The Hoya Guide: Oct. 28, 2011

the guide friday, october 28, 2011

the weekly magazine for life on the hilltop

HAUNTED HISTORY

PEERING INTO A FRIGHTFUL PAST Raucous Caucus: Congressional Dining

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A Rocky Horror Halloween

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From the Streets to The Stage: Minh

this issue 3 hilltop lifestyle 4 food & drink 11 arts & style 12 entertainment 14 red square roundup // campus spotlight

rocky horror // dating dalai // minh

blue duck tavern // market to table // pho 75

warhol // take it from a senior // costumes

words made fresh // face the music // ceremonials

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You may have heard fragments of the story behind “the Exorcist stairs” while first touring the Hilltop, but do you know what inspired Georgetown alumnus William Peter Blatty to pen this frightful tale? Take a tour of the haunted sites both on campus and beyond the gates, and learn about the scary stories that inspired the modern-day rumors surrounding mysteries such as the 5th floor of Healy and the Halcyon House on Prospect Street.

GarrettSchumann

Deep down, we all know that college is about more than learning about calculus, marketing or international politics. (I also discovered it is apparently more than beer pong and girls.)

the guide Lauren Weber, Executive Editor Connor Gregoire, Managing Editor Meagan Kelly, Photo Editor Shakti Nochur, Layout Editor Suzanne Fonzi, Copy Chief Peter Brigham, Deputy Guide Editor Alex Sanchez, Deputy Guide Editor Bethany Imondi, Deputy Guide Editor Chris Bien, Deputy Photo Editor Michelle Cassidy, Deputy Photo Editor Remy Samuels, Deputy Layout Editor Nikita Buley, Deputy Copy Editor Samantha Randazzo, Deputy Copy Editor

MEAGAN KELLY/THE HOYA

COVER PHOTO BY MEAGAN KELLY

soundbite take it from a senior

SPOOKY SPOTS: FROM MYSTERIES TO MORGUES

(echo)locate your future at the hoya

Eamon O’Connor, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Amos, Guide Editor Corrections & Clarifications If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Laura Engshuber at (202) 687-3415 or email executive@thehoya. com.

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Georgetown University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression for student editors.

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hilltop

RED SQUARE ROUNDUP GPB MOVIE: FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

MEIR SHALEV BOOK SIGNING

Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

ICC Auditorium

Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 12:30 p.m.

Copley Formal Lounge

This week, the Georgetown Program Board will be showing Friends with Benefits, a romantic comedy starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis as Dylan and Jamie, two friends who start a relationship with the agreement that it won’t become serious.

Meir Shalev, a celebrated Israeli novelist, will be interviewed about his newest book, the memoir My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner. Following the interview, there will be lunch, a Q&A and a book signing with the author.

Saturday, Oct. 29 at 9 p.m.

Bulldog Alley

Monday, Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Gaston Halll

This Halloween weekend come listen to the DJs of WGTB, Georgetown’s radio station, as they compete to play the best music. Each DJ will have three minutes to play the best dance music he knows, and the audience will decide the winner.

Check off another tradition on your Hilltop bucket list and watch the The Exorcist Halloween night in Gaston Hall.

Even if scary movies are not your thing, keep your eyes open long enough to spot all the local Georgetown haunts.

GPB PRESENTS: THE EXORCIST

WGTB’S IPOD BATTLE ROYALE

campusspotlight // NAS

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f you were to ask Georgetown students what comes to their minds when they think of the Arab world, some may describe the plot of Aladdin while others may describe the tangled love story of Maha and Khalid, stars of the Arabic language textbook, Al-Kitaab fii Ta‘allum al-’Arabiyya. While Maha’s drama is certainly fascinating and Princess Jasmine has quite an excellent sense of fashion, there is no real place on campus for their avid fans to bond over their love of all that is Arab. NAS Arab Society aims to fill that void; we are lovers of Arab culture, music, language, literature and history, and our goal is to create an Arab community on campus.

Neither politically nor religiously driven, NAS (which means “people” in Arabic) encourages organic conversations between Arab and non-Arab group members that complement and challenge classroom knowledge. Impromptu debates on which dialect is the “best-sounding” (Lebanese, duh) or discussions on our parents’ mutual obsessions with Oum Kalthoum are the norm for many of our gatherings.

NAS is currently composed of an executive board and a general body. All members of the society meet every other Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the Intercultural Center. There is often food, but even better, Karim the Camel (our unofficial mascot) often makes an appearance. On Oct. 19, we hosted a study break in

Alumni Lounge, complete with kabobs, table tennis and Arabic karaoke. While some of us may not exactly be Glee Project-worthy, that didn’t prevent us from singing Amr Diab and Nancy Ajram at the top of our lungs.

Looking ahead, our next event, “Revolutions in Progress: How the Arab Spring is Far From Over,” will be held Monday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. in ICC 115. It will feature guest speaker Khaled Sherif, a chief administrative officer at the World Bank, who will focus on the extent to which the revolutions truly achieved their goals and changed the political, economic and cultural situations in Arab countries. We encourage anyone, even those who do not wish to be part of the club, to come out for some great conversation. This Friday, we will also be attending “Artistic Arabs in America,” an event hosted by The George Washington University Arab Student Association at the Cloyd Heck Marvin Center (800 21st Street NW) that begins at 6:30 p.m.

NAS is also looking to host more study breaks, movie nights and dinners this semester. For more information, or to be added to our listserv, please email us at nas.georgetown@gmail.com.

COURTESY MONA RAMADAME

Mona Ramadame Co-President

ARABIAN NIGHTS Georgetown’s NAS Arab Society is united by a shared love of all things related to Arab culture.

10.28.11 // the guide // 3

lifestyle

NICOLE JARVIS Hoya Staff Writer

It’s Just a Jump to the Left D.C. TROUPE PUTS ON A HORROR OF A SHOW

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f you are looking to change up your Halloweekend activities this year by adding something new and exciting into the mix of your longstanding traditions, the Sonic Transducers, a D.C. performance group, offers an event that caters both to those who prefer a quaint Halloween full of jack-o-lanterns and chocolate bars and to those who plan their last night of October according to the adage, “Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.” The group delivers a live performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on the second weekend of every month and has added additional

show times on Oct. 28, and 30 to celebrate Halloween.

Rockin’ Out The Rocky Horror Picture Show follows the escapades of young couple Brad and Janet after a flat tire forces them to seek shelter in the lab of Dr. FrankN-Furter. The doctor, a self-proclaimed “sweet Transvestite” from Transsexual, Transylvania, and his gang of followers at the Annual Transylvanian Convention have discovered “the secret to life itself” and have harnessed this power to create a monster, the eponymous Rocky Horror. There is singing, dancing and sex galore as the heroes try to survive their night and save their relationship.

The movie, an adaptation of a British musical stage show, was released originally in 1975 to mixed reviews and poor box office returns. The future looked bleak for Frank and the Transylvanians. However, the film’s ridiculous plot, quirky characters and infectious music generated an increasingly passionate fan base that eagerly flocked to special “midnight screenings” of the film, soon establishing Rocky Horror as one of the first certifiable cult films.

As years passed, the film’s fan base continued to grow and s o o n many of its d e vo te d fans sought increasingly creative ways to express their devotion. What they created has come to be known as the “live” Rocky Horror Picture Show.

