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THE CARL EIGHTH WEEK NOV 7, 2008EXECUTIVE EDITORSGreg HunterAlex SciutoDan Sugarman

EXECUTIVE COPYEDITORBeatrice White

DOORMAT EDITORSMatt PiehStephen Gee

FEATURE EDITORDaniella De Franco

ARTS & LIT EDITORSasha Korobova

CINEMA EDITORSAndreas StoehrAndrew Tatge

CARTOONS EDITORShilpa Rao

COUNTDOWN EDITORSMax BearakFrank Firke

STAFF WRITERS ANDILLLUSTRATORSKristen AspNarula Bilik

Jacob CanfieldStephanie GuerreroClare JonesKelly O’BrienAnne O’GaraJenna MacKrellErinrose MagerCaitlin MagnussonAnushka PatelEmily RuffLindsey ShaughnessyKelley Stevens

COPY STAFFMax BearakFrank Firke

COVER ILLUSTRATIONGreg Hunter

EXECUTIVE EDITOR INABSENTIATom Fry

SPECIAL THANKSCannon Valley PrintingDominos PizzaGabe Silberblatt

FUN & GAMES, MUSIC,PERFORMANCES ANDSOCIETY SECTIONSSUPERVISED BY EXEC-UTIVE EDITORS

EDITORS’ NOTE

The Carl was established in 1999 as TheCarletonian’s biweekly arts and culture supplement.It is published the Friday of second, fourth, sixth andeighth week.

Please send all inquiries, letters-to-the-editor, carepackages, etc. to:

The Carl / Carletonian OfficeSayles 210300 North College StreetNorthfield, MN 55057all.things.carl@gmail.com

CARLMAGAZINE.COM

Well, the results are in, and never againwill there be any doubt that a hip-hop star canbe projected via hologram to communicatewith Anderson Cooper. Seriously though, we’reelated about the election, and we hope you aretoo. In this issue’s feature, Daniella De Francotreats readers to her election night experiencecrashing Twin Cities Democrat and Republicanparty, um, parties. It’s a story of high emo-tions, of camaraderie and transgression, and itexplains how Daniella got the bomb ass faux-hockey puck seen above. (And onCarlMagazine.com, we even have our own takeon John McCain’s “Mac is Back” election dayvideo. Check it out, and help make it a viralsensation before people forget what we’re par-odying.)

This issue isn’t all election recap, mind

you; Kristen Asp’s contribution to Fun &Games is about the Halloween Concert, andMatt Pieh reminds us about everythingCarleton has lost over the past year, so we’relooking backward in all kinds of different andinteresting ways. Maybe this issue of The Carlwill even encourage you to take stock of yourlife, or at least put “The Thong Song” on, andthink about the “Mac is Back” parody youmight have made if things had been a littledifferent. To paraphrase a great Minnesotan,we’re beating on, boats against the current,borne back ceaselessy into making jokes aboutSisqó.

- Greg Hunter, on behalf of the ExecutiveEditors

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THE TOP FIVE

Ways We Influenced the Election

1. Voter intimidation.

2. Redirecting elderly voters to the old Middle School.

3. Voting for Joseph F. Wieners (District Court 21).

4. Blogging gaffes.

5. Turning the Straight Talk Express into a DUCK BUS.

Biden in the White House!!!

Will.i.am hologramtechnology

Saturday Sundae BarReturns... on a Sunday?

Writing Portfolio Grader #30,still anonymous

dTHE SCHILLOMETER

THE PHOTO POLL

Quail hunting with Joe Biden.—Alsa Bruno ‘12

She could model those gorgeousglasses on SNL.

—Michelle Deeter ‘09

Beauty Queen Champion.—Nate Stewart ‘10

Who?—Steve Merry ‘10

House mom.—Viviane Clement ‘12

She’ll be a figurehead forwomen’s advancement in politics.

—Sarah Paton ‘10

What’s next for Sarah Palin?

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R.I.P.by Matt Pieh

Peter Tork Memorial Pinball Area

Sodexho“Home cooking” is gone.Taking food out of thedining hall is gone. Thegood ice cream is gone.Stir crazy is gone. All-day waffles are gone.You are missed.

The PenisWhat is left to say? A treasuredmember of Carleton has beendestroyed, but not forgotten. Allwe have now is the memories.

Equine OutfittersHow could this businesspossibly fail??? Was it thepenis’ fault? Was it intimi-dating equine customers asthey crossed Division?

Vinayak GraffitiThis term, Carleton’s adminis-tration has sought to destroythe Vinayak graffiti tradition.Bathroom stalls have beenpainted, and repainted, butwe’re not done yet. This is acall to action. Pick up yourpens, and put your creativityto work at all points in yourday. In the words of one Carl,“Long Live Vinayak.“

Before IKEA set up shop in Upper Sayles, thisarcade, and the adjacent Peter Tork MemorialSmoking Lounge (the computer lab) entertainedthousands of Carls. We will always miss PoliceTrainer, Hotdog Storm and the original Mario.

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The Carl Guide to CoolI recently realized that all my earlier advice may have been given in vain. Formonths I’ve been suggesting picking out that “cool” guy or girl, but I had neverconsidered the fact that you may not be able to do so unless you feel suffi-ciently cool yourself. Some people are born cool, some are made so, and some–you guessed it–have it thrust upon them. Birth is done, and some of you arealready cool, so all I can do is propose an easy method to become cool; a self-help guide if you will. Use it efficiently, use it wisely and act quickly, becausethe term is drawing to a close. by Sasha Korobova

STEP 1: ADJUSTING YOUR IMAGE

GUYSThe trick tospend as littletime puttingyourself togeth-er as possible.Even taking ashower in themorning may betrying too hard.Shaving? Do itonce a month,if you must.Thinking aboutwhat color shirt you should wear? You may aswell stop trying now. Cool guys don’t have timefor these pointless considerations. In fact, Ihighly suggest ridding your closet (or, betteryet, a box of clothes) of any items with buttons– if you have to unbutton to wear, you’ve justtried too hard. We all know that the only realway to be cool is to be a manly-man.

GIRLSYour life is slightly harder. Even if you go forthe disheveled look, you have to plan it care-fully. Next time you are putting your hair up ina bun, don’t just tie it up; leave a few strandsout and artfully arrange them to string from dif-ferent parts of your head. This way you willachieve two goals at once: looking “natural,”yet like you still tried. The same goes forclothes. If you want to draw attention to your-self, take time to carefully mismatch your col-ors: brown shirt, purple pants, red shoes, and ayellow scarf to match. No guy will be able topass up your get-up.

