2009-10 issue argosummer2008

Fading summer

the argo July

29, 2

008

2 The Argo July 29, 2008

theargonautsArgo EditorJosh RouseCopy EditorsReAnne Utemark, Travis PerryPage DesignJosh Rouse, ReAnne UtemarkAdvertising ManagerRyan SinovicFaculty AdviserRegina CassellArgo WritersPaige Lockard, Andrew Roland, Josh Rouse, Victoria Ukaoma, ReAnne Utemark Photo EditorAaron DeffenbaughPhotosJosh RouseGuest photographerMallory ShehiCartoonistChris Marshall

The Argo is a monthly insert published by the staff of the Washburn Review for coverage of Arts & Entertainment. To get in touch with the A&E newsroom, please call (785) 670-2506 or e-mail at [email protected]. We welcome letters to the editor. Please send them in e-mail format to [email protected].

© The ArgoCopyright 2008

COVER

The Argo will cover some of the ways to stay entertained during the summer, both inside and outside. From pages 8-12 we have reviews, entertainment calendar and the rest of the news students need to know.

inside argo

Editorial

by Josh Rouse

Dog days of summer spayed

Josh Rouse is a junior mass media major. Reach him at [email protected].

How to win at mini golf

Is it just me, or is summer getting shorter every year? It seems like the older we get, the phrase “summer va-cation” becomes more laughable.

Let’s face it, as adults we now have year long respon-sibilities to face. These could include summer school, working two or three jobs to pay for school/gas/food/living ex-penses, or putting together an arts and entertainment magazine to keep students informed.

Whatever poison you chose, it’s clear that the days of lounging about all day and going on week long vaca-tions has long since past. So how can we, as college students, still enjoy this three-month period of tornados, scorching heat and intense allergies?

This edition of the Argo will cover this question to a “T” by showing the

multiple avenues of entertainment right here in the capital city.

Some of these topics include ways to beat the heat, such as using the gym at Garfield Park and the ever popular movie theaters.

To those a little more reptilian than the average person, there are also plenty of ways to enjoy the heat of the summer, such as golfing and fishing spots located near campus.

We will also take a look at what local churches are doing during the summer to keep the youth active.

Camping is a big part of summer for many, and with camping comes grill-ing. We feature a fantas-tic catfish recipe that will

make your mouth salivate, as well as the basics of grilling for beginners.

Also, as part of our end of summer theme, if you have any great photos you’ve taken over the summer, send them to my e-mail address listed be-low and we will post them on the Web site for the whole world to see.

The T-Rex hole is all about timing. Wait for the ape to start going up, then smack it right at the tail. Don’t be intimidated by the teeth.

Beating the kan-garoo is simple... smack the crap out of the ball. Don’t be a sissy, you can’t hit it too hard.

Just remember: ghosts can’t hurt you.

Cover by Josh Rouse, Washburn Review

Page 9Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah BATMAAAN!!!!

Page 12College football fans unite! EA Sports has finally released “NCAA Football ‘09” to the masses. Get the low down on the improvements, as well as the mistakes, in this year’s edition.

Pages 6 & 7The Sports Center Golf Complex offers multiple opportunities for entertainment during the summer, such as golf, batting cages and go-carts.

SUMMERCOLUMN

July 29, 2008 The Argo 3

by ANDREW ROLAND

Andrew Roland is a senior public administration major. Reach him at [email protected].


Camping still has dangers, despite Kansas being bear-less

In some respects, college is very similar to camping; the amount of benefit gained is related to the effort put forth. Some campers park R.V.s at a site with water and electricity, while others sit in a tent through 30 mph wind gusts and hail. Sure, one way or another both types of campers have had fun, but only one has gained from nature’s little lessons. Like learn-ing not to eat the cafeteria coleslaw, lessons are only gained from camp-ing when one is exposed to the ele-ments.

Don’t pitch a tent in the darkIn the dog days of summer, many

a camper is tempted to show up at their campsite late in the day to avoid as much heat as possible. Unfortu-nately, this often results in the hap-less camper struggling through tent deployment with a flashlight in one hand, tent pegs in one’s mouth, a hammer in the other hand, and sometimes a beer bal-anced somewhere as well.

