Daily Vanguard January 7, 2010

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 45

Event of the day Joel Bluestone is holding a free concert today as part of the Performance Attendance Recital Series. Bluestone has been head of the percussion department since 1989 and he holds a doctorate in music from the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

When: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave.

WWW.DAILYVANGUARD.COM • FREE

INSIDE NEWS Campus theft CPSO to begin GPS tracking of equipment this summer PAGE 2 “Compelling” Clinton commentary Portland State professor coauthored book on Hillary Clinton PAGE 3

Arts

Stepping outside the norm Daniel Nester takes candor to new heights with new book PAGE 4

All photos courtesy of William B. Fischer

Business booms for German students “SpeakEasy” German language and student business course expands Catrice Stanley Vanguard staff

Nine plus two Understanding a director's creative crisis and the male ego PAGE 5

Sports

Midseason report A look at the progress of the women's basketball team PAGE 6

Professor William Fischer does not teach a typical German class.

Instead of memorizing vocabulary and preparing for quizzes, Fischer’s students take a dive into the real world of business.

His students do not sit in rows or wait to respond to an instructor at the front of the room. Students in this classroom are moved into conferencestyle seating, given individual as well as “departmental” responsibilities and expected to develop, market and sell a self-made product.

This is, after all, a profitable business as well as a German class.

More than 10 years ago, Fischer was teaching a conventional thirdyear German course when he realized that he was teaching mostly occupational material in his class.

Less than a year later, in 2000, he began to use this material in his classroom to simulate a company.

Shortly after, Fischer decided to take it to the next level.

Instead of simulating a company, the class would create a company,

using only German as the “company” language. Thus, the “SpeakEasy” course began.

Alex Sorenson, 21, is a German major who took the SpeakEasy course during fall term 2009.

“It was an excellent opportunity to speak German in an active and productive environment,” Sorenson said. “There was little to no ‘lecture’ dynamic at work in the class. The goal was immersion more than direct instruction.”

Fischer’s students, which include German speakers in 300-, 400- and 500-level courses, have been a very productive bunch. During the first years of the program, students designed playing-card-sized vocabulary lists organized by different themes.

One side of each card has Englishto-German translations. On the reverse side, there are Germanto-English translations. The cards are sold 50 to a package, including grammar aids and other helpful tools.

“It seemed natural that such a company would develop products that would serve language learners, in the larger sense—not just students in a classroom, but anyone who wanted or needed to use language skills,” Fischer said.

It was not until 2008 that his classes began creating multilingual holiday cards.

Vocab cards: SpeakEasy’s bilingual vocabulary cards, in deluxe boxes made by Fischer.

By the end of fall term 2009, they had designed and produced an entire line of holiday cards, including greetings in 23 different languages.

Completely made out of recycled material, these cards consist of 75 percent recycled elephant dung.

The class sold a few hundred biodegradable cards, pulling in over $500 of profit. This money will be reinvested in the company in hopes of expanding the product line.

As a student-run company, Fischer does not earn anything from the profits. He does hope to see the day when the money his students earn is enough to pay them for their hard work.

During winter term, Fischer hopes to bring the company’s profits up to $1,500. His class will continue producing multilingual holiday cards, cashing in during Valentine’s Day. Already, the SpeakEasy company is growing.

Maggie Elliott, an adjunct French instructor, started an experimental version of the company for French students with the help of Fischer.

Elliott has worked for Portland State for four years, but this winter will be her first term teaching a SpeakEasy-style course.

“We are trying to show [students] language is a tool, and it provides more than just cocktail-party

knowledge,” Elliott said. “It can also be used to get you jobs and help you in your business pursuits.”

This addition to the company comes at a perfect time. Not only will SpeakEasy need more student power in the coming months, but with Valentine’s Day on the horizon, having employees versed in the “language of love” can only be a positive addition, according to Fischer.

With 31 years of teaching at Portland State under his belt, Fischer has made quite an impact with his innovative course—two of his classes won the Portland State Teaching with Technology prize in 2005. The $500 prize was donated back into the SpeakEasy company.

“My basic approach is ‘proficiency,’ teaching and learning for the purpose of communication in real-world circumstances,” Fischer said.

After Valentine’s Day cards have all been sent, expect to see more from the SpeakEasy company.

Fischer and his students have many more projects in the works, including a line of thank-you cards and graduation announcements.

Further in the future, Fischer hopes to produce multilingual Portland State office-branded stationary, produced on the “elephant-poop” paper he has grown fond of using.

Professor William Fischer

German 415 students: Brainstorming ideas.

