The Wake, Issue 2, Fall 2013

Urban Exploring

p. 11 - 13

Halloween Costume Ideas p. 15 Q&A: Deleter p. 16 - 17

vol. 13 | issue 2 October 14 - October 27

Š2013 The Wake Student Magazine.

All rights reserved.

Established in 2002, The Wake is a fortnightly independent magazine and registered student organization produced by and for the students of the University of Minnesota.

The Wake is published with support from Generation Progress/Center for American Progress (online at www.genprogress.org).

Production

www.wakemag.org The Wake was founded by Chris Ruen and James DeLong.

Editorial

Whats Inside?

Sondra Vine

Alyssa Bluhm

Graphic Designers

OneTwoThree Sushi Review p. 4 Off-beat Student Groups p. 4

Managing Editor

Production Manager

Sondra Vine, Eric Berry, Kelsey Schwartz, Brittany Long

Art Director

Editor-in-Chief

Sam Gordon

Urban Exploring p. 11 - 13 Hot Costumes for 2013 p. 15

The Fight is Far From Over, Ladies p. 5

Q&A: Deleter p. 16 - 17

Cities Editor

Greeks Gaining Ground p. 6

After The Show - Breaking Bad p. 18

Pow! Clang! Bang! Zoom! p. 7

The Diorama-rama Extravaganza p. 19 Cupcakes - Cocoa & Fig p. 19

Grace Birnstengel

Voices Editor Bruce Ferguson

Kelcie McKenney

Web Editor

the purpose of the Wake is to provide a forum in which students can voice their opinions. opinions expressed in the magazine are not representative of the publication or university as a whole. to join the conversation email abluhm@wakemag.org.

Justin Miller

Sam Lindsay

Social Media Manager

DISCLAIMER

The Wake Student Magazine 126 Coffman Memorial Union 300 Washington Avenue SE Minneapolis, MN 55455

Sound & Vision Editor Sara Glesne Courtney Bade

Web Assistant Brittany Long

Shutdown Semantics p. 8 Don't Believe the Scare - Obamacare p.8 Redefining Catholicism p. 9 The Last Drag p. 9 CFANS + CBS = <3 p. 10 Finding Yourself Twice - Double Majoring p. 10

Get Yo' Music Blog Game Proper p. 20 Happy Birthday Les Mis p. 21 The Xperimental Theater - Eurycide p. 21 3 Reviews p. 22 Events Calendar p. 23

Staff Writers Nathaniel Kitzman, Ethan Lauer

Videographer Tyler Lauer

Business Manager Cooper Henckel

This Issue

Can't get enough of The Wake?

Cover Artist

Alex Tuthill-Preus

Photographers Eric Berry, Emily Chang, Molly Davis, Sarah Drewer, Tyler Lauer, Alex Tuthill-Preus, Meng Yang

Illustrators Eric Berry, Mackenzie Cress, Sam Lindsay, Peter Mariutto, Liana Matt, Anna Sibenaller, Jennifer Yelk

Twitter: @the_wake Facebook: /TheWakeMagazine

Contributing Writers Jusine Akbari, Courtney Bade, Andy Buckley, Brielle Christy, Lauren Cutshall, Blair Emerson, Kirsten Erickson, Aiden Hutt, Maddy Fox, Sammi Frohwirth, Nathaniel Kitzmann, Ethan Lauer, Tyler Lauer, Barry Lytton, Destanie Martin - Johnson, Liana Matt, Kayla McCombs, Haley McCullum, Cora Neisen, Zach Simon, Catherine Vaught, Alex Van Abbema, Erika Voeller

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13:1

Cities ends i r F d n a i Sush oThree

Out of Sight, Out of... This World?

f OneTw A review o Sushi

Zombies, Pipe-Smokers, Wizards, and People Watchers: embodying what it means to be a true individual with off-beat interests

By Justine Akbari

By Barry Lytton ERIC BERRY

Walking down 14th Avenue, OneTwoThree Sushi is a beacon of light contrasting the dimly lit streets of a Dinky-town nestled to sleep by the weeknight blues. My friends Andrew, Kathy, and I ventured into the sushi joint in the evening. It was quiet inside - a few sushi-gobblers had found their way to their tables and were speaking in hushed tones over Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”

All the sushi staples sprawled across the menu: tuna this, white tuna that, shrimp tempura here, crab legs and lobster tails there. Overall, it’s a pretty good selection for an “in and out” sushi joint. Andrew ordered first, stating his interest in tuna. After a few minutes, he paid his $8 and walked to the soda fountain with eight pieces of freshly-sliced and quickly assembled ricey tidbits of tuna. The sushi was plopped down on the customary wooden mini-table, only to be offset by an average red tray used underneath.

The fish was fresh, but slightly underwhelming. It had been pre-sliced and left a seafood regular without the appreciation one would get from a freshly filleted fish. However, the veggies were great; the avocado used was pitted and sliced up on the spot with the chef actually throwing two avocados away before coming across the perfect one. We were quite impressed to say the least.

Kathy got a shrimp tempura roll. The shrimp was soft the way pre¬-fried items get after left out long enough to lose their crunch. She said it tasted swell; the veggies were fine and the Gaui sauce was delicious.

Hoping to skip the fish– an obvious weak point in cheap sushi – I went the straight vegetable route and landed myself a vegetable roll. The veggies were all crisp and delectable and went down quite well with the fake wasabi and sweet ginger slices provided.

If you get a chance, try OneTwoThree out. It’s cheap, quick, tasty, and has a lovely little tucked away atmosphere. But remember, sushi is always better with friends.

To all those who consider themselves “hip,” get there fast.

This location is only the third installment of what is sure to be a growing franchise.

4.

october 14 - october 27

Tour guides at the U are notorious for talking up the diversity we have on campus. One particular statistic that those touring are guaranteed to hear is along the lines of, “The University of Minnesota has over 250 student groups to join.” Ranging from the humanitarian and philanthropic clubs like Amnesty International, Colleges Against Cancer, and Community Engagement Scholars, to the various and plentiful cultural groups like La Raza, MISA, ISA, MSA, PSA, PSOM, and other ambiguous acronyms—there is something, quite literally, for everyone.

On top of this, there is the disclaimer that says, “If you can’t find something you like, or have a great idea for a club, create your own!” And in fact, that is what the members of many groups did. Thus the reason for the non-traditional groups existing on campus—it’s a way for outliers everywhere to unite in quirky activities that come together when great minds think alike.

Passionate, oddball students form groups like the Minnesota School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, The Pipe Smokers Guild, Minnesota Association for Zombie Enthusiasts, Gluten Free Club, Wiki Racing, and Campus People Watchers (CPW). Curious as to know why people start these random clubs and how they even come up with the ideas for them, I sat down with the CPW President Andrew Hoffman to ask him how on earth people watching became an acceptably vocalized hobby.

Q&A With Campus People Watchers Club The Wake: As People Watchers, what do you do?

Campus People Watchers: Our meetings are a time to share hilarious people watching experiences and talk about what we’ve seen lately. We watch other student groups to get a feel for what they’re all about, as well as going to nonstudent group events like the State Fair, watching at the Mall of America, or in Dinkytown. Sometimes we play games. We have an annual Mall of America scavenger hunt where we try to find specific things such as the tallest non-member, biggest beard, kids on leashes, etc.

W: How on earth did this club come into existence?

CPW: The club was started a few years ago by a psychology major. He enjoyed watching people and knew that other people do too. Everyone people watches. He started the club and put a very psychological spin on it from the start.

I heard about this club before I even attended the U, and I knew it was going to be the first club I joined. I was intrigued by the idea of people watching in a semi-structured way with a group of other watchers.

W: What kind of people are in the club?

CPW: All kinds! Literally, everyone. We’ve run so many experiments to try to determine “who” a people watcher is, but it

can’t be done. Everyone watches people, whether they admit it or not. We might tend to get more of the quirky people in the club, but even that might not be entirely accurate.

W: What’s the most fun you’ve had in the club?

CPW: At the State Fair I saw the most ridiculous “upgrade” to kids on leashes that I have ever seen in my life. Instead of having his two children on leashes, this man handcuffed his childrens’ hands to his knees. Okay, maybe they weren’t handcuffs, but they were still tied to his legs. It was fascinating. So maybe that’s not the most fun I’ve had, but it was the most unique thing I’ve seen.

