the Palladium once again to massacre any survivors from the battle they waged last December. With said gig engraved in my brain as one of my favorite all-time live experiences and Amon Amarth's new album, Twilight of The Thundergod, I was more than eager to take up swords with the reigning Viking death metal kings once again. Knowing full well the madness that Amon Amarth can generate in the live arena, I decided it was time to bring in fresh troops. The first choice was easy. Having sat out a few campaigns, it was time to bring back Erik "Witch-lover" Stumacher '09 to serve as obnoxious back seat driver and all-around human shield. My second companion was something of a risk. Alex "Ale Hellhound" Clos '09 was a new addition to my metal forces and was all too eager to prove himself in battle. That he was the captain of our commandeered vessel for the evening also helped his case. So, our party gathered, we set forth toward the gathering darkness at the Palladium in Worcester. Following a humiliating strip search, we entered the venue just in time to catch Tampa's melodic death metallers The Absence. Some of you may remember the fair shake I gave these grunts in my review of their latest release Riders of the Plague, which I deemed a little unoriginal but still capable of inducing severe whiplash. Fortunately for them, only the latter of those two characteristics counts in the live arena. Most opening bands don't get much in the way of crowd participation, but The Absence somehow managed to captivate the entire venue with their thrashy riffs and frontline of enormous beards. Most impressive. Guitarist Peter Joseph also deserves a nod for some of the evening's most impressive and mesmerizing leads. That guy and his enormous beard are going places. After a sublime head banging warm-up, our party was subjected to one of the strangest live experiences in recent memory, courtesy of Austria's black metal evil-doers Belphegor. Though not particularly remarkable from a musical perspective, Belphegor stood out for the perverse and nonsensical stage ramblings of English language-challenged frontman Helmuth. In between their shredding tremolo riffs and incessant blast beats, the leather-bound band leader would spout his entire English language repertoire, which consisted of "Satan," "blood" and the F-word in interchangeable order. Beyond that, there wasn't much to write home about. Determined to save my energy for the headliners, I nodded along politely for the duration of the set and applauded at the appropriate moments. Finland's folk/battle metal troupe Ensiferum was next on the list, and, judging by the number of black shirts bearing their logo, they were just as anticipated as the headliners. I had heard of Ensiferum as one of the leaders of the whole pagan metal movement that's so hot right now but had neglected to check them out. What a mistake that turned out to be. From the opening notes of their folky intro track to the final sing-along, the crowd was going berserk for Ensiferum's happy, bouncy and keyboard-heavy battle metal. I don't know what it is about traditional Nordic folk music that lends itself so well to heavy metal, but this stuff is like catnip for metal heads. Even without a cursory knowledge of their catalog, I went just as cuckoo. I even purchased two of their CDs from the merchandise table in a fit of feline madness. Taking advantage of the crowd's rabid state, Amon Amarth wasted no time switching sets and unleashing their thunder upon our ears. Honestly, there isn't much I can say about AA that hasn't already been screamed with greater enthusiasm. Simultaneously crushing and melodic, the band dominates the live arena. Having seven albums worth of "hits" doesn't hurt, either. The sound at the venue was unusually good and everyone up to the back was head banging frantically. Even the return of my colossal nosebleed didn't deter me from windmilling with extreme fervor. Rather than miss a song, I stuck an earplug up my nose. Metal. The Northernmost metallers played a flawless set, touching on all of their master works except (for inexplicable reasons) The Crusher-despite having seen them three times, I'm still waiting to hear "Masters of War." Other than that qualm, it was a victorious evening. Bodies lay strewn across Worcester, and our party returned home triumphant, our bellies full of enemy flesh and pancakes.