Vanguard 2 | News January 7, 2010

NEWS

Sarah J. Christensen Editor-in-Chief Danielle Kulczyk News Editor Theodora Karatzas Arts & Culture Editor Richard D. Oxley Opinion Editor Robert Britt Sports Editor Shannon Vincent Production Manager Marni Cohen Photo Editor Zach Chastaine Online Editor Robert Seitzinger Copy Chief Robert Seitzinger Calendar Editor Jae Specht Advertising Manager Judson Randall Adviser Ann Roman Advertising Adviser Illustrator Kira Meyrick Associate News Editor Virginia Vickery Production Assistants Bryan Morgan, Charles Cooper Williams

Writers Kate Alexander, Will Blackford, Bianca Blankenship, Meaghan Daniels, Erica DeCouteau, Sarah Esterman, Amy Fylan, Natalia Grozina, Patrick Guild, Rosemary Hanson, Steve Haske, Nadya Ighani, Carrie Johnston, Mark Johnston, Zoe Kellett, Tamara K. Kennedy, Anita Kinney, Gogul Krishnan, J. Logue, James MacKenzie, Holly K. Millar, Wendy Shortman, Weston Smith, Catrice Stanley, Nilesh Tendolkar, Robin Tinker, Vinh Tran, Allison Whited

Liana Shewey/Portland State Vanguard

Theft at Portland State: A majority of student personal property that is stolen was simply left unattended.

Marni Cohen/Portland State Vanguard

- - - - Campus theft - - - -

CPSO to begin GPS tracking of equipment this summer Gogul Krishnan Vanguard staff

In 2009, 15 cases of university equipment theft and 104 cases of student property theft were reported.

The Campus Public Safety Office (CPSO) is facing challenges in safeguarding not only the property of the university, but also students.

Every year, there are hundreds of complaints to its office regarding the loss of laptops, books and more.

“Theft of students’ personal belongings is more prevalent

than the theft of belongings of departments,” said Michael Soto, CPSO director. “[But the] loss of 100 books from a department is a relatively major loss compared to 100 students out of 26,000 losing one book each,” Soto said.

Laptops, computers and projectors belonging to Audio and Visual Services top the list of equipment stolen from the university.

“Portland State University’s logo is burned in every projector so that whenever the device is switched on, the logo is displayed first to identify that it is property of the university,” Soto said.

CPSO has alarms installed and locks up valuable equipment, but the challenge of safeguarding items comes when classrooms are open

for use, especially when rooms are deserted between classes.

“Classes have to be kept open between 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and most of the theft occurs during this time,” Soto said.

Various departments and CPSO are working together to help prevent theft through the launch of a program this summer meant to enhance the safety of student and university belongings.

GPS tracking devices will be installed in equipment to allow it to be tracked if stolen. CPSO will also allow students to register their personal belongings, like laptops and other valuable devices.

CPSO requests that students be wary of thieves and be vigilant with their personal property.

“Students are also requested to report crime as soon as possible so that CPSO can take necessary actions,” Soto said.

Students can send anonymous reports and feedback to CPSO using its community input page at www.pdx.edu/cpso/community-input

The crime log of theft at Portland State can be accessed at www.pdx.edu/cpso/crime-log

Photographers Aaron Leopold, Rodrigo Melgarejo, Liana Shewey, Adam Wickham Copy Editors Noah Emmet, Amanda Gordon Advertising Sales Ana SanRoman, Jae Specht, Wesley Van Der Veen Advertising Designer Shannon Vincent

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Contact Editor-in-Chief 503-725-5691 editor@dailyvanguard.com Advertising Manager 503-725-5686 ads@dailyvanguard.com The Vanguard is chartered to publish four days a week as an independent student newspaper by the PSU Publications Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers, and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. One copy of the Vanguard is provided free of charge to all community members, additional copies or subcription issues may incur a 25 cent charge. The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper.

Copyright © 2009 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway, Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26, Portland, Ore., 97201

Marni Cohen/Portland State Vanguard

Commonly stolen items: In addition to students' laptops and other electronics, the Audio and Visual Services department loses computers and projectors due to theft.

Liana Shewey/Portland State Vanguard

“Compelling” Clinton commentary Portland State professor co-authored book on Hillary Clinton Kate Alexander Vanguard staff

Melody Rose, professor and the founder and director of the Center for Women, Politics and Policy, copenned the book entitled Hillary Clinton’s Race for the White House: Gender Politics and the Media on the Campaign Trail, published on Oct. 30, 2009.

Writing with co-author Regina G. Lawrence, this look at the role of gender in Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign has received wide acclaim from professors in the field of gender politics.

“We wanted to understand better how the media covers presidential candidates,” Rose said.

Rose said it was a groundbreaking opportunity, because there have been so few female presidential candidates and so little is known on the subject.

The collaboration process with Lawrence, a former colleague of Rose’s, was very fun, she said.

“It was a sprint of a project,” said Rose about the writing process. “I never could have written it so fast myself.”

The book was written in multiple cities while Rose and Lawrence were traveling for conferences and other events.

“We would meet, research and work like mad holed up in a hotel room,” Rose said. “The book was written in Baton Rouge, Washington, D.C., San Diego and other cities.”

Overall, Rose is very pleased with how the book has been received by the scholarly community, and is looking forward to getting the book out in the non-scholarly community

as well, she said.

“An ambitious, insightful and sophisticated look at how gender influenced Clinton’s nomination campaign…will appeal to anyone interested in women and politics in the U.S. context,” said Kim Frimkin, an Arizona State University professor of women’s studies.