Nonetheless, tent setup is possible, if awkward. As one gradu-ates through various contortions and incantations, the tent will manage to largely erect itself. This can be prob-lematic, as tents love to find sticks and stones with which to torture their residents. The cover of night can hide much more than the wayward rock, I’ve learned.

After a recent experience at a local reservoir, I find it advisable to make a quick survey of the local animal poo situation prior to pitching tent. Obviously, you don’t want to sleep in a pile of manure, but that is not how this story ends. As I pulled into my campsite and began unloading my supplies, the sun moved steadily lower in the sky, and despite my best efforts, I wound up doing most of my work in the dark. As I moved about the campsite I found myself clearing away a prodigious number of goose (ahem) ... pellets. I kicked them away from my tent and fire, and thought nothing else of the affair... until I was awakened in the early hours of the morning by the honking and pecking of the flock of geese whom I’m sure were not happy to find a camper in

the middle of their feeding ground. F.Y.I., cursing at geese as they nibble on your tent does not make them go away.

Bring a big coolerI think everyone knows not to de-

pend on his or her fishing skills for sustenance on a camping trip. Plus, your chances of catching chips and a six-pack of your favorite beverage are pretty low in local waters. In any case, the thoughtful camper must take adequate precautions with their precious food supply.

The problem with camping in the Midwest is that we don’t have bears, so people get careless with food. When you aren’t worried about a half-ton grizzly snatching your Ho-Hos, you are prone to leaving food in the open. I learned my lesson in Okla-homa, from another fierce predator: a hungry snapping turtle.

I was fishing with a friend in the early morning when he reeled in a dinner-bound catfish. It weighed probably 5 pounds, but was just big

enough that it wouldn’t fit into our cooler. We decid-ed to leave the fish on our stringer until we were ready

to cook.As the morning wound on, we oc-

casionally pulled the fish from the waters to display our catch. Word spread throughout our camp that we were going to have fried catfish for lunch, and anticipation was high. We set up our cook site, and were ready to start frying the fish as it was cleaned. I walked over to the lake and started to pull the stringer from the water. There was very little resistance on the line. When I reached the end of the stringer, all that was left was a catfish head and a very satisfied look-ing snapping turtle on a nearby rock.

Camping is a great way to have fun, but watch where you step, geese are meaner than they look and bears and your friends aren’t the only woodland creatures that will eat your food.

NATURESURVIVAL

GRILL TO KILLby Josh Rouse

A recent trip to Wal-mart changed my life forever, and it can do the same for you.

On this seemingly ordinary day, the monolithic empire of Wal-mart had a deal that I could simply not pass up. I had been looking to own a grill for some time, and when I saw a char-coal grill on sale for only $9.99 cents, I felt as though I’d died and gone to heaven.

I immediately purchased the grill and learned the do’s and don’ts of grilling the hard way. I learned the it is never wise to try cooking a new food in the dark, and that the best way to prepare a hamburger, or deer burger for avid hunters, on a grill is throw some aluminum foil across the grill.

Grilling can have tremendous benefits if you are willing to put in the time. It’s healthi-er than frying food, cheaper than restau-rants and of course, after a long day of grilling, you will be cov-ered in the

aroma of cooked meat and charcoal smoke. Sexy.

A personal favorite of mine is grilled catfish. The recipe is quite sim-ple. Simply take a fillet of catfish and season it with lemon pepper. Some prefer just a dash, while others pre-fer a heavy coating. It’s also helpful to rinse the fillet in water prior to this step, because the water helps cook the fish and maintain flavor.

Put the seasoned fillet on a sheet of aluminum foil and wrap it up com-pletely with the foil.

Once the grill has been preheated about 15 minutes, put the fillet on the upper rack of the grill, turning the fillet over every 10 minutes or so until the catfish is flaky and tender. It usually takes about 40 minutes for my grill, but different grills require different cooking times.

If you have any grilling recipes you’d like to share, or a story about grilling, please send them to the e-mail address listed below and we will

share them in the next Argo.

Inside the tackle


by Josh Rouse


For anglers who are used to the ample farmponds and majestic lakes of the countryside, moving to the city can be a daunting challenge.

However, all hope is not lost. The west side of Topeka may not yield the biggest fish in town, but there are still options to sooth your fishing withdrawals.