W: Give a six word summary of the essence of being a people watcher.

CPW: Fun, interesting, non-creepy, non-boring!

W: What makes your club better than other clubs?

CPW: We are a portal to every other club on campus or any event off campus. We never have events that are just CPW, it’s always going somewhere to watch another group or going somewhere else to watch some crazy, new sport or other event. We get out and do and see really interesting things, watch people, and have fun!

CITIES This Fight Is Far From Over, Ladies

In this country, equality seems like a given, so why do things still seem out of balance?

By Haley McCullum

Are women doing okay? This to most people seems like a silly question to ask, especially in one of the most developed countries in the world when it comes to civil rights. Women can hold jobs, own land, receive an education, choose to marry and raise a family, vote, and be political leaders. All those lovely liberties aside,

The question still remains: are women doing okay?

This question is being asked with the hopes that women will answer, not men. It is being asked in hopes that women will ask themselves, “Why is this question still waiting for an answer?” Our sisters before us fought long and hard for our deserved place in society. From the rebellious flappers of the ‘20s to the commonly thought as “radical” feminists of the ‘70s, these women who made noise, burned bras, and pushed back against the supposed ideals of what a women should be that men had created and expected women to comply. Women have come so far, so why does it feel like we are plateauing?

nation for women’s’ well being. In leadership, a woman holds three congressional seats out of the ten. Women make 80 cents to every dollar a man makes and only 12 percent of Minnesotan females live in poverty, the sixth-lowest rate in the nation. Unlike Texas, which received a big fat “F” from the Center for American Progress Action Fund in women’s health, Minnesota has no unconstitutional restrictions tied to women and their choices concerning their reproductive health.

However, more than 12 percent of Minnesota women live in poverty, and 39.4 percent of African American women in Minnesota live in poverty. Despite making up 51 percent of the state’s population, women only hold 37.1 percent of the managerial jobs in Minnesota.

Clearly, the fight is far from finished.

Overall grade: B+ National Ranking: 11

Economic security: C+ •Women in Minnesota make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.

•More than 12 percent of women in Minnesota live in poverty.

•Minnesota doesn’t not have a policy providing for paid family, medical, or temporary disability leave.

Leadership: A•Three in 10 of Minnesota’s congressional seats are held by women.

•Almost 63 percent of the managerial jobs in Minnesota are held by men.

In the U.S. and world wide, inequality is still a major struggle. Overused and not even remotely clever sexist jokes are still being made. Women are, on average, paid 77 cents to every dollar a man makes. The impossible image a woman is expected to maintain can only be found on the photoshopped cover of a Victoria’s Secret catalog. We continue to let ourselves believe that this is and will continue to be the cultural norm. Women have already come a long way so we must be done, right?

Thankfully, women are very fortunate in Minnesota. Our state ranks number 11 in the

Minnesotan Women Well Being

Health: A •Almost 9 percent of nonelderly women in Minnesota are uninsured, but Minnesota is taking steps to help its people.

•Overall, women in the United States already face a greater risk of maternal death than women in 40 other countries.

MACKENZIE CRESS

CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

www.wakemag.org

5.

Cities tions, friends, and networking for future jobs. It’s such a big campus and you get to know so many more people than if you weren’t involved in Greek life.”

Similarly, freshman Sophie Busch from Alpha Phi added, “It is a good way to branch out and have a little group of people that feels like home at such a big school.”

Greeks Gaining Ground

Both the number of pledges and debates surrounding Greek life continue to increase

By Cora Neisen Every year when bid-day shirts flood the campus and pictures with oversized letters take over Instagram, a new wave of debates surface regarding Greek life. It seems to be the only group on campus that attracts as many critics as proponents, and one can argue that Greek life stirs up more debate than any other group on campus.

In general, we seem to be enamored with talking about Greek life, either negatively or positively. The exclusiveness of the organization creates curiosity and intrigue, which everyone seems to want to discuss. Nonetheless, as the number of heated debates increase every year, the number of pledges increase as well.

Despite low numbers in past years, the number of people involved in Greek life is growing. Robert Bennett, a Delta Tau Delta alumni, looks back on the small presence Greek life had on campus when he was enrolled from 2001-2004.

“I don’t remember the exact numbers, but when I was in the house, the U’s Greek community was among the smallest – percentage-wise – among Big Ten schools,” Bennett said.

An anonymous junior involved in a fraternity on campus confirmed the rise in popularity. “Our number of pledges increased this year partly because Greek life is becoming better known,” he said. “The U is helping more in the process and is being more supportive.”

Zach Cloud, a U of M senior who is unaffiliated with Greek life, added, “It seems to me that the presence of Greek life is growing on campus due largely in part to added dedication to recruiting and networking.”

Some believe Greek life just may be more visible. “It does seem like the presence of Greek life on campus has been

6. october 14 - october 28

growing over my four years here. Although it is tough to say whether it is actually growing, or Greeks are just so much more vocal and insistent on their Greek life and involvement,” said Sam, a senior who is unaffiliated with Greek life and did not want his last name printed.

When asked the question, “Do you feel that Greek life has a larger or smaller presence on campus than you previously predicted?” 79 out of the 105 current freshman surveyed said that they felt Greek life has a larger presence on campus than they originally anticipated. This poses the question: Why are the Greeks gaining ground?

Along with improved modes of recruitment and increased support from the University, funding from Greek alumni provides a strong base for Greek promotion. “Though I am not still active with Delta Tau Delta, several of my friends have continued to be involved with the chapter, even a decade later,” said Bennett. “The friends of mine who have actively kept up with the chapter have done so often out of a sense of wanting to give back to an organization that helped them to enjoy many positive experiences and memories, as well as professional and philanthropic opportunities.”

An anonymous junior involved in a fraternity agreed. “Alumni that come from Greek life are the main donors to alumni associations on campus.” Despite the increased promotion and popularity, Greek life still seems to attract a number of negative comments.

When asking people involved in Greek life their motives behind joining, the answer was almost unanimous: friends and networking. As freshman Dana Moriearty from Alpha Chi Omega said, “The biggest benefits I see are the connec-

PHOTOS: EMILY CHANG

So, why does Greek life seem so shiny and appealing to some, yet so tainted and unappealing to others?

However, many Greek life opponents have fiery comebacks.

“In general, people are concerned about not finding friends and join out of fright,” said freshman Paul Haller.

Likewise, freshman McKenzie Arbeiter said, “You are forced to be friends with people instead of making your own friends.”

Despite these arguments, it is no secret that the loud parties, patio barbecues, and fun competitions paint an idealistic image of college, an image that for many is hard to pass up.

But that may not be all there is to it. Freshman Gretta Morriessey of Alpha Omicron Pi said, “The most common misconception with Greek life is that its purpose is to party.”

That said, just like every other stereotype, there are those in Greek life who fit the stereotype and those who don’t. “Every once in a while you get one bad kid that can tarnish the reputation for everyone,” said Delta Chi freshman Hunter Lang.

Whether you love it or hate it, the University’s Greek life is here to stay. The raging debate that surrounds it is, coincidentally, here to stay as well.

CITIES Pow! Clang! Zap! Boom!

Creative cosplay saves FallCon from boredom

By Blair Emerson

What do Batman, Nightwing, and the Supergirl all have in common? They were all present at last weekend’s FallCon, hosted by Midwest Comic Book Association. Held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 5, there was what the MCBA described as over “60,000 square feet of comic book action.”

FallCon was pure comic book MADNESS. The inside quarters were chock full of comic book retailers and dealers from all over the United States who created a large marketplace of all things comic books. Huge boxes filled with 10¢ comic books were available for purchase, as well as some labeled a hefty $400 for older editions.