(09/02/08 4:00am)
For a nation that seems ready and willing to invade others with the intention of spreading our system of democracy, we don't do a very good job of practicing it ourselves. I don't mean to say that we're being secretly oppressed by a shadow government hell-bent on maintaining the illusion of citizen rule. Our system of government, flawed though it may be, remains a marvel of citizens participation in government rarely seen throughout history. What I mean is that we, the people, do a poor job of realizing this fact and putting our privilege to good use.According to the Federal Elections Commission's Electoral and Popular Vote Summary, only 122 million people exercised their right to vote in the 2004 presidential election. That's well under half the country. That's pretty sad. Whether our system works or not, our soldiers are killing in its name all over the world and taking more than a few hits themselves. With this in mind, it seems like poor form to continue ignoring our privilege.Now, I haven't sunk far enough into a mentality of self-deprecation to attribute our lack of participation to laziness. That's the stereotypes talking; the European image of a fat and complacent America. Nope. I still believe that we are a comparably well-educated, ambitious and perceptive nation with no shortage of politically motivated activists. However, I do believe that it is this same sense of perception that has turned more and more citizens away from the ballot box. As I see it, the fundamental principle behind our system is that the citizenry will have a say in the direction of our nation by the power of their individual votes. It sounds great on paper, but what happens when people start becoming unsure of exactly what they're voting for? As politicians pander to more groups, moving toward an ambiguous centrist platform, it becomes harder for voters to remain confident in their own decisions. Politicians have a history of betraying their constituents, riding their votes into office and then selling out to more politically profitable interests. This kind of political pandering is nothing new, but after 232 years, it's bound to begin eroding the people's confidence in the system. In recent elections, this kind of concern has manifested itself in the form of "flip-flop" accusations, most notable in 2004 when Republicans were attacking Democratic nominee John Kerry. In that case, the accusations were frivolous and overblown attacks on the senator's sense of flexibility, but the truth is that drastic shifts in policy before and after elections may be contributing to the decline in voter participation. A prime example can be found in my op-ed from last week, in which I scolded Barack Obama for his shift in policy over the summer months. Surely some people who voted for him in the primaries feel betrayed and even outraged that their liberal hero shifted so far to the center. What happens the next time a candidate comes along, spouting the same rhetoric? Whether that candidate stays true to his ethos or not, it's unlikely that he'll get those same voters to support him.So, though I don't support some people's decision to abstain from voting, I can certainly understand it. It may not be out of laziness that people don't vote, but rather a fear that their votes won't count, or worse, be used in the support of an atrocity. What's worse is that as the more perceptive and practical minds desert the system, they will be leaving it in the hands of extremists and simpletons who can be swayed by the power of a 15-second television ad.
(08/26/08 4:00am)
Every summer audience across America is treated to an endless run of big-budget Hollywood blockbusters, and, as a result, many decent films get overlooked. Now, I'm not one of those film snobs who puts down every major Hollywood release to come our way; after all, my favorite movies of the summer include the likes of Iron Man, Wall-E and The Dark Knight. That said, there are tons of great movies from this summer that didn't get the attention they rightfully deserved, as well as many that most viewers probably dismissed without seeing. Here are the five movies this summer that you might have missed but that are worth checking out (assuming you can still find them, of course)."Speed Racer"The Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer is by no means a perfect movie, but given its abysmal box-office showing (just $44 million domestically) and critical drubbing (36% on Rotten Tomatoes), it actually is quite an enjoyable ride. The film's biggest flaw is its unusual subject matter - a $120 million remake of a long-forgotten Japanese anime show isn't exactly the safest bet for a summer blockbuster. If that weren't enough, the flick's abysmal marketing campaign failed to show that Speed Racer is in fact a family film that resembles the Wachowski's Matrix films only in their shared visual audacity. The movie boasts a star-studded cast, headlined by up-and-comer Emile Hirsch as the eponymous hero of Speed Racer, along with an interesting, if a bit simplistic story involving an evil global corporation trying to fix the sport of racing. The acting and story are fine enough in the film, but no one goes to see a Wachowski production for the dialogue. It is the action that is the driving force of the film, and in this regard the movie does not disappoint. If The Matrix drew inspiration from Japanese anime, here the Wachowski brothers go one step further, creating a film that is a living, breathing live-action anime. Admittedly, the movie suffers from a bloated running time, but overall Speed Racer is a drive worth taking."Tell No One"It's no surprise Tell No One failed to make much noise at the box office; after all it is a French film, and American audiences are notoriously lazy about the little difficulty of having to read subtitles. But those who bravely put in the great effort of actually reading at the movies likely found one of the smartest, most suspenseful thrillers to come around in years. Tell No One chronicles the mysterious death and subsequent reemergence of the wife of the wealthy Dr. Alex Beck. Supposedly killed eight years prior to the beginning of the story, Margot Beck's possible reappearance sparks a mystery that manages to keep audiences on the edge of their seats throughout the movie. It is the sort of film Hollywood has seemingly forgotten how to make, with only the Bourne series halfway resembling the mystery thriller genre that was popularized by Hitchcock years ago. In fact, with its suspenseful story and brilliant but muted characters, Tell No One is like a slice of Hitchcock mixed into the modern world. Thrilling, thoughtful and with