GAGE PARKMany Topeka-natives have fond

memories of the Gage Park fishing experience. Whether those memo-ries contain actual fish or not, it is the first and most obvious choice for most anglers in the area. The area is fished heavily throughout the sum-mer, which can make things all the more difficult. In order to catch the attention of fish, your presentation must be as realistic as possible. The fish in these waters have seen every

form of fake worm, crawdad, frog and baitfish in existence, and are less than likely to fall for the same tricks again.

Most of the experienced fisherman from the area prefer to use flyfishing techniques to create strikes, which can be succesful due to the bass and bluegill that feed on the top water and can often be seen leaping from the water nears the banks. However, flyfishing is a unique talent and not everybody has the patience to learn it. A suitable alternative would be to tie a fly to a light line, preferably 8-pound. test Cajun Line since it is a practically invisible line in the water, on a spinning reel and a 6-foot rod. Snap a light weight on about two feet above the fly. This will give you the necessary weight to get a cast off, though it will not go far. After casting, lightly jig the fly back to you while reeling as little as possible. This can give the impression of an insect jerk-

ing through the water, and can be a deadly approach for bluegill, bass and crappie in any small pond where the fish stay near the banks. If fishing in a pond with hybrid bluegill, this is really the best way to go and can lure in some monster panfish.

However, there is no alternative better than natural baits, especially in the heavily fished areas around the city. A worm, hook and bobber com-bination can lure in any type of fish in the waters, and chicken liver is always a good option to attract catfish.

GOVERNOR’S PONDSThe Governor’s ponds, located

near the I-75 exit on Fairlawn, can be a great source of enjoyment even for experienced anglers, though fish in this area aren’t exactly the largest ones around. The number one com-modity in these ponds are catfish, and like Gage Park, you are always likely to see other hopeful anglers nearby. After a recent trek to the east

pond I discovered a nearly foolproof combo to use in these waters.

A simple Zebco rod and reel with 8-pound testline should suffice for this pond, since the catfish here rarely get larger than a pound or two. How-ever, I decided to overcompensate, using a big cat rod with a 20-pound test line for no other reason than the fact I could. Attach a treble hook, and put a bobber about three feet above the hook. Some people scoff at the usage of bobbers or floats, but they give you an idea of what the fish is doing and help you detect even the tiniest bites, especially in areas like this where fast winds can often make such observations almost impos-sible.

Fishing out west can be best

box

Fly assortment, treble hooks, King Kat Chicken Blood Catfish Bait

20 lb. test monofilament fish-ing line, Shakespeare 8 lb. test Cajun Line, floats & bobbers

Andrew Roland is a senior pub-lic administration major. Reach him at [email protected].


Night on the Town

Every Washburn student owes it to himself to travel, at least once, to Lawrence on a Friday or Saturday night to have a real night on the town.

Sure, Topeka has a couple bowling alleys, a bunch of steak houses, and a movie theater, but we are sorely missing the central elements of a fun night on the town, the ability to easily walk from bar (or whatever you’re into) to bar. Walking from the Ichabod Laundra Bar to Henry T’s doesn’t count.

Walking down Massachusetts Ave in Lawrence can be quite an experience. One has the opportunity to park, eat dinner, watch a movie, visit a bar or coffee shop, listen to a band, and get some ice cream, all by walking a few blocks. Throw in some of the locals you are likely

to encounter, and I’m sure you’ll have a few stories to bring back to your friends that spent the weekend crocheting.

While I’m not sure that I’d walk much in Topeka after dark (particularly around bars), trying to pull off this same mix of evening activities could cost $20 in gas and lots of time wasted at stoplights.

On the other hand, Lawrence’s downtown night life rivals those of larger cities, including Nashville. Nashville has an awesome local music scene, of course, but wandering around downtown in early March this spring revealed a touristy version of Lawrence.

It’s a shame that we don’t have much to offer when it comes to a downtown on the weekends or after five o’clock. To be fair, our missing downtown is the result of systemic problems in Topeka’s growth. I hope that this changes in the future, but for the time being, I’ll be sure to keep some money for turnpike fare in my car.

