Volume 4, Issue 2 of LaG Mag

Volume 4 Issue 2:
WORLD
[As We Know It]
1
Volume 4 Issue 2 : World [As We Know It]
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
of Music & Art and Performing Arts
100 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10023
TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
6 The Swissophile
8 Mexico
11 Holland
11 Japan
11 Iceland
MUSIC
Editors in Chief
Journalists
Rachel Berger ‘12
Mari Kroin ‘12
Rachel Berger ‘12
Yasmin Kelly ‘12
Mari Kroin ‘12
Carla Borderies ‘13
Vanessa Grasing ‘12
Lizzy Hibbard ‘14
Jade Johnson ‘12
Yasmin Kelly ‘12
Mari Kroin ‘12
Alessandra Rao ‘12
Ella Sanandaji ‘12
Layout Team
Creative Writing Contributors
Rachel Berger ‘12
Yasmin Kelly ‘12
Mari Kroin ‘12
Ariel Hoffmaier ‘13
Ella Sanandaji ‘12
Copy Editing
Club Advisor
Dr. Lasky
Art Contributors
Kiani Hernandez ‘12
Mari Kroin ‘12 (Cover Design)
12 World Music Playlist
15 Featured Musicians
16 Music Under New York
TV
18 American vs. British Skins
FASHION
20 Featured Designer: Valentino Garavani
FOOD
22 NYC Food Map
24 Review: Szechuan Gourmet
FEATURES
26 Where I Live: Upper West Side/Harlem
30 Horoscopes
PROSE
Many Thanks to Ms. Bruno,
Dr. Lasky, Ms. Lombardi,
and Dr. Stricklin.
E-mail questions, comments, and
submissions to laguardiamag@gmail.
28 Was Bedeuten?
32 Untitled
POETRY
33 Pocket Patched City
33 It Is Just The World
COMICS
34 Poland
36 Korea
37 India
2
3
From the Editors
Volume 4, Issue 2
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sitting in the art office, munching on Oreos,
LaG Mag’s committed contributors and editors
once again faced the task of selecting a theme for
our next issue. Some of us had returned from winter
break with stories from foreign vacations and overseas escapades; others had experienced world culture by exploring the restaurants and performances
that our city has to offer. After weeks of development, our ultimate goal became clear.
In this issue, through photography, travel
writing, music finds, and food reviews, LaG Mag
brings you the world as we know it. Taking on the
entire globe in 40 short pages requires hard work
and a little bit of hubris. The world as we know it is a
kaleidoscope of opinions, experiences, and artists
from every corner of the earth. This is our perspective.
Have a great summer!
Mari and Rachel
Editors in Chief
Switzerland
Amsterdam
“It’s pretty fantastic that they allow people to ‘graffiti’ on scaffolding and temporary walls… this particular picture is of one of my favorites. To some of these street
artists it’s more than just leaving a tag; they create an image that defines a city
(in this case Amsterdam.) It’s less about ‘screw the old farts’ and more, ‘let’s do
something interesting.’” - Mari Kroin
Switzerland
Southern Iceland
4
photography by Mari Kroin
Eyjafjallajökull after it erupted in 2010, Iceland
Where
has
LaG Mag
been?
photography by
Jade Johnson
and Mari Kroin
Reykjavík Concert Hall and Conference Centre, Iceland
“Economic turmoil during a time of innovation sucks. I hope
that someday I can go back and see the finished product.”
- Mari Kroin
The Northern Lights
“We weren’t even sure they would appear that night;
when they did, it was as if every witness was specifically
chosen by nature to witness this wonder.” - Mari Kroin
The Hague, Netherlands
5
Travel Experiences
The Swissophile
The view from a small peak in the Swiss Alps.
Have you ever
seen someone wearing a
bright red shirt with a white
cross on it? No, that person
is not a lifeguard. He or she
is a Swissophile and is right
to be one. That white cross
on a red background is the
glorious Swiss flag. Switzerland is one of the greatest countries on Earth and
people really need to stop
calling it “mini- France.”
What
language
is spoken in Switzerland?
That’s a tricky question.
There are several native languages, each very sparsely
used. The country is divided
into three sections and a different language is spoken
in each one. In the largest
section people speak German, in the second French,
and in the smallest Italian.
The French Swiss know a little German just so they can
take a trip to Switzerland’s
largest city, Zurich, every
6
now and then. The German
Swiss know more English
than French or Italian. And
the Italian Swiss must know
a little of everything if they
want to get on at all.
The
Swiss
are
mountain people, which
means that they are people
of honor. They make their
homes all the way up on
the top of the Alps, earning
their cups of coffee high in
little cabins on the rocks.
Families are close because
the members all live within
a mile of each other. It is a
tiny country, after all. That
means no secrets and no
hiding. Want to hear something really shocking? People buy bus tickets knowing full well that no one will
check them. The driver is
in a car completely cut off
from the passengers. That’s
pretty noble considering
people in New York City will
jump turnstiles or pretend
to be twelve just to evade
paying MTA fares.
Swiss food is without a doubt some of the
most magnificent in the
world. The chocolate is
so fine it cannot be compared. The country has so
many people devoted to
making the sweet that it is
a third of the cost of American chocolate. Small factories allow anyone come
in to watch the chocolate
being made. One popular
department store in Zurich
has a wall entirely devoted
to chocolate. Cheese is a
staple food, and the Swiss
have found so many ways
to eat it--fondue, anyone?
For one dish unique to Switzerland, called Raclette,
a giant round of cheese
is cooked over a live fire.
Then the melted parts are
scraped off and served with
potatoes and meat. This
cheese cannot be bought
Photography by Jade Johnson
by Jade Johnson
Cows on the hillside (left) and a display of Swiss pride (right)
even in the United States.
Hot cheese dishes were
specially
designed
to
eat on cold, windy nights
on
the
mountainside.