a twist ending that will leave your head spinning, Tell No One is a brilliant piece of modern noir and should not be missed. "Transsiberian"Directed by Brad Anderson, who also helmed the equally underappreciated Christian Bale vehicle The Machinist, the film is the story of a couple, played beautifully by Emily Mortimer and Woody Harrelson, who decide to go on a vacation on the Transsiberian Railroad. Deep in the cold of Russia, trouble arises when a mysterious couple joins the train mid-trip amidst swirling rumors of drug trade aboard the Transsiberian. With a terrific supporting role for Ben Kingsley as a Russian drug enforcement official, Transsiberian manages to combine equal-part suspense with a brilliant character piece centering on Mortimer's character. Though Mortimer has proven her acting chops before in films like Lars and the Real Girl and Match Point, she has never before been given a role so perfectly suited to her talents. Mortimer is simply brilliant in the role, giving the character a subtle depth which is fascinating to watch. All in all, Transsiberian is a terrific film you won't want to miss. "The Visitor"The Visitor is the second feature from writer-director Thomas McCarthy and stars Richard Jenkins as the film's protagonist, Professor Walter Vale. Walter sleepwalks through his work, unable to recover from the loss of his wife to illness years earlier. He lives in a small town in Connecticut but is called back to New York for a conference at which he has been asked to give a talk. Upon entering his long-abandoned New York City apartment, Walter finds two illegal immigrants squatting there. What follows from this point is a powerful condemnation of our country's immigration policy, a celebration of the power of music and finally, a brilliant and funny exploration of a character. With a wonderfully subdued performance by Jenkins supported by a smart and funny script, The Visitor is an absolute treat, one that deserves (but likely won't receive) significant year-end award attention. Simply put, this is one of the best films of the year thus far."The Wackness"When I went to see The Wackness, I was disheartened to find I was practically the only person under the age of 30 at the theater. If ever there was a movie meant for those younger than 30, it's this one. The film is on the one hand a typical coming-of-age story, but it also is an ode to New York City in the summer of 1994 and the music that shaped it. Simply put, if you are at all a fan of old-school hip hop, from A Tribe Called Quest to Notorious B.I.G., you owe it to yourself to see this movie. That's not to say you need to be a hip hop fan to enjoy this movie, as the film features a stellar cast, highlighted by Josh Peck as the lead character Luke, who pays his shrink and only friend Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley) for therapy with the marijuana Luke deals as a summer job. Also featuring Olivia Thirlby, Mary Kate Olson and Method Man, The Wackness is a fun (if at times a bit conventional) coming-of-age story that more than makes up for any of its shortcomings with tons of style.
(03/04/08 5:00am)
First let me explain the headline. I'm not lazy or unimaginative, but there's a Faith No More song called "We Care a Lot" in which the band enthusiastically gang-shouts, "We care a lot!" over and over, and I couldn't get it out of my head all throughout the Brandeis Cares charity concert, held in the Levin Ballroom last Thursday night. Brandeis Cares-a benefit show sponsored by Tympanium Euphorium for the not-for-profit AIDS charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS-was not your average concert. BC featured many of the campus' top performance clubs trading places and tackling each other's chosen trade. The promise of impending disaster was reason enough to go observe. But there was no disaster to be found, save a malfunctioning lighting rig. The intriguing pairing of campus a cappella heroes Starving Artists and the Japanese Student Association opened the festivities with good feeling. First, Starving Artists backed up the enthusiastic (though vocally.inexperienced) JSA, before singing a song of their own, debuting their rendition of Ben Folds' "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You." Finally, the two groups engaged in what appeared to be the Japanese version of the Macarena, known only as "Awesome," complete with happy-clappy choreography and the now apparently obligatory Soulja Boy dance moves. (I swear I will murder the next group who does that. Seriously, we get it. Who at these meetings is saying "Hey! I'm a goddamn genius! Let's put some of the moves from that Soulja Boy dance in our dance routine! No one's gonna see that coming!"?)Afterward, Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams took the stage to introduce the rest of the festivities. Energetic as always, Adams brought his typical swagger and charisma to the emcee slot.Next up to the plate was the Juggling Society's somewhat uncoordinated collaboration with the all-female a cappella group Up The Octave. For the first half of their performance, a large crowd wandered the stage, with groups of two or three engaging in their own individual juggling routines. While some of it was certainly interesting to watch, it did not bear the mark of a carefully calculated plan. The quality of the performance, organizationally speaking, improved tenfold as Up The Octave performed one of its own pieces, followed by a joint group vocal venture. Then for a change of both style and culture, the African Dance Club took the stage and stomped its way back and forth across the floor, possessed by the beat. After that lone number, the audience engaged in an impromptu mass dance performance led by the group's drummer. Improv group Bad Grammer took the stage next to waves of cheers from the audience. Beginning with some of its own (surprisingly competent) a cappella, into which the group managed to inject a great deal of humor, BG revved up the crowd's chuckle engines before shifting into an even higher gear with fluid and engaging comedy. Finally, Rather Be Giraffes took a swing at its own brand of improv and actually managed to hit a double, maybe even a triple, with a set of games borrowed from Bad Grammer's arsenal. After whipping up the crowd with laughter, they performed a pleasant rendition of Madonna's "Like a Prayer," accompanied by numerous crowd members quietly singing along in their seats. So, it may not have actually had a whole lot to do with AIDS or social awareness, but it sure was a good time, and that's all that anyone can really ask for on an absolutely freezing Thursday night at good old Brandeis.