Mass street scene beats pub crawl between Laundra Bar and Henry T’s

by andrew roland

Summertime for David Speck is beyond busy. As the assistant director at Gar-field Community Center, he is involved in almost every aspect of the wide number of activities that the facility provides.

It is 3:30 p.m. at the time of our interview, and just a half hour before, the commu-nity center had been a much different atmosphere as kids, ranging from ages six to 12, begin going home after an entire time of summer day camp.

“It’s much quieter around here after we get most of the kids headed out for the eve-ning,” Speck said with a soft sigh.

He informs me that it is the last week of their eight-week day camp “Cool Sum-mer Camp,” and with a reg-istration fee of only $60 for the entire summer, Speck believes that it’s one of the most affordable day camps in the Topeka area. Through the Unified School District 501 summer meal program, the community center is able to feed the kids breakfast and lunch at an affordable price.

“Most day camps in Shawnee run anyway from

90 to 100 dollars per week,” he said.

For this reason, over the years “Cool Summer Camp” has become a popular pro-gram in the Topeka Com-munity. So popular, in fact, that Speck said that parents began lining up at the com-munity center doors at 6 a.m. during registration week on the last week of May.

“Some people even bring lawn chairs,” he said, “but, because we only allow for 50 day camp students, a lot of people end up being turned away. It’s one of the tougher parts, but I always hope that it gets worked out in the end and that they find another place for their kid to go.”

With the help of four ad-ditional counselors, Speck runs the camp from 9 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday. Kids have the opportunity to go to the zoo, the movies, bowling, fishing, skating and this summer they even took a pizza baking class at Old Chi-cago. Speck and the director even arrange for outside pro-grams to come and do activi-ties with the campers.

“This has been one of the most activity-filled summers and we’ve had a wonderful time,” he said. “The kids are very well-behaved.”

Since 1957 has been serv-ing the residents of North Topeka. Located at 1600 N.

Quincy, the facility lies within the historic Garfield Park. While many of the summer day activities are geared to-wards youth, the community center also offers recreation-al activities and services to adults and senior citizens.

“We have something for everyone, anything you can think of, we do,” Speck said.

Although the park is pre-paring to close until August 18 for its two week yearly maintenance, the fall season will bring with it an array of new activities including city league volleyball, wheel chair basketball and T-ball.

The Weed and Seed Or-ganization recognized Gar-field Park as a Safe Haven site for the City of Topeka. Speck hopes that the facility contin-ues to be a positive place for residents in the community to gather.

“The importance of com-munity centers like this one is that they highlight quality of life and they send youth the assurance that within these four walls, they are safe,” Speck said. “It’s a place to come and have fun instead of being out there in streets getting involved in trouble.”

by victoria ukaoma

Garfield Community Center provides fun for all ages in Topeka

Victoria is a senior social servic-es major. Reach her at [email protected].

6 The Argo July 29, 2008 July 29, 2008 The Argo 7

Photos by Josh Rouse, Washburn Review

by Paige Lockard

Paige Lockard is a junior mass media major. Reach her at [email protected].

Foreplay: For just a few bucks, a bucket of balls at the driving range can both sooth stress and be a cheap source of summertime entertainment.

...it pours

From the bat to the 9-iron: Former Washburn baseball player Bryan Lindstrom frequents Sports Center to work on his golf game. Lindstrom played baseball at WU from 1992-1993.

Summer plans vary between per-

sons, but many people are ei-ther at a camp, on vacation or doing some-

thing else ex-citing away from

home. For those who

aren’t so fortunate, the next best alter-native is to head out to the Sports Center Golf Com-lex.

This family-friendly park is located a half mile west of Wanamaker on 10th St. and in-cludes several activities to fill up the hours. The four main events where one can spend a little money for a big time are the driving range, three mini golf

courses, go-karts and batting cages.Also available to

the public is a game room with a number of games and prizes to be won. In fact, the

Sports Center can be a great place for a birthday party, as well. Behind the game room is a room reserved just for parties, and all parties can be called ahead and planned to the customer’s specifications.

Sharyl Swanson, owner of Sports Center, said she has enjoyed spending fifteen years there. She enjoys the mini golf the most out of all the activities of-fered, but says that each sport is highly popular at different times of the year.