We’ll Do It Live The question now emerges: What exactly is a “live” screening? A live Rocky Horror Show production represents a truly unique fusion of film, acting and audience participation to create an atmosphere that is equal parts sexy, campy and downright strange. Performing

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in a generic movie theater, the cast sets up a small stage underneath the screen where the movie is projected. The actors sing, dance and pantomime in full costume along with the film.

They also encourage the audience to interact with the film. Audience participation is a the most unique and entertaining aspect of the live “Rocky Horror” experience. Verbal interaction with the movie in the form of call and response, commentary, sing-alongs and, most no-

atmosphere light at live “Rocky Horror” performances.

Devirginization Of all the one-of-a-kind traditions associated with live productions, the “devirginization” that takes place before every show is one of the most characteristically “Rocky Horror.” What may sound like an activity worthy of a trashy teen comedy is in reality a hilarious initiation into the performance and its crazy world.

“You catch the spirit of it, and it motivates you to do more and to perform better. You get to see that they are enjoying what you are doing for them.”

— Giorgio Mazarelli of the Sonic Transducers tably, the use of props is not just common, it’s encouraged, and it allows the audience to interact with each other and with the film on a completely different and fun level. Some of the more unusual props officially sanctioned for use during performances include toasted bread, which audience members throw at the performers when Frank proposes a toast at the dinner table, and Scott brand toilet paper, to be dramatically flung into the air when Brad loudly announces “Great Scott!” These seemingly strange traditions keep the

Audience members who have never attended a live Rocky Horror performance before are marked with a large “V” on their forehead (signifying that they are Rocky Horror virgins), and a lucky few of them are called up to the stage to participate in “titillating and scandalous” games for the amusement of all. Most of the games satirize sex in one way or another; the most popular include faking orgasms, measuring how much of a banana an audience member can eat in one bite and creating imaginative sexual positions with blow-up dolls.

GET THE PICTURE D.C. performance group the Sonic Transducers performs its midnight screening based on the cult film Rocky Horror.

lifestyle Who Are the Sonic Transducers?

So who are the Sonic Transducers?

The Sonic Transducers are a local company of amateur performers who have come together to put on Rocky Horror productions in the metropolitan D.C. area. Founded in 2009, the group is made up of men and women — Rocky Horror veterans and rookies alike — who all share a passion for the culture that has sprung up around The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Two of the performers from the cast, Oscar Soto and Giorgio Mazarelli, are particularly ardent in their support for the production as a “quirky” and “crazy fun” activity, as “an outlet for people to just be their weird selves” and “[somewhere to] do a lot of stuff you don’t ordinarily do in a movie theater or in everyday life.” The two took very different routes to discovering the Rocky Horror culture and joining the Sonic Transducers cast. Soto first discovered the film at a performance at The George Washington University in 2003 while Mazarelli saw the original movie at 13, but both stressed the ease with which they became involved with the group and encourage others to do the same.

Getting Involved With Rocky Horror The first step if one wishes to join the Sonic Transducers Rocky Horror cast is simply to contact members of

Q & A

the company online or approach them after a show, as Soto first did in 2004.

The next step is to work with the prop crew for several shows as a way of paying proverbial dues and integrating oneself into the unique culture of the group. One can then choose to work one’s way up to being an actor in the show, which both Mazarelli and Soto say is the most rewarding part of their Rocky Horror experiences. “When I’m up on stage acting things out, it’s just a really good feeling to have the attention of the audience, especially when they shout commentary at you,” Mazarelli said. “You catch the spirit of it, and it motivates you to do more and to perform better. You get to see that they are enjoying what you are doing for them.”

Above all else, Sonic Transducers is dedicated to building relationships with its audience. “If you come consistently, it really becomes more of a family., more of a place to go … where everybody knows your name,” Mazarelli said.

“When it comes to Rocky Horror, everyone belongs,” Soto said.

So between the trick-or-treating, the horror movie marathons and wild parties this Halloween weekend, you can also take the time to “do the Time Warp again” with the Sonic Transducers and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY THE SONIC TRANSDUCERS

DO THE TIME WARP The iconic production is perfect for a Halloween fright.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

“A bag of jellybeans – I’m going to take a clear plastic trash bag, make two leg holes and fill it up with rainbow balloons.”

“We’re all gonna be Steve Jobs.”

Tegan Campia (SFS ’14) Henry Clark (MSB ’12) Clare Southern (COL ’14) Gabriel Sim (MSB ’13)

MB Ciarrocchi (MSB ’13)

“Blackout – I’m going to wear all black and a shot glass around my neck.”

Katie Cohen (COL ’12)

“I’m going to use a kitty costume to make an astronaut costume.”

Victoria Schramm (COL ’12)

10.28.11 // the guide // 5

lifestyle

CENTER STAGE Crisis Averted: The Hoyas Behind the National Security Conference The National Collegiate Security Conference (NCSC), a yearly Model United Nations conference, is staffed by members of the Georgetown International Relations Club and is sponsored by the Georgetown International Relations Association, Inc. The 39th annual conference is this weekend from Thursday, Oct. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 30. The executives of this year’s conference, Michael Lopesciolo (SFS ’13) and Christie Shely (SFS ’13), a former Hoya staff writer and Deputy Photo Editor, have been planning the four-day conference for almost a year. They, along with a staff of about 120 students, will welcome almost 600 delegates from all over the country to Washington this weekend.

What exactly do you two do before and during the conference?

Lopesciolo: NCSC is sort of a Model United Nations conference, but we don’t do a lot of traditional United Nations simulations, which are generally very large and cover a couple of topics … and the delegates — a hundred or two hundred of them — debate for a couple of days … and vote on different policies.

We do a lot of much smaller, much faster-paced committees that simulate things like a national cabinet or very small summit or a board of directors of a corporation, and we do a real-time

JOANIE GREVE Special to The Hoya

simulation.

Shely: The main focus [of NCSC] is obviously the committees and the crises that we’re working on, but then we also have speakers coming from D.C. who are experts on the topics, and we’re also doing embassy trick-or-treating and other daytime, and especially evening, social events that let the delegates get to know each other and experience everything that D.C. has to offer.

Lopesciolo: There’s a strong social community on the circuit of college-level Model United Nations conferences.

How long have you been working on setting up this conference?

Shely: We were appointed last November, so it’s been almost a year. My position is Executive Director, so I’m focused on all the non-substantive details of the conference. My job more includes getting the speakers to come and logistical details, setting up the schedule and making sure we have food and all [those kinds of things].

Lopesciolo: I’m Secretary General, so I focus on … the staff of [the 18 different simulations] and making sure their ideas are both substantively strong and compatible with the style of debate we do.

Are the 600 visiting delegates representative of different schools and backgrounds?

COURTESY CHRISTIE SHELY

DYNAMIC DUO NCSC leaders Lopesciolio (left) and Shely (right) at the tent of the International Relations Club, NCSC’s sponsor, at last year’s Relay for Life.

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Shely: We have [people from] about 43 schools coming this year, which is more schools than have come to NCSC in the past, so we’re expanding this year.

