Forging his way into iraq

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Read the review
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Check out the
review of Citizen
Cope’s performance
at The NorVA.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT | FEBRUARY 13, 2008
Forging his way into Iraq
by laura Gee
l au r a.gee.0 5 @ cn u.edu
Mike Shiley’s “Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories,” was produced
to show people in the rest of the world what mass media will not
or even can not.
Shiley was brought to CNU by CAB”s Culture and Lecture
Committee, Young Democrats and the College Republicans
where he showed his film and took questions after the viewing.
“Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories,” is a documentary that
followed Shiley”s unauthorized trip into Iraq and his life while
being embedded with the 671st Engineering Battalion of the
army. Shiley started his show by explaining that he was not
trying to present any type of political message with his movie
and was just trying to show more about life in Iraq. He went
on to say that most people in the audience would be angered at
some point in time by the film. “It is my goal to piss off every
single one of you in this audience tonight,” Shiley said.
Shiley told the packed Studio Theatre about how he got into
the country. He rented a bulletproof vest, went to Kinko’s and
created a fake ABC press pass and booked a flight to Jordan.
After landing, he went into Baghdad in an armored convoy with
Blackwater. He became embedded with the 671st Engineering
Battalion of the United States Army. Engulfing himself fully, he
wore a uniform, slept in the barracks and even ate the same food
in order to get the full soldier experience.
In the first half of the film he showed families that had been
devastated by the war, illegal gun markets and the amount of
damage done to the city. Different moving images were of hurt
children, the landmines left from Saddamís regime and the
poverty that many Iraqis face. Shiley showed different seemingly impromptu interviews where Iraqis shared their feelings
about America. The main positive messages about the presence
and help from Americans was in the portion of the film focusing
on the Kurds.
“It is impossible to be unbiased completely, but he did not
show some of his stuff in full context. For example, he did not
explain how far $10 goes when saying that Iraqis were hired for
$10 to cut cane. He did not explain that was good enough to feed
an entire family,” said Sophomore Alex Serban.
The second half of his film showed the American soldiers in
Iraq. Shiley, in his effort to show the ìcross section of Americaî
that the military represents, put in several rather vulgar interviews of soldiers during a ìrant session.î Also, he showed the
gross amount of waste that the soldiers produce. ìIt was full of
stuff I already knew and it did not impress me,î said Freshman
Alan Goodman.
Since the release of the film, Shiley has gone to over 500 schools
to show his film and talk about his experiences overseas. n
the list
campus
February 14
The Second City: One Nation,
Under Blog, 8 p.m., Studio Theatre
February 15
“American Gangster,” 8 p.m.,
Anderson 105
Faculty Recital: Soprano Dr. Rachel
Holland and Pianist Dr. Jeffrey
Brown, 8 p.m., Music and Theatre
Hall
Sounds of Romance, 8 p.m.,
Ferguson Center of the Arts
The Second City: One Nation,
Under Blog, 8 p.m., Studio Theatre
Speed Dating, 8 p.m., The Commons
February 16
“American Gangster,” 8 p.m., DSU
Ballroom
Jesse Chonh, 7 p.m., Studio Theatre
Monterey Jazz Festival, 8 p.m.,
Ferguson Center for the Arts
The Second City: One Nation,
Under Blog, 8 p.m., Music and
Theatre Hall
local
Courtesy of www.shidogfilms.com
Mike Shiley was embedded, under false pretenses, with the 671st Engineering Battalion with the United States Army while living in Baghdad. While there he ate with the soliders and slept in the barracks.
February 13
“Grounded in Function,” TCC
Virginia Beach Campus
Norfolk Admirals vs. Wilkes-Barre/
Scranton Penguins, 7:15 p.m.,
Norfolk Scope
“Whistle Down the WInd,” 8 p.m.,
Chrysler Museum
February 14
“Love Letters,” 6:30 p.m., Briar Patch
Tea Room
February 15
“Dolphins and Whales 3D,” Virginia
Aquarium & Marine Science
Center
Norfolk Admirals vs. Worcestor
Sharks, 7:15 p.m., Norfolk Scope
“Nunsense,” 8 p.m., Poqouson
Middle School
“Rahomon,” 8 p.m., Old Dominion
University Theatre
February 16
Norfolk Admirals vs. Worcestor
Sharks, 7:15 p.m., Norfolk Scope
Virginia Beach Coin Show, Virginia
Beach Convention Center
concerts
February 14
Down, 8 p.m., The Norva
February 15
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals,
7:30 p.m., Attucks Theatre
The Loft, 9 p.m., The Jewish Mother
Serj Tankian (of Rage Against the
Machine), 9 p.m., The Norva
February 16
Margaret Cho, 8 p.m., The Norva
The Nighthawks, 9 p.m., The Jewish
Mother
February 17
Ryan Bingham, 7 p.m., The Norva
movie releases
Courtesy of www.shidogfilms.com
Shiley tried to interact with Iraqis to get their feelings about life during
this time of war and after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Courtesy of www.shidogfilms.com
One of the soldiers shared food with the local Iraqi children.