An entire paragraph needs to be devoted
to Swiss soda because it is
that amazing. One type,
called Rivella, is apple-flavored. It is like Martinelli’s,
but more soda-like. It can
be found almost anywhere.
Then there’s Sinalco, which
is sadly much more elusive
than Rivella. It’s orangeflavored, but much better
than something like Fanta.
And believe it or not, it is
also far superior to Orangina. It cannot be found in
the U.S., or anywhere outside of Western Europe for
that matter. Such a shame.
The country itself
is absolutely beautiful. The
mountainous
landscape
and roaming cows make
for quintessentially picturesque scenery. Remnants
of medieval architecture,
like Gruyere Castle, add
historic appeal. Some cities
are surrounded by bodies of
water, like Lake Geneva by
Geneva and the river Flon
by Lausanne. The towns
are quaint, with cobblestone streets. It is a treat for
anyone to get the chance
to be in Switzerland even
once.
A small town alleyway (left) and the chocolate display
at a Swiss department store (right)
7
Travel Experiences
MEXICO
A TRAVEL JOURNAL
by Alessandra Rao
The first thing that
struck me when I stepped
out of the plane was the
overwhelming aroma of
green plants. Robust palm
trees stubbornly resisted the
Mexican summer winds. The
air was humid on my skin.
The strong orange sun hung
low, nearly blinding our
view.
I knew little of
Mexico before late August
of 2010, and never really
formed a steady perception of the nation until then:
like most Americans, my
only knowledge was based
on the plethora of articles
regarding the Drug Wars,
poverty, and the Swine Flu.
Word of mouth informed me
that it was home to some of
the most beautiful beaches
in the world and a myriad of
animal species. I was about
to see for myself what kind
of country this “Mexico” actually was. For seven days,
I traveled with a friend to
Riviera Maya. Located in
the Yucatan Peninsula, the
8
mostly flat land of low tropical jungle is home to endless stretches of white-sand
beaches. The name of our
hotel, “Mayan Palace,” exquisitely portrays the values
and customs of the Mayan
culture.
At “Mayan Palace,” the campus buildings were made of stone
and lightweight wood. Trees
and plants of all shapes and
colors lined the walkways.
Inside the room, the walls
and furniture were painted in muted and neutral,
earthy colors. Our window
displayed an abundance
of exotic aloe plants, palm
trees, and Oyster Plant. The
latter of the three--a purple
and green stiff, leafy and
multilayered
flower--was
ubiquitous. The Chechen
Negro is the infamous “Black
Poison Wood Tree,” which a
little booklet by the window
sill warned hotel visitors not
to touch since it causes severe rash. I remember looking down at a strange bird
as I took a bite of my quesadilla con pollo. It flamboyantly displayed an array of long, ebony feathers
as its curious beak reached
down to collect a crumb of
food from the ground.
The next day we
headed out to Playa Del
Carmen and walked along
the narrow strip in the center
of town, looking for a bite to
eat. Playa del Carmen was
like the hustle and bustle of
SoHo nightlife mixed with
the dry earthiness of the
humble southwestern lands.
The streets were cluttered
with vendors in front of worn
stucco and stone. The atmosphere at our hotel was
quiet
and
slow-paced;
here, it was hectic. People
were desperate to sell their
handmade baskets and
beaded jewelry. To be honest, it frightened me, seeing
how hard people tried to
earn un dolar.
A
young
boy
that looked about my
age was selling customized bracelets, which he
had made by hand with
different
color
strings.
“Ninety-one
Pesos,” ($7) he asked, with
droopy eyes and a frazzled
disposition. As I nodded my
head “Yes,” his eyes lit up
and he eagerly started on
the first of the three personalized bracelets I had asked
for. I watched his coarse
hands spin the string as if
it were embedded in his
genes to make bracelets.
“I’ll be back in
about an hour,” I told him.
I’ve never seen someone
so grateful to make something.
We scoped for a
hearty restaurant on the
strip for dinner. Finally, we
found a quaint, traditional
“hole-in-the-wall”
restaurant, which was known for
their well-made carne. I
ordered arroz con pollo y
verduras (Chicken with rice
and vegetables): red meat
wasn’t part of my diet. My
plate of food arrived in a
humble ceramic plate in
small, yet organized portions. Rich wholesomeness
oozed out of every bite.
As I picked on
some of my friend’s beans,
the
Mariachi
suddenly
strolled in with their white
suit jackets and heart-felt
guitar music. I could hear
the golden major tones,
sweet-sounding
chords,
vibrating off their nylon
strings. As I ate and listened,
I took in the beauty of the
stucco city-village, with
its rust-colored pavement
and brightly colored lanterns hanging from the telephone wires and storefront
windows. Stone facades
and short palms made up
a significant portion of the
landscape. Soon enough,
we finished our food, paid
the bill, and walked out
with satisfied stomachs. The
Mexican moon hung pretty
in the sky, rotund and titanium white.
Sunshine
came
and it was time to get ready
for X-Caret, the largest
eco-archaeological park in
Cancun. Our first stop upon
arriving was the river cave,
and on the way, we saw an
alligator lazily lift his head
above the surface of the
water, revealing rigid, dark
olive skin. A tiny salamander
slipped into a crack in the
stone. Two vividly colored
9
Travel Experiences
parrots abruptly turned curious eyes on me as I crossed
them. I thought such a
bright shade of red existed
only among my oil paints!
From behind the leaves of
a shady palm, I caught a
glimpse of bubble-gum pink
flamingos with long straw
legs standing on a shallow
puddle.
At the end of the
trail, the mouth of the river
waited. The canopy of cave
stones cast a dark shadow
over the murky water, lowering its temperature. Undaunted, my friend and I
put on our snorkel gear and
jumped right in. My favorite scene that I snapped a
picture of (with my handy
underwater camera clad
in consumer-culture plastic) was the light cascading through the holes in
the cave ceiling. Fresh ivy
trickled down the walls of
the large stone chamber.