“During baseball season, the batting cages are always busy,” said Swanson. “But each activity is like that because each is extra busy at some point during the year. The driving range is almost al-ways busy.”

Through all of her experiences there, Swanson still says that the greatest joy in working at Sports Center is found in her employees.

Those who work at Sports Center are busy either working the cash register, hosting a party, running the go-karts, selling items at the Golf Pro Shop or just making sure that every customer is having a blast and completely satisfied while there.

Sports Center also offers youth golf camps every summer and also group lessons and clinics.

“Coming here is a good alternative to seeing a movie because you’re out-side where it’s healthy,” said Swanson. “Sports Center is great for all ages.”

Swing away your summer blues

On the web: An eight-legged arachnid is the least of worries on the challenging putt-putt course at Sports Center. Some of the “signature holes” on the putting greens include an enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Kangaroo with a huge, slopping green and the one or done lighthouse on the 18th hole that can mean the difference between a prize and zilch.

Bat men: The batting cages near the driving range attracts baseball and softball players of all ages throughout the summer. It is a prime place for improving one’s skills and timing with a bat in the hand. Other features of the Sports Center include three different putt-putt courses, a golf course and a go-cart course.


Young lives ouchedby Paige Lockard

Paige Lockard is a junior mass media major. Reach her at [email protected].

For some, there is no greater expe-rience than spending a week at the reli-gious camp known as Young Life.

Such is the case for YL leader Kristin Wipf. She will be graduating from the Washburn school of nursing in Decem-ber, and has been involved with YL for six years. Two of those years were as a camper, and four of them have been as a volunteer YL leader.

According to younglife.org, “YL is a non-denominational Christian non-profit organization that is committed to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. Young Life staff and leaders are caring adults who strive to build positive rela-tionships with teenagers.”

YL is nationwide and also growing globally. In Topeka, every other Mon-day night is YL club where high school students from across the city can come hang out, be crazy, get messy and de-velop friendships.

“What’s great about YL is that it’s a ministry tool to all of Topeka and anyone is welcome,” said Wipf. “We get to hang out and build relationships with every-one who comes.”

Summer is the most important time for YL because of camp. There are sev-eral camps nationwide, and Topeka YL has gone to a few of them over the years. Right now they are at Sharp Top Cove in Jasper, Ga. Wipf is there for the fourth time.

“I went there first as a camper, sec-ond as a leader, then I stayed a month to be a summer staff worker,” said Wipf. She’s back now as a leader again with her Topeka high school girls.

Sharp Top Cove, along with other YL camps, is deep in the Georgia mountains and loaded with numerous activities. Campers scream as they pull the cord to release the giant swing, they soar over trees on the zip line and glide into the lake, and they conquer the climbing wall, climbing tower and quantum leap. The blob sends campers to the sky, the giant slides shoot them into the lake, and the mountain bike trails are a wet surprise.

This camp also contains a smoking pit, disc golf, a ropes course, a pool and

hot tub, and so much more for the camp-ers.

“Camp is a resort for high schoolers,” said Wipf. “Anything you could possibly want to do is there.”

Wipf said some of her closest mo-ments with Christ have been at camp because she was away from the distrac-tions of home. She said that there is quite a difference between YL camp and many church camps.

“I’ve been to church camps many times, and YL camp is so much differ-ent because of the freedom,” said Wipf. “There are no rules. Our friends get to be teenagers with nothing holding them back.”

Every day and night at camp is filled with surprises. There are charac-ters throughout the week that are ei-ther “good guys” or “bad guys.” Some of them try to take over the camp, some try to save the camp, and all are there to entertain.

Apart from the characters, there is always one main speaker who knows how to reach the campers.

“They use their weaknesses to reach these teens,” said Wipf. “They’re real and raw with their life experiences and have a way of connecting with the campers.”

Wipf said that her favorite part about camp is being able to spend every wak-ing moment with her girls and seeing how their lives change over the course of the week. She knows exactly what drew her to being a YL leader in the first place.

“There are many reasons I’m a YL leader,” said Wipf. “I love high school students, and I’m thankful that I can be a role model in their lives who represents Jesus Christ.”

Wipf said some try to mislead stu-dents in her opinion by telling teenagers what’s cool and what’s not.