In attendance were hundreds of talented comic book illustrators proudly showcasing and their work. Citizens were able to help these superhero creators by buying their stuff and some received a free autograph in the process too. I was charmed by the illustrator Ant Lucia (antlucia.com), who describes his comics as “digital, pop culture coolness.” Lucia says he has been attending FallCon for over six years now and gathers inspiration from “plastic pin-up.” His new-school comic books feature Star Wars characters and storybook icons in a style that almost looks like war propaganda posters. Another artist in attendance to be admired was Dr. Ryan Allen (dryanallen.com), who says he is inspired by science fiction and horror for his morbidly entertaining zombie apocalypse illustrations. Allen is on his ninth year at FallCon, where he enjoys the atmosphere of being around fellow comic book lovers and the high quality of the convention.

“They [MCBA] really take care of their guests,” he said.

There was an overabundance of comic book memorabilia too, like comic-inspired clothing, action figures, costumes, posters, and even delicious cupcakes.

Many characters walking around FallCon were in full costumes and offering free photo-ops. In fact, the MCBA encourages you to come in costume. You can come as your favorite character or give it your own rendition, like a Bobba Fett-Wolverine costume.

And let me tell you, these costumes were extraordinary.

Take Superman, for example, who said it took months to make his red and blue spandex suit. Greg Carlson (aka Superman) has been attending comic book conventions all his life but has been cosplaying as Superman since 2006. He says that Superman is his favorite comic book character and cosplaying as a superhero makes him want to be a better person. “The spandex suit helps keep me in shape,” Carlson said. Ironically, his best friend cosplays as Batman.

Also in attendance was the DC character Deathstroke, whose super villain costume was a two-month long project created entirely from recycled sports equipment. Although he usually cosplays as his favorite comic book character, John Constantine, this is his first year as Deathstroke. I also ran into a young Hellboy and his pal Abe Sapien, who both looked to be about thirteen years old wearing ridiculously tailored costumes that only took about two weeks to perfect, they said.

now. He nonchalantly told me that he received a personal invite for himself and Superman to go to DC headquarters sometime next year. When I asked him how he felt about Ben Affleck being cast as the next Batman, he replied, “I don’t even want to see the movie.”

One thing is for certain, FallCon was a huge success in gathering comic book and cosplay lovers alike to talk about what they love most: COMIC BOOKS. The next SpringCon will be held May 17 and 18 in 2014 at the Grandstand. Tickets are sold at the door and receive a dollar discount when you bring in a canned food donation. One hundred percent of MCBA ticket sales go to charities like the Minnesota Lupus Foundation, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and the Minnesota Food Shelves. FallCon is known for its charity fundraising in a fun and unique way.

Lastly, and one of my personal favorites, I spoke with Batman who said his costume took about six different people to assemble. He created his $1,200 costume in 2004 and he has been attending comic book conventions, like the motherof-all comic book conventions, DragonCon, for over 8 years PHOTOS: MENG YANG

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7.

VOICES Shutdown Semantics Finding Meaning in Our Politicans’ Slurred Message

By Nathaniel Kitzmann

Journalists reported heavy drinking in Washington D.C. on the evening of Sept. 30. It seemed like an odd way for various members of the federal government to spend the last hours of their collective power over the American people.

In reality, the “indecisiveness” of Congress and President Obama not only resulted in its own form of a decision, it resulted in a very conscious one. Only politicians can get away with that kind of paradox.

Trying to grasp what’s really going on requires the devotion of a Trekkie From the oxymoronic “Civil” War to anything Clinton said about weed or Monica Lewinksy, American politics has always enjoyed a loose relationship with the English language.

But the “government shutdown” is linguistic re-appropriation taken to a new level. While it’s true that 800,000 government workers are currently on furlough, Congress and

Don’t Believe the Scare Obama’s health care plan benefits college students

By Kirsten Erickson Look kids, here it comes. Even the government shutdown can’t save us now. Lock the doors and shut the blinds so it won’t see us. Hopefully, it will just disappear and we won’t have to worry about insuring all our employees.

We let our parents pick up the dinner tab when they come into town, why not let them cover insurance for a little longer, too?

It’s the attack of Obamacare and no one is safe from its socialist tendencies. Or at least that’s what some want you to believe. But maybe, just maybe, it’s time for us college students to stop being so afraid of the Obamacare monster.

For The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as the ACA, most major provisions will go into effect in 2014, even with the government shutdown.

According to the U.S. Senate’s website, the law “will ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care.”

a carefully chosen list of “essential” functions continue as usual in a safety net of fallbacks and Contingency Plans. The U.S. Department of Defense is as equal a part of the Federal government as NASA, which is the hardest hit agency from the shutdown. But that doesn’t mean anything changes for the 1.4 million military personnel on duty while the space program suffers a gutting so thorough that only 3 percent of its workers are still being paid.

Trying to grasp what’s really going on requires the devotion of a Trekkie – the definition of one term in “political speak” usually contains a few words that need further clarification for the first one to make sense. The jargon continues baselessly expanding in a haphazard house of cards until it implodes under the weight of its own contradictions. There is no logical rule that will explain why the “essence” of our federal government’s functions include keeping every single federal prison running full speed ahead, but not the FDA’s ability to continue verifying that the food and drugs over 300 million Americans eat on a daily basis is safe.

our federal leaders get their act together? Words matter because their constantly revised definitions make it impossible to have any mutual, meaningful conversation between America’s federal government and its constituency. So the conversation stays in Washington, amongst those who understand it, and never leaves except for the jading snippets that journalists overhear:

Semantics might seem like the least of America’s worries right now, especially in light of the government’s infamous linguistic track record. What do the definitions of “shutdown” or “essential” matter when the reality is that almost a million people will remain out of work and the beloved fruits of our hard-earned tax money – from national parks to the majority of welfare programs – are unavailable until

“Of course we’d hafta work real hard to stop a real “shutdown,” ‘cuz that would mean no pay and a lot of professional identity crisis here in D.C. But ‘Selective Gouging of Public Services/Paid Congressional Vacation’ sounds pretty bad so let’s go with “shutdown” and let the “Contingency Plans” guide us from there in the morning. Meeting adjourned, biparty party commence. First round’s on you, Boehner.”

LIANA MATT

But will that be true for college students? Opponents of the bill have criticized the fact that Americans as a whole will have to pay more for their health care so that coverage will become universal. But according to statistics from the Center For American Progress, only 3 percent of young people would see a premium increase. In fact, for most people in their 20s, premiums will be 29 percent less expensive than before the ACA. The biggest perk for a college student is that they will be allowed to stay on their parent’s insurance until they’re 26 years old—before the ACA you could be kicked off your parent’s insurance at 18 years old. That means insurance can be covered by the parental fund through college, grad school, and even some medical school if desired. We let our parents pick up the dinner tab when they come into town, why not let them cover insurance for a little longer, too?

Obamacare will also offer a marketplace where students can shop for the best coverage without having to worry about being rejected due to preexisting conditions, and, according to the website Obamacarefacts.com, those from households making less than $93,700 as a family of four will be eligible to receive subsidies for reduced premiums via tax credits offered by this new marketplace. Currently uninsured young women will especially see an improvement, with the costs of doctor’s visits and birth control costing up to $1,200 a year decreasing to almost zero.

When it comes to this new system, obviously certain provisions won’t be able to please everyone, especially for some business owners or someone who thinks the federal government is already too involved in our everyday lives.

SAM LINDSAY

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october 14 - october 27

VOICES Redefining Catholicism

certainly reasons why the Catholic Church sticks to its rituals, however, there is beauty in its tradition and in giving reverence to the divine. Nevertheless, it seems many Catholics allow Catholicism to define their political stance, rather than just their spirituality. There is a difference between faith and politics.

By Erika Voeller

“We have to find a new balance, otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel,” Pope Francis said in an interview this past September. What the Catholic Church needs to do is focus on using tradition to remind its members what’s so great about being Catholic. Pope Francis therefore is off to a good start.

Tradition doesn’t have to be a bad thing

The number of people who follow Christianity in America has declined 11 percent in the past generation. To me, this is no surprise, since the general public oftentimes labels Christians as closed-minded or oppressive. What comes as a surprise, however, is hearing Pope Francis admit that the Catholic Church focuses too much energy on issues like abortion and gay rights, and not enough on the true purpose of the Church: making it a home for everyone. Pope Francis says the Church’s views on abortion and gay rights are clear, and he’s right. His progressive stance, however, has the world wondering: is he trying to re-define Catholicism?