Costa matures with new album Captain’s ball 2008
by Dan callas
da n.ca l l as.0 5 @ cn u.edu
Upon listening to his new album,
one thing is apparent: singer/songwriter Matt Costa has matured.
Infusing styles of pop, indie, soft
rock and acoustic music, Costa
delivered to his growing number
of fans with this new album. The
first track, “Mr. Pitiful,” welcomes
in listeners with an upbeat pianodriven pop style. The song is the
first single off the album and has
everything a hit pop song needs:
it’s unique, it’s fun, and it’s catchy.
Overall, “Mr. Pitiful” is a fitting
invitation to the rest of the album.
The second track, “Lilacs,”
brings the tempo down from the
pop intro, but is more reminiscent
of Costa’s last album, specifically
the song “Cold December,” focusing on the acoustic sound that he
utilized so much. But, as is true
with most songs on the album,
there is a lot of instrument layering
in “Lilacs,” producing a very full
but uncluttered sound.
The third track, “Never Looking
Back,” is a truly acoustic track
with some excellent vocal harmonies recorded by Costa. This song,
specifically Costa’s harmonica
playing, gives off a vintage Neil
Young vibe.
Track four, “Emergency Call,”
is a surprisingly upbeat song and
a real rocker, with more of a jam
band sound to it, similar to popular
jam band Tea Leaf Green. The
next two tracks slow down the
pace of the album. “Vienna” is a
mellow song with a bossa-nova-like
acoustic guitar part throughout
the song, and the title track,
“Unfamiliar Faces” gives listeners
an island sound. It’s a song that
highlights Costa’s California roots
and is sure to sound best out in the
sun in the summertime.
The album rocks again with the
start of “Cigarette Eyes,” another
song that features great piano
accompaniment. The eighth song
on the album, “Downfall,” is a
beautifully crafted song with a
see Costa page b2
“Definitely, Maybe”
Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), is
the midst of a divorce, when his
daughter (Abigail Breslin) asks
about his life before marriage. Will
tries for a cleaner, nicer version of
events, until she begins to figure
out that love is a complicated
thing. Rated PG-13.
“Jumper” Doug Liman (“Mr. And
Mrs. Smith”) directs an adaptation
of Steven Gould’s 1992 novel.
People called “jumpers” can
transport themselves through
space and time, and a young man
with this genetic abnormality
soon finds himself in a thousandsyear-old war. Rated PG-13.
“The Spiderwick Chronicles” In this
film adaptation of the children’s
fantasy series, the Grace family
leaves New York for a house in
the woods. However, their house
soon becomes a much more
exciting place. Rated PG.
cd releases
“Do You Like Rock Music?” - British
Sea Power
“Simple Plan” - Simple Plan
“Free Somehow” - Widespread
Panic
cole hogan/The captain’s log
At this year’s James Bond-themed Captain’s Ball, students had the option to play
poker, one of the many casino games. Students also danced from 8 p.m. to midnight in the Ballroom of the DSU. Food was available at a buffet and alcohol was
available at the cash bar.
dvd releases
“Gone Baby Gone”
“Into the Wild”
“No Reservations”
“Why Did I Get Married?”
W E D N E S D A Y, F E B R U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 0 8
PAGE B2 | T H E C A P T A I N ’ S L O G
Encore saves Citizen Cope
of music. The NorVa,
with its grand
chandelier-lit auditorium, is perhaps too
roomy for an act like
Cope. His strumming
patterns resemble
the snaps of beat
poetry, the energy
is predominantly
docile and during
most of his songs the
band behind him
drowns out his guitar
work. This concert
on the first Thursday
of February presented a strong case
that the majority of
his music is simply
more conducive to
an intimate environsally lafave/www.citizencope.com
ment.