“These high school students are continually bombarded with lies from the world shown in media that try to portray a fulfilling life,” said Wipf. “In the end, these lies lead to emptiness and dis-appointment.”

Young Life creates good experiences, strengthens bonds through Christianity

Photos courtesy of Mallory Shehi

Pope delivers hope: Pope Benedict XVI spoke to an audience of Catholics from all over the world at the World Youth Day celebrations.

Nations come together to pray in Australia, local Catholics make trip

Outbackers from up north: Members of Mother Teresa of Calcutta Church made the trip to Australia for the World Youth Day celebrations. Pope Benedict XVI sent daily text message to the members of the audience to remind them to stay vigilant with their beliefs.


Photo courtesy of http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com

‘Knight,’ Ledger performance worth all the hype

The Dark Knight

PG-13 2 hrs. 32 min.

11:40 a.m.12:201:003:003:404:256:307:007:459:45

10:20

Today’s timesHollywood 14

PRICES: Adult $8.75, Bargain Mati-nee (daily, shows before 6 pm) $7, Child (3-11) $6, Senior (62+) $6

ReAnne Utemark is a senior history major. Reach her at [email protected].

by ReAnne Utemark

‘Producers’ play presents hilarity

Okay, I’ll admit, I am a bit uncul-tured and did this whole “Producers” thing backwards – I saw the movie first. While Matthew Broderick and particularly Nathan Lane play Mel Brooks’ characters with precise comedic timing, the actors of the Topeka Civic Theatre make the com-edy something hotter than cooked books.

Brooks’ work is layered with sar-casm, Jew jokes and risqué humor that is so laden with innuendo you can’t help but giggle either uncom-fortably or because your sense of humor is as twisted as his. With masterpieces like “Young Franken-stein” and “History of the World Part I”, the Producers holds its own and the TCTA cast really brings it to life.

The story is a romp through the backstage of Broadway. Former golden Broadway producer, Max

Bialystock, has lost his luster with a series of flop productions. Leo Bloom, the jumpy, mousy accoun-tant who comes along to do his books happens to notice that a pro-ducer could make more money with a flop than with a hit. Off the story goes as Max and Leo become part-ners and find the worst script in the

world, “Springtime for Hitler,” and the worst director in the world, the over-the-top Roger DeBris,

and set out to make the worst show in history. Max raises the money by, ahem, schtupping every little old lady in New York and Leo fixes the books. Hilarity ensues as “Spring-time for Hitler” is a hit and Max and Leo slapstick their way through it.

Robb Baker and Les Smith shine particularly brightly as Max and Leo, and their energy is amazing throughout the entire show. They are two among many standout

I expected to walk into “The Dark Knight” and see Christian Bale brood-ing around, beating up on people and a lot of explosions. Frankly, I wasn’t excited to see it. Then, when a 9:45 show was sold out, and the line stretched to the back of the movie house to get into the theatre and get seats, I was even more annoyed – but, we were the first ones in line for the 10:20 show. Then people kept talking during the long stream of previews and throwing popcorn, one of those theatre experiences that can make you want to rent movies for the rest of your life.

“The Dark Knight” made it all worth it.

Everything was so perfectly bal-anced, which is strange for a super-hero movie the fight scenes, the love scenes and the scheming scenes. The movie never dragged, and in the entire two and a half hours, I didn’t look at my watch once. Batman, played by Christian Bale, is, of course, the Dark Knight and is introduced to

Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckert, the new District Attorney of Gotham City. Dent can put away criminals a legal way, whereas Batman puts them away by beating them to a pulp, but never killing them. Eventually, the Joker, played by the late Heath Led-ger, manages to turn everything on its head in an attempt to “kill the Bat-man.” Dent is a white knight in shin-ing armor, whereas Batman is a dark knight and only has the loyalty of half the city.

Bale serves his purpose: he is a calm but conflicted protector of Gotham and looks great in the batsuit. Eckert takes an interesting turn from “Thank You For Smoking.” However, the real star of the show is Leger. I didn’t ex-pect the Joker to make an impact on the audience. He is a bad guy; not supposed to be anyone of note or turn in any special performances oth-er than the average bad guy. Ledger plays the Joker in a special, insane, maniacal way that is hardly describ-able. It takes a special kind of actor to play evil and vulnerable and weird in such a way that is believable and more than a little frightening. Ledger

was not Heath Ledger playing the Joker, Ledger became the Joker and one wonders what he could have ac-complished as an actor.