STEP 2: SELECTING YOUR POSSE

GUYSAll girls thinkit’s cool thatyou havefriends, since itmeans thatsome peopleactually likeyou, so have agroup, or at thevery least pre-tend to. Themost importantthing that youcan do is create the illusion of closeness,whether it exists or not. Relentlessly boast ofthe tightness of you and the bros. Tell all thegirls about the last time you and your matesdrank on the roof of Boliou on a Tuesday night.Laugh loudly about how all of you stole yourroommates’ backpack’s for a week. But, what-ever you do, never actually hang out with yourfriends in public, nor sit with them at thelibrary, nor show up with them in Sayles. Thisway, everyone will know how totally cool youand your mates are, but you will never have toverify what you did, or that you actually havefriends to begin with.

GIRLSAgain, your job is slightly different – you shouldprobably actually have some friends. In fact,you should have several close girlfriends withwhom you spent 80 to 90 percent of your visi-ble time. This way you will seem cool, social,not-awkward, etc. However, you have to be ableto strategically ditch them. Excellent opportu-nities to do so: a senior party, a Sayles dance,or any time a cool guy walks by. In other words,you need to be available, but in a calculated,advantageous way.

STEP 3: TALKING THE TALK

GUYSYour task is toappear to bek n o w l e d g e -able, becausefor guys, hav-ing a brain isoften associat-ed with beingthoughtful andsoulful –killing severalbirds with onestone. You canbe a totaldouchebag, but as long as you can tell a girlthat you’re obsessed with Picasso, Mozart orSylvia Plath, you’re good to go. The more pre-tentious you sound, the cooler you will seem.Plus, most girls will think you’re really multi-faceted if you can alternate between quotingKafka and describing your latest drunken stu-por in the same conversation.

GIRLSThe goal is to constantly express utter fascina-tion in everything everyone says, regardless ofwhether they are talking about their favoritevacation spot or their roommates sleepingschedules. In either case, appearing interestedis all you need for everyone to love you. It does-n’t matter if you’re actually listening to people,in fact, after a time you will acquire the skill ofasking question about subjects, even if you didnot follow a word of what someone said to you.This way, cool guys can talk and talk and talk,and you can still plan your next history paper inyour head, yet appear totally engaged and inter-ested, or, in other words cool.

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ON THE STREET... NORTHFIELD, MNELECTION DAY EDITION by Erinrose Mager and Lindsey Shaughnessy

There is absolutely nothing new to reportabout Halloween at the Concert Hall. So, peo-ple got in their costumes, got a little wasted,altered their costumes to fit in with their truedrunken intentions, left behind any sober inhi-bitions and tramped their way to the concerthall. Here is where the true advantage of oncampus housing lies; making it down Divisionin a sexy costume takes an extreme amount ofconfidence.

Maybe I missed an important introduction,but I was lost on entire the format of the con-test. Nobody seemed to be on the stage at theright time, and it was impossible to hear any-thing. I think we all can agree that clapping is

a terrible way to measure anything. Whoeverstarted this, like, in history, should take ahard look at their life, and what they’ve doneto rec rooms across the country. Despite this,Brandon Walker and Danielle Sumita wereable to pick a winner, and that winner may ormay not have gotten a prize—I’m seriouslyfuzzy on all the particulars of this thing. Youwere all there; fill in the details.

Endearing? Yeah, I think endearing is theright word to describe the costume contest.Sitting in the Concert Hall isn’t usually onanyone’s agenda for a fun Friday night, butsomething about reverting to middle school fora few hours keeps Halloween relevant. Sure,

you’ll see a few pretentious costumes, but forthe most part Carleton puts forward a prettyegalitarian and idiotic front on Halloween.Having fun in a room full of veritable strangersis not an easy task at Carleton—case in point,every Sayles dance—and Halloween does thatfor a lot of people. Final verdict: All the cos-tumed revelry of Heaven & Hell without therisk of contact infection.

Party locale to watch: Eighth and Division.The party on Nov. 1 was one of the most funall term, and nobody is more surprised thanme. They had it all: multi-colored strobe light,Beirut, inexplicably cross-clique attendanceand most importantly, the cutest kitty.

PARTY BRIEFS by Anne O’Gara

Quid pro quo, pastry dough, JamesMonroe, little toe, apropos, I don'tknow. Montero.

Girls like this smile when you cat-callthem at the polls, and you think toyourself, "God Bless America."

Minnesota State Rep. David Bly,District 25B says, "Hi, I'm MinnesotaState Rep. David Bly, District 25B."

When you meet a man who carries alaminated Newsweek cover featuringSarah Palin's visage, you can be prettysure he's either a Republican or aDemocrat.

Biking is faster than walking but slowerthan driving.

81% reporting that these men arebetween three and eight feet tall.

When you meet someone whose drink isbigger than her book, you know she'llhave to use the restroom before she fin-ishes her book.

These are laughin' hats!

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7:54 AM My five year-old nephewDaniel in Ohio calls predicting anObama win. “Why do you thinkhe’s going to win?” I ask groggily,sitting up in bed. “Because thereare Obama signs everywhere!” heexclaims.

5:04 PM Run-in with the electionjudge at the First United Churchof Christ in Northfield. I decidedto snap some pictures of the voting booths(apparently this is illegal because I don’t have“media credentials”). Hat tip to Evan Rowe’09 for telling me to bring my Onecard to vote.

6:15 PM My Media & American Politics classeats Obama and McCain cake before headingout to the Minnesota DFL and Republican par-ties tonight.

7:19 PM We leave Northfield for theRepublican celebration at a Sheraton inBloomington.

8:20 PM “In the words of Paul Wellstone, I’m aDemocrat from the Democratic wing ofDemocratic party,” says Samir Blaha ’12 as he

mingles with a who’s who of Minnesota conser-vatives. Samir gives me a historical analysis ofDemocratic wins since Johnson as we watchmaps being colored in on giant projectors.

8:25 PM I get a press pass from the Republicanparty media coordinator. They are being hand-

ed out like candy. Ifonly I had one earlierin the day.

8:27 PM I crash theMichelle Bachmannparty. There arechicken wings galore.We steal lots of swagfrom various tables,including stress-

relieving hockey pucks emblazoned with SarahPalin’s likeness (“Minnesota is Wild aboutSarah!”).

8:32 PM Overheard atthe Sheraton: “Theybelieve in thedumbest things.Idiots of theUnitedStates!”Unclearwhether thisis in refer-ence toDemocrats orRepublicans.

