Volume 2. Issue 1

Volume 2. Issue 1
Cover Art by Christina Lu
ISSUE 1 2008
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ART
s
17
T
4
Featured: Christina Lu
6
Featured: Shaobo Han
MOVIES/THEATER
11 Hancock Review
12 Batman: The Dark Knight Review
6
FOOD
Copy Editors
Maria Plotkina
Ariana King
Jaime Sunwoo
Benny Lam
Paul Vergara
Hilary Davies
Louis Peralte
Rio Nose
Ren Santiago
Tyler Cannon
Hannah Cassius
Lucia Gioiello
Amy Crossman
Amanda Sonnenschein
10 Bluesmoke
MUSIC/CONCERTS
Warped Tour 08’
22
La Revelucion
24
25 Album Reviews
IN THE LIFE OF
Christina Lu (Cover)
Layout Editors
Mary Turgeon
22
14 3 Friends. 3 Cities. 1 Japan.
20 Untitled: How I Could Never Summarize This
29 Subway Stories: Paris Edition
or
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3
A R T
featured
CHRISTINA
Interviewed by Paul Vergara
If art were Olympic gymnastics, Christina Lu would win the gold medal in the allaround competition. She is extremely gifted in every artistic medium, and she brings her
cute and funky style into each of her pieces. Whether she is painting, etching prints, drawing, making one-of-a-kind plush toys, or even dabbling in computer animation, Christina
Lu’s work is sure to make even the toughest critic smile.
Paul Vergara: This summer you took classes
at the School of Visual
Arts. What did you take,
and how was the experience?
Christina Lu: I took Computer 3D animation using
Maya software at SVA this
summer. And let me tell
you... It was extremely
stressful because I’ve
never taken a computer
3D class before. I sat by
the computer for several hours a day until my
eyes would bleed, but it
was definitely worth it. I
had the chance to bring
my character to life and
show the character’s internal thoughts and feelings through its physical
external motion. It’s such
a rewarding feeling to see
my character alive, even
though it’s a 30 second
video clip.
Christina Lu, Ryan, Digital Painting Adobe Illustrator, Courtesy of the artist.
PV: You do art in a lot
of different mediums.
Which do you like
the most, and which
ones do you work
with best?
RIGHT: Christina Lu,
Raleigh, Wood painted
with acrylic,
Courtesy of the artist
BOTTOM LEFT: Christina Lu, My Friend, Zee,
screenshots of the 3D
video clip,
Courtesy of the artist
Christina Lu,
Mama, Dry point
etch print, Courtesy of the artist.
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CL: I’m a pretty indecisive person. I even
have a hard time
ordering in a restaurant. Since I have
to choose, I love
vectoring on Adobe
Illustrator. If you don’t
know what vectoring is, the illustration
of myself and the
kangaroos are good
examples. It’s clean
and fun, and every
color is on my computer, so I don’t need
to buy any supplies!
All you need is paper, a printer, and
patience.
Besides
vectoring, I work
best with dry-point
etching.
Seriously.
I’m a beast. I love
the lines, the texture,
Christina Lu, Mandy, Digital Painting Adobe Illustrator, Courtesy of the artist
and the tone-wipes.
I even love cranking
the etching press. It
tones my arms.
PV: The subject of
a lot of your pieces
is animals. Why do
they inspire you so
much?
CL: I had wanted to
be a zoologist while
I was growing up,
but I realized that I
wasn’t much of a
scientist, and my science grades were
horrible.
PV: Are you planning to do an animal theme for your
Senior Art gallery?
CL: If I can get a
spot in the show, it
will most likely be
animal related, but
I don’t want to be
too typical. You just
have to wait and
see.
PV: What have been
your favorite classes
at LaGuardia? And
what are you taking
this year?
CL: Obviously, Basic Printmaking has
been one of my
favorite
classes!
This year I’m taking
Computer Graphics
because I’m scared
I’ll forget how to
vector, then hopefully I can switch
into
Advanced
Printmaking second
term because it’s
not paired with the
CG class. I’m allergic to the solvents
in oil painting class,
so hopefully someone from the programming office is
reading this so I can
transfer!
PV: Will you be
applying to art
schools?
Which
ones?
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want to be an art
educator because
I love seeing kids
draw. It’s insane.
They have a bigger
imagination than I
have, and I’m glad
that they’re using
their minds rather
than copying what
they see on TV.
PV: Where do you
see yourself in ten
years?
CL: I will certainly
still be doing 3D
animation, and I
hope to be working at Psyop for experience in the art
CL: Of course! I’ve
decided to apply
to Parsons: The New
School of Design, the
School of Visual Arts,
and Ringling School
of Art and Design. I
will be majoring in
3D animation.
PV:
If you were
stranded on a desert island, what three
things would you
bring with you?
CL: Fresh water, Thai
food, and a boat.
PV: How in the world
did you make the
wooden deer?
CL:
I made my
wooden deer out of
blood, sweat, and
tears. Well, not really. It’s a secret between my teacher,
Mr. Viglis, and me.
That man taught me
everything
about
wood.
6
PV: If you were to
meet any artist, living or deceased,
who would you
meet and why?
CL: I bet you wanted me to say Walt
Disney, but I’m not
going to. I actually want to meet
Ub Iwerks. He’s the
man behind the
mouse, and I believe that he was
Disney’s least credited animator in the
early 20s. Iwerks is
like the true father of
cartoons to me because many classic cartoon themes
lead back to Iwerks.
industry. Psyop is
a 3D advertising
company in the
city that worked on
the Converse commercial with Santogold, The Strokes
vocalist, and my
“husband,” Pharrell Williams. My
ultimate dream is
to work for Disney
Pixar
Animation
Studios.
Hopefully, I will be good
enough to get a
job there.
TOP LEFT: Christina Lu, Mama
Kang, Vector on Adobe Illustrator,
Courtesy of the artist.
BOTTOM: Christina Lu, Billy,
Acrylic, Courtesy of the artist.
your
PV: Tell us about
your work at the
MOMA.
CL: I work with children in the Ford
Family Art Workshop every Sunday
afternoon. I secretly
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A R T
featured
Shaobo Han
Interviewed by Tyler Cannon
Tyler: What is your actual name?
Shaobo: No I do not. I love it here.
Shaobo: My actual name is Shaobo Han.
Believe it or not, it is Shaobo Han. I know, it
doesn’t sound like a typical Chinese name
like Ting-Tong or Fen-Fen or Ching-Chong.
Believe or not, it’s Shaobo.
Tyler: Do you feel you can express yourself
better here?
Tyler: Where are you from originally, and
how did you get to America?
Shaobo: I took an airplane, um, China Air?
Air China. I am from a city from Cheng-du
where many of China’s pandas are from.
I came here roughly five years ago when I
was in the sixth grade.
Tyler: Do you miss your home town?
Shaobo: Um, I mean, China is a communist country and people believe that there
is no freedom of speech or freedom of
expression. I believe this is not true. That’s
way off tangent though…
Tyler: What kind of art do you do?
Shaobo: Expressionist work. I like to express
myself through my artwork. Recently I’ve
been working on an exotic woman with
exotic flowers.
Shaobo Han, Pause, Oil on canvas, Courtesy
of the artist.