Lopesciolo: A lot of the schools are from the Boston, Washington, East Coast stretch, but we do have a handful of [people from] schools on the West Coast. … Some from the Midwest, a couple from Canada. Florida and Georgia have a bunch of schools that do it, so it’s definitely nationwide.

What makes this conference unique from others with a similar focus?

Lopesciolo: On the substantive side, Georgetown is very much known for being very competent, having very substantively strong simulations. … Beyond the top handful of people who are on the secretariat [executive board] of the conference … there are a million and one people who are super interested and super qualified, [who] you don’t see at other conferences. The general staff is really strong, which means the simulations are more realistic, the delegates get feedback more quickly, the information is more detailed, the debates are more complex.

Georgetown’s really known for — from top secretariat Christie and myself down to your average freshman staffer — being stronger than almost anywhere else you see.

Shely: We’re also in a unique position by being able to take advantage of everything D.C. offers in terms of international affairs. This is the perfect place to be for a conference like this because we can have actual State Department officials coming and talking about the issues in the countries we’re debating on.

Lopesciolo: It’s also known as one of the most logistically sound, smoothly run conferences that there is, arguably the single most.

Shely: We try to make it as fun and easy for the delegates as possible, as well as the staff and make sure everything runs well, and they have a good time all weekend.

When does it begin and end?

Shely: We’re going to move in on Tuesday, [the 25th]. Our senior staff will arrive on Wednesday, the 26th, and the rest of the staff and the delegates will arrive on Thursday, the 27,th and we’ll do opening ceremonies and welcome everyone to the conference. We’ll start committees that night, and then that will run through

Sunday when we have our closing ceremonies in the afternoon.

Lopesciolo: So it runs four days, with Friday and Saturday starting at 9 a.m. with committee sessions and ending with social events that go until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m.

So, what are you guys going to do once this is done?

Shely: Probably a lot of sleep and homework … make sure our friends know we’re alive still … but it’s nice, because I’ve made some of my best friends doing this, so it’s nice because everyone will be there this weekend.

Lopesciolo: [Christie and I] had spoken, like, twice before we were appointed to our positions.

Shely: Now, we’re … rarely apart.

Lopesciolo: And that’s probably not going to change after the conference.

Five things you didn’t know about Michael and Christie: Michael’s legal middle name is Galileo.

Christie’s favorite food is popcorn.

Michael couldn’t tie his shoes until 5th grade.

Christie lived in Arizona for most of her life, but she was born at Georgetown Hospital.

Christie and Michael frequently wear the exact same color unintentionally.

lifestyle

Enjoying Western Nightlife With a Chinese Twist dating dalai AnastasiaTaber

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esternized areas have popped up all over Beijing in recent years. One of the most popular areas is Sanlitun, which boasts coffee shops, Westernstyle restaurants, shopping and one of the five legitimate Apple stores in China.

Sanlitun also has a number of bars and clubs. Chances are if you’re a foreigner living in Beijing, then you have been to (or at least heard of) Mix and Vicks, as well as the end-all-be-all of rooftop bars: Kokomo’s.

Typically my friends and I start at the former and end up at the latter.

Mix and Vicks are housed in two large, industrial-looking buildings that face opposite each other. The only sort of decorations are glowing neon signs that let you know which club is Mix and which one is Vicks (though if they switched the signs, we wouldn’t know the difference).

Mix and Vicks charge cover — on a decent night about 50 kuai (roughly $7.94) and on a special night 150 kuai (roughly $23.80). The latter feels like a fortune in China, a place where you can find a good meal for 8 kuai (roughly $1.27).

If you are feeling stingy with your hard-earned kuai though, there’s a Chinese club behind Mix that offers free admission. On a good night, Lamborghinis, Porsches, BMWs and Ferraris line the entrance to the club — a playground for the Chinese elite.

I’ve given the club three chances, and every time it’s still the weirdest club I’ve ever been to. They strictly forbid the use of cameras, the decoration inside is a combination of Victorian and steam-punk, and they invite special performers like the Mirror People: a trio dressed in reflective full-body, alien-shaped suits that shoot laser lights out of their elongated gloved fingertips. The jury’s still out on that one.

Inside Mix and Vicks though, you’re met with the typical scene of a popular Western dance club: dozens of gyrating bodies dancing it out to

Rihanna. The only difference is that the majority of the crowd is Chinese and the foreigners hail from every country imaginable. You can call it a cultural exchange (of phone numbers).

Beijing’s clubs are how Bruce (really the name says it all) finds Western girls to date. Bruce is a Chinese graduate student in Beijing who once studied abroad in Albania for eight months. Because of this study abroad period, Bruce found that he is attracted only to Western girls.

Bruce’s role model is Bruce Lee, and yes, he told me all of this information within five seconds of meeting him.

He also asked me to grab a hold of his impeccable biceps. I politely refused and left the club struggling to come up with a term for only liking white people (it’s “euro fever”).

For a less intense experience, Kokomo’s Bar is just a short rickshaw ride away. The rickshaws around Sanlitun consist of covered benches on wheels pulled by either a motorized or non-motorized bike. Every time I use a rickshaw, I somehow always pay double the price that the driver and I agreed upon before leaving. Once I

cursed a rickshaw driver out in Chinese, shouting, “You’re a cheat!” He smiled as he pedaled away with my change.

The atmosphere of the rooftop bar Kokomo’s is a lot more chill, and consequently I’ve had some great random conversations with people from all over the world — France, New Zealand, Egypt and my favorite trio: Wales, Ireland and England (They kept ripping on each other’s countries).

By 3 a.m., it is my feet and not my spirit that have begun to tire. Heaven waits immediately outside of Kokomo’s, where you can plop down on a stool and enjoy meat on a stick. This is like the equivalent of Tuscany’s appearing right outside of your door, right at the moment you crave greasy calories. The steam from the grill rolls up in thick curls, and the meat glistens as the cook rotates the sticks. The whole experience can be summed up best as Western nightlife with a Chinese twist.

Anastasia Taber is a junior in the College. She can be reached at taber@ thehoya.com. THE DATING DALAI appears every other Friday in the guide.

Music Gets Minh Off the Streets, Into World Tour BISI ORISAMOLU Special to The Hoya

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n a crowded tavern, a man sits at a piano crooning Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” The man’s appearance does not match his soulful cadence, but the atmosphere indicates that the crowd approves of his performance.

Who is this man? He goes by Minh.

From his involvement in a black gang when he was 14 to his current preparations to join the band Jodeci on its reunion tour, Minh’s life has been an eventful journey. Because of his father, a songwriter and a member of the Vietnamese opera, Minh started writing songs at the young age of 13. After that, his teacher’s support enabled him to turn poetry into a song that was performed at a middle school concert.

Later, although Minh’s parents urged him to get a college degree, Minh decided to follow his dreams and pursue a music career. He describes music as his “deepest passion.” After creating his first album, the self-taught producer started promoting himself by guessing the email addresses of top music executives. His second album caught him real attention in the industry, and just a year and a half after its release, his success has increased exponentially.

His music is “a blend of soul, pop, rock and electronic,” an unexpected combination of sounds that Minh says comes from his love of all music, especially soul. This fondness for soul is a byproduct of the time he spent singing in a gospel choir, a group he joined in an effort to remove himself from gang life.

After saving himself from the streets at a young age, Minh is determined to succeed.