8:40 PM CNNcalls Ohio forObama. “I’m justgonna start drinkingnow!” exclaims a youngRepublican standing next to me.

8:55 PM The hotel staff informs me thatthere’s a private party on the 20th floor that I

should check out. “Your boy over there is get-ting killed!” yells hotel manager Willie Mosesto Glady, a banquet captain. Willie and Gladydebate over howthe election andthe party at thehotel couldunfold. “3%doesn’t mean any-thing!” shoutsGladys.

9:02 PM Girl 1,wearing at leastfifty Colemanbumper stickerson her body: “Ilook like ap a t r i o t i cw o m a n ! ”Girl 2: “You look like a freak!” Theyare about nine years old.

9:15 PM Political science ProfessorBarbara Allen, sporting blue streak inher hair, analyzes the polling models.We wonder why Florida is orange onthe map.

9:24 PM I am interviewed by KaitlynOpeerman, a Macalester freshman on the samemission as me tonight. “Republicans atMacalester feel oppressed,” she says, notingthat she knows several students who havetransferred away due to perceived politicalbias.

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9:30 PM Bachmann’s up big. We notice a gag-gle of reporters rushing behind a mystery man.Who is this unknown maverick? Jordan Smith’10 asks a photographer who the man is. “Idon’t know,” she responds, “I’m just followingthe crowd!” After much deliberation and shov-ing, it is later discovered to be U.S.Representative Eric Paulsen, who has just wonhis race.

9:35 PM Toni Randolph, a Minnesota PublicRadio reporter, talks about covering politics. “Iput my own feelings to the side. It’s not aboutwhat I think. If I have some knowledge aboutan issue, though, I ask more informed ques-tions. But it’s not about playing gotcha,”Randolph says. Armed with six MacBooks, sheand the MPR crew are waiting for Senator NormColeman’s arrival and hoping for an early end tothe night.

9: 40 PM We catch the bus to the Democraticparty in downtown St. Paul. The freshmenbehind me are doublefisting rum and MonsterEnergy drink. One of them claims to have been

interviewed on KARE-11 while approachingblackout stages of drunkenness.

9:46 PM Will the Democrats share the wealthand have an open bar at their party? NormColeman’s height is discussed on the bus.

10:01 PM Barack Obama is president-electof the United States. As we walk into the

Crowne Plaza Hotel inSt. Paul, the crowderupts in a chant of“Yes, we can!”

10:14 PM Upstairs in aballroom blanketed withObama posters, an olderman spontaneously hugsme. “You look young!I’m sixty. I started outlicking stamps forMcGovern and I justhave to tell you, this isthe highest you will everbe politically!” Obama’scampaign tune “Signed,Sealed, Delivered” startsplaying as reporters fren-ziedly run around snappingpictures of the embraces,

kisses and tears in the room.

10:16 PM John McCain concedes, deliveringhis speech in an unexpectedly soothing voice.The crowd assembled in St. Paul claps until thecrowd in Arizona starts cheering for McCain.“McCain, McCain!” “Yes, we can! Yes, wecan!” A woman standing beside me quietlywhispers: “They can’t hear us.” Red and bluestate images drift into my mind. Watching thecrowd shout at the television screen in unisonis surreal.

10:50 PM “Don’t Stop Believin’” is played.The floor of the ballroom quakes. Theplaylist and the atmosphere start to resem-ble a Sayles dance.

10:51 PM Obama finally appears on-screen, to roaring applause of the crowdgathered in St. Paul. Loud cheers eruptwhen he promises his daughters a FirstPuppy, but the floor rolls under the crowdwhen Obama proclaims that in America,“our destiny is inextricably linked, thattogether our dreams can be one.”

11:15 PM The polls showing a tie at 42%,Al Franken promises to keep fighting in his

race against incumbent Norm Coleman. Laterthat night, a recount is promised.

11:25 PM Political science Professor GregMarfleet steps out to smoke a celebratory cigar,but is interrupted by the arrival of theNorthfield Lines bus.

12:05 AM We drive by a sign advertising gas for$1.99 a gallon. People on the bus freak out.“It’s a new era!”

12:25 AM Strains of the “Star-SpangledBanner” are heard on the bus.

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The musical event of the Carleton term tookplace this past weekend at The Cave. LocalFest, envisioned and expertly carried out byKRLX Music Director and Cave Master BookerMichael Mintz, featured an impressive lineup offive diverse bands from the Twin Cities inde-pendent music community. The live perform-ances were simultaneously broadcast over theKRLX airwaves, thanks to the recent reestab-lishment of the “Cave link” (Kudos, R.F.Engineer Jason Lee!). In between musical sets,Mintz conducted brief, always entertaininginterviews with each musical group. There wasnever a dull moment at Local Fest, whichshould become an annual tradition. An eventlike this can only help to further establish TheCave as a legitimate extension of the inventiveTwin Cities music scene.

The first band to perform was The Vignettes,a raw, garage rock-inspired trio. The groupplayed a high-energy 30-minute set, alternatingfemale members on a three-piece drum kit. Theband is in the same vein of group like TimesNew Viking and is definitely worth checkingout. Second to play were the badass chicks ofKitten Forever. Kitten Forever are spawn of theearly nineties riot grrrl community (though thelead singer also bare an uncanny resemblanceto Beth Ditto of the Gossip) and played a setthat brought audience members to their feet.The band features only a bassist and a drum-mer, which made for a propulsive, minimalistsound.

MC/VL were next, performing their sample-laden old-school hip-hop on wireless micro-phones outside the Cave. The duo pepperedtheir performance with several crazy antics,including dumping garage on themselves andrunning in and around the Margie Evans hall-ways. Unicorn Basement (Guild Ridden Poplabelmates with Northfield’s own Gospel

Gossip) played next and a highlight of thenight. Members Max Clark and Deanna Steegecombine a punk attitude with cheesy electroni-ca to create an intense, unforgettable liveshow. The group set up on the floor of TheCave, and Clark contorted himself next to audi-ence members while yelping self-deprecatinglyrics.

Last to perform were Baby Guts, a trio thatperforms taut, old-fashioned punk rock. Earlyin their set, Baby Guts’ drummer cut his knuck-le on account of his rapid pace, but seniorKatie Berringer came to the rescue with herFirst Aid prowess. Berringer adorned a latexglove while applying rubbing alcohol and anadhesive bandage. Baby Guts then closed outthe truly fantastic evening with a set that,though shortened due to injury, was still mem-orable.