The art embedded in the
stone allowed me to feel as
if I were visiting a sacred underwater temple. A few fish
brushed past my legs, but
unlike the ones in American
beaches, they did not flee
nervously when touched.
The Mexico Espectacular we saw at X-Caret
was an extravagant exhibition of Mexican and Mayan culture, displayed as a
real-life timeline. It opened
with the Mayan Ball Game,
a popular sport representing the battle between
10
good and evil, between
the gods of heaven and the
underworld. I got to see the
reenactment of a Mayan
sacrifice ritual. Towards the
last few acts of the performance, the Mexican women displayed their cultural,
vibrantly colored dresses
swaying around their ankles as they danced to a
tropical beat. Vibrations of
the Congo drums echoed
through my ears. In the far
corner, the spotlight settled
on a woman swinging from
a taut rope attached to the
ceiling. She brought herself to the tip of a nearby
pole and balanced atop it
on a single leg. Down below, stage dancers sported
tall feather hats, sequins,
beads, pastel flowing skirts,
transparent veils, Mexican
flags, watermelon hats, and
eye-catching bird wing costumes. One act portrayed a
comical figure in a skeleton
costume, resembling Dia de
los Muertos. A celebration
for the “Day Of The Dead,”
it takes place on November 2nd. People in Mexico
and some parts of Canada
gather on this day to eat,
pray, and dance. Activities include building private
altars and bringing gifts
to honor the dead; at the
end of the day, families visit
cemeteries and churches
to pray for the deceased.
The skeleton figure portrayed this comical outlook
by dancing and playing
music with his horn.
Mexico is absolutely beautiful: like sinking
your teeth into a creamy
cool avocado under the
beating orange sun; like
puckering your lips for a funny-face picture on a lounge
chair with your best friend
under ridiculously oversized
sombreros; like diving into
the ancient water and then
being embraced by a network of rainbow fish; like
swaying to the sound of soft
nylon-string guitars under a
palm tree; like stepping for
the first time onto land that
once held the Aztec civilization; like daring to squint
straight into the powerful
technicolor sunset; like grimacing after squeezing
sour lime juice onto your
taste buds; like melting
into the coconut scented
breeze; and… like having
the strength to get back
on the plane after so many
breath-taking memories.
This place was pretty mind-blowing; it rested on the top of
a hill… everything was at peace. I think I sat up there for
two hours thinking about nothing but the wind.
Japan
by Mari Kroin
In the summer of '08 I took a trip to the southern part of Japan. I had
been to the country before visiting family, but it wasn't until this trip that I felt
really close to its culture. As I traveled, I was able to pick up a new element
of Japanese culture in each new place I encountered. For example, in visiting temples that were centered around the practices of Shinto, I felt a deep
connection to nature; it was impossible to ignore aspects of our world typically
taken for granted in these sacred places that embraced nature. As Henry
David Thoreau once said, “in wilderness is the preservation of the world.” With
the rapid industrial growth in our country it is easy to forget the basis upon
which it was built. We lose acres of precious land everyday to pipes and
smoke stacks, disturbing the land that has kept the human race alive. It was
inspiring to go to a place that did the opposite. While industry is expanding in
Japan, there will always be places in the country respected and cherished by
its people; we could use more of that mentality in our country.
11
MUSIC
music musique muzyka muzica
μουσική 음악 ‫سو ُم‬
ِ ‫ ىَقي‬müzik muzică му́зыка música music musique
The LaG Mag World Music Playlist
Song: La Pistola y la Corazon
Artist: Los Lobos
Country: Mexico
Genre: Latino Rock
12
Song: Black Is the Colour (Of
My True Love's Hair)
Artist: The song has been recorded by a range of artists.
Hamish Imlach has a great
version.
Country: Scotland
Genre: Traditional Folk Song
Song: Ta Douleur
Artist: Camille
Country: France
Genre: Pop
Year: 2005
Song: Jhanjra
Artist: Kiran Ahluwalia
Country: India
Genre: Ghazal
Year: 2005
Song: Gold
Artist: Klee
Country: Germany
Genre: Pop
Year: 2005
13
musique musik musiikki musik musikk muzyka mijucik musica moosiki
Featured Musicians
by Yasmin Kelly
Kiran Ahluwalia
Song: Quelqu’un m’a dit
Artist: Carla Bruni
Country: France
Genre: French Pop
Song: Graceland
Artist: Kettcar
Country: Germany
Genre: Rock
Song: Ready Steady Go
Artist: L’arc-en-ciel
Country: Japan
Genre: J-Pop
Year: 2008
Song: Aven, Aven
Artist: The Gipsy Kings
Country: France
Genre: Latino
Year: 2004
Song: Nima Diyala
Artist: Afrocubism
Country: Africa
Genre: Salsa
Song: Homeless
Artist: Lady Blacksmith Mambazo
Country: Africa
Genre: World
14
Song: Hachidan Uchi Daiko
Artist: Soh Daiko
Country: Japan
Genre: Traditional
Song: Mon Amie la Rose
Artist: Françoise Hardy
Country: France
Genre: French Pop
Year: 1964
Song: Volver a Comenzar
Artist: Café Tacuba
Country: Mexico
Genre: Latino
muzyka die Musik musique musik musiikki musik
Gipsy Kings
These two bands
of singing guitarists, the
Reyes brothers and the
Baliardos brothers, began
playing on the streets of
Cannes, France and ended up making the music of
their people wildly popular
worldwide. Hailing from the
South of France, from two
Spanish gypsy families, the
Gipsy Kings have kept a lifelong respect for and pride
in their heritage their entire
lives, a pride that is reflected in their art. In their debut
album, “The Gipsy Kings,”
they popularized “rumba
Gitana”: a style that mixes
flamenco guitar with South
African rumba rhythm. Even
the dialect in which they
sing tells the story of a blend
of cultures and wandering:
an songs on the radio and
getting her father to tape
them. She grew up in Canada but returned repeatedly
to India to study music, traveling throughout the Punjab
region to immerse herself in
regional folk music. Ahluwalia composes ghazals and
sings them, collaborating
with musicians from every
possible culture and musical background to create
subtly crafted, passionately
sung songs. Her songs contain, among many other
things: Portuguese fado
guitarra, percussion from
the sub-Sahara, Pakistani
Qawwali vocals, and Celtic fiddle. Through it all her
voice casts a spell, unique,
mesmerizing, and heartfelt.