In any case, “The Dark Knight” changed my tune about the new

Batman franchise and, coupled with “Iron Man,” I might just start liking su-perhero movies.

by ReAnne Utemark

ReAnne Utemark is a senior history major. Reach her at [email protected].

performances, including Washburn graduate Greg Krumins as Franz Liebkind, the Nazi straggler with car-rier pigeons and author of “Spring-time for Hitler.” Also, Michael Hagen and Michael Dieker as DeBris and his common law assistant, Carmen Ghia are absolutely hilarious and don’t hold anything back from their cartoonish characters.

This was my first show at the To-peka Civic Theatre and Academy and I was not disappointed. Indeed, I am excited for the entire season and will be a regular.

Oh, and the show was much better than the movie.

TOPEKACIVIC

THEATRE


Entertainment Calendar

The Boobie Trap1417 SW 6th Ave.Down Under Lounge3810 SW Topeka Blvd.Lazio’s 2111 SW Belle Ave. Celtic Fox118 SW 8th Ave.Zax Sports Pub and Grill520 NW Elm Row Ave.Uncle Bo’s At the Topeka Ramada420 SE 6thBullfrogs Live4115 SW Huntoon St.Topeka Civic Theatre3028 SW 8th Ave.Kansas ExpocentreOne Expocentre DriveLas Fuentes3656 SW Topeka Blvd., 4109 SW Gage Center

Where to go

Painkiller’s ka-•raoke, all day.Celtic Fox •karaoke, 7 - 11 p.m.

July30

Marshall’s •Civic Band, 7:30 p.m., Gage Park.MacDaddy’s •Texas Hold ‘Em, 7 - 10 p.m.Down Under •Lounge open jam session.

31

augustSundown Film •Fesival, Kansas State Historial Society, show-ing “Paper Moon” at sun-down.

1

Brad Paisley, •Sprint Center, 7:30 p.m. Visit ticketmaster.com for tick-ets.

Cute Is What •We Aim For, Beaumont Club, Kansas City, 7 p.m.

6

Linkin Park, •Verizon Wire-less Ampithe-ater, 2 p.m.

13Jack Johnson, •Verizon Wire-less Ampithe-ater, 7 p.m.

15

The Grape •Escape - 11th Annual Wine and Food Fes-tival, Topeka Performing Arts Center. Call (785) 234 - 4545 for ticket info, or visit www.tpactix.org/GrapeEs-cape.html.

1

Topeka Farm-•er’s Market, 7:30 - Noon, located at the corner of 10th and Topeka. The Farmer’s Market runs every Saturday through October.

2

Photo courtesy of www.cuteiswhatweaimfor.com

Photo by Melissa Treolo, Washburn Review


sudoku

No peeking - answers

crossword and

How to play Sudoku: Enter the digits 1 through 9 into each 3-by-3 cell so that each row and column contains 1 through 9.

THE Daily Crossword Edited by Wayne Robert Williams

FOR RELEASE APRIL 22, 2008

ACROSS1 High-fives6 Came down

with9 Allied

14 Israeli port15 Nautical

swerve16 Loan-sharking17 "The Taming of

the Shrew" city18 Greek letter19 Hold

responsible20 Part of a dinner

order23 Sara and

Farrow24 Periphery25 Toy shooters28 Herring's

cousin30 Part of a play33 Lena of

"Chocolat"34 The ones here35 Prohibitionist36 Part of a dinner

order40 Naughty41 Recesses42 If all __ fails...43 Hog haven44 Milanese eight45 Accent47 Well-suited48 Jack of talk

shows49 Part of a dinner

order57 Arctic or Indian58 Newspaper

honchos, briefly59 Govt. security60 Form61 Stooge name62 "A Delicate

Balance"playwright

63 Key-stroked64 Over the hill65 Stitch anew

DOWN1 Numidian

serpent2 Neeson of

"...ThePhantomMenace"