One impressive aspect of the night was theencouragement and support the bands showedto each other. When not performing, Local Festmusicians would stand in the audience pitsinging along with their South Minneapoliscomrades and dancing enthusiastically.Unfortunately, the same cannot be said ofCarleton students. Despite a ubiquitous promo-tional campaign by Mintz that included multi-ple posts on the KRLX website, informationaladvertisements recorded for the KRLX airwaves,and a blanketing of the Carleton campus inposters, a meager audience showed up for theevent. Because KRLX is the largest studentorganization on campus and The Cave has over200 fans on Facebook, this underwhelmingturnout was mystifying, the only lamentableaspect of the evening. It’s unclear whataccounts for the disconnect, but if a similarevent happens again (as it most definitelyshould), let’s hope for a larger audience.

LOCAL

by Nicole Feldman

FEST2008

The Twin Cities’ hottestmusicians play to acrowd of the Twin Cities’hottest musicians

In his newest album, Gossip in the Grain,Ray LaMontagne digs deep into the soil ofAmericana, uprooting the music and moderniz-ing it with his smooth but raspy voice. The NewHampshire-born singer-songwriter bringsnuance to his simple songs through a roused-hushed vocal dynamic, horn playing, guitartwanging, and the hint of a woman’s voicesinging some backup vocals. The power of hisself-taught vocal style, along with the wayLaMontagne’s unique fusion of styles fromrhythm and blues to folk, make the albumworth a close listen.

Listeners will swoon to romantic lamentslike “Winter Birds” and “A Falling Through”,even as the uplifting, danceable soul of theopener “You Are The Best Thing” is still intheir memory. “Meg White”, an affectionateode to the White Stripes drummer, even revealssomething about LaMontagne that’s hard tofind in the other tracks: a sense of humor. Astandout song, “Hey Me, Hey Mama”, is a loos-ened-up, bluesy number that also shows thealbum has a lighter side. Even if LaMontagne’sGossip in the Grain is sometimes too serious ortoo self-conscious, it’s undeniable that eachtrack, like “Hey Me, Hey Mama” has its owninnovative resonance.

Gossip in theGrain: New SongsFrom Old Dirtby Lisa Plucinski

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by Emily RuffLizards and Life on Land: A Preview of Seascape

It was Sunday. I was hung-over and avoid-ing homework like the plague, so I decided tobrave the first snowfall (my first snowfall ever!Omgz!) and see The Living, a play about theBlack Death. Okay, I’ll admit my knowledge offourteenth century bacterial pandemics (thankyou, Wikipedia) was limited, but I’d never letthat stop me before. It being my first foray intoCarleton, I was mildly excited but half-expect-ing a pedestrian, melodramatic show. I wasproven wrong, however, down to the lack ofintermission refreshments (a staple high schoolconsolation prize for sub-par theatre).

A general overview of The Living, for thoseunable to attend: people begin to die from mys-terious flesh-eating disease, the governmentfreaks out, more people die, the governmentdecrees a bunch of absurd laws to stop themayhem, people start to stand up to The Man,The Man eventually gets pwned, but it doesn’tmatter because everyone dies anyways in afutile attempt to stop the obvious ass-kickingthat God is sending their way. The set was sim-ple yet effective, allowing for ambiguous shiftsin time and setting and giving the viewer someimaginative freedom (I also picked up on theobvious social allegory disguised in the fester-

ing boils…s o m e t h i n gabout accept-ing those withp o t e n t i a l l ygenocidal dis-eases). I’llkeep that inmind the nexttime I’m feel-ing particular-ly intolerant.

The firsthalf of theshow wasmainly plot development to the max, which wastedious but necessary for the magic that wasthe second half. Hands down, this latter halfwas where the real grade A beef of the showgrazed. (Yes, I just made an off-hand cowmetaphor. Get over it.) Lilianna Dominguez wasnothing short of phenomenal as SarahChandler, evoking heart-wrenching sympathyfrom an otherwise indifferent audience, i.e.yours truly. Kai Knutson’s partial nudity wasstraight up sensational; the phrase sexual heal-ing comes to mind. Jonathan Figueroa and

Rachel Linder made me proud to be a 2012-er,and Chasya Hill’s thoughtful portrayal of thevoice of reason really pulled the story together,especially for those who know more about con-structing the perfect snack bar burrito thanbacterial pandemics. I left Arena Theatre twohours later with a sizeable amount of evokedemotion, less ignorant about the dangers ofgerms, and ready for the aforementioned com-plimentary refreshment. Actually, if there isone thing I learned, it’s that watching peoplewith large pustules die horribly painful deathskinda gives me the munchies.

The show going up in Nourse Little Theaterthis weekend is Edward Albee’s Seascape. Thefact that it’s a comps show should be reasonenough to go see it, but if you’re still not con-vinced, here’s a little preview.

The Carleton Theater major’s comprehensiveexercise requires a student to either direct oract in a show. (It’s a unique assignment, whenyou think about it. I can’t think of any otherdepartment in which the comps is a., some-thing a student would probably have done any-way, or b., a highly collaborative project onwhich only one person involved is being graded.But I digress.) Comps shows usually set thestandard for student-produced theater. Thecast and crew have the fear of God put intothem; the show that they’re working on has tobe a good show. Everyone throws themselvesinto the production. They’ve certainly thrownthemselves into Seascape.Seascape, winner of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize,

is a witty drama about how we face the changeslife requires of us. It’s a beautiful and beauti-

fully crafted story. The action centers aroundNancy and Charlie (played by Annelise Lawson’09 and Jared Evans ’10), an older couple whoare spending a day at the beach talking about

their plansf o rr e t i r e -ment.

Charlie is nervous and tiredand wants to rest, but Nancy wants to see theworld and enjoy the wonder and beauty of it.The argument is getting really heated whensuddenly they are interrupted by two giant sea

lizards, Sarah and Leslie (Kristen Johnson ’10and Teddy Wolff ’10). The ensuing conversationforces Nancy and Charlie to reexamine thingsthey’ve taken for granted, and the questionbecomes whether life on land is worth it andwhere the meaning comes from.

If you haven’t seen this cast or its crew ina while, it’s because they’ve been working theirasses off. The play is directed by Alex Higgin-Houser ’10, a veteran director who has madesure his cast knows this play backwards andforwards; they’ve analyzed the script as a pieceof literature to find the layers and subtleties.The actors have also paid much attention toworking together as an ensemble, not simplyreading lines but really communicating. Thelights, sound, costuming, and set are all verywell done, as well.