For more go to kiranmusic.com
courtesy of www.stltoday.com
Song: Orinoco Flow
Artist: Enya
Country: Ireland
Genre: New Age
longing and passion. Ahluwalia was born in India and
spent her early childhood
there, where she remembers listening avidly to Indi-
courtesy of www.ledartists.net
From the age of
seven, Kiran Ahluwalia studied Indian classical music
and ghazals, which are lyrical, sensual poems about
Playlist (continued)
the history of their people.
Gitana brings the languages of northeast Spain and
southern France together.
Their families were
originally from Spain but
fled from persecution during the country’s civil war in
the 30s. The Roma people
have suffered hostility and
persecution for centuries,
and continue to be harassed in Europe. The Gipsy
Kings have transcended this
history of persecution and
remind us of it with their sublime music.
For more go to gipsykings.com
15
photography Courtesy of Metropolitan
Transportation Authority / Rob Wilson.
1
2
The Tunnels Have Ears:
An AppreciAtion of the city’s
diverse subwAy preformers
by Yasmin Kelly
Ride the subway, and
you’re beset by a cacophony of sounds: the beep
and clang of closing train
doors, the chatter of hundreds of mouths, the patter of hundreds of feet, and
the rumble of approaching trains keeping steady
time. Then there’s the street
music, and the soft clink of
change as busy New Yorkers pay tribute to culture on
their way to work. You may
see your favorite street musicians every morning on
your way to your school or
office; you may never hear
them again. In this respect,
the subway system is a huge
roulette chamber, with its
hundreds of combinations
of subway cars, doors, and
staircases.
Even in this city, though,
it’s becoming easier to
track musicians down and
hear their talented playing
again. Every spring, about
60 musicians and performers audition in Grand Central Station to be accepted
as a Music Under New York
performer. The MTA began
the MUNY program in 1985
to foster the arts in the NYC
subways.
The
auditions
are open to the public.
Each five-minute audition
is judged by a panel of
professional musicians and
16
representatives from various
cultural institutions. The 25
or so performers accepted
receive a MUNY banner
and are featured on the
MTA website, with a bio, a
sound clip, and a link to his
or her website. They are not
paid except by passersby
who find the time to drop a
few coins at their feet. They
do, however, get a secure
place to perform in the subway, where they won’t be
ticketed by the police--and
they’re much easier to reencounter.
A couple of years back,
I passed a woman playing
the musical saw. I glanced
back, intrigued, and continued on my hectic commute
to who knows where. It was
only recently when I looked
up Natalia “Saw Lady” Paruz on the MTA website that
I remembered I’d seen her
before. By placing a long,
bendy steel saw between
her knees and bowing it,
she creates an unearthly,
plaintive, eerie wailing. This
technique was first discovered by settlers in the Appalachian mountains and
is still used by some bluegrass bands today. In her
blog, Paruz writes that she’s
grateful for the protection
MUNY gives her as an artist,
as she was once ticketed
by a police officer during
her days as a freelancer for
possession of a “weapon.”
As a MUNY performer, you
are limited to certain designated spots in the subway and must book your
performance space every
two weeks. However, these
areas are reserved for you
and happen to be the most
crowded centers in the subway system, like 42nd Street
or Union Square. The Saw
Lady writes that she’s glad
not to have to spend an
hour finding an empty spot
anymore.
Though there are over
one hundred MUNY musicians in the subway and
counting, hundreds more
perform as freelancers without auditioning for MUNY.
The sheer number of talented artists who bring their
unique instruments and music to the rest of us is truly
amazing. Next time you’re
out and about, keep your
eyes peeled for virtuoso
violinists; a Jimi Hendrix impersonator (at Prince St on
the R line); a band with a
banjo, upright bass, kazoo
and washboard; a beatbox
flute; an Aboriginal didjeridoo; dulcimers and pipa
from China; and sitars from
India. I recently bought a
CD from James Graseck, a
violinist from Julliard, after
years of watching him serenade people who catch his
eye. My favorite performer,
though, is a little man with
a cane--most likely homeless and blind--who walks
through the R train and sings
“Always and Forever” with
a smile on his face and his
eyes shut. Though he wears
a Yankee’s cap and a loose,
dirty sports jersey, he sounds
like an older gentleman
who spent his glory days
singing at jazz clubs. He’s
been on the subway singing the same two or three
songs for at least 20 years.
Only in New York
can a classical violinist and
the little old blind man everybody knows share the
same performance space.
Only here can you learn so
much about music around
the world just by taking the
train.
Are you 18 or older and interested in auditioning? Download the MUNY audition application
here and have it postmarked by March 18th:
http://mta.info/mta/aft/muny/muny_auditionform.pdf
3
2011 MUNY auditions at Grand
Central
4
1- Staffer Jahstix
talkinh to mandolin
musician Keizo Ishibashi (auditionee)
2- Metro Brass
Quintet preforms
3- Traditional Celtic
violinist Eric Lee
auditions
4- Key Appleseeds
auditioning playing his guitar and
harmonica
17
Original
Vs.
MTV VersiOn
Lost In Translation? But It’s English!