His dreams are big and include touring the world, breaking records, winning a Grammy and writing a book. He claims he wants “to be the first Asian singer that is a superstar worldwide.”

He also acknowledges that he’s a businessman, inspired by figures like 50 Cent and Jay-Z, who are not only musicians, but also entrepreneurs. “I might have my own shoes or tie line,” he says, when asked to think about his career in five to 10 years.

Above all, he wants to prove to himself and to all those people that refuse to believe that an Asian R&B and pop singer can succeed in the music industry.

“The general stigma is that it can’t work,” Minh admits.

This also sets Minh apart from all the oth-

REACHMINH.COM/BIO

SHOCK FACTOR The District native hopes to be the “first Asian singer that is a super-star worldwide.” er singers in the business, though. “My edge is that I’m Asian and from another country,” he jokes. No one expected the young Vietnamese man cracking jokes at the piano to belt out a version of “Someone Like You” that would bring chills to his audience.

It’s this element of surprise that Minh believes is so important to his image and is going to give him an advantage in the fame game.

“It’s my dynamite,” he said. “It’s that shock factor.”

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Eerie Tales Shed Light on Local Frights

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HILLTOP HAUNTS

HIDDEN SECRETS (Top left) The infamous staircase where fictional Georgetown Jesuit tumbled to his death in the thriller The Exorcist. (Top right) Healy Hall has been the site of many alleged hauntings, as has the tower of Old North (lower left) and Halcyon House (lower right).

rom the steep flight of stairs dropping off Prospect Street to the spec- Elizabeth Garbitelli tral appearance of the clock tower blending into the night sky, the HillHoya Staff Writer top’s haunted history lives on through the whispers of campus lore.

The Exorcist If you haven’t attended the annual Halloween screening of The Exorcist in Gaston Hall, you’re missing out on one of campus’s biggest urban legends. Originally penned by William Peter Blatty (C ’50), the tale follows a young girl who becomes possessed by a malevolent spirit and descended into madness. The Exorcist captivated readers with its supernatural allure, staying on The New York Times best-seller list for weeks.

Blatty went on to adapt it for the screen, crafting the iconic horror film of the same name.

In the film, a Georgetown Jesuit, Fr. Damien Karras, S.J., seeks to heal the young girl, who speaks in foreign tongues, spews green vomit and scares the hell out of audiences everywhere when she turns her head 360 degrees. Eventually, Karras throws himself to his death down the menacing stairs off of Prospect Street to conquer the demon.

Despite being grounded in truth, much of Blatty’s adaptation differs from the original story he heard of during his time as an undergraduate. The home depicted in the film version and the incident on the “Exorcist steps” were added for dramatic flair. Additionally, the actual press coverage from the 1940s tells the story of a boy, instead of the girl featured in the movie.

Georgetown priests were involved with the case, but details of the exorcism are difficult to confirm or deny due to secrecy surrounding the exorcism process. But that doesn’t keep urban legends from popping up around the Hilltop, adding to the occult incident’s mystery.

“I heard he read the diary of one of the priests who performed the exorcist,” Sankalp Gowda (SFS ’15) said. “That’s how he got the idea.”

In 1972, The Hoya republished an Aug. 26,1949 article in The Washington Post, titled “Priest Frees Mt. Rainier Boy Reported Held in Devil’s Grip,” detailing the exorcism that formed the basis of Blatty’s book. According to the Post article, the “haunted boy” underwent extensive study at the Georgetown University Hospital, and some of the exorcism itself was carried out at the child’s Maryland home. The priests reported paranormal events, such the boy’s bed mysteriously sliding across the room while he was sleeping and an armchair tipping over by itself.

The child reportedly spoke in Latin, a language he had never studied before, and exhibited unnatural physical strength. Only after exhausting psychiatric treatments that failed to cure his episodes did his devout Catholic family finally turn to exorcism as a solution.

Many students believed that beloved Jesuit Fr. Thomas King, S.J., played a part in the exorcism.

When asked by inquiring students about details, King would dryly reply, “Why? Do you need one?”

Theology professor Fr. William McFadden, S.J., could not offer insight on the actual events of the exorcism but recalled the filming fondly.

The Jesuit even attended a casting call for extras.

“They didn’t pick me!” he said.

“Campus was taken over,” McFadden said.

“They brought these huge fans to blow around

leaves for effect. You could see the film crew everywhere, on the streets and on campus.”

Frightful Legends Tall tales about the infamous exorcism aren’t the only ghost stories circulating around campus.

“There are always stories about the clock, the bell tower, the tower room and the tunnels,” McFadden said.

According to both McFadden and Georgetown historian Fr. Emmett Curran, S.J., some of these legends are rooted in fact.

The tower room in Old North, for example, has been home to ghost sightings over the years.

Students claim the spirit of a student who committed suicide there still haunts the room.

Erika Charleston (COL ’12) passed along a story she heard from a professor about slaves being housed in Old North, which some people account for the mysterious haunting in the tower room.

“There were never slaves regularly housed on Georgetown by the Jesuits,” Curran said.

“But the Jesuits did have about 400 slaves out in Maryland. They would bring them in occasionally for certain projects. Some students also brought their manservants.”

Another common tale is set on the “haunted floor” of Healy. The university sealed off the fifth floor for different reasons depending on the story — an exorcism gone wrong or a priest’s untimely death.

“There’s a lot of weird misinformation,” Bryant Wolf (MSB ’13) said. “The door by Gaston is all scratched up. My old roommate was convinced that is where the exorcism took place.”

Curran believed the reasons for sealing off the upper floors of Healy Hall were merely practical. “[University officials sealed off to prevent] access to the clock hands, which periodically used to be stolen by enterprising undergraduates,” Curran said.

Remembering Hoyas Past Unusual or gruesome deaths are often fodder for ghost stories, but Curran recalled relatively few suicides on the Hilltop. He did remember a student dying from a fall off of Healy during the 1970s, when the upper levels of the building still housed students.

“He was intoxicated and climbed out the window to sit on a ledge,” Curran said, “He just fell out.”

About 20 years ago, a student died in the parking lot of Lauinger.

“There was a group of students coming back from The Tombs, and they got into a scuffle,” Curran said, “One student died as a result.

It was determined as an accidental death.”

Another student died after falling off of Harbin patio while playing Frisbee. But these sad occurrences do not have any known haunting attached to them, according to Curran.

Off-campus buildings LXR and Nevils

housed a hospital from 1898 until the mid1950s. To all those who are confined to the basement floor of LXR, the rumors are true: You’re living in the morgue, according to Curran.

The subterranean tunnels under Healy Hall also are rumored to have a few sinister residents — and not just the rats. Some legends say that they run all the way to the Capitol building or are the meeting site for alleged secret societies on campus, like the Stewards. McFadden could not confirm either of these stories but remembered that the tunnels had been a convenient storage area for the water and food supplies Georgetown stocked up on during the Cold War in case of a Soviet nuclear attack.

Ghosts Beyond the Gates In the surrounding neighborhood, the elegant Federal-style mansion on Prospect Street known as the “Halcyon House” has long had a haunted history.

The first Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, built the home, but died in poverty there in 1813, according to author Dennis William Hauck’s Haunted Places: The National Directory.