This is sure to be an excellent show, allaround, and definitely worth seeing. If you’replanning on coming, it’s going up Thursday,Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm, and I’d makereservations.

by Kelly O’Brien

The Living is Diseased,Grade-A Theatre

Cast members Bill White and Kai Knutson face off backstage. Photo by Stephanie Guerrero.

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From Miley Cyrus to Michael Jackson, thisfall’s Ebony performances truly ran the popgamut, and the dances were performed inseamless synchrony. With Sayles packed to thebrim, the show was greatly enhanced bycrowds, which was. The Carl spoke with RoryCollins, one of the four directors of Ebony,about how the fall show, in all its freshness anddramatized emotion, came together.

C: Ebony's touted as the fun activity to do everyterm. So, as a director, is it a goal to educatepeople in the art of dance as well as encouragethe fun of the performance?

R: Yes, as much as we promote Ebony as a funactivity, we also want to educate people aboutdance as an art form. That is why we try to offera wide selection of dance styles every term andwhy we try to give as many people as possiblethe opportunity to choreograph and teach adance.

C: What does dance mean to you, personally?

R: Dance at Carleton is on one hand a way forme to relax and socialize, and on the otherhand an opportunity for me to choreograph andteach dances. I really enjoy the challenge of

making a dance, and the process is all the bet-ter when I know I'm going to be teaching it to agroup of excited and supportive Ebony dancers.

C: Would you consider dance, as an art form, atool for social change?

R: Yes, I believe that dance can deliver verypowerful messages. What other art form is morephysical or visceral than dance? Although mostEbony dances do not tackle difficult themes,there is no reason why they couldn't, or why adance with a serious theme couldn't also behumorous.

C: How did the Fall Ebony match up to yourexpectations?

R: This Fall Ebony was fantastic. We had agreat line-up of dances, the show ran smoothly,and the audience was very enthusiastic.

C: Tell us a few fun facts about the show thatonly behind-the-sceners would know of.

R: Before every Ebony performance, the entiregroup gathers backstage for a last-minute peptalk from the directors. We always end the peptalk by singing "We Are Ebony."

How does Ebonycome together?

by Anushka Patel

Photos by Kelley Stevens

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This week, I got an opportunity to view, andtalk about an exhibit put together by ProfessorRoger Paas: Songs of the Great War: AnExhibition to Commemorate the 90thAnniversary of the World War I Armistice. Thisexhibit, currently on display at the library, is acollection, primarily of sheet music, which doc-uments America’s attitudes towards the warfrom its very beginning in 1914, to its end in1919. The exhibit displays the sheet musiccovers, which are lithographic illustrations ofthe lyrics and ideas of the songs themselves.Some lyrics are available for most of the piecesof music. In addition to the sheet music, thecollection contains war postcards, posters, filmadvertisements, and war literature.

To get a deeper understanding of the exhib-it, I sat down with Professor Paas. Whendescribing the putting together of the collectionProfessor Paas explained that he has had per-sonal interest in political graphics (particularly17th century pieces), because he has served inthe military. Seeing some of the majorEuropean battlefields piqued his curiosity inthis subject. However, he began this particularproject a few years ago, while browsing at anantiques market.

The putting together of the current exhibittook several years. “It was a slow process,”Professor Paas explained. “I collected fromshops, antique markets, and the internet.”According to him, many of the pieces were per-sonal relics of an older generation. “Many ofthese pieces are in grandma’s attic,” he adds,“and grandma is dying.”

The historical value of the collection is obvi-ously tremendous. However, I wanted to knowmore about its artistic merits. Professor Paasexplained that with rare exception, most of thelithographic images and music were producedby artists and musicians that were 2nd rate, orunknown. “These pieces were not meant to becollected,” he adds, “they are like political car-toons, relevant at one time.”

Despite the fact that these pieces were notmeant to be collected, once put togetherchronologically, they describe and documentAmerica’s changing views towards the war in

Europe. The collection starts in 1914, with onlythree pieces (illustrating the fact that prior toAmerican involvement our interest in the eventsin Europe was limited). Perhaps the most mem-orable of the pieces, to me, was “TheFatherland, the Motherland, the Land of MyBest Girl.” The picture on the cover presents ayoung man, whose allegiance is torn among sev-eral European countries. But it is not until laterthat the songs and images get progressivelymore personal and political.

By 1915 and 1916, the attention to war ismuch more prominent and personal. The idea ofmothers giving up sons for war appears fre-quently, as is demonstrated by songs such as“Don’t Take My Darling boy Away!” “I Didn’tRaise My Boy to be a Soldier,” and “I’d beProud to be the Mother of a Soldier.” The lith-ographs portray matriarchs clinging to theirsons. Additionally, images of Uncle Sam showup more and more frequently. Songs with titlessuch as “You’ll Be There” and “Give Your Handto Uncle Sam,” with covers portraying anencouraging Uncle Sam seem popular. Thecountry was trying to get riled up for the war,and was relying heavily on emotional appeals tosucceed.

As the war progressed, the focus shifted toglorifying the American involvement.Lithographs portraying the Americans asknights on a quest to defeat evil, with titlessuch as “Pershing’s Crusaders” appear.Additionally, songs such as “Ohh La La, I’mHaving a Wonderful Time,” attempted to recruitsoldiers by portraying the war as a Europeanvacation, with young American soldiers leadinga gorgeous French girl under each arm.

Finally, in 1919, as the troops headedhome, America, and the soldiers had to faceleaving Europe and returning home. Songs like“Little French Mother, Good-bye” exalt the helpof the French women to the soldiers, while oth-ers, such as “How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down onthe Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree?)” deal withreturning to past lives after experiencing war.

Also included in the exhibit are severalposters (made after the war) dealing withAfrican American involvement in the war.

Although African Americans were almost entire-ly excluded from the glory of the war at thetime, (they were not even allowed to participatein the 1919 Bastille Day Parade), this exhibitattempts to include and accurately demonstratetheir critical contribution to the troops in WorldWar I.

The collection certainly contains many inter-esting pieces, but I wanted to know whetherProfessor Paas was particularly partial to any ofthe pieces. In retrospect, I do not think that theword “partial” was the most appropriate for thesubject, but he did draw my attention to suchpieces as “Uncle Sam and his Battling Ram,”“Pershing’s Crusaders,” and “Big ChiefKillahun.” All three are gross exaggerations ofreality, yet all three serve as excellent examplesof the extent that propaganda can reach in atime of war.