Review by Carla Borderies
The American version of the popular British
show Skins makes me want
to cry. UK Skins is original,
well thought out, and exciting--and there are British
accents, which is always a
plus. It’s something different
from other TV shows. There
are few popular foreign
shows on air in the U.S., and
UK Skins is especially great
because it is one of the only
shows that was not altered
from the original. Not only is
American Skins a bad copy
of the first show, but it’s unrealistic.
UK Skins seemed
genuine, almost like a reality
show. In the new version, the
characters are completely
changed and the acting is
not as authentic. Some of
the character’s names, for
example, were Americanized for the U.S. audience:
Effy was changed to Eura,
Sid was changed to Stanley, Jal was changed to
Daisy, Anwar was changed
18
to Abbud, and Cassie was
changed to Cadie. Maxxie, a gay male character
on British Skins, was rewritten as Tea, a lesbian girl.
This decision puzzled me.
Is MTV unable to handle a
gay boy? Did they think the
show would get more views
if Maxxie was changed to a
girl? In one of the British episodes, Maxxie and Tony kiss.
This means there will probably be a kiss between two
girls in an upcoming American Skins episode. We live
in a society where gays are
under-represented in commercials and ads. TV show
managers are more interested in showing lesbians
than gays. Why is the public
more accepting of lesbian
content? Media companies
in recent years have made
it a point to publicize kissing scenes between girls in
movies like The Black Swan
and Jennifer’s Body. When
is the last time a kiss between two boys was publi-
cized? It’s a taboo subject.
This complete alteration
from the British show sadly
reflects the current state of
American media.
Another problem
is that every American Skins
episode is the same. The
exact same scenes were
played in the British show
and the American version.
There is nothing new or surprising; in fact, it seemed
like all the jokes and issues are identical, so I was
less surprised and eager to
know what happened next.
Instead of making a show
similar to Skins, but Americanized, they copied something that was entertaining and loved. Sometimes,
great things are better left
alone.
Anwar
Abbud
Cassie
Cadie
Chris
Chris
Effy
Eura
courtesy of tvovermind.zap2it.com
courtesy of crushable.com
American Skins a Resounding Disappointment
19
courtesy of 2ndtake.co.za
A European Tint
Featured designer: Valentino garaVani
by Carla Borderies
to huge popularity and
international critical acclaim.
Valentino
became famous, not only
in Europe, but in nearly
all parts of the world as
well. Americans in particular embraced his red
jackets, gowns, dresses,
shoes, and handbags. At
that time, American fashion was centered around
showy details such as
enormous
bows
and
belts. European fashion
was more elegant and
simple, and women were
less extravagant in their
dress. Valentino’s style is
20
courtesy of leiweb.it
Claudia Schiffer in Valentino
Jennifer Anniston
wearing Valentino
focused on intricate details and simple pleats.
Though he retired from his fashion
house in 2007, Valentino’s
name is still widely respected in the fashion domain today. Valentino’s
work is popular among
American actresses such
as Anne Hathaway and
Jennifer Aniston. Models and film stars from all
around the globe, such
as Claudia Schiffer from
Germany and Natalia
Vodianova from Russia,
are also admirers of his
oeuvres. Valentino has
greatly changed fashion
by adding a touch of European simplicity to all his
creations.
One of Valentino’s first
appearances in Vogue
Magazine (1960)
When Departures Magazine interviewed Valentino in 2009, they asked
him: "What is your necessary
extravagance?"
He replied, "No extravagance is necessary. And
most are tacky."
courtesy of ny-image2.etsy.com
Natalia Vodianova wearing
Valentino at the Venice Film
Festival (2008)
Valentino and his Red Collection
courtesy of secondcitystyle.typepad.com
He became interested
in fashion when he was
young, and moved to
Paris to pursue his dream
of being a designer,
studying at L’École de la
Chambre Syndicale de
la Couture Parisienne.
From his first fashion show
in 1962 at Palazzo Pitti in
Florence, Italy, Valentino
distinguished himself as
a risk-taker. It was for this
show that he invented
Rosso Valentino. Twenty
years later, in 1986, at a
time when bright, bold
colors were in style, Valentino’s daring White Collection catapulted him
courtesy of harpersbazaar.com
Valentino Garavani is the only designer in
the world to have a color
named after him. Rosso
Valentino (or “Valentino
red”) is a famous tint because of the achievements of the couturier.
The red is rich, noticeable,
and has an expensive
and luxurious look. In the
course of his career, Valentino has used the color
in short, structured dresses
as well as long, flowing
gowns, usually with satin
fabric.
Valentino Garavani was born in Voghera,
Lombardy, Italy in 1932.
21
NYC:
FOOD
[As we know it]
Burrito Box
(Mexican)
885 9th Ave # 1
New York, NY 10019-1712
“Best burritos within walking
distance of school!”- Beryl
Taverna Kyclades
(Greek)
3307 Ditmars Boulevard, Queens, NY
Baluchi
(Indian)
1724 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10128
More locations listed at
www.Baluchis.com
Eataly
(Italian)
200 5th Avenue
NY 10010
"The space is rather large but it feels cozy
in the company of other Italian food enthusiasts.” - Mari
Beet
(Thai)
344 7th Ave, Brooklyn 11215
Szechuan Gourmet
(Chinese)
Original: 135-15 37th Ave, Queens
Midtown: 21 W 39th St, Manhattan
Tanoreen
(Middle Eastern)
7523 3rd Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11209-3002
Tandoori
(Indian)
210 West 94th Street
New York, NY 10025-6958
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23
Szechuan
Gourmet
by Ella Sanandaji
Original: 135-15 37th Ave, Queens
Midtown: 21 W 39th St, Manhattan
From the outside,
Szechuan Gourmet seems
like just another Americanized Chinese restaurant.