Shaobo Han, Lust, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of
the artist.
Tyler: What medium do you use?
hurt my ears.
Shaobo: Oil paint. My favorite’s oil paint. I
find it very, very useful.
Tyler: Is it true that you love flowers?
Tyler: What’s your life like? What’s a typical
morning for you?
Shaobo: I wake up, and eat a little bit of
breakfast. I think that people should not
eat that much. Honestly, I don’t mean to
have hatred of fat people, but they eat
too much! I do not wish to offend anyone,
but a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel is not healthy for you guys. I know you
had one for breakfast, Tyler, but yeah…
Tyler: I didn’t!
Michele Jang, Afroman, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of the artist
Shaobo. Oh, and don’t live in Queens, either! It’s like the worst thing ever. I take a
train, then another train. It’s too far away.
Where I live, it’s like a forest. It’s so far
away!
Tyler: Do you listen to music on your way
to the city?
Shaobo Han, Patient, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of the artist.
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Shaobo Han, Nude, Oil on canvas, Courtesy
of the artist.
Shaobo: Yeah, I do. I have my iPod, and I
enjoy all kinds of music as long as it doesn’t
Shaobo: Flowers are so sexual. I mean
honestly, flowers are like a vagina. I know
that Georgia O’Keefe thought this (I’m not
copying!), but she also said that flowers
aren’t actually vaginas, also.
Tyler: What are your favorite foods?
Shaobo: Organic salad with organic dressing.
Tyler: (blank stare) So what do you want to
do with your life?
Shaobo: I want to go to Europe but not
start my own company. I’m never going
to get married. Don’t ever get married.
Ok? I’ve never been in love. Love doesn’t
exist. There’s no such thing as marriage.
Tyler: Do you have any final thoughts?
Shaobo: Make sure you dress good. You
shouldn’t over dress, just make sure you
stay stylish. Also, volumize your hair. Men,
you too. It’s what’s in.
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9
MOVIES
Bluesmoke
116 E 27th St
New York, NY 10016
Unless found in a tiny diner
in the middle of nowhere,
American cuisine is usually
hard to find and is hardly
ever both good and cheap.
Blue Smoke on 27th street
between Park and Lexington Avenues is not particularly cheap, but the food
is appropriate enough to
bring the family for any type
of gathering. Constantly acclaimed for its burgers, ribs,
and macaroni and cheese,
it may be a bit overrated,
but the food is nonetheless
tasty.
*
Personally, American
style food is not one of my
favorites, but the seasonings are all extremely tasty.
The restaurant itself sells its
seasoning, known as Magic
Dust, and it really does have
a nice flavor that isn’t too
sweet or too salty. In the
opinion of a few people I
know, Blue Smoke has the
best burger in the city, and
in the annual barbeque parties around Madison Square
Park, when barbeque chefs
from around the country
compete for the nations best
ribs and burgers, Blue Smoke
is always included. The ribs
are, in my opinion, undeniably remarkable. There are
about 5 different types of
ribs to choose from, so a rib
eater really has a wide selection to choose from. The
macaroni and cheese is also
well renowned. The cheese
is so unreasonably creamy
that one bowl, though not
too large, is an entire meal.
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Review by Maria Plotkina
Most superhero
movies are epics based
on well-loved comic
books, and they revolve
around misunderstood
but inherently noble superheroes with split personalities who go around
wearing
very
flashy
leather outfits. Hancock
had the potential to be
a refreshing departure
from this formula. In some
ways- particularly in the
beginning- it does accomplish this. In others, it
falls disappointingly flat.
by Ariana King
Taste:
HANCOCK
Courtesy of Kelly Boggs
Price:
Overall:
It’s not the type of restaurant one would go into
alone and only carrying a
bit of cash. Each side dish
is about $7 and change,
and the larger dishes are
all over $10, usually around
$18.
In my personal opinion,
the food tastes fine, but I
don’t desperately want
to return to the restaurant
especially because it’s not
particularly unusual. The
most undesirable characteristic of Blue Smoke is the
price of the meals. To those
who love ribs and burgers, it’s worth the money.
To those who just like them
occasionally, save the
money and find somewhere cheaper. My entire
family obsessively loves this
particular restaurant, but to
me, it’s worth a trip on occasion.
Environment:
Obviously, the price of
the food pays for the rent.
The interior is actually quite
large and the entire dining
area is generally clean despite the massive amounts
of flies inside during the
summertime.
* All scales are out of 5
The movie, directed by Peter Berg,
is the tale of John Hancock (Will Smith). He is a
superhero, or at least he
has superhuman abilities. Hancock spends his
time drinking and lounging around on public
benches. When he does
decide to help out, the
cost of the damages he
inflicts tends to outweigh
any good deeds done.
At one point, he saves
Ray (Jason Bateman)
from being flattened by
a freight train and wrecks
the train and a bunch of
cars in the process. However, Ray is grateful and
decides to help Hancock
improve his image. Along
the way to becoming a
respectable superhero,
Hancock
encounters
Ray's skeptical wife Mary
(Charlize Theron), who
has a few skeletons in
her own closet, and several resentful criminals.
The acting and
the effects in this movie
are good. The actors are
able to move away from
the roles they typically
play, for once. Will Smith
isn't too likable and he delivers some witty lines. The
effects, mostly involving
Hancock's powers, are
done very well and look
natural rather than overthe-top, as some action
movies tend to be. The
one major problem with
into a drama. However,
it is impossible to feel true
emotional sympathy for
the characters because
we are used to seeing
them as sarcastic, flawed
and comedic. If Hancock
had remained an action
comedy, it would have
been a very good movie.
The twist in the middle of
the movie could have
b e e n
this movie is the plot. It
starts out well, in a comedic fashion, with a cynical,
interesting hero. However,
the second half of the
movie fails to deliver. After a confusing and rather unnecessary plot twist,
Hancock abruptly turns
more artfully and clearly
done. Instead, it simply
fails to carry on the emotions found in its first half.
All in all, Hancock
is not a bad movie- it’s an
average movie that had
the ability to be excellent
and failed to do that.
photo courtesy of amazon.com
RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT:
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11
BATMAN:
THE DARK KNIGHT
Review by Hannah Cassius
In Batman: The
Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan encourages
his viewers to peer into the
minds of evil and to grapple with the mentality that
good may cease to exist
in the world. He invites the
audience to take a glance
into a world where each
of the major characters,
good and evil, must follow a gradual descent into
moral anarchy and face a
brutal decision. This movie,
greatly contrasting a majority of the films produced
this year, is more than just
a simple thrill. It proves to
be a thought-provoking,
intelligently designed film
that poses the question as
to whether genuine goodness truly prevails in society.
Christian Bale ap-
propriately portrays the
protagonist of the piece,
Batman, with a necessary grace and heroic demeanor. All the while, he
continues to display clear
internal dilemmas between right and wrong. In
the opening scenes of the
film, Nolan mirrors this indecision with the gripping
cinematography of Batman gliding through the
air above the beauty and
turmoil of Gotham City. He
dives down into the depths
of the city, attempting to
aid the town against crime
and adversity as rising
public admiration of him
seemingly grows stronger.