Talking with Professor Paas left me to won-der about the similarities between the senti-ments portrayed by lithographs and lyrics in theexhibit and the sentiments that troubled thenation during most of the Iraq War. “Of coursethere are parallels,” Professor Paas noted, “it isnatural that we question what the country isdoing at the time of war.” He went on to explainthat discussing and promoting patriotism wasprevalent during the unfolding of both wards.Additionally, demonizing the enemy, whether itbe Saddam Hussein in Iraq, or the GermanKaiser in WWI is part of the political propagan-da. Thus, according to Professor Paas, the sim-ilarity in sentiment regarding the wars is unde-niable.

This exhibit is perhaps one of the mostunique I have seen at Carleton. It combinespolitics, history, art, and music in order to giveus insight into an event which, for most of us,took place before our lifetimes. It is a glimpseat our society ninety years ago, yet it clearlystill strongly relates to our understanding of wartoday. Therefore, stopping by and closely exam-ining this exhibit is not just important, it isnecessary. (The exhibit will remain on displayuntil November 11th).

Songs of the Great WarMusic, soldiers, and politics in the Libe

by Sasha Korobova

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Kao Kalia Yang is a former homeless Hmongrefugee, and a former Carleton student. Born in aU.N. camp in Thailand, Yang spent the better part ofher life yearning for a place to call home. She andher family eventually reached the United States,where they struggled to make a life for themselves inthe face of racism. Kalia has used the beauty of thelanguage she once struggled to learn to convey theplight of Hmong refugees for the first time ever. As aculmination of the International Education Week atCarleton, Yang discussed her autobiography TheLatecomehomer, a tale of lyrical wisdom about theborders she has crossed.

C: You've lived a part of your childhood in U.N.-spon-sored camps, but the U.N. was just "alphabets" toyou and your sister back then. Is this still the viewyou have, or do you find the U.N. effective in itsimplementation of policy?

Y: I think it's helpful to think of U.N. as “alphabets”:alphabets that have the power to make temporaryhomes possible for those fleeing for death, alphabetsthat can accompany us, in a plastic bag, across anocean to futures we couldn't have imagined. To seethe UN as a tool of well-intentioned policies, for me,is to lose its ability to directly influence lives. I pre-fer to think of it as working alphabets--tremendously powerful in the conceptions of a youngwriter.

C: How have your childhood experiences in a UNcamp affected your concept of home?

Y: I feel like the definition of home changes. I’mcomfortable with that fact now but for a long time Iwished I knew. It is useful to know when it creates auseful context in which to act in the world, but ear-lier, it would just breed indecision and inhibit me.

C: You've lived in the midst of a Hmong communityin St. Paul and you've had their direct proximal influ-

ence. Is there a cultural unity for the rest of theHmong people despite the fact that they are scat-tered all over?

Y: I believe there's cultural unity, historically found-ed- even if experiences through time have brought ondifferences that make it difficult to find the unity.The word "transnational" comes up a lot in discus-sions of the Hmong. When I see a picture of aHmong- from Vietnam, from China, from Australia,from Laos, from America- I look for the details: Whatmakes us the same? What makes us different? Whyam I looking so closely? Why does it always matter tofind elements of my own identity in others?

And I reach this answer: I always find something-a safety pin across the front of a black shirt, longdark top-knotted hair, the little boy with the heavysilver necklace hanging from his neck. And when Ihear the talk, I listen to the dialect and seek wordsthat I can understand. In the blank of it all, I say"Hmong?" and they say "Meo?" and we know we haveoriginated together in a shared history and that isenough to make us relevant to each other.

C: What do you think is the current role of educa-tion, especially education at Carleton? How can it beoptimized- that is, taken from the "bubble of elitistprivilege" and placed into a more practical context?

Y: Effective education should allow us the ability tobuild relationships between people, places andthings. It should be a foundation of relevant knowl-edge that will allow us to do work we are passionateabout and tie it up to humanity's plight. Simply bybeing human, the things we do will benefit theunderstanding of humanity. The "bubble of elitistprivilege" isolates and kills- it kills relationships inplaces where they are necessary and this is truly dan-gerous.

So how do you burst that bubble and optimize thepotential of education? Make it accessible. We, as"educated" thinkers, can shift easily from the ideas

we are taught to the ideals we need to embody in amore accessible world. Yet, there is a dichotomybetween the long and short words, so to speak and Ithink there should be more movement between thetwo. We don’t have enough practice and so often weveer towards the long words but rarely do we learnthe way back- to the language of most of the world.

C: What is the best way to be more "international-ized"?

Y: "Internationalism" for me is to grow beyond myculture and myself and begin to learn of how we, asindividuals, influence each other across growing dis-tances. I have an idea that it involves some pain-Nike’s advertisement went like this: "Pain is thebeginning of courage.” And I think there's a mod-icum of hurt to the process of growth. But I knowthat it involves lots of discoveries and moments whenwe are dazzled and full of wonder for whom we aregearing up to be.

C: To what degree is it good to stay grounded inone's own culture if internationalism and connectivi-ty should be the ultimate goal to globalizing andreaching out to others?

I think we must build self-confidence to do any pro-ductive work in the world. Self-confidence has a lotto do with comfort in our skins and part of the skinthat covers us, with its power and its protective fab-ric, is our culture. To be secure in oneself is to allowothers the same. It is crucial that we know where wecome from and are aware of our positions within ourcultures before we can discover where we can gotogether.

Ms. Yang would like to thank her publisher, ChrisFischbach, as well as the Senior Editor of theCoffee House Press for helping her realize her proj-ect.

Borders: of geography, of mind

“I was young, silent and new to English. I had a thick accent and Idecided not to speak. Silence was a storm breaking against the ele-ments of who I needed to be. Send a little girl chasing after mean-

ing, and a writer is sure to be made.”

An interview with Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Latehomecomer

by Anushka Patel

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Nineteen-sixty-nine is a big year in Americanhistory. American astronauts walked on themoon for the first time, the first Americantroops were withdrawn from Vietnam, HurricaneCamille devastated the Mississippi coast as themost powerful tropical cyclonic system inrecorded history. In literary history, 1969 is abig year too. In 1969, N. Scott Momadaybecame the first Native American writer to winthe Pulitzer Prize.