Even inside, the furnishings
are typical: three paper
lanterns and a little Buddha statue in the corner.
You might notice, however,
that the sign outside is in
Chinese--only the tiny lettering beneath is in English.
The décor of the restaurant, though similar to other
Americanized ones, is not
as, how you’d say in Yiddish,
ungapatchka, or over-thetop. Furthermore, once you
take a good look around,
you see that there is not one
non-Chinese person in the
restaurant. That is when you
realize you’re in for some
authentic cultural cuisine.
The menu has
a vast selection of food,
from your basic egg rolls
and chow mein to dishes I
have never heard of in my
lifetime. Thankfully, most of
24
the names of dishes on the
menu are pronounceable,
and the clear descriptions
and numbers on the side
of the menu are very helpful. Also beside the name of
each dish are stars signifying how spicy each is--some
dishes have up to four stars!
Keep in mind that these
dishes are mostly aimed at
people who are used to
extremely spicy food. If you
don't think you can take it,
ask your waiter or waitress
to make your dish less spicy
or not spicy at all.
When I went to
Szechuan Gourmet with my
family, we were seated at
a table with small tea cups
ready for each person. We
were immediately served
green tea and a small
bowl of soaked peanuts,
which we enjoyed while
looking through the menu.
Our first appetizer was the
mushroom noodle soup. It
came in a huge bowl, and
every person was given a
bowl and a spoon so everyone could have a taste.
The soup consisted of long,
white noodles and large,
thinly sliced mushrooms. It
had a light ginger flavor
as well as a subtle spicy
taste. The only thing that
threw me was a thin sliced
spongy material I could not
recognize (possibly actual
sponge), but it tasted exquisite anyway.
Next was a stirfry asparagus dish that
not only tasted good, but
looked beautiful. The large
asparagus was cut at a
slant, seasoned with some
color-coordinated greens,
and served on a long, white
plate. This dish was also
meant for sharing: a large
metal serving spoon was
nudged into the asparagus, and everyone was left
with a small plate for their
portion of the dish. I usually
expect stir-fry vegetable
dishes to taste plain, but this
was not at all the case. The
dish’s light garlic sauce and
the diced onion and scallion made for a delicious
tangy taste as well as a satisfying texture.
The next dish was
my dish, lamb with bamboo
chutes and chili sauce. By
now I was seeing a trend
in the dishes served at this
restaurant: large, beautifully
presented dishes meant for
sharing. Now the lamb--oh,
the lamb! Soft, tender lamb
chunks, piled one on top of
the other and covered in
red chili sauce, mixed with
long, thinly sliced bamboo
chutes, mushrooms, greens,
and chopped chili peppers.
It was very spicy, not overbearingly so in my opinion,
although this was about the
time that my mother started
saying things like "my soul is
burning." There were some
interesting vegetables and
greens I did not recognize,
probably of Eastern origin,
that I nevertheless enjoyed.
I even liked the bamboo
chutes.
When the fish with
tofu and chili sauce was
served, there was a collective "Woah." as the center of a metal support was
lit on fire and a gigantic
bowl, even bigger than the
soup's, was placed atop it.
Watching the stew start to
boil before our eyes was an
impressive sight. Even more
impressive was the taste!
Tender chunks of tilapia and
fried tofu mixed in boiling
chili sauce--delicious! It was
both sweet and super spicy,
the spiciest dish we had
ordered (by this time my
mom’s chorus of "My soul is
burning! My soul is burning!"
had amplified greatly). By
the end, everyone was in
tears, but satisfied.
We decided to
order some Chinese Szechuan dessert, so we asked for
the dessert menu. Unfortunately, it was all in Chinese!
However, we did not give
up, and asked the waitress
to recommend us a dessert
from the selection. What we
got was a pleasant surprise
and a sweet respite from
the spiciness of the meal. In
a white bowl came several
balls of rice dough, soaked
and completely submerged
in sweet water. The waitress
laid out small bowls and
served each person three
rice dough balls with a serving spoon. The dough balls
were soft, with just the right
amount of gooey texture,
and lightly sweet from soaking in the sugar water. On
the inside was a smooth,
sweet, black sesame paste,
which oozed out of the
center, but stayed in just
enough when you bit into it.
It was a great dessert experience. Even the sweet water was good!
If you judge the
restaurant by how fast my
family devoured all the
dishes, then it’s a win. All
the dishes were executed
perfectly in terms of taste,
texture, and visual appeal.
The service was good and
the waiters and waitresses
were very helpful in picking
out a dessert from the Chinese menu. The portion size
was big. The food was genuine non-greasy, MSG-free,
interesting Chinese cuisine.
Also great was the low price
of everything. We ordered
four enormous dishes plus
a dessert and the whole
thing added up to only $50.
The only thing I would add
is that this is not a restaurant for people who cannot
take spicy food. There are
only a few non-spicy items
on the menu. However,
for the daring among you,
Szechuan Gourmet in Flushing, Queens is an excellent
experience and I highly recommend it.
photography by Ella Sanandaji
25
Where I Live
Upper West Side/Harlem
I live on the brink of
Harlem. My neighborhood-and I mean the streets I
could really travel through
blindfolded--runs from 105th
Street to 115th Street on the
West Side. What I like best
about my neighborhood
is that it walks the line between two very differently
perceived cultures. The Upper West Side is viewed as
a rich and primarily white
neighborhood containing
an excess of parks, strollers, and clothing stores,
whereas Harlem is known
as a lower-income minority
neighborhood with a rich
art and jazz scene.
It goes without
saying that my neighborhood has way too many
banks, grocery stores, and
parking garages (There are
26
two grocery stores directly
across the street from each
other). This is New York, after
all; we have too much of
everything. What make my
neighborhood special are
the unique landmarks--like
Tom’s Restaurant, known for
its iconic sign featured on
the show Seinfeld. There’s
also the Cathedral of Saint
John the Divine, which
some Internet sites claim is
the largest cathedral in the
world. If you ask a tour guide
whether this is true, you’ll
never get a straight answer
because of the different
ways one can measure a
cathedral. Inside, the ceilings are improbably high.