The District Attorney of Gotham City, Harvey Dent, (played by Aaron Eckhart), faces a similar
dilemma. Originally setting
out to be the “white knight”
of Gotham City, Harvey
Dent is brought unto a
path of evil following a series of horrific misfortunes.
The primary source
of Batman and Dent’s troubles is a character which
will continue to haunt the
minds of movie-goers for
countless years to come.
The Joker is as frightful and
maniacal a villain as one
could possibly imagine. His
anarchistic spirit displays a
horror to us all that is great-
“If you have yet to see [The Dark Knight]
you are missing out on what could possibly
be the best movie of the year.”
er than any other. He lives
life by no rules. He kills for no
purpose. He only seeks to
create chaos and perform
sadistic human experimentation. It’s a waste of time
looking for reason behind
the Joker's smeary psychoharlequin inspired makeup.
"I'm a dog chasing cars,"
the Joker says, "I wouldn't
know what to do with
one of them if I caught it."
Little needs to be
said about Heath Ledger’s
performance as The Joker.
Simply put, he is amazing.
To convince the audience
of The Joker’s true insanity is indubitably a difficult
feat, yet Ledger proves to
be beyond capable of this
action, clearly giving an
Oscar worthy performance
and surpassing all expectations. It’s a shame to have
lost such a talented young
individual at the start of
his career. The Joker will
live on as one of the most
mesmerizing and twisted
villains in movie history.
The only flaw in
this movie, although minor,
was Christian Bale’s awkward voice transition between Batman and alter
ego Bruce Wayne.
Despite this minor
mishap, The Dark Knight is
nonetheless a spectacular
movie highly recommended for those capable of
handling a movie filled with
dark tones and underlying questions of ethics and
morality. If you have yet to
see it you are missing out on
what could possibly be the
best movie of the year.
PICTURES COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM
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13
3 Friends.
3 Cities.
1 Japan.
Left to right: Ariana King, Rio Nose, Lucia Gioiello
OSAKA
14
by Ariana King
Osaka is the city most often overshadowed by Tokyo. Perhaps the two most
world-famous cities from Japan, Tokyo and
Kyoto are both easy enough to remember
because they have their syllables flipped
(though the cities are actually written differently in Japanese). Amusingly enough,
it’s not Kyoto, but Osaka, which is more often compared to Tokyo. As I was really only
taking a vacation, I can’t properly describe
Osaka with the detail and sweet affection
of a native, but from my two-week experience, I already cry out love and pride for
Osaka. Osaka Prefecture is perhaps fairly
small, being the second smallest prefecture in Japan. The only one smaller is that
of Kansai International Airport whose construction is on an artificial island. However,
Osaka City is heavily populated and filled
with places to go and things to eat.
The most famous thing about
Osaka is its food. Not only is it really good,
but the specialty dishes, like okonomiyaki
ISSUE 1 2008
and takoyaki, are arguably better in
Osaka than anywhere else. Opposite
of Tokyo’s high class, big city stereotype,
Osaka natives have the stereotype of
being loud, noisy, and hungry. Perhaps
one of the more famous things about
Osakan people is their accents. Kansai
ben, the name for the dialect spoken in
the western Kansai region, often generally refers to Osaka in particular, though it
is very similar to accents of the surrounding Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe peoples.
In Nanba, a popular area of
Osaka city, many of Osaka’s famous
points are located. The giant billboard
of a runner that lights up at night advertising the company Glico (creator of
world-known snack Pocky) hovers over
the bridge in a strip called Dotonbori.
Giant moving crabs are part of the outer
walls of restaurants specializing in crab
meat and numerous neon signs, shops
and aromatic restaurants line Nanba.
Through Nanba’s bright shopping tunnels, prodigious pachinko parlors shrieking out loud electronic game noises and
the clink of thousands of tiny metal balls
falling, giant game arcades, and huge
cheap karaoke buildings are everywhere. Shops with clothes for scarily thin
girls and vending machines are, though
not indigenous to Osaka, everywhere.
Anyone who goes to Japan is likely to
admire the lines of vending machines, usually holding
drinks and cigarettes. All of Japan has these vending
machines prepared to feed out a drink to a thirsty pedestrian, but in Osaka, after a long walk and an unreasonable amount of food, they are perhaps the most
convenient things around.
Another thing about Japan as a whole that
may bring awe to tourists is the trains. As elaborate as
the New York City subway, the Japanese railway can
be extremely confusing. Ticket prices are bought in accordance with trip distance, and your ticket is one of
the most important things you can have. In fact, the
turnstiles have no metal bars, but there will be if you
don’t use your ticket. From personal experience, if you
can’t find your train ticket, find it. If you try to leave the
station without putting your ticket in the turnstile, the
once nonexistent metal bars spring up at you. Contrasting New York subways, the turnstile eats your card and
spits it out on the other end, instead of you swiping it.
Short trips by train from Osaka, however, bring
one to famous cities like Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. The
most memorable of the three is probably Nara. While
Kyoto is filled with temples, Nara is home to Todai-ji, a
temple which is home to a 50-foot tall Buddha statue,
and the grounds leading up to it are filled with wild but
friendly deer. Apparently, the deer have a spiritual
(continued on page 32)
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15
OKINAWA
My six-week experience in Japan was much
different from what I expected. I imagined big cities, small apartments, and
super skinny girls. I imagined crazy styles and lots of
technology. But I wasn’t in
Tokyo, I was in Okinawa, a
small island in the southern
part of Japan, a two and a
half hour plane ride away
from Tokyo, known for its
world record life expectancy. Although it wasn’t the
most metropolitan area in
Japan, it was definitely not
in the Stone Age. The cellphones were like computers, and the cars had satellite TV.
The
students
were definitely different
from those in New York.
The boys, although having the same interests and
personalities overall, were
much shyer and definitely
more fashionable. Every
girl, and even every boy,
plucked their eyebrows! If
you didn’t, you were considered a loser. That was
definitely a shock to me.
In school, kids were not allowed to raise their hands,
and at least ten people
fell asleep in each class.
Everyone in my class in Okinawa failed almost every
test. I think the average
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ISSUE 1 2008
by Lucia Gioiello
was about a 50, which is
not that bad considering
that the passing grade in
Japanese school is 35!
A huge difference between kids in
New York and those in
Okinawa was what they
do after school. Most days
in Japan, we stayed in
school until around 7 pm.
My sister said the school
closed at 11 pm. Other
times, I went to karaoke
with about 15 people.
Twice, we had a party at
a friend’s house. The party
consisted of video games,
cooking, and horror movies. This was a co-ed party!
The people I met in Okinawa were much more naive
than the ones in New York.
They had marijuana leaf
symbols scattered everywhere from pencil cases
to car fresheners, but they
had no idea what it stood
for! They thought it was just
a “reggae design” and
nothing more.
Baseball, as most
people know, is loved by
Japanese. My high school’s
team won the nationals,
so the pitcher was literally
known all throughout Japan. Because my school’s
team was in the prefectural championships, I went
to see the game. The sta-
dium had the capacity of
2500 people, but I sat in the
grass, along with at least
a couple hundred others
who couldn’t get a seat,
because it was completely
filled. The game was even
broadcast on TV. They take
high school baseball very,
very seriously.
Although I expected girls to be skinny, I was
not prepared for how thin
the boys would be also!