Momaday, a Kiowa writer, received thePulitzer Prize for fiction with his debut novelHouse Made of Dawn, which, as well as beinghistoric, is a fantastic book. In all honesty, it isnot an easy read. It is not a book I’d recom-mend nibbling on tentatively during finals; it isa good book, though, for reading over winterbreak, when you have some time on your handsand some and brain-power to spare.

House Made of Dawn is considered to be thebreakthrough novel of the Native American lit-erary renaissance, which began in 1969 andcontinues to this day. Considering the chal-lenge that Charlene Teters put forth in her con-vocation address at Carleton last Friday (thechallenge to confront old, often uncontestedstereotypes of Native Americans presented inmass media), now is a good time to read a bookthat embodies that challenge. House Made ofDawn is a prime example of a Native Americanartist reclaiming his nation’s identity by pre-senting a new, original image of what it is to be“Indian” and, thus, deciding for himself howhis nation will be represented in mainstreamculture.

Set on the Walatowa reservation in Californiain 1945, House Made of Dawn chronicles thelife of a mysterious man named Abel. Abelreturns to the reservation as a veteran of WorldWar II, but also as a veteran of years of confu-sion over his identity. His mixed blood heritagecontinues to distance him from his people and

even from himself. After murdering an albinoman for reasons no one around him under-stands, Abel is sent to prison. He eventuallywinds up in Los Angeles, an urban menagerie ofracist employers, religious fanatics, alcoholics,and inept social workers. In the city, however,Abel befriends Benally, by far the most amiablenarrator of Momaday’s fleet of story-tellers, whoeventually helps Abel return to the land of hisancestors, physically and spiritually. Benally isa terrific narrator: he’s funny and matter-of-factand it is worth reading the entire book just tohear his chummy voice.

With its many changes in narration, HouseMade of Dawn is a relay-race of storytelling. Itssheer eloquence manages to hold all the takestogether and keep the ball rolling. Stories mag-ically crop up throughout the novel, and theydisappear as suddenly as they first appeared,weaving the mythic and the mundane together:There is a small silversided fish that is foundalong the coast of southern California. In thespring and summer it spawns on the beach dur-ing the first three hours after each of the threehigh tides following the highest tide. These fishcome by the hundreds from the sea. They hurlthemselves upon the land and writhe in thelight of the moon, the moon, the moon; theywrithe in the light of the moon. They are amongthe most helpless creatures on the face of theearth. Fishermen, lovers passers-by catch themup in their bare hands.

Stories like this are just one reason whyHouse Made of Dawn is a pillar of NativeAmerican literature specifically and Americanliterature in general. They are great stories andthey are told elegantly. It’s been almost 40years since Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize,but House Made of Dawn still deserves the seri-ous attention of every Carl, not only because ithas made history but because it is a little bookwith many great stories to tell.

Politics, The Pulitzer, and aHouse Made of Dawn

By Clare Jones

The election may be over,but politics never ends... sohere are the top ten politicalbooks of 2007, according to

Amazon

1. The Assault on Reason by Al Gore

2. I Am America (And So Can You!)by Stephen Colbert

3. The Conscience of a Liberal byPaul Krugman

4. Broken Government: HowRepublican Rule Destroyed theLegislative, Executive, and JudicialBranches by John W. Dean

5. Dead Certain: The Presidency ofGeorge W. Bush by Robert Draper

6. Screwed: The Undeclared WarAgainst the Middle Class - And WhatWe Can Do about It by ThomHartmann

7. Truth and Consequences: SpecialComments on the BushAdministration's War on AmericanValues by Keith Olbermann

8.It's Getting Ugly Out There: TheFrauds, Bunglers, Liars, and LosersWho Are Hurting America by JackCafferty

9. If Democrats Had Any Brains,They'd Be Republicans by AnnCoulter

10. Giving: How Each of Us CanChange the World by Bill Clinton

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Here’s my treat to everyone who didn’t receive candy last Friday: each of these movies isboth terrifying and available on YouTube. Happy November!

While England’s Ealing Studios may be best known for its acerbic comedies, like Kind Heartsand Coronets (1949) and The Ladykillers (1955), you may be interested to learn that it also pro-duced a chilling horror film, Dead of Night (1945). The film consists of five tales of mysteryand imagination, each told by a weekend guest at a country manor, where an architect’s recur-ring dream is coming true. The stories, with the exception of H.G. Wells’s lame “Golfing Story,”are consistently high-quality, whether snippets like “Hearse Driver” and “Christmas Party” orclimactic segments like the demonic “Haunted Mirror” and the legendary “Ventriloquist’sDummy” starring Michael Redgrave and his evil little friend Hugo. This movie gave me thecreeps as a child.

If you’re looking for some artsy post-Halloween jitters, look no further than Herk Harvey’s1962 independent horror movie Carnival of Souls. It’s not really like anything else: filmed for$30,000 solely in Kansas and Utah, it stars method actress Candace Hilligoss as Mary, an anti-social, alienated organist who mysteriously survives the car crash that kills her friends. Shemoves to a new town and gets a fresh start in life, but as she’s haunted by ghoulish visions, shebecomes torn between her desperation and her increasing disconnect with the world of the liv-ing. With a score built solely on organ music, Carnival of Souls creates a unique atmosphere –of horror.

“Um, well, you said I was pretty bright, right? I think I'm smart enough to perform a suc-cessful castration.” From the director of 30 Days of Night and the star of Juno comes a thrillinglittle film called Hard Candy (2005). Ellen Page is Hayley, a precocious 14-year-old invited overfor some fun by Jeff, whom she met on the Internet; their encounter goes a long way to provingthe film’s tagline, “strangers shouldn’t talk to little girls.” Suspense builds as audience sym-pathy is twisted back and forth (though mine stayed firmly with the “cute, vindictive littlebitch”) leading up to a series of climaxes sure to evoke a visceral response. If you’re a fan ofrole reversal or an androgynously lovely Ellen Page, do yourself a favor and watch this movie.

Well, the election is over, but media struggles are eternal. Going onto www.apple.com/trail-ers (which has high definition options that the new computers handle beautifully), one can nowfind a number of film trailers with sexual orientation as point of conflict in the plot. My mem-ory might serve me wrong, but I don’t think this was true about a mainstream trailer site evena few months ago.

Up-and-coming moviegoers who enjoyed High School Musical can look forward to the upcom-ing musical Were the World Mine. Maybe the offspring of social conservatives will see thesefilms and be affected by what could be humanized portrayals. Maybe these films will subtly(even accidentally) portray non–heterosexual relationships as misguided or inherently problem-atic.