There are stained glass windows on the sides, featuring not just religious scenes
but also images of modern
by Lizzy Hibbard
sports like boxing. The most
impressive part is that all the
sculptures and chiseling on
the outside were done by
hand. Construction on the
cathedral began in 1892,
and the conservation continues today. Fun fact: a
supplement building to the
Cathedral was host to the
after party of the premier of
the fourth Harry Potter movie in 2005.
Then there’s the
building on 110th Street
where George and Ida
Gershwin composed their
famous jazz and classical
composition, Rhapsody in
Blue, in 1924. The music took
mere weeks to write, yet
the recording sold millions
of copies and was deemed
“one of the most popular of
all American concert works”
by editors of the Cambridge
Music Handbook.
Nearby Morningside Heights is home to Columbia and Barnard. The
upside of living near these
schools is that they keep
interesting shops like Book
Culture and The Hungarian
Pastry Shop in business. The
downside is that come September, hordes of new parents and kids get lost and
ask for directions. Come
October, the kids are well
adjusted and they can get
pretty loud at night.
Finally, there’s the
Mystery Building. Though I
live mere blocks away from
this building, I still don’t know
what’s inside. It is rumored
to be either a Con Edison
Power house, a branch of
the sanitation department,
or a mental asylum. As I was
taking photos of the building, a mysterious voice over
an intercom asked if it could
“help me with anything.”
Why the secrecy? I’ll let you
decide.
Opinions vary on
where exactly the Upper
West Side becomes Harlem.
Some say it’s at 110th Street
and some said it’s at 125th.
In my research, I noticed
that websites labeled some
of these landmarks as part
of Harlem, and some as part
of the Upper West Side.
Istartherenewyork.
com, for example, labeled
the Cathedral of Saint John
the Divine as part of Harlem,
while the Time Out New York
website places it in the Up-
per West Side. With the line
between the Upper West
Side and Harlem becoming more and more blurred,
who is to say who’s who and
what’s what? Bottom line, if
someone asks me where
I live, I just tell them I live
in New York City. Cultures
have become too mixed
to label and name different
areas.
photography by lizzy hibbard
27
Was Bedeuten?
Weekends are about to get a
little more German.
“A book titled Kunstgeschichte throws
me off each time I
glance at it.”
By Vanessa Grasing
My parents have
been divorced for almost
six years. My brother and I
had long since grown comfortable with the situation,
and had gotten used to
schlepping back and forth
between homes on weekends. This December break,
though, both our mom and
our dad decided to move
in with their respective girlfriends. Aside from being a
major pain, moving means
a new family dynamic at
either home. Our whole lifestyle has been thrown off
kilter, and we’re still trying to
get used to everything.
A
new
family
member is foreign enough
as it is without actually being foreign. My dad’s girl-
28
friend, Iris, is from Germany,
and along with her native
Deutsche, speaks three
other languages including
English. She’s more comfortable speaking in German,
which becomes apparent
when we get together with
my dad’s friend, Frauke,
who is coincidentally also
from Germany, and she
begins a conversation unavoidably exclusive to the
both of them. The rest of us
don’t mind. We can imagine what a relief it must
be to speak in your native
tongue after a full week
or two of work in English.
When she can’t meet with
a fellow Germanophone in
person, Iris chatters excitedly to friends and family in
Europe using Skype. Skype is
another marvel of the Internet, bridging the gap of the
Atlantic Ocean to make Iris
feel closer to home.
Surprisingly, a native German in the family
doesn’t entail many other
differences. We have books
written in both German
and English on our shelves
now, which is slightly disorienting—A book titled Kunstgeschichte throws me off
each time I glance at it.
Though my immediate family is German-descended,
none of us actually speak
the language except for my
brother (and only marginally, because he’s just started
to learn it in school).
It makes no differ-
ence whether someone’s
from Germany or Jersey
when you accept that person into your family. In fact,
we may have had a bumpier landing with our mom’s
girlfriend, Cara, who’s a
New York City native. Since
we live at her place during the week, there’s more
adjusting to each other’s
schedules and habits as
well as getting used to
Cara’s pets. My brother and
I are learning to live with
both girlfriends’ cultural and
personality differences as
we discover the two new
families that are forming on
either side of us.
29
Horoscopes
by Jade Johnson and Ella Sanandaji
By Ella Sanandaji
Aries (Mar 21-Apr 19)
Be careful on your next foreign vacation. Your rowdy behavior could get
you kicked out of the country.
Taurus (Apr 20-May 20)
Avoid acting stiff around people who
are different than you. Be open to
those who practice cultural traditions
that you would normally crudely laugh
at.
Gemini (May 21-Jun 21)
Congratulations! You will meet your
long-lost twin at a fancy French café
while drinking a tiny cup of coffee
and avoiding a Frenchman smoking
excessively.
Cancer (Jun 22-Jul 22)
You were right all along. That man was
and still is stalking you. However, it’s not
you he’s obsessed with, but rather your
funky wool hat from Kyrgyzstan.
Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22)
You are brave enough to do anything.
You should take some Irish stepdancing lessons and show off your new
moves to those whom you wish to
impress.
Virgo (Aug 23-Sep 22)
You can smell injustice from three miles
away. When your parents forbid you
from going to that Gregorian chant
concert, injustice will stare you in the
face. Stand up for yourself and do not
take no for an answer.
Icons by Jade Johnson
30
Libra (Sep 23-Oct 22)
Your mother will forget to buy chicken nuggets and
it will throw you completely off-balance. Instead of
having a complete mental breakdown, try some
new food, perhaps from a different culture.