“The story is that one of the mistresses [of Halcyon House], sometime in the 19th century died in a very untimely way,” Curran added.

“Her spirit was known to haunt the ballroom.”

From 1961 to 1966, Halcyon House served as overflow housing for students in the East Campus. An article from The Hoya discussing the sale of the house included reports of the haunting. Resident George Roper said that earlier in the century the house’s owners had a hard time keeping servants due to the home’s supernatural reputation.

His son, Nick Roper, even wrote a biographical story for an April 1963 edition of The Modesto Bee titled “I Live in a Haunted House” detailing the strange sounds that his family heard during their time there.

Not everyone believes that Halcyon has paranormal activity. Curran remembered attending several events regularly at Halcyon House, and he said, “I didn’t detect any extraterrestrial presence.”

An Eerie Atmosphere Even today, filmmakers conjure up the haunting aura of the Hilltop. The recently released Daniel Craig horror flick Dream House features gothic Healy Hall as the stand-in for a terrifying asylum that Craig’s character recently escaped from.

Despite Georgetown’s storied history and its fabled exorcism, the campus actually lacks documented ghosts, according to Curran.

“I encountered very, very few ghost stories in my research,” Curran said. “The stories I have heard were carried by word of mouth.”

Maybe the Jesuits are keeping us safe — or maybe the real ghosts of Georgetown are still waiting to be found.

ALL PHOTOS MEAGAN KELLY/THE HOYA

FEAR FACTOR The entrance to Halcyon House rivals Healy and the LXR morgue.

food&drink Brushing Shoulders With DC’s Elite

Taste Some Congressional Cuisine JACLYN PROCTOR Special to The Hoya

 THE CAUCUS ROOM

A

401 Ninth St. cuisine: steak & seafood price: $$$$

ny budding politician or political junkie should dine at The Caucus Room at least once during his or her time at Georgetown.

Thanks to its proximity to Capitol Hill, The Caucus Room is a known favorite among congressmen, journalists and other government powerhouses. The chance for a politician sighting while Congress is in session is high. This steakhouse prides itself on many private banquet rooms — perfect for a congressional lunch or a private meeting between lobbyists and senators.

The Caucus Room is a classic steakhouse. With its dark mahogany trim and rich green accents, this restaurant is bursting with political paraphernalia. I dined among photographs of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and George H. W. Bush. Although the restaurant is probably not within the average student’s budget, the experience and chance of a politician sighting make it well worth the treat. With hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood flown in daily, it’s no wonder that

Washington’s most powerful actors frequent this restaurant.

For an appetizer, try the calamari.

From the first bite, you can immediately taste the freshness. The calamari is lightly fried with just the right amount of crunch and is served with both a classic marinara sauce and a specialty lemon-herb tartar sauce. For salad, the tomato mozzarella is delicious and light enough to hold you over to the entree. Thick pieces of mozzarella are layered upon sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and then drizzled lightly with pressed olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.

For seafood enthusiasts, the sea scallops make a great choice. Five large panseared scallops are paired with grilled vegetables and sit atop an apple-sage reduction. The scallops cut like butter, and the reduction perfectly complements the dish. A meat lover’s taste buds would instantly water at the sight of the 12-ounce. New York strip steak, cooked to perfection and served with a sauce au poivre and roasted garlic.

Hoya Happy Hour

The steak was succulent and juicy, and the sauce added just the right amount of flavor to the pepper-seasoned meat. A perfect (and sharable) side to complement the meal is the mashed potatoes.

Whipped to smooth perfection, with whole butter and sweet cream, the potatoes had a rich and creamy taste.

If you still have room in your stomach after dinner, try the New York cheesecake. It’s big enough for two or three people to share and comes with a dollop of homemade whipped cream.

The cheesecake is thick and velvety with a thin graham-cracker crust. The light and fluffy whipped cream has an almost mousse-like texture. The cheesecake was the perfect ending to a great meal.

If you are craving a hearty steak dinner and want to dine among Washington’s finest, check out The Caucus Room. This Washington classic may be one of the few things that has won the approval of both Republican and Democratic politicians.

FLICKR .COM

Dishes you have to try: Flash-Fried Calamari

lemon-herb tartar sauce // $15

Tomato Mozzarella Salad fresh mozzarella, vineripened tomatoes, fresh basil, sea salt and cold pressed olive oil // $9

USDA Prime Center-Cut New York Strip

served with sauce au poivre and roasted garlic // $46

A weekly roundup of some of the best shots, mixes and punches.

REDRUM Pay homage to your favorite horror flick this season by brewing up this deceptively sweet cocktail. Combining three different types of alcohol, this recipe will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it and haunt you the next morning. Scare your roommate by writing “REDRUM” on the bathroom mirror.

10 // the guide // 10.28.11

+ 24 oz. rum

+

+

½ bottle of red wine

6 oz. lime juice

+ 6 oz. triple sec

6 oz. simple syrup

Scooping Up The Seeds of A Fall Tradition market to table

F

BethanyImondi

or as long as I can remember, my local church has hosted pumpkin sales to raise funds for the parish community. The pumpkins sold were always decorated with bold eyes, red mouths and wide smiles. Though I always encouraged my mom to buy at least one of the happy pumpkins, I also asked that she purchase a larger, undecorated pumpkin that could be carved up for display.

Despite the fact that I never actually did any of the carving as a child, pumpkin carving has always been one of my favorite fall pastimes. Because I was not old enough to use a knife to carve out triangles for the pumpkin’s eyes and teeth, my job in the process was to get my hands dirty. After one of my parents cut out a lid from the gourd’s top, it was my responsibility to remove all the pulp and seeds inside. Ignoring my mother’s urges to use a spoon, I preferred to pull up my sleeves and stain my arms orange. The process always ended with a stained shirt and a smile as large as the ones painted on the parish pumpkins.

After my successful pumpkin cleaning, two things typically followed: The pumpkin went on display on the front steps, and my harvested pumpkin seeds found their way into the oven for roasting. Maybe I thought they were like watermelon seeds and eating them would result in something growing in my stomach, but I refused the roasted seeds my parents pushed me to try. When I finally did cave in and sampled the seeds, I regretted all the years in which I threw them on my newspaper-lined carving table.

While the pulp of the pumpkins usually gets all the hype this time of year, the seeds of the gourd are equally versatile and enjoyable in seasonal recipes. Roasting the seeds and eating them by the handful is perhaps the most popular way to enjoy them, but they can also be added to quick bread batters, granola mixes and salads. With so much potential, one might think twice about throwing them away with the carving leftovers.

food&drink

Un-pho-gettable Food at Pho 75 KATRINA YEH Special to The Hoya

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s the season gives way to chilly weather, the search is on for some comfort food to satisfy our tummies on a cold day. This, combined with my desperate craving for some decent Asian food, was more than enough to convince me to pay a visit to Pho 75. Located 10 minutes from the Rosslyn metro stop, this well-reviewed restaurant is worth the walk.

Upon entering the restaurant, there was already a line through the first set of doors — definitely a good sign. There was a natural bustle in the restaurant as busy servers carried pho from the kitchen four bowls at a time. Even with the line, we were seated within ten minutes, so the wait was not bad even during Pho 75’s peak hours With groups of more than four, however, seating might be a bit of a challenge, consider arriving at a more unconventional time if

you are eating with a large group.