According to the Eurospan bookstore, the 277-page commentary is “a compelling look at how Hillary Clinton came so close to breaking the ultimate glass ceiling in U.S. politics, why she fell short and what her experience portends for future female candidates in the media-saturated game of presidential politics.”

Rose pulls from her background in political analysis, research and community service in each of her books and in the classroom.

“She is extremely knowledgeable and helpful,” said Rachel Stoll, a former student of Rose’s. “This is her life’s work and it shows. She ignites the in-class discussion and is available for any discourse you care to have outside of class.”

Rose’s contributions as a political analyst in local, state and national matters have not gone unnoticed. In 2007, Rose was chosen as one of Portland’s “100 Most Powerful Women.”

Adding to her roles at Portland State, Rose also serves on the Portland City Club Board of Governors, and won the 2008 PSU Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Award for excellence in research, teaching and community engagement.

For the Hillary Clinton book, Rose received an honorable mention in the 2008 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics.

The annual competition, held by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for

Vanguard News | 3 January 7, 2010

News Editor: Danielle Kulczyk 503-725-5690 news@dailyvanguard.com

Betsy Ross, born Jan. 1, 1752 Betsy Ross would often tell her children, grandchildren, relatives and friends of the fateful day when three members of a secret committee from the Continental Congress came to call upon her.

Those representatives, George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag.

This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776.

George Washington was then the head of the Continental Army.

Robert Morris, an owner of vast amounts of land, was perhaps the wealthiest citizen in the Colonies.

Colonel George Ross was a respected Philadelphian and also the uncle of her late husband, John Ross.

Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard

Melody Rose: Portland State professor and co-author of Race for the White House with Regina G. Lawrence.

Women and Politics at Iowa State University, is designed to encourage and reward scholars embarking on significant research in the area of women and politics.

Other books from Rose include Abortion: A Documentary and Reference Guide and Safe, Legal, and Unavailable? Abortion Politics in the 21st Century, and Uncompromising Positions: God, Sex, and the U.S. House of

Representatives. All of these titles are available through Portland State’s Millar Library.

Rose is currently working on a new book entitled Executive Women, which includes input from a dozen or so other authorities on the subject, according to Rose.

Rose and Lawrence will be conducting a book talk on Race for the White House on Feb. 25.

The Daily Cut Your world in brief

World: French at odds over putting poor into top schools PARIS (AP)—France is facing a dilemma: Should the government force its most prestigious schools, those that produce presidents, prime ministers and CEOs, to be less elitist about the students they let in?

Government ministers, intellectuals and activists clashed this week over whether to set quotas to ensure more low-income students can attend a handful of grandes écoles, university-level institutions seen as the country’s premier path to prosperity and power.

The government, pressed to ease social tensions and persistent class divides in a country whose motto includes the word “equality,” proposed that the schools give 30 percent of spots to students on financial aid.

The body that oversees the publicly funded schools, the Conference des grandes ecoles, shot the plan down.

Quotas, they said, would dumb the system down, threatening its whole raison d’etre by crippling the competitiveness of top French schools and their graduates in the international marketplace.

“Do you think we could improve the level of our world champion handball team if we required that

there were a certain percentage of people with a particular characteristic? The answer is no, of course,” wrote the conference’s president, Pierre Tapie.

Education Minister Luc Chatel said he was “shocked” by the schools’ rejection of quotas and said he was determined to see the measure through. He said the current system “produces only social inequality.”

Connections made at France’s premier universities are key to landing jobs, including at the highest levels of French politics and business, and prove fruitful throughout careers.

About 6 percent of postsecondary students go to France’s 220 grandes ecoles, which include the HEC business school and the Ecole Polytechnique engineering school. The system was born in 1747 to train top engineers, and today access is meant to be based purely on merit.

Yet passing the demanding entrance exams require years of preparation and knowledge of the French education system that students from working class or immigrant families often lack.

—Angela Charlton

Nation: ‘Frozen Gore’ sculpture fuels debate in Alaska FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP)—Another two-ton ice sculpture of former Vice President Al Gore is back in front of a Fairbanks liquor store.

“Frozen Gore” is a dig at Gore’s beliefs about climate change.

The first statue went on display last year. This year’s version is hooked up to the exhaust of a pickup truck to make it appear Gore is spouting hot air.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the smoke drew laughs from a crowd Tuesday as a Gore speech on climate change played over a loudspeaker.

The sculpture was commissioned by two businessmen, Craig Compeau and Rudy Gavora, who want Gore to discuss global warming in Fairbanks.

“We don’t agree with his theories—we’re suspicious of the financial motivation behind them,” Compeau said.

Last year’s inaugural Gore ice sculpture got national attention, including mentions on The Drudge Report, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. Compeau said his Web site with photos and information about the sculpture attracted 1.7 million visitors. He also was swamped

with mostly positive e-mails from people who found the sculpture entertaining.

Climate change scientists say Alaska has warmed by 3 degrees Fahrenheit during the past 50 years.

The average temperature for 2009 was 27.8 degrees in Fairbanks, about one degree warmer than normal, said Rick Thoman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Local: Errors led to escape at Oregon State Hospital SALEM, Ore. (AP)—A state investigation into a mental patient’s escape from Oregon State Hospital says two employees neglected their duties.