For most people, Catholicism is a stuffy, oppressive, and outdated faith that focuses too much on tradition, and not enough on adapting to today’s society. There are

Still, American youth are turned away from Catholicism because they think it is too overbearing. Oftentimes, teens and young adults don’t identify as Catholic, or even Christian, because they fear they can’t be both supportive of human rights like gay marriage and choice, and Catholicism.

I started to feel this way about a year ago, during the “Vote No” and “Vote Yes” campaigns regarding the Minnesota Marriage Amendment. My family got a letter in the mail from the bishop asking that every Catholic family donate

to the “Vote Yes” campaign. And as if that weren’t enough, when I entered church that following Sunday, I was greeted by a pile of Vote Yes signs in the corner, free for the taking.

Within the span of a week, it seemed to me that Catholicism took a horrible turn for the worse, and I no longer wanted to be a part of a religion that used its place of worship as a campaign center.

It seems many Catholics allow Catholicism to define their political stance, rather than just their spirituality. There is a difference between faith and politics.

“The Church has sometimes locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules,” the Pope said. Meticulous rules like the Church’s stance on sexuality turn people away from a church that wishes to be “a home for everyone.” Catholics need to take a step back and ask themselves why it is they follow these rules in the first place. Is there a way to use tradition to progress into an ever-changing society? I’d like to think Pope Francis would say yes.

the least we can do is keep the freezing air fresh.

While the ban seems new to the U, it’s not to the rest of the state. In 2007, the Minnesota Freedom to Breathe Act banned smoking in restaurants, bars and the workplace and both University of Minnesota Crookston and Duluth have adopted smoke-free policies on campus. Just this past summer, the Minnesota State Fair only allowed smoking in permitted areas. Our Twin Cities campus is

By Lauren Cutshall simply following suit.

The Last Drag

Waiting for the CampusWide Smoking Ban

For some of you smokers, this ban may be the encouragement you need to quit smoking all together. And for the rest of you, I apologize that we have to ban your habit on campus. People shouldn’t be defined by whether or not they smoke, yet I know I will be reluctant to be your lab partner if you reek of cigarettes.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was talk of a campus-wide smoking ban. Wait a minute—it was here at the U that a campuswide smoking ban became a feasible reality!

And as a non-smoker, I have been anxiously awaiting this ban to be enforced. So where is it? I know we’re all about tolerance these days, but smokJENNIFER YELK ing has a permeating effect. Just like we share the bright green grass on the mall, the sleep-inducing chairs in Coffman, and our passion for the “We Hate Iowa” cheer, we share the air. So as this new ban finally comes into effect—a ban some of us has been waiting ages for— Campus-wide changes like these take time, and banning smoking is as hard as quitting. Patience is key. But with every puff of please respect it. Now is the time to savor your last few smoke in my face, I become impatient. With every sad, flattened cigarette butt on the sidewalk, I become irritated. And every puffs on the Washington Avenue Bridge, and now is the time I’m forced to leave a bench because a smoker has decided to light up next to me, I become angry. time to inhale your last few huffs on the mall.

Winter is difficult enough—the least we can do is keep the freezing air fresh.

Smoking is a constant. The warm weather coaxes both smokers and nonsmokers outside, while the winter weather doesn’t stop the hardcore nicotine-lovers from standing huddled outside as they try to warm themselves from the inside out. Winter is difficult enough—

Campus is changing. Now is the time for the last drag.

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9.

VOICES merger seems like it may take away what is special about these two organizations.

However, you must also take into consideration the students themselves. If two college freshmen are forced to move in together, they may have many pieces of furniture in comby Zach Simon mon, but what are they at risk of losing? CFANS specializes in applied science while CBS focuses on medical research.

We’ve all heard the stereotypes: CSE is full of academics that Envision a CFANS student having a secret pet rabbit versus a CBS student with a poster of rabbit anatomy. Both have their study all day and seldom talk to girls unless it involves going merits (and messes), but can we really justify changing the home on any given weekend. Carlson has the “bros” that go out and party at night but by morning are straight-laced busi- way these two schools operate? Perhaps a compromise is in ness men that you’ll probably work for (begrudgingly) in the order: CBS could bring by some of its breakthrough cures for rabbits diseases and CFANS can spare some industrial grade future. carrots.

But have you ever stopped to think of CFANS? About CBS? Despite most aforementioned doom and gloom around Follow-up question: Have you ever had a really bad roommate? A Chris Tucker to your Jackie Chan? A PB&J to your fine the situation, there can be positives if the two roommates can find a common ground. Perhaps in their rather similar Minestrone soup? You may be interested to know that the University of Minnesota is trying to combine CFANS, a group mission statements that wants “to improve the human condition” and “to improve human welfare” through “breakof farmers and earth-loving people, with the group of future through research” in multiple areas of science, the two can white coat wearing doctors and lab technicians of CBS. This

together take over as dominant school within the University of Minnesota. Imagine the combined genius of two science undergrads in Pioneer Hall bent on making the lunch line a safer place for all. I for one welcome our rabbit-wielding overlords.

Finding Yourself Twice

Q&A: Dan Froehling

CFANS + CBS = <3

A match made in chemistry?

Double Majoring is key in CLA

SAM LINDSAY

How one U of M student fit four majors into four years

By Catherine Vaught

By Kayla McCombs

As a student in the College of Liberal Arts, the struggle to be taken seriously by people in other colleges is unjustifiably real. I’ve always resented the stereotype of CLA simply being a mash-up of random majors, kids who have no idea what they want to do, and easy blow-off classes. I have learned from my own experiences that the diversity in this college is 100 percent intentional and beneficial when used properly. By “properly,” I am referring to the essential concept of each CLA student exploring the ways in which they can tailor their options to fit their passions. I did so by double majoring in Journalism and Global Studies, two interests and talents that I, after two semesters of having tried to identify them at all, found to be a remarkable combination. While having the extra work naturally complicates the process of graduating on time, having two majors gives me more confidence and satisfaction in my education.

My first instinct when going into college was to pursue a major that fit the talents I already had. This was out of both a slight arrogance pertaining to my writing skills as well as my fear of the fact that writing was my only talent possibly

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worth being arrogant about. Journalism was an easy pick: I’ve always been a decent writer, I’ve always been curious and opinionated, and I’ve always wanted to travel. However, the nature of CLA allowed me to think a little bit differently.

Suddenly I came to the realization that a better use of my tuition would be one that focused on the things I’m good at as well as the subjects I’m interested in. I added Global Studies with an emphasis on human rights and social justice as my second major because it filled the gaps that journalism alone could not.

I can’t wait to learn French and study abroad in Senegal. I can’t wait to take advantage of courses, internships, and other opportunities through the J-School. Most of all, I can’t wait to graduate knowing that I had honestly pursued my callings and didn’t limited myself to just one. CLA students often double major because their passions are not onedimensional, and many like myself cannot find a major that can write their entire story alone. Simply put, being open to more work in exchange for deeper personal satisfaction has been my smartest college decision yet.

What four majors are you studying?

I’m majoring in History, Economics, Global Studies, and Political Science with a minor in German.

What have been the most credits you’ve taken in a semester?

19 What are your methods for studying? How do you prepare for midterms and finals?

I usually try to spread my studying throughout the semester.

Moreover, I try to take classes that involve papers that allow me to work on them throughout the semester. I enjoy writing, and I get to relax while doing my work.

What studying advice do you have for other students?

Don’t spend a single moment being unproductive. Listen to lectures online while walking to class and try to rely less on classes with big finals so you can be confident coming into Finals Week.

What is your favorite part of the U of M campus?

Capture the Flag every Friday from 9-12 at Northrop. You need to get out and do something at least once a week, preferably without alcohol. It’s the best part of my week.

F E AT U R E : U R B A N E X P L O R I N G A Look into Minneapolisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hidden Landscape Exploring the Culture of an Offbeat Passion

By Maddy Fox

Photos By Alex Tuthill-Preus

www.wakemag.org

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F E AT U R E : U R B A N E X P L O R I N G Every day I bike down Washington Ave. on my way home from class. Anyone who has done the same has probably noticed the giant mills on the other side of TCF Bank Stadium.