As we were brought to our seats, I couldn’t help but hope that the environment did not reflect the food. Put simply, the decor is less than impressive and gives the restaurant a cafeteria-like vibe. I hoped the food would make up for the lack of attention to detail.

Due to the sheer volume of customers, you can tell that the staff is extremely familiar with Pho 75’s business. They tend to try to pick up the pace, and new customers get particular attention. The menu is fairly simple with only options for pho noodle bowls, drinks and dessert.

For those eager to enjoy a typical Vietnamese spring roll, one might be disappointed by their absence from the menu.

But, even with the restaurant’s limited selection, noodles are what Pho 75 does

PHO75.TUMBLER.COM

WHAT THE PHO? Inexpensive but satisfying Vietnamese eatery is worth the metro ride.

 PHO 75 1721 Wilson Blvd.

Arlington, Va. 22209 cuisine: Vietnamese price: $$$$ best. During my visit, I ordered a Combination 13 regular-sized bowl with beef brisket, tendons, flank and eye-of-round steak.

The combinations include noodles with various cuts of meat. The major protein is beef, so non-beef-eaters should be prepared for very limited options.

In almost no time, servers carried out steamy bowls of pho accompanied by additional plates of spices and bean sprouts for the soup. With just the right combination of softness and chewiness, the noodles were cooked to perfection.

The amount of beef was just right for me, but it might be on the small side for meat lovers. The star of the pho show was definitely the aromatic, spiced broth. Made without MSG, it has a natural, satisfying taste and isn’t too heavy.

Pho 75 offers some of the best pho that I have ever tasted, and the reasonable price of $6.95 for a regular bowl and $7.95 for a large bowl is nothing to complain about. For me, a regular bowl was perfect for my appetite. Since this may not be the same for everyone, ask your waiter or scope out the different bowl sizes before you order.

Though not all the aspects of Pho 75 are perfect, at the end of the day it delivers on what its customers want: a delicious, hot bowl of pho that satisfies their taste buds.

Candied Pumpkin Seeds From SeriousEats.com

Ingredients:

Makes four servings ½ cup pumpkin seeds, patted dry 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder 4 teaspoons brown sugar 1 egg

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

coat lightly, then let excess egg whites drip off through your fingertips or a colander.

2. Mix together 2 teaspoons pure vanilla

and rub together to coat. Pour the seeds onto a baking sheet and roast until lightly browned and crispy, about 20 to 25 minutes.

extract, 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder and 4 teaspoons brown sugar in a bowl to form a paste. Set aside.

3. Crack the whites of one egg into a small

bowl and quickly whip just until small bubbles form. Pour a little over the seeds to

4. Add the seeds into the espresso mixture

Bethany Imondi is a junior in the College. She can be reached at imondi@ thehoya.com. MARKET TO TABLE appears every other Friday in the guide.

10.28.11 // the guide // 11

arts&style Pop Art Guru Makes ‘Headlines’ MORE THAN SOUP CANS AT THE SMITHSONIAN MADELINE JORDEN Hoya Staff Writer

IAN ON HS MIT S Y TES UR CO

A

ndy Warhol currently seems to be having a moment in the art world. In addition to the National Gallery’s ongoing exhibition “Warhol: Headlines,” the work of the pop art guru is making headlines across the pond, where the Gagosian Gallery London is featuring a show of his portraits of French sex icon Brigitte Bardot. Back in D.C., the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Smithsonian Institution’s branch of contemporary art, is mounting a four-month exhibit of a series of his silkscreens entitled “Shadows.”

Having far surpassed his famous saying that, “In the future everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes,” Warhol has certainly maintained his renown as one of the most influential and important artists of the 20th cen-

12 // the guide // 10.28.11

tury. Beginning in the 1950s, his incorporation of icons from popular culture into his work and the exploitation of consumerist themes of banality and repetition marked a radical departure from conventional notions about what constituted fine art and, as a result, decisively altered the course of modern art.

Appropriately, “Headlines” encompasses many of these characteristic concepts of popular culture, bringing together around 80 lesser-known works from the artist’s oeuvre in a thematic grouping that has never before been considered. Varying in media from ballpoint ink on paper to oil on canvas to video installations, the works displayed here are united by the motif of the newspaper headline and its elements of sensationalism, celebrity and disaster that fascinated Warhol and informed his creations throughout the course of his career.

“A Boy for Meg (2),” one of the few works that is part of the National Gallery’s permanent collection, acts as a starting point for the exhibit as the first use of a headline in one of Warhol’s paintings. This and the other early headline works like it are more or

less s t r a i g h t fo rward reproductions of specific tabloid pages, the originals of which are conveniently displayed in cases in the center of the rooms. The role of the artist here is equivalent to that of a curator or editor: selecting a headline and then reworking it by embellishing a story to heighten the sense of drama or altering the composition to focus on a particular section of the tabloid page.

Interestingly, some of these works contain misspellings of certain words (“sieze” instead of “seize,” or “Princton” instead of “Princeton”), though it is uncertain whether these mistakes were deliberate or not. At times, Warhol inserts himself or his friends into the stories to assert his role in the creation of the work.

Gradually, this element of personalization begins to dissolve from the substance of the headline stories he depicts, though this shift is accompanied by a maturation of the distinguishable characteristics of the “Warhol brand.” Instead of the early austere, plain style achieved through graphite or ballpoint ink on paper, his later headlines incorporate hallmark Warhol-esque elements, such as the eye-popping Day-Glo colors for which he is still so well known. Here, Warhol becomes more author than editor, with a distinct voice and assertive message.

POP ART Warhol’s “Shadows” teems with emotion and color.

Ultimately, Warhol’s obsession with the sensational side of the news media stems from the same principle that inspired his Campbell’s soup cans: the relationship between the commodity and the consumer. “Flash — November 22, 1963,” a portfolio of screen prints relating to the assassination of President Kennedy, particularly emphasizes this aspect of the role of the headline. Rather than focusing on the humanity of the event, the inescapable barrage of media coverage, as presented by Warhol, seems fatiguing in its relentless pursuit of an emotional response.

All too aware of this darker capitalistic side of news media, Warhol remains relevant to an understanding of today’s headlines, which have evolved over the years in their method of delivery to the consumer yet seem remarkably similar in content to the news of the past. More than a mindless duplication of objects of popular culture, his headlines remind us of our own role in cycles of production and consumption and exhort the consumer to behave as responsibly as possible and to remain critical and vigilant in our daily interaction with these products of popular culture.

“Warhol: Headlines” is currently on view in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art and runs until Jan. 2, 2012.

lifestyle

TAKE IT FROM A SENIOR // Social Studies GarrettSchuman

“Y

ou have to be a friend to have a friend.” Like much of popular wisdom, my grandmother’s favorite proverb seems to gain layers of meaning over time. Though I understood it at a superficial level many years ago, I never thought it would acquire so much meaning for me during my time at college (which I had assumed would strictly involve beer pong and meeting cute girls).