They were sitting in chairs in the recreation yard last August when David Anderson cut through a fence.

He was caught the next day in Utah.

Anderson, who is now in prison, mailed a copy of the report by the Office of Investigations and Training to the Statesman-Journal newspaper.

Hospital spokeswoman Patricia Feeny says the hospital has launched a personnel inquiry in response to the escape investigation.

Naturally, Betsy Ross already knew George Ross as she had married his nephew.

Furthermore, Betsy was also acquainted with the great General Washington.

Not only did they both worship at Christ Church in Philadelphia, but Betsy’s pew was next to George and Martha Washington’s pew.

Her daughter recalled, “She was previously well acquainted with Washington, and that he had often been in her house in friendly visits, as well as on business...that she had embroidered ruffles for his shirt bosoms and cuffs, and that it was partly owing to his friendship for her that she was chosen to make the flag.”

In June 1776, brave Betsy was a widow struggling to run her own upholstery business.

Upholsterers in colonial America not only worked on furniture, they did all manner of sewing work, which for some included making flags.

According to Betsy, General Washington showed her a rough design of the flag that included a six-pointed star.

Betsy, a standout with the scissors, demonstrated how to cut a five-pointed star in a single snip. Impressed, the committee entrusted Betsy with making our first flag.

—www.ushistory.org

Vanguard 4 | Arts & Culture January 7, 2010

ARTS & CULTURE

Arts Editor: Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com

Thirsty Thursday: Concerts not to miss tonight

Stepping outside the norm

The ever-poppy Logan Lynn is a dance favorite in Portland, popping up here and there to bring some good, clean, toe-tapping fun to the city’s youth. With so much electro-pop, Lynn is a nice break, leaning more heavily on the pop side of things than the electronic.

Doug Fir Lounge, 9 p.m. $6, 21+

DV: Is there one general theme that you hope readers take away after reading your book?

Sex Life, Arrington de Dionysos Malaikat Dan Singa, Soriah

Double Plus Good, Very International Love, Mnemonic The boys in Very International Love have been quite busy since releasing their debut album back in October. In between trying to plan a tour, writing more material and keeping things fresh, the duo will be playing Rotture with friends Double Plus Good and Mnemonic.

VIL is a wonderful departure from the Portland electronic scene, drawing on more of a European flavor than other local acts.

Rotture, 9 p.m. $5, 21+

DV: If anything, what part of your book do you think will be the most shocking for readers?

DN: Like Jane’s Addiction songs, nothing’s shocking. I don’t think much in the book will shock people, unless it’s the shock of recognition of something in their own lives. I do think people might be surprised at the parts where I am more serious or confessional in my approach. Like when I talk about leaving New York City, or the odyssey my wife and I went on to conceive our first kid.

Logan Lynn, Cars and Trains, The Gentry

Soriah is not the kind of musical act you’d expect to come out of Portland. The Tuvan throat singer is one part ethereal music and two parts crazy costumes and performance art. He often gets lumped in with the worldmetal crowd, but mostly, his stuff is just eerily beautiful.

And seriously, his hats alone are totally worth checking out.

Ella St. Social Club, 9 p.m. $5, 21+

DN: It always seemed to be a mix of essays and memoir. I like to write in different forms, like numbered lists and short-shorts. I think at some point I was going to put all the memoir-type pieces together and the not-memoir ones in some other section, but in the end we went with a chronological order, no matter the stripe.

Photo courtesy of Joe Putruck

Daniel Nester: For a man obsessed with the inappropriate, he's looking quite dapper and dandy.

Daniel Nester takes candor to new heights with new book Wendy Shortman Vanguard staff

From the history of ass mooning to literary references about flatulence, Daniel Nester’s How to be Inappropriate is a tantalizing and sidesplitting ode to things we don’t dare talk about in public. The book is partly memoir and partly other genres, written by a quirky teacher that enjoys the presence of impropriety in all aspects of life.

How to be Inappropriate is never boring, but is sometimes outright random and will either leave you

laughing or confused. You’ll find fictional writing, an interview with a robot version of Gene Simmons, writing by ESL students writing their own dialogue to Catcher in the Rye, and a nearly six-page list of ways to moon people.

In the book, Nester discusses his brief stint as a rock star in an admittedly “horrible rock band.”

The band, suitably named Fear Itself, was lead by a vocalist in his late 50s, who couldn’t ever remember the words to the songs and brought an easel onstage with him.

Nester talked about their gig at a scrabble parlor, in which he encouraged them to sing “Hot Blooded” to really get the audience riled up, and for the women to throw their panties onstage.

Needless to say, the vocalist wasn’t fond of the idea.

Readers can enjoy anecdotes like this and many more.

Daily Vanguard: Have you always been fascinated with things deemed inappropriate?

Daniel Nester: I have always been fascinated with how writing about something inappropriate—like farts or partial nudity or over sharing personal details—makes it seem even more inappropriate.

Committing something to paper changes it. I’m also a ham.