Most of them were barely
taller than me, yet weighed
around the same! One
boy who was about 5’8’’
weighed 110 lbs, and the
heaviest boy weighed 130!
I’ve never been envious of
a boy’s stomach, but over
there, I was.
Okinawa is not on
mainland Japan, so that
was one huge reason why
it wasn’t quite like Tokyo
or Osaka. Rather, it had a
strong Chinese influence,
being one hour away from
Taiwan. During World War
II, they were attacked by
both the American and
Japanese armies due to
their strategic place and
different culture. The fights
there were accordingly
named “The Battle of Okinawa.” Because of the
war, a large portion of the
islands are taken up by US
military bases.
I learned to play
the Sanshin, the ancestor
of Shamisen, which was
basically a three stringed
banjo. Okinawa is also
where Judo was originated, so they learn that in
school. In Okinawa, there
is strong pride for their prefecture. Okinawans have
their own dialect, called
“uchinanchu,” and have
their own traditional dance
and song. Another thing
they are very proud of is
their aquarium, Churaumi.
Okinawa has the second
largest aquarium in the en-
tire world. Its largest tank is
10m deep, 35m wide, and
27m long. The thing was
absolutely huge. Speaking of water, Okinawa also
had the most incredible
beaches in Japan. The
clear, cool Pacific Ocean
was easily accessible, and
between the little blue fish
and gorgeous sky, I would
compare it to Hawaii.
Being an island
with one of the longest life
expectancies in the world,
their food was amazingly
good and healthy. Their
specialty, Okinawan Soba,
is made of wheat noodles
in a seaweed broth with
lots of cabbage and usually “stewed pork.” They also
had this vegetable called
Goya, which I strongly
do not recommend. It resembles a cucumber, but
has a bumpier outside. It
was the most bitter thing I
(continued on page 32)
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17
TOKYO
This summer vacation, I visited my homeland,
Japan. I stayed in Yokohama and Kanagawa, but
almost every day, I went
to Tokyo. In Tokyo, I did so
many things that I can’t
even name them all. I went
shopping in Shibuya, a very
famous part of Tokyo. This
is where practically everything takes place.
Shibuya109, also
known as “Gyaru,” is a
shopping mall that is very
popular with young people. It’s so cramped and
loud in there that it’s scary,
and one may become uncertain if they can exit the
place or not. However,
it is definitely a must-go
place if you visit Shibuya.
The stores I visited the most
were Samantha Thavasa,
Chille Anap, Rojita, Tommy
Girl by Tommy Hilfiger, Barbie, and Tsutaya. I don’t
think Samantha Thavasa
is too popular here in New
York, but it is well known in
Japan. This time I bought a
new wallet there, and I am
absolutely in love with it.
When I mention the store
“Barbie,” I’m sure many of
you think the same thing.
Barbie? How lame is that?
That’s what I first thought
when I heard of this brand.
When I went to the store
however, they had an
adorable line-up. Tsutaya
is a famous book store in
Japan. They sell practically everything: books,
magazines, comic books,
games, DVDs, CDs, and
really cheap used CDs (as
cheap as 315yen, or $3!).
Tsutaya is a HUGE building,
and it stands right in the
middle of the entrance to
Main Street.
I went to some
really cool restaurants in
18
ISSUE 1 2008
by Rio Nose
Shibuya. One was called
“The Lock-Up.” This is a
restaurant
where
you
have to walk through a really scary and dark hallway
before you make it to the
dining area. The tables
are surrounded by bars
of imitation dungeons. I
ate in a small room with a
small door, also made of
bars. The food was amazing, and the drinks were
fun and weird. Another
restaurant I went to was
called “Insomnia Lounge,”
which is a really unusual
name because the whole
restaurant is made out of
mattresses. It was a really
calming restaurant with
delicious dishes. The lights
were dimmed, the seats
and walls were made of
red mattresses, and the
floor was covered with a
fluffy red carpet. Shibuya
is full of really interesting restaurants.
The thing I did
most in Shibuya, though,
was going to game centers. Here in New York,
there are scattered games
in the weirdest places.
However, in Japan, there
are so many places filled
with games. Some places
even have up to 4 floors.
This visit, I spent so much
money on crane games
and “purikura,” which is
an abbreviation of “Print
Club.” The crane games
have adorable toys, useful
goods, candy, and sometimes even ice cream. Every play is definitely worth
100yen ($1). “Purikura” is a
machine where you take
pictures and draw on them,
and they are printed as
little stickers. They’ve been
around for a while, but the
machines that are seen
these days are so technological. Some machines
allow you to send pictures
taken from your email ad-
Photography by Ariana King
dress (only for cellphones),
while others allow you to
send the pictures directly
to your cellphone using a
tool called “Sekigaisen;”
you put your phone into
the machine and the data
is sent.
Speaking of cellphones, I think it’s amazing how obsessed Japanese people are with their
cellphones.
I used my
mom’s cellphone while
I was in Japan, and I really understood why they
are so obsessed. There
are so many sites made
just for the cellphone. You
can play games, watch
TV, send emails, and basically do anything you
want to waste your time
while you’re on the train
or waiting for something
or someone. Email on the
Japanese cellphone is really fun because of the
adorable smiley faces and
tools such as “Deco mail,”
which allows you to send
mail with cute frames and
fonts. I think the iPhone is
the closest America gets to
the Japanese cellphone,
and it still can’t beat the
remarkable tools
stuffed into the
typical Japanese
cellphone.
In Japan,
if something becomes popular,
it becomes really popular. This
summer, the most
popular
things
were “Obakasan”
and “Gake no
Ue no Ponyo.”
Obakasans
are
people
that
“baka,” or are stupid. Dumb celebrities are really popular on TV these
days.
Two idol
groups, Shuuch-
ishin and Pabo, are the
most famous obakasans.
This sounds so queer, but it’s
true. They appear on quiz
shows to prove how stupid
they are. “Gake no Ue no
Ponyo” is Hayao Miyazaki’s
(continued on page 33)
ISSUE 1 2008
19
Untitled: How I Could Never Summarize This
by Amy Crossman
August 2nd, 2008. The day before I
was going back to New York, they asked
us to summarize the Powerhouse Apprentice Program in one word. My peers, sitting
at a brightly lit room in the Kenyon building
at Vassar College, seemed unfazed and
continued to write on the feedback survey that Tom Pacio, the Educational Director, had given us. I looked around in awe.
How could anyone put this six week experience into one word? Who could expect
me to funnel all these high strung emotions
into a tiny cramped space on an 8 ½ by 11
piece of paper? And who could expect
me to leave this sanctuary of creativity?
20
ISSUE 1 2008
A scene between Julia (Hannah
Rubinek) and Lucetta (Amy
Crossman) from “The Two Gentleman of Verona.” directed by
Anthony Luciano. Photography
by Eliza Haun.
I found the Powerhouse
Apprentice Training Program after an exhausting
college search and an
equally exhausting healthy
internet stalking of a certain recent Tony winner.
This relatively famed person who’s name I will not
mention participated in
this program back when
he was a teenager, thus I
was immediately intrigued.
In addition, Vassar College
was on my college radar.
The program’s website
wasn’t terribly detailed, but
I extracted that the program was divided into four
different focuses: acting,
directing,
playwrighting,
and technical theater. I auditioned in April, and was
accepted a few weeks
later as an acting apprentice for the 2008 summer.