Many of us have come to realize that, in the long run, true friendship is not always easy. It sometimes involves give and take. Other times, it takes sacrifice — being a wingman comes to mind

— and yet we all crave friendship at some level. As professor Marsh told my psychology class, “You could make a strong case that we are addicted to people.” It’s not a coincidence that we walk out of the library after a lonely night of studying and call a good friend or strike up a long conversation with our roommate. And it’s not a coincidence that the second floor of Lau is the most popular; sometimes we just don’t feel like having that lonely night of studying in the first place. But we don’t really like to think of ourselves as being dependent on others. Many Hoyas see themselves as strong, independent people. How do we negotiate a balance between our inborn inclination toward dependence on others and our struggle for independence?

As young adults, we are psychological-

ly and behaviorally more “plastic” than we will ever in our lives. Never again will we have such malleable values, tastes and habits. We all have the chance to shape ourselves every day when we wake up, and we get to make ourselves bigger and better people. Luckily for us, we don’t have to figure ourselves out alone, and we don’t have to do it all at once. College comes and goes quickly, but even though it seems like the stressors of the “real world” are already upon the seniors, we old folks still have another seven months to be surrounded by a couple thousand of our peers. We all have a million things to be thankful for, and being able to surround ourselves by our friends as we change ourselves permanently for the better is definitely on that list.

Deep down, we all know that college

From Body Icing to Bachmann

is about more than learning about calculus, marketing or international politics. (I also discovered it is apparently more than beer pong and girls.) College is about co-existing with your peers in an environment that is sometimes stressful. It’s about overcoming obstacles, both personal and collective. It’s about discovering passions, achieving goals and shaping our view of the world. And of course, the best part about the entire experience is that we get to do it with friends by our side. We are naturally social beings in the very social setting that is college. Enjoy it while it lasts.

TAKE IT FROM A SENIOR is a rotating, biweekly column written from the viewpoints of graduating seniors. Garrett Schuman is a senior in the College.

SARAH AMOS

Hoya Staff Writer

CONSTRUCTING THE PERFECT HALLOWEEN COSTUME Tired of being a slutty witch, slutty nurse, or slutty garbage man? Then exhibit your inner Georgetown nerd and dress up as a Hilltop icon or infamous politician. (To make any of these costumes “sexy,” simply add fishnets and stripper heels.)

GOCard Construct one out of cardboard, paint the GOCard logo and cut open a rectangle for your face. Explain that you lost yours and need to be signed into your dorm.

Laufit Anything flannel. Guys: Sweat-

LOLau!

pants. Girls: Don’t wear pants — leggings are the more comfortable choice when pulling an all-nighter.

Beacon of Learning Similar to “Laufit,” but wear a camping head lamp (beacon), carry books and a Red Eye from Midnight Mug. Georgetown Cupcake Wear pink, rub edible body frosting over yourself and get a long line of tourists to follow you.

Michele Bachmann Wear a dress suit of an appropriate length, a Republican elephant pin and, most importantly, “crazy eyes.” Carry around a copy of Newsweek and criticize anything you dislike as “liberal.”

Anthony Weiner I won’t go into detail about this one.

What you decide to direct in a message to unsuspecting constituents is up to you.

Occupy D.C. Protestor Carry a tent in your backpack, wear a peace sign shirt and hold a cardboard sign reading, “We are the 99%.”

For added realism, don’t shower for a few days beforehand.

Group costume idea: Pair up with your MSB friend (dressed in business casual of course) and throw Monopoly money at those heartless 1 percenters.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY MICHELLE CASSIDY

10.28.11 // the guide // 7

entertainment

Not-So-Spooky Tunes Series of Essays Sheds For Your Halloweekend Light On Life of up as the Facebook profile of your favorite fictional character.

Next we have “Sundays Best” by Casual. This track is a hip-hop throwback that kind of sounds like Ice Cube’s “It KinneChapin Was a Good Day,” except it is way less cheesy. Of course, this means that I hose of you who read this col- am now playing it on endless loop. umn may have noticed that my The whole song is for lack of a better suggested weekly tunes usually word smooth. It is mellow and mefollow a theme. This makes it easy for lodic enough for studying, but upbeat me to make quips and for you to (hope- enough to play at social gatherings. It fully) know whether or not you will like is the jack-of-all-trades of songs; listen a given song or artist. In related news, and you won’t regret it. Also, this Halthe sacred holiday of Halloween will loween connection is slightly more soon be upon us — a time when young natural. Many people go to church on women roam the streets as barely-clad Sunday. Be a priest for Halloween. Betanimals, nurses, secretaries and sto- ter yet, be a shaman.

Lastly, I bring you “Meet You at the rybook characters and all young men invariably look like themselves. Not to Bus” by Dare Dukes. Dare Dukes kind of mention that it is also a time when it is sounds like if Death Cab for Cutie were openly suggested that one eat candy for to stop moping, hang up the synthesizers and get a lady breakfast. to sing with them Yes, Halloween every once in a is a beautiful ocDon’t take any of my sugSo really it’s casion, but it is gestions. I mean, last year I while. not that similar, not one of great musical inspira- actually dressed up as a zoo. but the lead singYou don’t want my advice. er’s voice is every tion. I considered bit as distinctive forcing you to as that of Benjaread about songs min Gibbard. In other words, this song inspired by Halloween, allows you to relive the time in your beginning with Tracy youth when you first started to listen to Jordan’s “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah,” but luckily for you, I changed alternative music, except this music is my mind. Instead, I’m just going to more fun because it is more folksy than present you with the top three songs angsty. This Halloween connection is I’m rocking out to right now and at- the most remote and implausible yet, tempt to connect them to Halloween so I apologize to you in advance. The in some weak way. Watch me try (this song is about buses. Buses follow traffic should be entertaining). regulations. Dress up as a traffic sign First on the chopping block is “This — “stop,” or “yield” or “moose X-ing.”

New Technology” by Midnight Jugger- People will be confusedly trying to innauts. Midnight Juggernauts kind of terpret the meaning of your outfit all sound likes The Kills with Mick Jagger night, and that’s way more fun than as its new lead singer. I know that’s a having an obvious Halloween costume, bit hard to conceptualize, but basi- right? cally it’s a little bit dark with a lot of atWhatever you choose to wear this titude. Plus, it’s not so alternative that weekend, go forth and conquer with it doesn’t have a melody. This song is this list of good music in tow. And, for perfect to listen to if you have to walk goodness’ sake, don’t take any of my anywhere at all — strutting along with costume suggestions. I mean, last year your headphones in and feeling like I actually dressed up as a zoo. You don’t the coolest kid on the block even af- want my advice. ter you trip over the cobblestones on Prospect Street. Now for my weak Hal- Kinne Chapin is a senior in the College. loween connection: This song is about She can be reached at chapin@thehoya. technology. Many costumes can involve com. FACE THE MUSIC appears every technology. For example, you can dress other Friday in the guide.

face the music

T

14 // the guide // 10.28.11

American Poet ELIZABETH GARBITELLI Hoya Staff Writer

L

AMAZON.COM arry Woiwode’s straightforward narrative voice and clear prose serve the essay medium well as evidenced by his latest collection of writings, Words Made Fresh.

Woiwode, poet-laureate of North Dakota and freelance writer for publications such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s and The Paris Review, comfortably contains his voice to the long essay medium. Starting off strongly might be an understatement as the first essay, titled “Guns & Peace,” recollects a gruesome incident involving Woiwode shooting an already fatally wounded deer in front of his wife and daughter.