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21)
All of your friends think you have a superiority complex because you like foreign films and caviar. Don’t
mind them; they will someday recognize your genius.
Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21)
Your true love will appear on a Monday. He or she
will have eyes like a freshly pickled Polish pickle and
a nose that is the most divine of all the noses in the
Tri-State Area. It’s too bad you're going to just miss
him or her!
Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19)
This month, broaden your mind and purchase some
goat related products, such as goat milk, goat
cheese, or goat wool. The goat is your zodiac's animal; the goat in you feels constricted and is longing
to break free!
Aquarius (Jan 22-Feb 18)
The position of the planets portends that the consumption of salt and bananas (and definitely the two
together) will block waves of attraction in Aquarians.
Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20)
This month, eat lots and lots of mangoes, the national
fruit of India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. They boost
your self-confidence and improve your skin. If your
friends criticize your consumption of mangoes they
are just insecure because unlike you, they do not
have a reliable source like a horoscope to give them
advice about their daily life.
Your whole life has been a
lie. Parke Kunkle, an astronomer at the
Minnesota Planetarium Society, has
announced that the earth's axis is now
pointing in a different direction--to a
different star than it pointed to 13 thousand years ago, when the Babylonians
first cast the horoscopes. This means
that all the zodiac signs have been
bumped up by one whole month! So
all you Aries, you're now Pisces. You
thought you were adventurous and
courageous, but you're actually sensitive and weak-willed. And all you "lions"
are now "crabs." Ha! And…wait. Wait a
second. I'm a Libra now? What? What?
Instead of being powerful, magnetic,
determined, and exciting, I'm peaceable, easygoing, indecisive, and gullible? No, no, no, Scorpio is so much
cooler.
And what's this about a new
star sign? Supposedly there is a 13th star
sign called Ophiuchus which the Babylonians eliminated because 13 is an
unlucky number. Now it’s being added
to the mix. This is not fair! Why are they
messing up our zodiacs? If these signs
have existed for thousands of years,
then why should they change in 2011?
Now everybody, including myself, is
confused and conflicted, and everything is out of balance! I don't like this…
I don't like this at all.
Hold the phone! A need for
fairness and balance. Dislike of cruelty
(well, this whole thing is very cruel) and
conflict… come to think of it, maybe I
am a Libra… maybe this whole thing is
true!
What's that you say, Western
astrologers? Only Eastern astrologers
base the zodiac off stars and constellations, whereas Western astrologers
base it off the movements of the planets around the sun? So the issue of the
horoscope change does not at all apply to the West? Okay, now I'm really
confused. This whole business threatens to shake my faith in astrology. And
if that happens, how in the world will I
know what my personality is?
31
•POETRY•
•prose•
City Moments
by Ariel Hoffmaier
When
you
grow up in a big city,
the best moments
are always the simple
ones. You know, those
times when everything
and everyone just
seems to slow down,
if only for little while.
Everything goes quiet,
and you feel calm and
relaxed, at peace with
yourself and the whole
world….
Well,
those
kinds
of
moments
don’t happen often.
You always feel that
whenever
you
do
something, anything,
you’re taking time
away from something
else you could be doing. You’re up late
finishing your English
homework,
knowing
you’ll be passing out
on your desk the next
day. You get hopelessly sucked into Internet surfing, completely
forgetting a promise to
pick up siblings from
school. You spend an
hour talking your best
friend away from a
mental
breakdown,
and end up not typing
a letter onto the blank
document you hoped
would become your
future novel.
You spread
yourself too thin and
32
too far, and you end
up exhausted and unsatisfied. You wonder
to yourself if there will
ever be enough time.
You have your life,
stretched out miles
before you, and you
want to live it, but it just
flies by, inches from
your grasping fingers,
with you none the better for it. How do you
find yourself (who you
are, where you should
go, what you should
do), and how do you
find happiness, when
everything seems like
a struggle; when you
find yourself merely
surviving, day by day?
You yearn and beg
for the weekend, but
then, like a flash, it’s
over, and still nothing’s
done.
It gets really frustrating. I guess
that’s all just a part
of being a teenager,
a high school kid. I
certainly hope I get
over it. I don’t think
I could stand to live
like this forever, you
know?
I learn to
deal. Those moments,
the quiet, peaceful
ones, they help a lot,
when you find them.
- Ariel Hoffmaier
POCKET PATCHED CITY
IT IS JUST THE WORLD
1 in the morning
Longing for nothing longing for something
1 in the morning
And I'm striving not to repeat myself.
Say something
Say
What the teachers all say
Something about this
Something about that
Lay off the teachers
Lay off the students
Lay off the students
The teachers
The Unions
I have nothing to say
For my own purpose
I have nothing to say
For my own devices
I have nothing to say
For my own reasons
To be Frank and honest
I have nothing to say
To Tell you the truth
I have everything to say
Everything
Everything to say
compresses into
Nothing to say
It
Is
Just
The
World
- Ella Sanandaji
My life is a culture
A pocket patched man
With each bend and turn a different color
In this city where the streets talk
And tell me something
Anything
Each time a whisper
Something
Everything
Each time a shout
Each patch looks for its way
Its way to talk
talk
For itself
And to each other
To reach out
For its way
to pout
And turn its nose up to another
I look to the ways that I can talk
I look to the ways that can be
And we
Look to be like the others
Look to be together
Look to be like yourself
Like me
The way we find us
finding the person that is us
finding the people that you love
And the truth
And there must also be
A you
We live here and we try to reach out
We live here and we try to make sense
Of this chaos that is sometimes
What a life is
We make banners for the sky
And we gaze at the stars
And we think sometimes that maybe
The stars gaze back
Just to think about something
We know nothing about
So its not steeped in the grey
The area
Where so many things are in this world
- Ella Sanandaji
33
Cultural Comics
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by Kiani Hernandez
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