DV: Did you set out to write a book that was partly a memoir, or did it seem to just happen that way?

DN: Maybe one thing I’d like people to know after reading it is that there’s nothing wrong with talking about stupid shit. When I was in Catholic school, I really liked going to confession. [I liked] How I could just talk about all the “bad” things I did with this priest and I would walk out of the booth with a clean slate. Now, writing is the priest, and I’m still talking about “bad” things.

Nester will be at Powell’s on Wednesday to grace Portland with his presence for the first time. Unfortunately, Fear Itself will not be performing so keep your panties on, ladies.

Reading from Daniel Nester Powell’s Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

Free

Odd Od d music for Odd Blood Yeasayer’s sophomore release is a tour de force into the strange Theodora Karatzas Vanguard staff

Has anyone noticed that music seems to have gotten weirder in the last few years? This is by no means a complaint, merely an observation.

In keeping with the trend started with bands like Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance and, of course, the Flaming Lips, Yeasayer’s Odd Blood is a wild trip into the strange, the psychedelic and, ultimately, the melodic.

Odd Blood is all about the little details. The bulk of the album seems to draw heavy influence from 1980s pop. Wrapped in a haze of odd, soaring, high-pitched

vocals, it’s the heart-pounding drums on tracks like “Madder Red” and “Ambling Alp” that add that special extra something to the mix. The group manages to blend in unconventional sounds with almost prog-rock like guitar bits.

On the other hand, Yeasayer also strays nicely from the 1980s sound so heavily employed on their album with songs like “Love Me Girl,” which employs some lovely piano riffs, techno-y drums beats and auto-tune that won’t make you gag, to create a rich soundscape with more of a modern twist.

One weak spot on their album is that the band does get a little carried away sometimes with how their songs progress. “Rome,” for instance, is enjoyable, but a little on the cracked-out side. They could have taken out a couple of instruments and slowed it down for a much more listener-friendly experience.

As mentioned before, it’s clear that people have been getting funky with their music in the last few years and in most cases, that’s Photo courtesy of Yeasayer fine. However, the Odd Blood : Think this album cover is weird?

Then check out the term experimental video for “Ambling Alp” is getting a little overused at this point. What sets Odd Blood apart from the pack is its careful blend of off-kilter sounds Yeasayer woven into fairly traditional song structures and harmonies. This Odd Blood winning combination makes their music interesting yet accessible, Secretly Canadian a feat that is often overshot in Out Feb. 9 a misguided attempt to sound original. Yeasayer has proved that music can be unique without sounding like a garbage disposal full of hippies.

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 5 January 7, 2010

Some of the world’s smelliest foods Natto Fermented soy beans from Japan that are usually served as a condiment or side dish. According to Marc Matsumoto of www.norecipes.com, “It has a slimy texture similar to okra and smells like sweaty dirty socks.”

Photos courtesy of www.outnow.com

Surströmming

Sophia Loren: Still the hottest old lady strutting her stuff in Hollywood.

Nine plus two

Unleashes a rotten stench so strong that one is momentarily left in shock. This Northern Swedish delicacy is made from herring brined for months.

Once the can has been opened, pieces of surströmming are spread over buttered, crispy thin bread and then layered with slices of almond potatoes, chopped onions, and fresh dill sprigs.

Fafaru A concoction made with fish, lobster or shrimp that gets its putrid smell from being marinated in fermented seawater. It is usually eaten with coconut cream.

Understanding a director’s creative crisis and the male ego Weston Smith Vanguard staff

The film Nine was released on Christmas day, 2009. It is adapted from the 2002 theater production of the same name, which was an adaptation of a theater production from 1982. This was, in turn, an adaptation of an Italian play, which is an adaptation of the masterpiece 8½, directed by Federico Fellini. Despite this complicated lineage, the narrative and thematic structure between the two films remains largely intact.

In looking at the film Nine, it is necessary to first look at its cinematic roots. This is a very cursory introduction to the material, including one additional version, Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories.

8 1/2 1963’s 8½ is the mostly autobiographical work of director and cowriter Fellini, the hugely influential Italian director. Guido Anselmi, the protagonist, is a famous director confronted with critical disapproval of recent films, all labeled as inaccessible, smug and excessively artistic. Stresses from his personal and professional life have inhibited his ability to write and direct— essentially “director’s block.” This film is legendary for sequences that confuse dreams and reality, as the director confronts his past and present as well as his fantasies, often all within the same scene.

Stardust Memories In 1980, Allen released Stardust Memories as a reaction to the critical response of Annie Hall, a film that earned four Oscars a few years prior. A veritable love song to cinema, Stardust Memories is best compared to a cover song—a cover movie— rather than a redux. Though its plot is instantly recognizable (a man haunted by his own success, in the midst of a troubling romantic situation and an existential crisis as an artist), and many particular shots reference or mimic Fellini’s film,

certain other elements vary. Hall’s Sandy Bates is not an egocentric man surrounded by a world he is indifferent to. Rather, Bates cannot continue being self-serving in the face of a chaotic, uncaring world.