Summer at Vassar College is very eventful. Numerous “camps,” for lack
of a better word (including
several with rather precocious and annoying small
genius children who engulf
the cafeteria) take over the
campus. The Powerhouse
Theater, the theater at the
college, partners with New
York Stage and Film, a professional company, to provide a safe environment for
theater artists to bring new
works. For six weeks, professional actors, writers, directors and technicians travel
to the oasis that is upstate
New York to put on a series of readings, workshops,
and even two full productions. These outlets provide
an invaluable opportunity
to develop new works out
of the eye of the media.
Quite frankly, I knew little
about the Apprentice Program itself when I arrived in
Poughkeepsie in mid-June.
I knew that I was expected
to work crew-calls for the
professional productions. I
knew that the apprentices
would get to see the professional shows and have opportunities to interact with
the professionals as well. I
knew that the apprentices
were going to put on their
own shows, in addition to
the classes we were going
to take. But little did I know
about the lack of sleep I’d
get. Little did I know about
the large amounts of Diet
Coke I’d digest in hopes
of staying awake for the
new Eric Bogosian play.
Little did I know that I’d
discover Shakespeare in
the most remarkable way.
Little did I know that I’d
meet my best friends at the
scenic liberal arts school.
I can’t speak for the
playwrighting
program,
nor the directing and technical theater focuses, but
I was thoroughly pleased
with my acting curriculum.
After auditioning in front of
a rather large number of
people, the actors were divided into classes. We had
class from nine in the morning to one in the afternoon.
These classes covered a
plethora of material from
Alexander Technique to
Technical Theater. These
classes challenged me to
be uncomfortable. I was
pushed to do things I know
I wouldn’t have done otherwise. I was forced to trust
other actors in a way that
I hadn’t been able to be-
a scene from “The Overcoat” featuring Joshua Joya as the Tailor
and Amy Crossman as the Overcoat. Photography by Eliza Haun.
fore. It was an unsettling
feeling, but my teachers
challenged me to be comfortable in the discomfort of
it, which, it can be argued,
is the essence of acting.
The actors were also
divided into two different
casts. One cast performed
Brecht’s The Good Woman
of Szechuan, and the other,
my cast, performed Shakespeare’s The Two Gentleman of Verona. I love
theater immensely, but I
was apprehensive when I
was cast in the latter show.
I was terrified of Shakespeare. I struggled with
the language, I struggled
with the concepts. I simply did not understand it. I
was scared of letting down
my director, my audience,
and most importantly, my
entire cast. I wouldn’t have
known that I would not only
learn to perform Shake(continued on page 31)
ISSUE 1 2008
21
MUSIC
CONCERT REVIEWs
08’
W a r p e d
Tour
By Hilary Davies
When I think of summer, the
first thing that comes to mind is the
Vans Warped Tour. I have been going every summer since my freshman year, and it's the perfect way
to propel a summer forward. In past
years, I have been able to see Motion City Soundtrack, Rise Against,
and one of the last performances by
The Starting Line; I have ridden pogo
sticks, won heaps of free stuff, and
made some great connections with
people I wouldn't have known otherwise. This year was no exception.
It was an appallingly hot day and we had
arrived at a perfect time
to catch Florida band,
We The Kings's set. I saw
We The Kings in 2007 at
the Knitting Factory when
they were nothing but a
wee baby band working hard to achieve their
dreams. Everyone in this
crowd, which was significantly larger than the KF
crowd, knew the words
Photo Courtesy of Carrie Musgrave.com
22
ISSUE 1 2008
Photo Courtesy of Hilary Davies
to their songs. That made
me smile. It was apparent
that Travis Clark, the singer/
guitarist, was just as stoned
as he was the last time I'd
seen him (when he nearly
fell on top of me). This
made me smile even more.
I couldn't get too into their
set because I was on the
outskirts of the crowd, but
they were great entertainers who kept mentioning
how much they wanted
to do inappropriate things
with the crowd as a whole.
Their stage presence had
improved greatly, creating a tighter set that I could
enjoy without cringing at
missed notes, flubbed lyrics,
and sloppy instrumentals.
Next up was The
Academy Is… from Chicago, Illinois. I have to
admit that I haven’t been
a particular fan of their music up until recently, so I felt
awkward initially. However, singer William Beckett's
mesmerizing stage presence won me over. I am
not exaggerating when I
say that you could not look
at anyone or anything else
but him the entire set. I have
been to many shows and
he is one of the few frontmen that consistently kept
my attention. He engaged
the audience in the perfor-
mance, going so far as to
jump off the stage and go
into the crowd for their last
song, "Checkmarks." Since
Beckett is a fairly attractive
guy, a giant hoard of hormonal girls rushed toward
the front, screaming their
heads off and grabbing at
whatever piece of him they
could get. I was shoved to
the front and since I am
not a particularly big person, I started to fall. Throwing my hand up, I grabbed
onto the nearest available
support. This just so happened to be Beckett's
wrist. I would have been
acting like a total fan girl if I
wasn't trying to save myself.
My friend Valerie
and I were together for the
whole day, so we spent
much of the time wandering around. We caught
brief snatches of some killer
sets— Family Force 5 as an
example. One of these sets
that we passed through
was for a band called Dr
Manhattan. Their sound
is absolutely indescribable. It's just different from
many of the generic emo
bands that we passed by
before stopping at their
show.
The keyboardist
was banging on floor toms
(continued on page 31)
ISSUE 1 2008
23
La Revolucion
by Ren Santiago
Tonight Immortal
Technique fans gather into
the Highline Ballroom to
celebrate the self-release
of his latest album, The
Third World, with the artist
and those he likes to refer
to as his "various accomplices, soldiers, lieutenants
and skilled specialists that
work with him.” These are
the men that open the
show, one by one, leading up to their General of
the Revolutionary Army.
The hype goes up and
up as each man spits his
s**t, all accompanied by
DJ GIJOE and Southpaw.
Finally, Technique
joins his men. They spin
some old tracks like Bin
Laden and the room recites along with him. He
stops in between songs to
address the 5-0 he knows
are lurking in the place,
commanding: "When I say
f**k, you say cops! F**k--!"
At one point, one of his
soldiers, Arch, scooped up
a Guy Fawkes mask from
someone in the audience
and wore it proudly. They
played Peruvian Cocaine
with CrayzWalz, Pumpkinhead, Loucipher, Tonedeff, Diabolic and Poison
Pen spitting just as smooth
as in Revolutionary Vol. 2.
The highlight of
the night comes when
Technique cuts the track
and turns to his fans. He
tells us what we know
about this man: he's not
some underground rapper
24
ISSUE 1 2008
MUSIC
ALBUM REVIEWS
The Academy Is...
Fast Times At Barrington High
Reviewed by Hilary Davies
PICTURES
COURTESY OF
AMAZON.COM
PICTURE COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM
fighting for notoriety, and
his album dropping is not
the only thing he's doing
tonight. It is also the official
launch of Project Green
Light. The first stage is given
the Green Light. Technique
tells us he has decided to
work with a non–profit human rights organization
called Omeid International*. “We will come together to build an orphanage/
clinic/school
in Kabul,
Afghanistan for children
who have been left without families because of
the wars and diseases that
have ravaged the land."