They’re pretty hard to miss.

Those mills were once a part of the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial Area. Now they’re abandoned, and to the few people who still care about them, they’re known as Mill Hell.

Those people are urban explorers.

Urban exploration (or urbex) is the act of exploring manmade structures that are generally abandoned or hidden from the public. Ranging from abandoned mills to houses to underground tunnels and caves, places to explore are never too hard to find. Minneapolis is well known in the urbex community for its huge number of extant abandoned mills, which can be found all over Minneapolis, from Calhoun to Bryn Mawr.

As one would imagine, abandoned buildings aren’t exactly safe. Left to rot by people who could no longer maintain them, these buildings have fallen to the forces of nature.

Huge holes everywhere, potential asbestos, and floors coated in broken glass are just some of the results of years of hardly any human use. It’s wild how such a short amount of time can lead to the reclaiming of land by the earth. Often, buildings will be covered in vines, weeds will be growing through every crack, and animals can be heard roaming their empty halls.

The broken-down state of these buildings makes them extremely unsafe for people who enter them unprepared. In 2006, a girl was exploring the vacant Bunge grain elevator, a staple landmark of the Como neighborhood, with a friend when she fell 100 feet and died. She was there at night without a flashlight, further proving that without proper preparation, exploration is extremely dangerous.

Not only are these locations extremely dangerous to those who do not know how to properly navigate them – they are, for the most part, illegal to venture into.

Trespassing charges are a constant threat.

Take, for example, one group of explorers whose adventure took a turn for the worse.

While exploring the area around a popular park, the group of urbexers (who wish to remain anonymous) happened upon some tunnels that led underneath one of Minneapolis’ famed abandoned flour mills. As they entered, the conditions they encountered were treacherous.

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“We had to wear bandanas over our mouths,” one explorer said. “It was all we could do to at least try to save our lungs from being shredded by asbestos or whatever else was down there.” The caustic air was paired with pools of mercury, drug-using squatters, and the constant possibility of falling.

“It was actually quite challenging to walk along the ledge because there’s pillars that stick out from the wall that you have to bear-hug and swing around,” another explorer said, describing a catwalk path inside the building. “And if you fall, you fall into a bunch of shit water.”

As photographers, their motto is, “Take only photographs, leave only footprints.”

F E AT U R E The group eventually found what they believed to be the sub-basement of the mill. Rusting, old machinery was everywhere, left in place by those who had last worked the mill. It was an urbexer’s dream. The group left, returning multiple times over the course of a month to further their journey.

Word spread to their friends, and soon enough they decided to bring a whole group of untrained teens along for the ride.

This proved to be a fatal mistake.

After winding through the familiar trail for two hours, the group of twelve came upon the basement. Now bored of the same old location, the five original explorers searched for more. Stumbling upon a grate that appeared to block the entrance to more abandonment, they decided to proceed.

After what seemed like hours of working with tools to open the grate, they entered into what they thought would be their next great adventure. Unfortunately, it was quite the opposite. Something wasn’t right - one explorer saw a fire extinguisher that he thought looked too modern. “I went to look at the service date and it said 2010. I was like, ‘Uh oh – we’re not in an abandoned area anymore, people are using this.’” They made their way into what appeared to be a huge warehouse. Within it was a pickup truck bearing the logo of a local power company.

The group had inadvertently broken into an active power plant.

Alarms began to sound, and they panicked, scrambling out of the tunnels. “What took us about two hours coming in took ten minutes running back out,” said one explorer.

Upon exiting, they were greeted by thirteen squad cars and cops, who at the time didn’t even accuse them of breaking in. They were questioned, their info was taken down, and they were let go. Weeks later, members of the group were contacted by the authorities. Security tapes revealed the large group of explorers, and they were informed that charges would be pressed.

“It’s been about a year and a half since then, it’ll be two years this spring, so I don’t know if or when they’ll contact us further about the charges,” one said.

Most explorers go by a simple rule: if there isn’t an entrance already there, don’t make your own. It only contributes to the crumbling of buildings that they wish to maintain and can lead to even worse situations like this one. These explorers learned their lesson the hard way, but they definitely had fun doing it; facing these dangers is part of the whole experience.

Many, if not most, urban explorers are photographers, searching desperately for locations to capture or unleash their art. Abandoned buildings are just the place for them.

Often holding a rich history, these buildings keep within them a spirit that transcends the physical structure itself.

Flickr has a huge community of explorers from all over the world who post and share their art and love of dilapidated structures. The most active group on Flickr, called “Abandoned,” has 47,000 members and over 680,000 photos.

Being in a building that was once fully functional and important but is now forgotten is, in a way, like stepping

into a piece of the past totally unaltered by men. It is not a museum. Its secrets are not hidden behind glass. Here one can find everything from old machinery to paperwork, furniture, and old advertisements. It’s fascinating to see all these things left as they were.

As a rule urban explorers try not to do anything to affect the state of the buildings. Graffiti is hugely prevalent, and though this art is often put up by respected local artists (i.e.

Wundr in Minneapolis), many urbexers are opposed to how it spoils the history of sites. As photographers, their motto is “Take only photographs, leave only footprints.”

Like any other subculture, urban exploration had its pioneers.

In Minneapolis, the most notable group is Action Squad, who are considered to be the founding fathers and mothers of urbex in Minnesota. Founded at the University of Minnesota in 1996, the group, led by “Max Action,” ran an extremely detailed (though now slightly outdated) site documenting their adventures. On the site, this list can be found:

The Joys of Action Squad

•The sense of adventure inherent in not knowing what lies ahead •The thrill of being where you’re not supposed to be •The challenge of figuring out how to get there •Indulging your appreciation for history, architecture, and non-standard notions of beauty •Going where boring ‘normal’ people would never even dream of going •Being in places that have not had human visitors in years •Rare chances to appreciate little-seen architecture •Using your wits to avoid detection/arrest (often narrowly) www.actionsquad.org Today urbexers in the metro area are blessed with many more locations to explore. Father Hennepin Park by the Stone Arch Bridge is at the foot of the very historic and abandoned Pillsbury “A” Mill. People utilize this building frequently, even climbing to its roof to view Fourth of July fireworks. St. Paul is home to abandoned power plants, breweries, and defunct condo conversions like the Lowertown Depot, which is right on a wildlife refuge. Abbott Hospital, now in the midst of remodeling for Abbott Apartments, was a hugely popular location. Its remodel, though wonderful for the local community, is a loss for local explorers.

If there’s one thing to be said about urban explorers, it’s that they are passionate about what they do. It may be strange to spend copious amounts of time in abandoned buildings, but to them the journey through them is worth it.

Urban exploration will undoubtedly continue to grow and thrive in Minneapolis. As the city’s landscape continues to evolve, so will the local urbex community.

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Q&A just quick setup and recorded and played, and then obviously fix everything that we screw up. Which is most everything.

Z: It’s like 80 percent of my stuff. [Laughs] K: Yeah and a lot of my stuff too. But yeah, we bashed it out in like two days. That was including having amps blow up and stuff. The idea was to keep it as raw and laid back as possible.

The Wake: Was that a different approach than with the A/B series you released in spring?

K: No, that’s sort of how we’ve been doing it, it’s sort of the philosophy of the band. Mine and Travis’s old band was very complex and layered. There was a lot of crap in it and I just didn’t want to have any of that anymore. I wanted it simple.

Loud, dumb, and mean, and as fast as possible.

Q&A: Deleter It’s really conceptual

By Courtney Bade

If any band could be the crowned laissez-faire leaders of music, local post-punk outfit Deleter would be a pretty solid contender. With a no bullshit philosophy, the band offers listeners music and only music. Nothing is contrived, everything is natural (even if it is a bit irate). The band just released their second EP, 56789, this past Friday, October 11, and with it some blunt statements (my personal favorites: “Art Fucks Need Fucking” and “Change Your Fucking Name”). The Wake sat down with Deleter in frontman Knol Tate’s home recording studio to talk about the new release and how art fucks might, in fact, need fucking.

MOLLY DAVIS

dude. So, Josh and Knol and I just started writing and hanging out and playing, had a few ideas working and knew we needed another guitar player because Knol plays guitar while singing.