Born from the cold gore of his opening essay is the collection’s trajectory.

Despite a wide range of topics adS.COM dressed, from Wendell Berry to John UpWRITER’S BLOCK In his latest collection dike to CNN, one will find the pieces are consistently grounded and anchored of writings, Larry Woiwode offers readwith clarity of purpose as Woiwode is to ers a glimpse of his Midwestern roots. his North Dakotan identity.

The essays do not lose their potency in ticism — an understanding rooted in a the ether of high theoretical language, specific interpretation of sacred literaas it can be easy for ture based on the an academic essay idea that writing to do, but instead is, intrinsically, a gain momentum as moral act. the work progresses, Woiwode’s eswith accumulating says would be parWORDS MADE FRESH layers of social, literticularly useful for students and facary and moral fabulty in the fields ric. did you know?: Larry Woiwode of English or theIt is undeniable is the poet-laureate of North ology, but they apthat the work repeal to a broader flects Woiwode’s reDakota. audience because ligious sentiments, most of them are but nuance defines written in an anhis ritual approach.

The aspects of spirituality which natu- ecdotal voice that reads like a thoughtrally rise and fall in the course of his ful NPR show. Check them out if you essays are not staid or forceful. Instead, are looking for some grounded insight they represent his brand of literary mys- from a Midwestern poet.

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“I can’t refute my heritage, but I doubt that I’ll use a firearm again, certainly not in the city, and, if outside it, only in the direst emergency. ... The bloody, gun-filled fantasies seldom return ... and when they do they’re reserved. I’m the one being shot, or shot full of holes, as if the primitive portion of my imagination keeps insisting this is what I deserve.”

—“Guns & Peace: On an American Icon”

entertainment

Sophomore Album Grapples With Emotion RIANNA FOLDS Special to The Hoya

F

lorence Welch, the redheaded waif who fronts Florence + the Machine, brings her otherworldly sound from Lungs straight into the depths of the ocean for Ceremonials. She cites death by drowning as the inspiration for her second album, which is evident in lyrics like “A thousand miles onto the sea bed / I found the place to rest my head” from “Never Let Me Go.” The title of the song seems to suggest that Welch could be imploring a lover, but a closer listen reveals that she is wooing the ocean.

Several songs do deal with troubled relationships, though. “No Light, No Light,” which was recorded on a tour bus in Amsterdam with Isabella “Machine” Summers, tries to convince a lover not to leave. Welch begs, “You can choose what stays and what fades away / And I’d do anything to make you stay.”

It becomes apparent rather quickly that Ceremonials grapples with heavy and even morbid content, but there’s a

certain romanticism to the melancholia The beginning of the song has a spinechilling quality that blossoms into a full— that’s the magic of this album.

The most epic track is “Seven Devils,” blown ballad-type sound. which also happens to be the creepiest Ceremonials’ title comes from “Only (“Holy water cannot help you now”). The for a Night,” the album’s opening track. screeching strings hint at the style of “And I did cartwheels in your honor, Hitchcock’s classic dancing on tiptoes films, but the scope / My own secret of the song is so ceremonials before grand that it evokes the service began images from films / In the graveyard, CEREMONIALS like The Omen. doing handstands.”

Welch can’t seem “Heartlines” beartist: Florence and the Machine to stay away from gins with cawing crows and tribal song to download: “Seven Devils” cemeteries, ghosts or demons (inner chanting. The first or otherwise). stanza states, “I’ve Welch wrestles with sanity and salvaseen it in you / The entrails of the animals / The blood running through.” While tion in “Breaking Down” and “Leave My that may sound pretty gory, the insistent Body.” In “Lover to Lover,” she laments, “There’s no salvation for me now / No drumbeat makes the tune catchy.

Welch co-wrote “What the Water Gave space among the clouds / And I’ve seen Me,” a single released in August, as a that I’m heading down.”

The album’s deluxe version comes response to Virginia Woolf’s suicide.

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New Releases “Talking at the Same Time” Tom Waits Bad As Me

with four extra songs, including an electronic demo of “What the Water Gave Me.” Another option is the two-disc set that includes acoustic versions of “Shake It Out” and “Heartlines.” Welch’s voice is unbridled and backed by gentle guitar, piano and harp; purchasing the two-disc set is completely worth it.

This album is Welch’s second collaboration with producer Paul Epworth (who has also worked with Adele). She brings her signature harp and intricately layered sound from Lungs, but refines it to create an album that will haunt you (in a good way).

Ceremonials is slated for release on Nov. 1, the day after Halloween; the eerie beauty of Florence Welch’s vocals combined with her haunting lyrics make me think this is no coincidence. There is a splendor to this album that compels one to listen despite the Poe-esque macabre, but perhaps that is what makes Ceremonials so compelling in the first place.

NICK DONAHUE Hoya Staff Writer

“Miranda” Surfer Blood Tarot Classics EP

“Green Aisles” Real Estate Days

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As Tom Waits is perhaps one of the most prolific songwriters in rock history, fans have come to expect great things from him with each new release. “Talking at the Same Time” is a spectacular vaudeville blues jam that only a master like Mr. Waits could pull off.

Florida retro-indie rockers Surfer Blood channeled artists such as Weezer and Pavement on their 2009 debut Astro Coast.

“Miranda” shows a departure from the band’s previously raucous sound toward a more concise and laid-back vibe. This new sound makes “Miranda” worth a listen.

Although it has a pretty melody, a steady beat and a dreamy airiness, “Green Aisles” lacks any sense of passion or emotion in its lyrics. This lends a somewhat stale tone to what could have been a great song. Unfortunately, ”Green Aisles” is not a winning combo for Real Estate.

CAPITOL RECORDS

GLASS AIR RECORDS

SUB POP RECORDS

10.28.11 // the guide // 15

best bets

colors of autumn — hannah hill

friday Truckerboo, a Halloween-themed gathering will feature 25 food trucks in the parking lot by Nationals Park. In addition to tasty food, enjoy live music and a costume contest. Among the restaurant trucks that will be participating are DC Empanadas, DC Slices and Georgetown favorite The Big Cheese Truck.

WHERE: Parking lot between The Bullpen and Das Bullpen Center, 4500 Patriot Circle WHEN:Friday, 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.

INFO: www.truckeroodc.com PRICE: Free METRO: Navy Yard Metro Station, Green line

VICTORIA EDEL Special to The Hoya

saturday Spend a spooky night out on the town with SpeakeasyDC’s “Boo: Stories About Things That Are Scary.”

The event will showcase true stories of shark attacks, crazy old women and murder that will keep you both terrified and entertained all weekend long.

WHERE: Dance Place, 3225 Eighth St. NW WHEN: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and 1 a.m.

INFO: www.speakeasydc.com PRICE: $10 for students METRO: Brookland-CUA Metro Station, Red line

sunday Enjoy the music of singer-songwriters at “Night of the Living Dead: Jammin’ Java’s Songwriters Circle.”

The artists will be performing classic scary songs in honor of Halloween as well as their own original work.

WHERE: Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Ave., Vienna, Va. WHEN: Sunday, 7 p.m.

INFO: www.jamminjava.com PRICE: $15 METRO: Vienna Metro Station, Orange line