He has already donated
$10,000 of his own money
to prove to us that he is in
it for the cause. His cause
is to change the world at
large. He's already done
so with immigrant groups,
youth detention centers,
and with those organizing against police brutality, gang workshops, and
funding children's hospitals in Palestine. "So once
again I am here to answer
the call of my brothers and
sisters, whether it comes
from across the street or
across the ocean," he
pledged to us. Then he instructed us to stick our fists
in the air, and turn around
to face outside. "You face
them, not me, because
they're the ones we're going to be fighting against.”
We repeat after him, "Viva
la Revolucion!" And again.
And again. We pump our
fists and shout it louder with
every pulse of adrenaline:
"Viva La Revolucion!"
(www.omeid.org)*
The Academy Is...
has never had a concrete
sound. Their first album, Almost Here, was a mixture
of laid-back, wishy-washy
ballads and fast-paced,
aggressive songs delivered
with a combination of instruments and rough vocals that didn’t seem to fit
together. Santi, the band’s
second album, would be
difficult to identify as The
Academy Is… were it not
for William Beckett’s unique
voice. Their latest album,
on the other hand, Fast
Times at Barrington High,
seems to be the beginning of a new era, an era
in which they can finally
be at ease with their line-
up and their new musical
chemistry. This is a much
darker work, teeming with
heavier guitars and angstfilled lyrics. Fast Times is by
no means a particularly
profound album. However, that's the point. It's an
album about high school
and all it entails, including
mishaps in romance, stupid drama, and the occasional escapade with an
older woman. (“Beware:
Cougar!” is one of the best
songs on the album!) I can
definitely relate to this CD,
since I am approaching
my last year of high school
and have started to reflect
on the past three years of
my life. The Academy Is...
hasn't found their sound just
yet, but I think the group is
coming close to where
it belongs musically, and
that is a beautiful thing.
ISSUE 1 2008
25
Jay Brannan
Goddamned
Reviewed by Paul Vergara
Ghostland Observatory
Robotique Majestique
Reviewed by Louis Peralte
Not too long ago
I found myself bored and
lonely, a typical summer
night for me. “What to
do?” I repeated as I struggled to entertain myself. I
surfed the net and came
across a video in which a
beat-driven fan danced
to the sounds of Ghostland
Observatory alongside his
cat. The song in the video
was “Stranger Lover” from
their 2006 album Paparazzi
Lightning. It was interesting
enough to catch my attention, so I checked out
the last album released
by the band. Robotique
Majestique was released
on February 29th of 2008
by Trashy Moped Records.
I expected to hear more of
what was sampled in the
video, but the new album
fell short of my expectations. Instead of hypnotic
boogies that would keep
me dancing all night long,
I was bombarded with instrumentals birthed by a
synthesizer. I have mixed
feelings about the album.
I feel that the songs have
potential, but I firmly believe
that the fact that the band
is a two-piece consisting of
26
ISSUE 1 2008
PICTURES COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM
only Aaron Behrens, vocals
and, occasionally, guitar,
and Thomas Ross Turner,
synthesizer and drums, is
holding them back. Now
one may think,“But how
is this possible? A sprightly
man donning pigtails and
sunglasses teamed up with
a cape-clad synth wizard
must make great music!“
All I’m saying is that with
more support, they’d have
my approval. I enjoyed
listening to “Heavy Heart,”
but I felt like it was building
up to a point that it never
reached because it started
out light and made its way
to a heavier section only to
go right back to where it
started. Unfortunately, this
set up seemed to be the
framework for the rest of
the songs in the album as
well. I didn’t notice a climax in any of the songs, but
they were decent. They’re
an electro duo, so if you’re
into that, check it out.
Jay Brannan is a
product of the YouTube
generation. His claim to
fame is his starring role in
the risqué film “Shortbus,”
and he has since become
an internet sensation. The
singer/songwriter/actor
began posting videos on
the popular website where
he caught the eye of many
who religiously tune in to
hear his new songs and
watch his entertaining shirt-
“Brannan has
a smooth, soulful voice, and his
songs are sweet,
blunt, simple, and
addictively catchy.”
less rants. His long anticipated album, Goddamned, is
a compilation of many of
his hits from YouTube. A
self-proclaimed folk singer,
Brannan has a smooth,
soulful voice, and his songs
are sweet, blunt, simple,
and addictively catchy.
He is a master storyteller.
Some songs are packed
with raw emotion, while
others can make even
the saddest bloke smile.
The first song on
the album, “Can’t Have It
All,” is infectious. It combines Brannan’s wit, philosophical nature, and pure
PICTURES COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM
randomness, a style that
he capitalizes on. Sometimes his songs don’t seem
to make complete sense,
such as “At First Sight,” “A
Death Waltz,” or “Half-Boyfriend.” In the emotional
title track “Goddamned,”
Brannan questions religion.
My favorite song, “Housewife,” the second song
Brannan ever wrote, is
about his dream of having
a perfect life with a man
whom he has never met.
Oh, I’m sorry if I never mentioned that he’s gay. Oops.
Anyway, it’s probably the
most romantic gay love
song I have ever heard.
All in all, Jay Brannan’s music is fresh, and
he’s great to listen to in any
mood. He’s a true starving artist, and you should
all support him by buying
this album which is only
available on iTunes or on
his website. You should
also click on to his YouTube channel. I am sure
that you will like what you
hear, and I’m also sure
you will like what you see
because this guy is absolutely gorgeous!
ISSUE 1 2008
27
Drastic Fantastic - KT Tunstall
EMI Music
Reviewed by Benny Lam
Her international
debut album, Eye to the
Telescope,
sold
more
than one million copies
worldwide, resulting in a
knock on the door from
the Grammys. Now, KT
Tunstall, the native Scottish musician, returns with
another steady rocking album that contains a much
edgier look and sound. The
second time around, Tunstall reveals a much more
gig-like setup on her new
record. A wide range of
rhythmic beating and rap-
PICTURES COURTESY OF
AMAZON.COM
28
ISSUE 1 2008
id acoustic guitar picking
can still be found among
her songs, (after all she is
known to be the Queen
of Folk of the twenty-first
century). However, Tunstall
has also incorporated elements from her personal
experience into a series of
her songs. One example
would be her latest single,
“Saving my Face,” a rather
upbeat and rhythmic song
revealing her doubts about
going under the knife when
surrounded by the glamhollywood-female-per-
fect-appearance pressure.
Thankfully, she resolves to
stay real, stay herself, and
“save her face.” With all of
her work being composed
on the round, during and
or after gigs, KT has always
been compelled by the
idea of a “Studio-album.”
But then again, who could
forget her one-womanband-performance of the
commercial hit, “Black
Horse and a Cherry Tree?”
All in all, KT Tunstall is a
fresh new talent who is not
afraid to be herself even
as she is morphing into
a different artist. I highly
recommend this budding
artist’s new album.
PARIS EDITION
by Paul Vergara
The train cars of
the Metro in Paris are a lot
smaller than those in New
York. They also seem a
lot more unsafe: patrons
on either side of the train
can manually open the
doors by cranking a lever
or pressing a button. I may
have heard a French version of the infamous phrase
“Stand clear of the closing
doors,” but I would not
have understood it anyway. The subway seems
more cramped because
of the size of the train car
and the layout of the seats,
but the fact that they
come every three or four
minutes without fail counteracts any overcrowding.