Z: Well originally you weren’t really going to play much guitar, it was primarily going to be singing, but then it turned out otherwise.

T: Yeah, but I mean the three of us were toying around with sounds and where we wanted to go with the sound of the group and knew we needed a better guitar player than Knol [Tate]. [Laughs]. So we threw out some names and we knew Zach from mutual friends and musical circles in the city. We just kind of got a hold of somebody and he came and played.

The Wake: How did Deleter originally come about?

Travis Collins [Bass]: Knol and I played in a band called Satellite Voices a few years ago and I was out of the country for a while and came back and moved into the house here. Knol has a studio here in the house and he does a lot of recording, and Josh [McKay] and I had been doing some work with some of the artists that were coming through here on bass and drums. Since Knol and I had played music for a while before we were itching to get started again and Josh was around and we’ve known him for a while, so we decided to start writing. [To Zach]: What’s your problem?

Josh McKay [Drums]: Zach, where did you come from anyways?

Zach Roth [Guitar]: I dunno, I just kinda showed up.

T: Oh, oh Zach’s mad because I didn’t mention him. Sorry

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Knol Tate [Vocals, Guitar]: It was actually the only good piece of advice that my ex-girlfriend gave me ever, to get a hold of Zach to play guitar. That was literally what happened.

Z: Yeah, Knol messaged me and basically how he stated it was, “Ok I’m starting this band and it’s a cross between Wire and early Blonde Redhead.” At least that was the original idea, and I was really into the idea of it. But when we started doing everything it went in a completely different direction.

The Wake: Let’s talk about the new EP. What was the recording process like—you mentioned you have a studio here?

K: Yeah we just play them all live together. That’s the way I like to do bands I produce too because so much of today is all ProTool-ed and put together and sounds like shit. So it’s just better to have an entire band play at the same time. So we

J: I think too as we were writing the songs we just wanted to keep how that felt when we were playing together. We knew that was what our band was supposed to sound like. It wasn’t supposed to deviate from that. So for me, that was in the subconscious of everything: Is this representative of how we actually sound or is it taking away from that somehow?

Z: That’s good, Josh. [Laughs]. Well in the first 10 that we did it was kind of like figuring out if we could be a band, and then after we wrote these six and the Black Flag cover I felt a little nervous because we didn’t know how everything was going to sound cohesively. But I think all in all it turned out pretty well. I think we could agree that we’re pretty happy with it. Hopefully.

The Wake: How do you usually go about writing the songs?

I noticed in the lyrics there’s some dichotomies, like control vs. chaos, new vs. old, rural vs. urban.

K: I’m just trying to be the last of the angry old men I guess [Laughs]. No, I’m a poet, I write like two dozen poems a week. I just pretty much spit it all out, you know. For Deleter most of it sounds pretty angry or depressing so I just kind of dig through the most angry and depressing stuff and sort of rewrite it to the music. There’s been a couple songs where I’ve actually written lyrics to the music, but usually not. I’ve got such a back catalog of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of things I’ve written. We write really really fast and every time we practice we record it, so I’ll just listen to the demos and go through all the things and try to find something that fits. And for this record I wanted it to be angry and not acceptable to people like Josh’s mother.

[Laughs]. I generally don’t swear in songs very much but it’s really funny to me when I listen to this EP now. It’s just a ridiculous amount and a ridiculous use of swear words, like in “Art Fucks Need Fucking.” It’s just funny to me. There’s an-

Q&A other line in a song where I say, “fucking fuck you too,” and it sounds like one of those things when you’re really angry and you’re swearing at someone in a fight, and you say really dumb things in really horrible English.

in his amp. So we went to Menards in St. Paul, I think right?

Because we were trying to find a fuse.

The Wake: Travis, what happened to your foot?

Z: Yeah, it was a good time. Things got goofy, but we were walking down an aisle and there was some numbers and different things for mailboxes, and me and Knol decided to rearrange the letters to spell “Deleter.” So we did and we took a picture of it, and we were looking at it and right below “Deleter” were the numbers 5-6-7-8-9, and somebody was like, “Oh we should just call the EP ‘56789’” and I guess everyone was dumb enough to agree to it. [Laughs].

T: I broke it at work. I work with special education kids and they have a lot of energy so to keep up with them you have to have a lot of energy too, and I broke my foot in the process of keeping up.

K: Yeah we had to cancel a show because of it. The show was like the day after or something, wasn’t it? Buildings got put on the bill last minute.

we’ve played with Buildings a bunch.

Z: Buildings is the shit.

T: It’s a pretty good place, Menards. [Laughs].

J: Kill to Kill is awesome. We’re stoked to play with those guys. It ended up working out: we were going to be hosting some friends who were supposed to be coming through town at the beginning of October so that was initially when we were going to release it. But that show fell through because their tour got moved around, and this other show popped up so it ended up working out. Anyway, that’s the whole story. That’s my contribution.

Z: Cool story bro.

J: And now that picture is the cover.

K: That’s very accurate.

T: Yeah it was awesome.

Z: But he has a cane now.

K: I broke a toe once. I kicked a pedal board off stage. Another time I was running from the cops and tripped on a log and broke my toe [Laughs].

Z: It’s cool though because it’s partially representative of our attitude where--I don’t know I could be incorrect in saying this—we just don’t think too hard about it. There’s sort of a tongue-in-cheek sort of thing to it but at the same time—I don’t know it was there so we should just do it. Fuck it.

T: Yeah, I don’t know, I think bands put way too much thought into it.

Z: A log? What was a log doing?

K: It was sitting there.

Z: Were you outdoors?

K: No I was running through a gym from the cops.

Z: And there was just a log..?

K: It was down sort of by the river. I tripped and I fell and I knew I broke my toe immediately, but then the searchlight was going over me so I was like, [whispers] “Just lay here they’re not going to find you.” [Laughs].

I mean it’s fine if you have a concept and art is cool but… it can be too much. Sometimes it feels like so much bullshit.

Z: Art fucks need fucking.

T: Yeah, just like, shut the fuck up. You don’t really have to think about it that much. Just make music. I mean we just took a picture at Menards, whatever. It’s about the music.

Z: It’s actually really conceptual.

T: You’re really good with details Josh.

J: I do my best.

The Wake: What’s the deal with calling your sound “espionage rock”?

Z: We don’t. Other people do. Who was that? Who was responsible for that?

J: I think a friend of ours called it “espionage rock” or “spy rock” or something. We were just trying to rip off Wire.

Z: It all started when Knol tripped on that log and hid from the police. That’s where the espionage first happened.

J: There’s lots of minor chords and half-steps and chromatics.

K: Like the James Bond theme.

The Wake: Did they find you?

K: Yeah, disregard all that. It’s high concept art.

T: We were watching a lot of old James Bond when we wrote the first stuff.

K: Nope! Got away that time... That time. [Laughs].

T: You won’t ever understand it.

Z: I wasn’t. I was just listening to Sonic Youth.

The Wake: Why did you decide to call the EP “56789”?

K: It’s a Scientology thing. The numbers are a brand on the side of God’s spaceship. [Laughs].

K: It’s like surf rock but your kinda sneaky surfing.

Z: Ah, can I tell the story?

K: Ha, sure.

Z: This is a good story.

K: It’s a terrible story.

Z: Shh. So the first time we recorded I blew a fuse in my amp for some reason, and when we did this EP Knol blew a fuse

The Wake: Do you want to talk about the release show a bit?

Z: Chad from Kill to Kill set up the show and we kind of weasled our way into it, right?

K: No he asked us. It was a coincidence like, “Oh let’s just make that our release show…” Yeah, that’s a terrible story.

The Wake: Stealth rock.

K: Yeah, stealth rock. Creep rock.

J: Yeah so espionage rock isn’t a real thing.

The Wake: Well alright. Anything you guys want to add?

Z: Art fucks need fucking.

J: We really like the other bands that are playing though. Like

www.wakemag.org

17.