Citizen Cope perfomed at The NorVa to
In order to fully
a small but enthusiastic crowd.
appreciate how
Citizen Cope fits into
by james carrol
the music industry,
ja m es.ca r rol .0 4 @ cn u.edu
his beginnings as songwriter
must be highlighted. An
The crowd of couples
expectation for driving guitar
sways like blades of grass
and long solos is unreasonin a delicate blue light that
able. He is a self-proclaimed
radiates from stage. Citizen
poet. Unlike many other
Cope’s rough but intoxicating
acts, lyrical development is
voice rings from his tunnel
his foremost concern when
of spotlight. It’s immediately
he assembles a song. Write
clear: there is something
the lyrics and formulate the
different about Cope’s brand
music around the result. For
Clarence Greenwood (Citizen
Cope), guitar was an afterthought to accompany his
soulful, bluesy vocals.
The Feb. 7 engagement follows the release of his third
album “Every
Waking Moment” (RCA
Records). While the show
included as many songs
from the new album as the
rest of his discography, this
newest release has brought
increased variety to his
music. Greenwood, while not
a native of Washington D.C.,
endured most of his musical
adolescence there and the
influence of the political
environment is evident on
many of his tracks. “Every
Waking Moment” considers
more variations on life and
relationship struggles with
the songs, “Somehow” and
“All Dressed Up.”
After an hour and a half
long set featuring hits
“Let the Drummer Kick”
and “Bullet and a Target”
Cope exited, leaving the
crowd in suspense for an
encore. When he returned
alone with acoustic guitar,
the solemn singer/songwriter
captivated with his debut
single “Sideways.” Rejoined
by the rest of the band, the
finale “Son’s Gonna Rise”
brought the crowd to climactic fervor. After that, the
chandelier-lit the audience
revealing an exceedingly
higher attendance than when
it had dimmed. That’s when
it hit me; my ticket read
“Citizen Cope w/ Special
Guest.” Where was the opening act? The promise of one
had invariably caused many
to miss a portion of the $17
per ticket concert.
CNU Alumnus Alan Moyer
said, while waiting for the
encore said, “This is the
wrong atmosphere. They
should have filled the place
with couches.” I found myself
unable to argue the statement. Until then, the Norva
had been largely unfilled
and those present had been
reserved in their reaction to
the music. This begged the
question for these concertgoers: why not just call a girl,
get a case and stay on the
couch at home?
Greenwood may very well
have saved the concert with
his encore. The next morning, even though pessimistic
about the concert experience,
I found myself uncontrollably
humming that climactic
tune. n
Power of giving explored
Celebrities IN brief
Cher
back in
Vegas
Laura pearl/ MCT
by Christopher Book
ch r istoph er.book. 0 6 @ cn u.edu
Gypsies, tramps, thieves and all, the legendary Cher will
make her return to the stage on May 6 of this year. Announced Feb. 7 on “Good Morning America,” Cher will be
alive again in Las Vegas when she opens at The Colosseum
at Caesars Palace. Originally built for Celine Dion’s show,
“A New Day,” The Colosseum will be Cher’s off-and-on home
for the next three years. Cher will alternate a show schedule with Bette Middler’s, “The Show Girl Must Go On” and
Elton John’s, “The Red Piano.” When asked if she knew how
much she would be making for the stint Cher said, “I know
it’s a lot, but I don’t care.”
Cher’s more than 300-show, worldwide, farewell tour began
in 2002 and ended in April of 2005 at the Hollywood Bowl.
In true Cher-fashion, the 90-minute show in Sin City will
feature fabulous costumes, staging, choreography and more.
Now 61, Cher told all in her “Good Morning America”
interview, including little-known facts about her love life.
Cher told Cynthia McFadden she once dated Tom Cruise and
regrets not going out with Elvis and Marlon Brando.
Imitated by drag queens everywhere and a gay icon to millions, this diva is sure to have us all believing again. n
Wayne
Brady
by Katie hicks
k at e.hicks.0 4 @ cn u.edu
The 25th Anniversary edition of Lewis Hyde’s “The
Gift” explores the power of gift giving and what stipulations
coincide with the actions and ideas involving gifts. He
begins the novel with the idea of an Indian giver, one who
gives a gift and expects it back or another gift back in
return in a timely manner. The purpose behind this way of
thinking was to keep a gift in motion. Hyde explains that a
gift always stays in motion because after you receive a gift,
you give a gift to the person who gave you a gift or you give
to someone else to keep the cycle going.