It doesn’t smell as fresh
either, but I think that’s
just because it’s French.
The only perk about
them, perhaps, is that
the seats are cushioned.
Sitting on the
Metro gave me more insight into the culture of the
French people than any
other thing I may have
done during my trip. I sat
in a café and sipped a
cup of tea. I went to the
local bread shop every
day to buy a baguette. I
frequented the Monoprix,
the French equivalent to
Wal-Mart. I tried to speak
French and failed miserably, because I’d just
speak English in a stuck-up
French accent. I looked
down from the Arc de Triomphe at the cars circling
around it. I shopped at the
largest flea market in the
city. I trudged down what
seemed to be every street.
I visited world-famous museums, wonderfully decorated parks, and age-old
landmarks. I enjoyed a
boat tour on the Seine River. I sat down in the grass
and looked up at the Eiffel
Tower as the sun set. I tried
to be as stereotypically
French as possible. However, every time I got back
on the Metro, I realized
that it was the one place
that was full of native Parisians rather than tourists.
It’s like seeing the French
in their natural habitat.
In
this
underground tunnel system, the
natives hide from the vacationers that they seem
to hate so much above
ground. There was a weird
atmosphere on the streets.
It was filled with massive
groups of foreigners asking for directions or being
lost. However, there was a
bustling metropolis underground that seemed like
only real Parisians knew.
Trains came every so often;
you’d never know that you
had missed one because
another would pull in almost immediately. There
was always a constant
flow of people coming in
and out of the manually
operated doors, but there
was always a free seat.
There were so many different people, but they had
an approachability that
seemed almost weird. They
seemed to be content.
The one thing that
separates the Parisian Metro from the New York subway lies in human interaction. This idea is evident in
the fact that many of the
seats are positioned in a
way in which one pair is directly facing another. Thusly, they form some sort of
box. It’s like a small dinette
set with the table missing.
It forces four people, likely
strangers, to be together in
ISSUE 1 2008
29
CONTINUATIONS
Untitled: How I Could
Never Summarize This
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL VERGARA
a confined space and almost forces them to interact. Many times, I found
myself sitting in this four seat
formation with my parents
on one pair of seats while I
situated myself opposite to
them. A very attractive Parisian would always sit next
to me, and I would always
get happy. It gave us a
reason to pounce on this
poor man or woman and
bombard him or her with
questions. Sometimes it
was the other way around.
Either way, an enjoyable
conversation
ensued.
Other than that,
everyone else would be
talking and smiling. They
looked genuinely pleased
to be in such a cramped
and smelly place with a
bunch of strangers. It was
weird. There were no “I
see a space in the middle
of the train car, so please
move in so I can fit before
I slap somebody” fights.
30
ISSUE 1 2008
There was no blatant, catty
rudeness that New Yorkers
think they can get away
with because they are
New Yorkers. These people were down to earth
and calm, but they knew
that they were completely
and utterly fierce human
beings. They were not ostentatious like most people
think Parisians are. They
were approachable. I was
able to speak with several
people. Whether we spoke
in English, my fake French,
or even Tagalog, there was
a feeling of camaraderie
and brotherhood of being
another human being. We
were completely different
and from different parts of
the world, but we bonded
over being so different.
I never thought
that being on the subway
in Paris would eventually be
the thing that has left the
most lasting impression on
me about the city. I loved
it. I still love it. I will continue
to love it. But something
as overlooked and underrated as their subway
system was the thing that
prevailed over everything
else to be my most memorable experience in the
wonderful city of Paris. It
just goes to show that one
can find happiness in the
most unexpected places.
Even if it smells funny.
speare, but I would learn
to love it. Powerhouse has
an amazing faculty that
doesn’t treat Shakespeare
with the porcelain-doll
quality I’d grown accustomed to. While there is an
intellectual approach to it,
I never felt as though I was
in an English class. I never
felt talked down to or really
instructed, merely invited
to take part in discussions.
I learned that not only is
Shakespeare sturdy and resilient, his words are meant
to be thrown around, really delved into, and explored. Shakespeare is full
of extreme, honest, important emotions and topics.
This hadn’t been apparent to me until I attended
the Powerhouse program.
Apart from introducing
me to the Bard, I gained
invaluable performance
experience. I’d never really been involved in any
sort of theater production,
and I was involved in three
pieces with my small ensemble of actors, as well as
several apprentice-written
and apprentice-directed
pieces. This formed the
strongest sense of community I’ve ever felt. It was
the most intense bond between artists I’ve ever been
blessed to witness, let alone
be a part of. Everyone at
Powerhouse wanted to be
there. Everyone at Powerhouse knew that theater
was an important tool, an
important outlet through
which we could change
the world. Celebrating this
with my fellow artists helped
me grow exponentially, as
an artist, yes, but more importantly as a person. I at
least hope I’ve grown to
be more honest and caring, more open to things I
wouldn’t have been otherwise. I’ve realized the
importance of not only art
in my life, but knowledge in
general. It’s important to be
a well rounded individual in
this world, especially if you
want to be an artist, and I
was certainly challenged
to be so at Powerhouse. I
was challenged in a way
that I haven’t been at other
places. I was challenged in
a way that I know I couldn’t
have been at other places.
Okay, so you’re probably thinking “Jeeze, Louise, could she get more
hyperbolic?” Yet bear with
me when I tell you, I felt
more myself this summer in
Poughkeepsie than I have
ever felt before. Getting
out of my hometown, out
of the heat and chaos of
New York City, the theater
capital of the world no
less, made me appreciate
and understand my craft
much more than I have
ever before. Living, eating,
sleeping, and breathing
with young artists matured
me in a way I could never
fit into one word, let alone
a two page high school
magazine article. I cried
myself blind when I got
back home on that surprisingly frosty August Sunday.
I sobbed at the sight of
the New York streets because I knew that I wasn’t
truly
home
anymore.
Warped Tour
and screaming, climbing
onto the rafters, and going crazy. We caught their
acoustic set later and I was
impressed by their playing ability, particularly the
ability of the keyboardist,
Andrew, who was able to
play at different speeds
in separate hands. After
their acoustic set, we both
introduced ourselves and
hugged them. Throughout the day, we kept running into them. Eventually,
they began to approach
us with open arms, diving in for hugs and handshakes. I am looking forward to the next time they
come around the area.
The next band we
saw was a Japanese ska
group called Oreskaband.
At first, I thought they were
going to be a fluff act,
because it's difficult for female musicians to make it
out there unless they have
some element of attractiveness. However, when
six tiny girls who spoke in
very broken English bounded onto the stage, I knew
things were going to get
fun. They were excellent
musicians, especially the
bass and brass players,
(the drummer was mediocre at best, but ska music
isn't known for its fabulous
drummers).
Their bassist
was singing while moving
her fingers all the way up
the fret board on different
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31
strings. Any musician out
there knows that it's not easy
to sing and play an instrument at the same time. That
aspect of her performance
impressed me greatly.