The film theorist Rick Altman argued that film genres, including the musical, slowly takeshape and are remolded over time. Producers try to pinpoint a blockbuster’s defining trait, andbase a film around that aspect. But the critics and the public, regardless of the film’s success,might not see the association that inspired producers to fund the project. It isn’t until criticsstart detecting a shared trait, which may be some combination of narrative and visual trends,that critics are able to group a body films together. Film history is littered with genres thatnever took shape or were inspired and conceived differently than how they were categorized andreceived. Because of this, the first films of a genre are never labeled as such when they weregiven to the public to digest.

Biopic, noir, war, western, melodrama, heist, dramedy… gay film? I can’t help but wonderif what is gaining prominence in mainstream culture risks becoming entrenched and isolated asa (sub–)genre and received as fundamentally, rather than superficially, different from other nar-ratives. But I may be getting ahead of myself. Before I get too pessimisstic about the whetherthe gay rights movement’s stagnating or advancing, I should first see the movies and judge theirquality—right?

If We’re in a Culture War, Popular Film Is a Frontby Andrew Tatge

Confessions of a Celluloid Junkieby Andreas Stoehr

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BOOBS by Jacob Canfield

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Halloween ConcertPaper Dollsby Kristen AspContents:

One (1) androgynous but proba-bly male Carleton student

One (1) cardboard sidwalkpenis suit with urethra hat

One (1) Frida Kahlo dresswith wig and unibrow

One (1) GoPrint terminal

One (1) Juno

Two (2) hands, holdingan empty beer and glowsticks, respectively

Two days before Sisqó’s 30thbirthday. You remember himfor what Wikipedia refers to asthe “novelty” hit “ThongSong,” but did you know thathe appeared in Snow Dogs(which won Cuba Gooding, Jr.a “Most Embarrassing BlackPerson” award from TheBoondocks) and has an album,Last Dragon, coming out laterthis year? Its lead single,“Who’s Ur Daddy,” features a“new artist” named E-money, and we hope to God it’s suc-cessful to bring the “hair spray-painted silver” trend back.

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35Days

74 days until northernstates like Minnesotaexperience a huge influxof Canadian immigrants.On January 20th, the dayof Barack Obama’s inau-guration, it is rumoredthat thousands upon thou-sands of Canadians whoonce felt aloof, literallyand figuratively, with

regards to the U.S., willdescend upon our country, disgusted with Stephen Harper.The conversation around many Canadian dinner tablessounded familiar, but with a twist: “Honey, if Obama winsdown there, eh…well, we might just have to move out of thecountry. I don’t know aboot you, but I don't think I canspend any more of my lifetime NOT living in the UnitedStates.” Our expert pundits say the biggest reason to expectthem to stay is their polite nature—they'd just feel badaboot being so harsh to their government.

74Days

35 days until the limited release of Che, the massive biopic ofErnesto Guevara de la Serna. Directed by Steven Soderbergh(Traffic, Ocean's Eleven) and starring Benicio Del Toro in thetitle role, it's supposed to be grand set of two movies, and wasa huge hit at Cannes despite not being finished or properlyedited. While biopics and political movies are used as Oscarbait rather frequently, the fact that this is about a Marxist rev-olutionary, and the acclaim it's already gotten, suggests that itmight be okay. No guarantees if you go see it, but it would benice to see something so ambitious succeed, and who doesn'tlove Benicio del Toro? (In limited release on December 12,everywhere January 9.)

Seven days untilMark Hanis fromthe GenocideI n t e r v e n t i o nGroup (GI-Net)speaks about theongoing ethnicconflict inD a r f u r .Presumably, hewill challenge

the widely heldbelief that our nations’ bake sales and rubberbracelet campaigns have spared Darfuriansfrom terror and murder. That’s not to say wedidn’t like the bake sales and rubberbracelets. And aside from those sales and byhearing from people like Mark Hanis, would weeven be aware of the situation in the Sudan?Next Friday, at the Athenaeum during convo-cation time, educate yourself about the mostunderreported genocide in recent history.

07Days

CCoouunnttDDoowwnn

It might beonly 74 daysu n t i lP r e s i d e n t -Elect BarackObama takesthe oath ofoffice andb e c o m e s ,president, butjust you wait,in 174 days theCongress’s love affair with Obama will end andit’ll be back to normal life in Washington. Whatwill he do with his honeymoon, only time willtell. But let’s hope he is able to follow thepresident who defined what a successful firsthundred days is: FDR. His first Hundred dayswas so successful, sometimes you’ll hear histo-rians talking about his second hundred days.And let’s pray his honeymoon period withCongress doesn’t end before schedule like BillClinton’s did way back in 1992. The Carl staffwish him the best of luck in all his futureendeavors. With his skills, charm, and charis-ma, we know wherever he goes, he’ll be suc-cessful in all he does.

174Days

On March6, Phishplays the i rf i r s t shows i n c er e u n i t i n g

r e c e n t l y .This is very good news forsome people ( s toner b ros ,dirty hippies, wannabe dirtyhippies, those who sel l drugsto the previous three) andvery bad for others (peoplewho have to hear“Duuuuuude, T rey , myGoooooood!” for the next f ivemonths and h ips te r fuckswho want people to payat tent ion to the i r mus ic ,GODDAMMIT!). This mightnot be such an i ssue ,though, because o f thatwhole Large-Hadron-Coll ider-ending-the-world thing.

21Weeks 02

Days

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02 EDITORS’ NOTEPrescience and struggle in the face of meaninglessness

03 DOORMATWhat The Carl did to elect Obama • Remembering the Peter Tork Memorial Pinball Area (and more)

05 SOCIETYElection Day fashion: reds, whites and tights! • Sasha Korobova on cool

07 FEATUREDaniella De Franco’s Election Diaries: booze, gate-crashing, cake

09 MUSICThe Cave’s Local Fest and Ray LaMontange’s new album, reviewed

10 PERFORMANCESA preview, a review, and an interview with one of the minds behind Ebony 2008

12 ARTS & LITAnushka Patel talks with Kao Kalia Yang • The story behind the Songs of the GreatWar • Clare Jones on House Made of Dawn

15 CINEMAAndreas Stoehr sees more movies in a week than you do in a year • What makes agenre, and what does it have to do with the culture wars?

16 CARTOONSWe make Jimmy Corrigan look like Billy Corgan

18 FUN & GAMESWhat was your favorite costume from the Halloween Concert? Put it on a paper dolland relive the night!

19 COUNTDOWNNumbering the days till big things happen (like Sisqó’s birthday!)