Though Allen is clearly sympathetic to Anselmi’s libidinous tendencies, Bates’ own are marked not by a will to possess and control. Finally, there remains no real trace of religious guilt in Bates as in Anselmi.

Limburger cheese Popular in Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) and Germany, this cheese is considered the most pungent on the mainland. taking into account that the same bacteria used to ferment the cheese is what causes human body odor, we’re talking about a real stinker here.

Nine Rob Marshall, who brought us film productions of Cabaret and Chicago, directs this star-filled Christmas weekend box office draw.

Guido Contini, played conspicuously by Daniel Day-Lewis, has built a set and commissioned costumes and commenced casting for a film he has yet to write. Through a journey of musical numbers with his various lovers as well as his mother, played by an aged Sophia Loren, Guido must lose everything he holds dear before he’ll halt his selfish, destructive appetite.

Nine takes the content of 8 ½, and goes to war with its style. Dream sequences are replaced by expensive musical numbers that take place in an elaborate theater constructed only in the director’s mind; the approach favors the simple clarity of a stage production over lucid dream states. Superstars replace sympathetic women: Fergie, Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson all take turns as Guido’s love interest. The production style is characteristic of Marshall’s other musicals, which, to say specifically, is big. This is simplifying the result to a degree—it is a fun movie to watch. It is an ode to theater, with Fellini as its teacher and film as its medium.

Nine

Directed by Rob Marshall Now playing

Durian After cracking open its prickly shell, it reveals a custardy flesh, which adds to the mysteriously braindefying complexity of this fruit. Eating it has been likened to “eating custard next to an open sewer.”

—fodors.com

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Vanguard 6 | Sports January 7, 2010

SPORTS Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Claire Faucher

Sports Editor:

Leading the pack this season as the Vikings’ top player on the court, Faucher is shining in her senior year. She now holds school and Big Sky records in all-time assists and has four double-digit assist games this season and 28 in her career.

Faucher has scored in double digits 11 times and earned four double-doubles in the 13 games played this year. She currently leads the conference in assists (7.4 per game) and steals (2.8 per game).

sports@dailyvanguard.com

Sports fast facts Boxing became a legal sport in 1901.

More than 100 million people hold hunting licenses.

Jean Genevieve Garnerin was the first female parachutist, jumping from a hot air balloon in 1799.

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Lexi Bishop

In 1975, Junko Tabei from Japan became the first woman to reach the top of Mt. Everest.

Major League Baseball teams use about 850,000 balls per season.

Roughly 42,000 tennis balls are used in about 650 matches in the Wimbledon Championship.

The record for the most major league baseball career innings is held by Cy Young, with 7,356 innings.

The first instance of global electronic communications took place in 1871 when news of a derby winner was telegraphed from London to Calcutta in under five minutes.

In 1898, one of the first programs to be broadcasted on radio was a yacht race that took place in British waters.

Sports command the biggest television audiences, led by the summer Olympics, World Cup Football and Formula One racing.

Gymnasiums were introduced in 900 B.C. and Greek athletes practiced in the nude to the accompaniment of music.

They also performed naked at the Olympic Games.

The very first Olympic race, held in 776 B.C., was won

by Corubus—a chef.

Kelli Valentine

Senior, guard

Robert Britt 503-725-4538

Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina holds the record for the most Olympic medals ever won. Competing in three Olympics, between 1956 and 1964, she won 18 medals.

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Junior, guard

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Midseason report A look at the progress of the women’s basketball team Robert Britt Vanguard staff

As the Portland State women’s basketball team comes off a successful conference opener at Sacramento State on Saturday, it is worth taking a look back at the first half of the season and some notable player performances.

The Vikings (7­–7, 1–0 Big Sky) struggled early on in the season, at one point losing five straight games, but have battled back to win five of their last seven games. Performances such as junior guard Kelly

Marchant’s two 30-point games and a defense that is nearly unbeatable when keeping opponents to less than 60 points are keeping championship hopes alive.

Coming up, Portland State plays six of the next eight conference games at the Stott Center, starting with Montana State on Friday and Montana on Saturday night. Look for continued high-tempo play from these Vikings as the second half of the season increases the stakes:

Playing at full strength for the first time since she injured her ACL during her freshman year, Bishop is returning to her role as the biggest three-point threat. She ranks third in Portland State’s career three-point field goal percentage, and so far this season has nailed 12 from the distance—hitting at least one in nine of her 13 games.

Charlie Fowlkes/Portland State Vanguard

Junior, forward

In the first game of the season, the former Big Sky Conference’s Outstanding Freshman demonstrated her ability to stand out on the court. her 15-foot jumper with less than a second remaining in the game lifted the Vikings to a 67–66 victory over Washington.

She currently ranks third on the team in scoring and rebounding this season, with an average of 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Courtesy PSU Athletics

Katy Wade

Sophomore, center The young newcomer is quickly earning her keep on the Portland State roster, playing in all 14 games and starting in 12.

After a review of the film from the Dec. 29 game against Oregon State, Wade was credited with seven blocked shots, instead of the four that were originally listed. Seven blocks ties the school’s single-game record and marks the first time since 1991 that a Viking has recorded that many in a game.