I
skanked my heart out during the first few songs along
with the rest of the crowd,
(skanking is a ska dance
that I compare to a somewhat updated cancan. Of
course, this is my personal
definition, not the official
one.) However, my skanking ended when I slipped on
a crushed Gatorade bottle
and twisted my ankle. I was
pulled up and helped over
to the side by two very nice
guys that were near me.
Though I was grateful for their
help, I was in horrible pain.
I limped over to the
last set we saw that evening,
Angels and Airwaves. This
was the only set of the day
that I did not enjoy. I am a
big Blink-182 fan, so the fact
that Tom Delonge is in another band that falls by the
wayside when compared
to the musical chemistry
that Blink-182 had irked me
to say the least. However, I
tried to put that aside and
listen to the music objectively. I came to the same
conclusion. There is hardly
any distinction between one
song and the next and their
stage presence was barely
existent. On top of that, it
was difficult to pay attention when stupid guys and
girls were crowdsurfing from
all different directions. You
would be watching peacefully one moment and a
foot would be in your face
the next. The worst part was
when a young guy leapt
into the air, did a triple somersault, and landed on me.
It would have been epic if
he hadn’t made my pinky
bend in a really strange direction. With my foot also not
being in such great shape, I
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ISSUE 1 2008
was not a happy camper.
After their set was
over, we piled into our
friend's car and drove to McDonald's, where we stuffed
our faces and recalled the
highlights of the day. There
were many, and it was definitely a fun experience. I
can't wait till next summer.
Warped '09, baby!
3 Friends. 3 Regions. 1
Japan. OSAKA
meaning in Shintoism. The
pedestrian walkway was
in fact crowded with nonhumans, and the deer almost violently chased any
tourist who decided to buy
rice crackers; the deer actually cried when the food ran
out. In Nara, a small festival
and a huge extravagant
light show was taking place
while I was there. The festival
offered tons of food and a
memorable goldfish catching stand for fun. It was a
good way to spend about
an hour after the light show.
On return to Osaka
with three goldfish (which
died the next day from overheating), I got lost in the train
station. I then returned to
watch the Olympics from
the Japanese point of view.
They were as obsessed
with the swimmer Kitajima
Kousuke as much as Americans were with Michael
Phelps. Sports, of course, are
taken very seriously, as they
accompany food and drink.
The
people
in
Osaka, of course, just like in
New York and in the rest of
the world, come in a variety
of personalities. The common stereotype of noisy and
hungry is not at all true of everyone. Perhaps Osaka natives have a different lifestyle
since eating until you drop
isn’t the most common ethnic-activity here in New York.
However, the people I met,
even the local Yakitori chef
and store salespeople were
intensely friendly. Ignoring
the language barrier, I had
one of the best two weeks
of my life. I know it wouldn’t
have been the same had I
gone anywhere else.
3 Friends. 3 Regions. 1
Japan. OKINAWA
have ever tasted in my life.
Just imagine a really bitter
thing and multiply it by 100.
Okinawa also originated the
purple sweet potato, called
beni-imo, which is constantly
incorporated into their specialty pastries; they are really pretty, delicious, and
healthy. By far the weirdest
traditional thing I saw, however, was their Sake. It priced
about $100 per bottle, and
had dead poisonous snakes
called habu on the bottom,
with fangs and all! Scary stuff,
I tell you.
When I went to Japan, I saw super skinny and
“groomed” boys, made
friends with innocent hardworking failing students, attended over packed high
school baseball games, met
some of the sweetest most
amazing people, swam in
beaches with the most gorgeous blue, clear-watered
oceans I have ever seen,
went to the second largest
aquarium in the world, ate
amazing food, and gained
so much Okinawan Pride. I
would definitely recommend
that people come here for
vacation. It’s a beautiful
place!
3 Friends. 3 Regions. 1
Japan. TOKYO
new motion picture. It is
about a fish who falls in love
with a little boy. It sounds a
little like The Little Mermaid,
huh? The song for the movie
had a huge outburst in popularity throughout Japan.
My personal favorite Japanese fad is a new animated
character, “Kapibarasan.”
This is a character based on
a real-life animal called the
capybara. Stuffed animals
and toys of this character
are all over Japan.
One of my favorite
things about Japan is the
snacks. This summer, I ate
many times at a store called
“Mister Donuts.” It has the
most delicious donuts ever,
and I snacked on a candy
called “Pure.” Mister Donuts
has a very famous donut
called “Pon de Ring” which
is so popular that almost
10,000 are sold a day. This
could also be known as a
mochi donut because of its
softness. “Pure” is a gummy
type candy with many different flavors, including grape,
grapefruit, lemon, green
apple,
pineapple,
and
many others depending on
the season. I always had a
pack of these gummies in
my bag.
The Japanese are
well known for their love for
Walt Disney. In Chiba, they
have two Disney theme
parks: Disney Land and Disney Sea. This summer, I went
to both. It’s really amazing how much fun you can
have at a children’s theme
park. With exhilarating attractions such as Splash
Mountain, Space Mountain,
The Journey to the Center of
the Earth, The Indiana Jones
Ride, and many others, you
are left exhausted at the
end of the day. I personally
like Disney Sea more than
Disney Land. Disney Land
has Cinderella’s castle and
stunning shows, but Disney
Sea is built for people who
want to have adventures.
Disney Sea is really a dream
land where you look one
way and you see gondolas,
and then you look the other
way and see a huge moun-
tain with steam coming out
of it. Also, because it’s Disney Sea, there are many
water related sections and
rides. It’s the perfect place
to go during the hot summer
to make so many magical
memories.
Oh, and one more
thing: I want to add on to
how remarkable the Japanese metro system is. First
off, it’s unbelievable how
clean the platforms are, and
even inside the train. It’s
very rare to spot a can rolling around with spilled soda
all over the floor, whereas
here in New York, that’s an
everyday scene.
Inside
each car, there are two mini
t.v.s at every single door, one
telling you where you are,
what station is next, and all
the stations and the number of minutes it will take
to get to each station. The
other t.v. shows some commercials, and sometimes
a one-point English lesson.
These are pretty amusing to
watch when you have nothing to do in the train. This is
just one of the trains. Some
trains don’t have these, but
it’s really easy to tell where
you are and where you will
be in every train.
What I find the most incredible about the Japanese metro system is the
“PASMO.” You fill this card
up with money (just like the
metrocard), and when you
go through the turnstile, you
place it on a platform that
makes a “beep” sound, and
you go through. Sounds
pretty normal, huh? But the
thing about the PASMO is
that you can keep it in your
wallet or anywhere that’s
easiest for you, and you just
put your wallet or your card
case to the censor and it’ll
let you right through. So you
don’t have to keep taking
it out every time you want
to ride the train. Another
amazing thing is, you can
use it to buy things. Inside
the station, there are vending machines with the same
censor at the turnstile. You
just put your PASMO to the
censor and choose the drink
you want, and you get it! It
is simple as that. You can
also use it at certain combinis (short for convenience
stores, and these stores are
REALLY convenient), so the
PASMO basically works as a
credit card as well.
So many things about Japan are amazing. When I
came back to New York, I realized and appreciated the
greatness of Japan’s culture
and technology. This summer, I was able to make fantastic memories. I definitely
recommend everybody visit
Tokyo when they can.
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