However, when a person stops this motion and does not
give a gift, it ‘makes one man’s gift turn into another man’s
capital’. Hyde supports this idea with the folktale, “The
Ungrateful Son,” which is about a boy who is eating a roast
chicken with his wife and sees his father coming up towards
the house. He hides the chicken from his father because he
does not want to share with him. After the father leaves, the
son goes to get the roast chicken from hiding and finds it has
turned into a toad which jumps on his face and stays there
forever. No one will pull it off because the look the toad gave
is scary and if the son did not feed the toad every day the
toad would eat off part of his face. This story helps people
see how selfishness ruins no one but yourself.
Hyde explores the variety of gifts that are typically given,
such as women, food or life. Women are typically given
away in marriage while food is a popular gift because it
sustains life. Living things that are gifts grow but gifts that
are inert grow in worth. Through that act of gift giving
creates bonds with the giver and the receiver, which Hyde
explores and from these bonds creates his theory of the
Labor of giving. This idea of labor is important because it
is people willingly giving back to others without expectation
of any type of compensation. The sole purpose of the labor
theory is to help others. This basically ends the first part of
his book.
The second part is very different from the first part. The
first part was full of folk tales and stories of gifts and how
giving plays a role in society. The second part begins to
Costa, from page b1
very full sound, featuring
deep drums and several
guitar tracks. However,
Costa’s vocals cut through
perfectly in this song that
sounds like it could have
come from The Shins.
“Trying To Lose My
Mind” is a fairly generic
Indie rock song displaying
The Beatles’ influence in
Costa’s music with a pretty
consistent horn section
playing through the track.
The tenth song on the
album, “Bound,” is an eerie
one and the longest song
on the album, coming in
at 5:08. A beautiful string
arrangement adds to the
dark sound Costa reaches
for in this song. It grooves
with a slow but steady
drumbeat and powerful
vocals. Definitely the odd
song out on the album,
“Bound,” could be some of
Costa’s best and darkest
work, as he repeats, “That
woman is a devil, yes I
Cher returns this May.
performs
at CNU
Scott Brady/ MCT
Brady performed Friday.
by cole hogan
col e.hoga n.0 6 @ cn u.edu
Photo illustration by cole hogan
examine the artist’s role of gift giving. Hyde seems to state
in the second part that art should come from inside and is
not meant to be created for some monetary gain because art
work is a person’s gift to society. Hyde uses Walt Whitman
and Ezra Pound to help validate the points he is trying to
make in the latter part of the book. The purpose of using
these two famous writers is to show that they originally
wrote just to be heard or just to get out their feelings, they
did not intend for their writings to be what they became.
Overall the book was an exciting read. Hyde chooses
really interesting folk tales and stories from everyday life
to get his point across. After reading the book, I was really
inspired by the real meaning of giving a gift. These days a
gifts value is based on how big the diamond is or how much
money was spent on the gift, when the real importance was
the reason behind giving the gift and what the gift means. n
know.”
The acoustic “Heart of
Stone” is a great mellow
song to prepare listeners
for the end of the album and
“Miss Magnolia” comes in
with a bouncy pop sound,
similar to the opening track
to bring the album full
circle. The song sounds
quite a bit like Mungo
Jerry’s “In The Summertime,” but other than the
strange resemblance, “Miss
Magnolia” is a fun song
that is clearly influenced by
music from the 1960s.
“Unfamiliar Faces” marks
the dawning of a new era for
Costa. In just his second fulllength album, Costa vastly
expands his musical horizons
with a fine-tuned and wellcrafted album, keeping his
basic acoustic guitar sound
but piling on the layers of
other instruments, creating
a full and entirely unique
album. Sure it’s early, but
“Unfamiliar Faces” has a
chance to be one of the best
albums of 2008. n
Friday night the Ferguson Center was filled with
laughter from the “Who’s Line Is It Anyway” comedian, Wayne Brady. The comedian brought much of the
familiar “Who’s Line” formula with him to the stage
including free style rap, and some hands on audience
participation skits. Out of all the humor during the
night, the best laugh probably came from a song made
up on the spot at the end of the show entitled “Cats
In The Microwave”. Brady performed the improvised
piece in the style of Prince. He ended the song with a
morbidly humorous reenactment of a cat spinning in a
microwave and bursting. n