Kelly Marchant Junior, guard

Named Conference Player of the Week in December, Marchant scored 30 points against Pacific on Dec. 6 and then posted a career-high 31 points on Saturday.

PSU players have scored 30-plus points three times this year, already tying last season's total.

It’s happening tonight: Ice Hockey 7 p.m., Valley Ice Arena Beaverton

Digits 199

2

Career wins head coach Sherri Murrell has tallied in her 14 years of coaching.

Number of times over the past four games the Viks posted six players with double-digit scoring.

3

226

Number of Portland State players who hold Big Sky Conference single-game highs: Marchant (points), Faucher (assists, steals and three-point attempts) and Wade (blocks).

Number of games played, before Dec. 18, since the last time the Viks had six players score 10 or more.

.787 The Vikings’ win percentage at the Stott Center since the 2005–06 season.

28 Rebounds Faucher needs to become the ninth member of Portland State’s elite 1,000-point, 500-rebound club.

.404

Portland State (7–3) vs.

Portland State's field goal percentage.

301 Portland State's three-point field goal attempts.

191 Their opponents' three-point field goal attempts.

Long Beach State (4–11)

—www.didyouknow.org

Freshmen nominated for state award Bertrand, Lewis in contention for Oregon prep athlete of the year Robert Britt Vanguard staff

Two current Portland State student-athletes were selected as finalists for an Oregon Sports Award this week.

Freshman softball pitcher Anna Bertrand and freshman football player Nevin Lewis have both been named finalists for the 2009 Johnny Carpenter Prep Athlete of the Year Award.

The winner will be announced at the Oregon Sports Awards on Jan. 31.

Bertrand joined the Vikings squad after a remarkable career at McMinnville High School, where she was named as both a Gatorade Player of the Year and Oregon class 6A Pitcher of the Year.

“She’s the kind of kid that works hard both on and off the field; she’s never satisfied with where she’s at,” said Tobin Echo-Hawk, head coach of Portland State softball. “I definitely see her making an immediate impact.”

Bertrand is a three-time All-State First-Team selection and four-time Pacific Conference Pitcher of the Year, who in her senior year went 22–3 and threw four no-hitters.

Not to be limited to defense, Bertrand went .462 at the plate, with five home runs and 30 RBIs. In the classroom, she earned a 4.0 GPA and was a National Merit Scholar finalist.

Bertrand pitched during the Vikings preseason schedule, leading Portland State to a 1–0 victory at Oregon.

Lewis came to Portland State from Culver High School, where he was a multisport athlete and was twice named 2A Offensive Player of the Year in football. On the basketball court, he was a four-year starter, earning All-League honors three times. As a track and field athlete, Lewis won state championships

last spring in three sprints and the long jump.

This fall, as a true freshman at Portland State, Lewis started three football games as a wide receiver and on special teams. He played in eight games and caught five passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.

The state’s top athletes, coaches and teams of the previous year, as chosen by a statewide media panel, are recognized at the Oregon Sports Awards. Emmy Award-winning Ahmad Rashad will host the event, and various sports celebrities will present the awards at the Nike World Campus in Beaverton.

etc.

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33 Pastoral piece 34 Does dock work 39 “Back to the Future” bully 40 “Wiseguy” actor Ken 41 Sections of digestive tracts 44 Like Steve Jobs and Moses 46 Niña companion

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48 Codgers 49 Big Indian 50 Like a good deal for both sides 53 Facebook feature 54 Mata ___ 55 Trinidad or Tobago 57 Game with 32 cards

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Wanted Marketing Manager In charge of relations with the public to promote the Vanguard on the PSU campus.

To apply, e-mail editor@daillyvanguard.com

Today PSUBAC: Biker's Breakfast 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union room 228 Free pastries and coffee for cyclists UASC: Academic Standing Workshop 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

SMSU, room 333 Free for students and guests Althea Rodgers: Current Developments in Consumer Fraud 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

SMSU, room 228 Free to Retired Associates of PSU and guests

Friday Center for Transportation Studies: Regional Implications of the Federal Livability Initiative Noon to 1 p.m.

Urban Center Building, room 204 Free seminar for students and guests Oregon Tax Measures: What's at Stake?

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

SMSU Ballroom Free panel discussion w/ refreshments

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The Fifth Element 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

5th Avenue Cinema Free w/ PSU ID Proof by David Auburn 7:30 p.m.

New Studio Theater 1600 SW Fourth Ave., Suite 110 $6, $4 w/ PSU ID

KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2009 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

Call the Vanguard 503.725.5686

Vanguard Etc. | 7 January 7, 2010

● ●

Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

Thenumberswithintheheavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given

operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

Fillinsingle-box ● cages Freebies: with the number in the top-left corner.

To place an event: Contact vgcalendar@ gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, Smith Memorial Student Union, room 115.

Wanted • Wanted Online Assistant

Send résumés to onlinedailyvanguard@gmail.com

POP CULTURE ARTS & CULTURE Singer-song “rocker” Jon Davidson comes to Macadam’s this weekend.