Sound & Vision After the Show, Breaking Bad Characters’ Fates Series Finale Still Leaves a Few Questions for Fans

By Alex Van Abbema

The series finale of Breaking Bad tied up many loose ends, but some of the characters, other than Walt, Lydia, Todd, Jack, and his henchmen, had fates that left Breaking Bad fans wondering what might happen to some of their other beloved characters beyond the last episode. Here are a few thoughts about what might happen to the remaining characters after the series’ thrilling conclusion.

Jesse Pinkman We last saw Jesse driving away from his prison in a meth lab, laughing ecstatically. One would like to think that he gets a nice job, gets his life figured out and retires to a nice beach resort by the ocean with a girlfriend who gives him some solid life advice and actually survives. But due to the fact that nothing ever works out for Jesse, we can assume that soon after this scene, one of three things happened: Maybe he crashed into a tree and went into a coma for several months. Maybe he got home safely and held lavish parties to celebrate his escape and distract him from the horrors of

his past, until he overdosed on his huge supply of drugs. Or perhaps he was forced into an insane asylum to cope with his life as a meth cook slave. The ending for Jesse probably wasn’t too cheery.

a lawyer and teams up with fellow farmers to fight against Monsanto.

Skylar

Unlike Skylar, Marie successfully gets back into the dating game and finds her real soul mate. However, she is still shaken by the death of her husband, and becomes a worse kleptomaniac than ever before. Eventually her house becomes a haven for as many stolen purple items as one could possibly imagine.

After her husband’s death Skylar decides to go back out on the dating market. However, her now constantly cold personality turns off most guys, so she attempts to get back with Ted. Ted is still in a coma, however, so Skylar gives up and spends the rest of her life as a widow. Taking care of both Walt Junior and Holly’s grandkids eventually takes up the majority of her time.

Marie

Brock I don’t even want to speculate on what happened to this poor kid. The answer would probably be incredibly depressing. Let’s just hope he’s able to get a good therapist.

Saul Goodman Saul was last seen getting ready to move to his new life in Nebraska. Since there is pretty much nothing to do in Nebraska, we can assume that Saul got a nice job as a farmer, and spent most of his days counting corn stalks and watching Nebraska Cornhusker football games. Bored of his new life, Saul eventually gets an itch to go back to his heyday as

Walt Jr. and Holly After Grey Matter founders Elliot and Gretchen fearfully heed Walt’s wishes and give Walt Jr. and Holly the money needed for their college funds, Walt Jr. goes to college and finishes his bachelors of science in physics. Many years later, Holly goes to school and ends up with the same degree. The two then use the rest of Walt’s money to team up and create a physical science research company called White Matter.

White Matter eventually becomes an even more successful research company than Grey Matter, and the two companies eventually merge to form a super-conglomerate company. Walt Jr. and Holly also eventually get married and raise their kids to help with the company.

Skinny Pete and Badger These two spend the rest of their lives writing Star Trek scripts together. They bring up their idea to a network executive, who then laughs in their faces and tells them to lay off the drugs and get real jobs.

Huell Never gets out of the hotel room. End of story.

www.theshrinkshow.com

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Sound & Vision The Diorama-Rama Extravaganza: The hot glitter glue gun burns are worth it.

by Lianna Matt

Contrary to what die-hard “Simpsons” lovers might hope for, the second annual Diorama-rama event at Boneshaker Books isn’t a contest––it’s an exhibition, and the Oct. 2 kickoff night with all its laughs and wonderful sarcasm was spectacular.

Walking into Boneshaker, a mostly volunteer-run bookstore in Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood, I saw a wall of books and some shelves holding categories like anarchism, bikes, and cultural studies, a young adult and kids alcove complete with a stuffed animal horse and elephant, and homemade crafts and zines for sale. The small space was hardly big enough for a group of dioramists (yes, we’re making that a word) to have elbow room.

Instead, diorama builders worked in the meeting room, a shared space in the same building as Boneshaker. Over the next several hours, six people (the majority Boneshaker volunteers) and two Wake reporters made art and had a great time. Max, a volunteer, already had a concept for his diorama, citing a scene that depicts a North Korean couple meeting secretly at night from the Barbara Demick’s book “Nothing to Envy.”

Whether or not the dioramists had an idea was inconsequential. They went as they pleased, perusing magazines and other materials people brought, discovering how to execute their ideas. Diorama-rama instigator Brian Fanelli joked, “I was really close to Googling how to diorama, but then I was

like, I want this to be fun.” And that was part of what made Diorama-rama so fantastic. It had no rules.

By the end of the night, Fanelli had an impressive metadiorama to show: the figure of Rainier Wolfcastle attending his own Diorama-rama, mainly made with materials that Fanelli said he “was able to scrounge up... mostly just [by raiding his] garage.” Fanelli had brought a haul of Star Wars Legos, the action figure of Rainier Wolfcastle, and some issues of “Seventeen” magazine. But no one beat dioramist and Boneshaker volunteer Erin’s cornucopia of googly eyes, glitter (because, as she said, “If you don’t want glitter, you suck”), plastic skeletons, and marigolds for her Day of the Dead theme. She and everyone else there readily shared their materials with each other so that even Sarah Brewer and I, who came without the intention of making a diorama, could create one.

So here’s Fanelli’s facetious pitch for next year’s Dioramarama: “Die... Or ‘Rama.” Before then, though, come see Boneshaker’s growing collection of dioramas through the month of October.

SARAH BREWER

Cupcakes That Will Make You Want To Celebrate Cocoa & Fig caters to fall flavors

By Brielle Christy

As college students we want to spend our money wisely.

Sometimes we go for the cheap, easy food that allows us to save extra cash for the bars and going out on the weekends.

To all the students out there looking for quality ideas on how to celebrate your roomie’s, best friend’s, or significant other’s birthday with some sweet and affordable treats, Cocoa & Fig is the place to go.

Even without a celebration, this place is the perfect option for those of us busy with midterms or who just really can’t bake themselves. Cocoa & Fig serves quality cupcakes with flavors anyone can enjoy.

I can say from experience that the pumpkin cupcake will

not disappoint anyone who loves fall flavors. Nothing quite says October like pumpkin spice cake and cinnamon cream cheese frosting. If that’s not your thing, they have other options for different palates. Cupcakes range from classic vanilla and chocolate, to some others with delicious twists.

Best of all: they deliver! So freshmen worried about getting around town are in luck. But if you feel like going on an adventure, head over to Nicollet Mall downtown for their retail shop where you can pick and choose from their daily selections in person.

If you are craving something bigger, Cocoa & Fig has more than just cupcakes. Some of the boutique’s other madefrom-scratch desserts include macaroons, cake pops, and

fruit tarts. They also cater weddings and parties with dessert bars and cakes. So for any of you out there with a hopeful wedding Pinterest board, keep Cocoa & Fig in mind. The cake tastes as good as it looks.

Even if you can’t convince your friends that you made such a delicious birthday treat for them yourself, Cocoa & Fig succeeds in offering delicious fall flavors. As the weather begins to cool over the coming months, just the act of eating these baked goods might make your apartment feel a little warmer. Cocoa & Fig inspires me to head to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard to get fresh ingredients for my own cupcakes.

But then again, there’s nothing wrong with settling on one of their cakes instead of your own.

www.wakemag.org

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Sound & Vision Get Yo’ Music Blog Game Proper The Top Ten Best Websites to Discover New Music

By Ethan Lauer

The internet has largely replaced the radio as the best way to find out about new music. To alleviate the stress you might feel due to the overwhelming number of music blogs online, I’ve compiled a list to get you started in your search for your new favorite music source.

1

pitchfork.com

Pitchfork has been the go-to authority for indie music since basically forever. Their scope isn’t really constricted to a certain genre or geographic area, and that’s what I love about them. They’re so well-known that they can get exclusive interviews, stream album previews, announce video releases, etc. On top of that, their writing staff is just as focused on posting new music as they are at critically and thoughtfully evaluating it. Pitchfork is a staple for any music aficionado.

2

illroots.com

ILLROOTS seems to be getting more recognition from the hip-hop community every day for being the best resource of quality new hip-hop releases and exclusives. They got 2chainz to be in a video announcing the remodel of their site a few weeks ago. I mean, who am I to disagree with 2chainz about what’s cool in hiphop? As it continues to build momentum, ILLROOTS has the potential to be the biggest and best source for hiphop music, so jump on that bandwagon quick so you can tell all your friends you read ILLROOTS before it was cool.