3 "M*A*S*H" starAlan

4 "Scarface" star5 Dictator born in

Georgia6 Greek

sandwiches7 Pearl Harbor's

island8 Tango teams9 Falls to the

bottom10 Muhammad's

religion11 Binary12 Columnist

Bombeck13 Recolored21 Embodies22 Clear, as a disk25 Lead balloons26 Sound

sheepish27 Lightheaded28 Military hat29 Towel ID30 Designer

Simpson31 Boorish32 Little ones

34 Jogging pace37 Intact38 Words to

remember39 Very poor45 __ Miguel, CA46 Kind of sauce47 Yawning48 Put forward

49 Clueless50 In need of a

massage51 Harvest52 "Finding __"53 Revered figure54 Penpoints55 Happiness56 Passel


Volunteer hour: The University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium is just one of more than a hundred authentic stadiums featured in “NCAA Football ‘09”


Photos courtesy of www.easports.com/ncaa09

‘NCAA Football’ game thrills fans despite glitches, Lee Corso

by Josh Rouse

The coach calls in the play, and the quarterback breaks the huddle. The defense makes hurried adjustments, trying to line up correctly before the ball is snapped. Linebackers yell blitz assignments and the defensive backs change their coverage. The quarterback watches the defensive line calmly, like a general surveying the battlefield, looking for a weak-ness. He begins his cadence, hoping to catch someone off guard, and a defensive tackle takes his bait. The center snaps the ball, then slams into the unfortunate lineman with bone-crushing force as the quarterback takes three steps back and launches the pigskin to a wide-open receiver for the win. The crowd goes wild!

Scenes like this should be familiar to those who have purchased the re-cently released edition of EA Sports’ “NCAA Football ‘09,” thanks to a more advanced artificial intelligence that makes 80-point blowouts a thing of the past. Even the varsity difficult level, which is the default setting, is a challenge for gamers in the begin-ning.

However, behind the flashy facade of one-point nail-biters that can be

won or lost by a kickers’ confidence in the clutch, an array of glitches puts a damper on an otherwise excellent game.

Some glitches that I’ve experienced so far while playing the game are plays being overturned when they shouldn’t be overturned, such as an interception by a defender while standing up straight being called an incompletion by the booth, as well as various graphical glitches, one of which included a defensive player magically teleporting out of the way of an oncoming runningback and opening up a hole for a 20-yard gain.

Putting aside the annoy-ing glitches, the game ex-perience is both exciting and authentic, although several excellent scenes have been cut from the pre-game festivities and the coin-flip. Of course, Lee Corso is still one of the “analysts,” so listen-ing to him say the same recycled lines from three or four years ago gets old. The one good thing about the virtual version of Lee Corso is that he doesn’t say KU will lose every game,

though they are grossly underrated as a team.

EA Sports has always been known for certain biases when it comes to rating teams, and this year is no dif-ferent. One of the largest controver-sies, especially in this region, is how Kansas got rated as 77 overall, while Missouri got rated in the 90’s with a defensive rating also in the 90’s. I’ve even talked to Missouri fans who ad-mitted that Kansas got dissed by EA, and that a 90+ defensive rating for Missouri is generous to say the least, but the good thing about EA Sports

games is that players skills can be manually adjusted to make up for their incompetence.

The franchise mode is deep this year, with a drastically different style of recruiting than in years past. Rather

than assigning a certain percentage of time to each re-cruit, you are now given a time limit each week that you can spend on the phone with recruits.

You can use this time to offer scholarships,

converse over different talk-ing points, set up a visit and

find out what the recruit is interested in. However, after so much talking the recruit will begin to get tiresome and eventually will hang up on you. A smiley face located in the northeast corner of the screen will give you an idea of how much longer you can talk. The best way to turn the recruit’s frown upside down is to talk about the subjects they are most interested in, especially if your school can offer the best in that area.

Overall, the game has some new features that are revolutionary to sports gaming. However, a lot of ex-cellent features from the past were deleted to make space for the new ones. For next year’s version, EA Sports would be wise to bring back a majority of the features from “NCAA Football ‘06,” along with some of the better ones from this year and what-ever new developments they come up with. Also, ditching Lee Corso for some fresh talent wouldn’t hurt.

Documents

2009-10 issue argosummer2008