Mark Johnston Vanguard staff

About four years ago, a young man named Jon Davidson left his native Michigan and traveled west in search of fun, adventure and a chance to get his music heard by more people. Since his move, he has been running forward and not looking back.

Davidson has toured in five countries, including Canada, Sweden and Germany, as well as over 35 states.

With the support of his management, publicity and getting his own hands dirty, his singles have been played on stations in 46 U.S. states and Canadian provinces, as well as charting on college radio’s Hot 200 chart. He has shared the stage with such artists as Puddle Of Mudd, Powerman 5000, Saliva and The Exies.

Moving to Portland was an easy choice for Davidson.

“I had a band out [in Michigan] and I was sick of playing the same three venues over and over again,” Davidson said. “I heard about the music scene in Portland, and I had been there on vacation. So, once I finished school in Michigan, I thought about it and made up my mind to head out to the Northwest.”

Once he arrived in the rainy city, he took up with a group of musicians, but discovered that he enjoyed playing solo shows more.

“Now and then I have a fivepiece band that I break out for bigger shows, but when I tour, it’s just one acoustic and one vocal,” Davidson said. “I’ve been in hard rock bands for 10 years. I’ve only gone solo a year ago and it has been really easy to make friends with artists, promoters, and venues around Portland. I love how I can communicate more effectively through the raw honesty of having just a vocal and guitar. More of who I am comes through and is portrayed more easily.”

Things began to move quickly for the ambitious troubadour. Through intense self-promoting and a cando attitude, Davidson was soon playing larger venues and his first release, Perfect Cliché, for which he wrote and performed on every song, began selling so quickly that it sold out within a year of its release.

To celebrate the achievement, Davidson is repackaging the album, adding four remixes and a new song, for release in the coming months. The re-release is currently available at shows and through Music Millennium.

Right now, Davidson is working on a new album at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. The songs are being produced by Jeff Johnson (Jet Black Stare, Adelitas Way), engineered

by Chris Holmes (Korn, The Veer Union, Katy Perry) and mixed by Randy Staub (Metallica, U2, Nickelback, Our Lady Peace). As with his other endeavors, he is playing it nice and cool in regards to the release of his next album.

“As far as getting signed…I’m holding out,” Davidson said. “Most of the contact I have received has been from Indie labels that can’t do

Just doin’ it for the cause more for me than I can do for myself. I have played 180 shows last year alone, done all of my own promotion and radio marketing with my team—I am waiting for a label that takes me where I want to go.”

In addition to being a marketing and performing machine, Davidson has been extremely active in supporting his community and causes near and dear to him. He has done charity performances for American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, March of Dimes and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“Last summer I canceled a leg of my tour to play a Cancer Society benefit show,” Davidson said. “I feel that if I can’t make some kind of tangible difference with my music, then what’s it for? I have played over 30 shows for the American Cancer Society alone!”

With Davidson’s well-crafted songs, active involvement in the local music scene and social conscious way of doing business, he shouldn’t have any problems continuing to further himself and his music. His strong work ethic and positive attitude have been mainstays of his success.

“When I was back in Michigan, I got the best advice I ever did. A DJ, who was a former musician, had been signed to a big label—it’s great to have people working for you, but they’ll only work as hard as you work for yourself,” Davidson said. “I send out a lot of press kits myself. I have a service that sends out some stuff for me. I spend 60 hours a week on my computer making calls, and thankfully I have a good manager and PR people that work hard for me and I’m thankful. I really think it’s this hard work that has been the reason for my success.”

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 8 January 7, 2010

What’s up with…plaid?

Tartan plaid is simply a pattern of thread repeated in both the breadth and width of the finished fabric, the woof and the warp. A true plaid, then, has the same pattern when you rotate it 90 degrees.

But tartan plaid is also something more, one of the few surviving cultural reminders of the independent Scottish nation. In fact, the tartan is so fundamental to the Scottish identity that English authorities banned wearing plaid after the Scottish rebellion of 1746. Many Americans can trace their ancestry to Scots who were sentenced to seven years labor in the colonies for wearing their tartan.

As early as the Roman conquest of Britain in Julius Caesar’s day, the Celts of Scotland and Ireland wore primitive tartans. At the time, tartan referred to a style of weaving fabric that makes a fine, diagonal texture. Look at your jeans or a twill shirt—you’ll see the fine diagonal pattern. This strong weave is made by sewing the thread “over two, under two” instead of the simpler “over one, under one.”

During the Middle Ages, Scottish weavers began using simple, natural dyes to create plaid designs in their tartans. There was little standardization of patterns, with weavers creating a new design for every bolt of fabric.

But regional styles began to develop, based on local tastes and the availability of natural pigments. Eventually, clans began to wear a more standardized set of plaids, but there was still much variation among tartans. In fact, Highland warriors identified their clan affiliation mainly by devices on their hats, not the pattern of their kilts.

—wiki.answers.com

Jon Davidson

Macadam’s Bar and Grill 5833 SW Macadam Ave. Sat, 9 p.m.

Free

Photos courtesy of Mandy Krohn

Jon Davidson: Ballads, smooth rock and a lot of hair gel. Yup, that pretty much sums it up.