3

last.fm

Last.fm isn’t a blog, but rather it’s a self-guided musical experience. When you register for the site, it asks you to choose some of your favorite artists and then gives you suggestions about what else to check out based on those inputs. You can even set it up to track what you’ve been listening to on iTunes or Spotify so it will constantly update its suggestions based on your current taste. It’s a great resource if you like a pretentious indie girl who uses last.fm, because you can totally creep on her music taste and strike up a conversation about “Puke Tits” or whatever obscure band she’s into that week and make her fall in love with you.

4

brooklynvegan.com

ly put me on to great New York musicians that I wouldn’t have heard about otherwise because I’m too absorbed in the inbred Minneapolis music scene. Check out Brooklyn Vegan if you dig rock, metal, and indie. Bonus if you’re also down to read about other offbeat cultural news.

5

hypem.com

Hype Machine is a really unique website that gives you the hottest new music in real time. The site tracks the most popular songs that are currently being written about on a huge array of music blogs they’ve selected in addition to what songs are being shared in the Twittersphere. You can search for new music by popularity, release date, or genre so it’s fairly customizable. It’s based in both New York and Reykjavik, Iceland, so it has a more global perspective when offering suggestions.

6

2dopeboys.com

2dopeboys is the best place to go to get coverage of all the newest hip-hop releases, whether it’s a new song, mix tape, or music video. On any given page, there’s at least ten links to free songs and mix tapes that you can download and check out in their entirety. If you’re looking to expand your iTunes library with a bunch of fresh new hip-hop joints, 2dopeboys is the place to go.

Et musique pour tous is extremely broad in their scope, posting about whatever songs or albums really blow them away. Their focus is quality, not quantity, so it’s only updated a few times per day, if that, but you can trust that each post has been well thought out and purposeful.

10

gorillavsbear.net

Gorilla vs. Bear is based in Texas so I really enjoy reading it for the completely different perspective on the music scene than I’m used to in Minneapolis. That’s not to say they post a lot of bluegrass and country, but they have a distinctly southern hipster take on new music. Hell, they’ve even been deemed the “New Yorker of hipster blogs,” and have been widely acclaimed by Rolling Stone and Newsweek, among other publications. Basically, it’s Pitchfork with more insight and less pretentiousness.

7

SoundCloud is the best interface for musicians to both share their own music and discover other artists. You can upload your own music and if someone likes it, they can leave a comment or repost your song in their “stream” for all their followers to see. If you’re not an artist yourself, don’t worry, SoundCloud is still an awesome medium to discover new artists and be the first to know when your favorite artists release new music.

8

october 14 - october 28

9

etmusiquepourtous.com

soundcloud.com

Brooklyn Vegan is a Brooklyn-based, New Yorkfocused, mostly music blog. I say mostly music because comedy, food, and other lifestyle articles are thissongissick.com often a part of the daily postings. Their main audience is ThisSongisSick (or TSIS) is a great resource if you’re the New York crowd, as they often have recaps of shows heavy into EDM and electro remixes of pop and indie played in NYC, or previews of upcoming events, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it. They have consistent- jams. A college student from Boulder, Colorado started it so

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it’s pretty focused on college party bangers and such. Personally, I’m not a big EDM dude, but this site posts a lot of remixes with free downloads so it’s a good place to go if you’re looking for music to play at your Friday night rager, or whatever.

PETER MARIUTTO

Sound & Vision Happy Birthday Les Mis A Timeless Musical

By Destanie Martin-Johnson

The beloved musical “Les Misérables” was born this month years ago on Oct. 8, 1985. On that day the show opened its very first English language production in London. Today, the novel-turned-musical called “Les Mis” remains one of the most popular and longest running musicals around the world. “Les Mis” has captivated many hearts over the years through its themes and messages, such as redemption and justice, which translate to a contemporary audience.

The musical is based off the classic novel published by Victor Hugo in 1862. It is a story about the life of Jean Valjean, a prisoner in Paris who attempts to turn his life around after

being released during the French Revolution. Along his journey, the audience follows along the story of Valjean, learning with him lessons about life, love, redemption, and hope.

“Oppression, persecution, and desperation plagues many characters, while misguidance, greed, and zealotry controls others. I think these are themes of the universal human condition, which is why I hold this seminal musical in such high regard,” said Tanner Gruba, a former U of M student and huge “Les Mis” fan.

Gruba’s comments certainly summarize the musical’s themes and also make a very persuasive, compelling argument about the musical’s relevance to society as a whole. “‘Les Misérables’ really set the bar of what a musical could be,” Gruba said. “The longevity of the show is a testament to its influence, as it has been running since the 1980s.

I think its success is attributed to the many relatable struggles in the story, both great and small, that the audience can relate to, myself included.”

In addition to several film versions available, most recently in 2012, stage performances have visited Minneapolis multiple times. “Les Mis” first came to Minneapolis in 1988 during its first and second U.S. tours. It came again in 2010 and most recently this past summer 2013, which ended in August with a string of sold-out shows.

The audience follows along the story of Valjean, learning with him lessons about life, love, redemption, and vengeance.

“Les Mis” has toured the world from Europe to South America for over 20 years. It has also won several Tony awards. It’s clear that Minneapolis, as well as the rest of the planet, shows love for the musical.

One actor had the confusing task of alternating years of age throughout the show. This involved costume and vocal changes, which were done quickly and convincingly, not to mention the considerable leaping and climbing around the set he did. Being king of the underworld seems to be a very strenuous occupation.

The costuming and makeup in the show stood out, specifically the stones. From head to feet, their bodies were covered in either gray makeup or other materials. They were a perfect meld between realistic and humanoid stone creatures.

The Xperimental Theatre Presents: Eurydice It’s Pronounced (yoo-rid-uh-see)

ANNA SIBENALLER

By Anna Sibenaller

Yur-i-Dice? Yur-I-Die-See? The name comes from Greek mythology, which might explain the difficulty pronouncing it. “Eurydice,” which ran from Oct. 3–13 at the U’s Xperimental Theatre, was written by Illinois-born playwright Sarah Ruhl.

“Eurydice” tells the tale of Orpheus and his wife Eurydice. Eurydice dies (that’s NOT a spoiler), and Orpheus tries to retrieve her from the underworld. While in the underworld, Eurydice reunites with her father. Although death and the underworld might seem to be parts of a dark, depressing tale, this is not the case. Sure, it’s definitely emotional, but moments of lighthearted humor shined through in “Eurydice.” The setting and language were also modernized. “There aren’t any thees or thous in our production,” said Audrey Rice, the production’s stage manager.

At a glance, the set seemed simple, but ask any of the cast and crew and they’ll tell you that was not the case. The stage was filled with almost invisible nooks and crannies that actors miraculously squeezed themselves into. The stage contained multiple complex levels, from the river made out of lights and a curtain to what the stage manager said was the most difficult piece to create: a raining elevator.

“Eurydice” was a combination of heartfelt emotion, talented acting, creative costume design, and well-executed set design. It’s obvious the 150 hours the cast and crew devoted to this show were well. Keep your eyes out for future performances in the Rarig Center’s Nolte Xperimental Theatre on Minneapolis’ West Bank.

The cast and crew worked an estimated 150 hours on the production, which equals almost a whole week, night and day. Assistant Stage Manager Sylvia Bay said it was “a very big show in a very small space.”

Actors’ performances impressed. Usually characters have distinct personalities that actors can tune into and embody with practice. However, there was little material for the actors to develop their characters with in some cases. Can you imagine how hard (no pun intended) it is to portray a stone, and to be entertaining doing it?

www.wakemag.org

21.

Sound & Vision

3REVIEWS

Justin Timberlake

Danny Brown

by Sammi Frohwirth

By Aidan Hutt

If Justin Timberlake doesn’t deserve a Grammy this year, then I don’t know who does. After a seven year absence from the music industry, he released his album “The 20/20 Experience” last March and the album debuted at number one.

As Danny Brown gets older his music stays as fresh as ever.

His third album, Old, presents a comprehensive look at his versatility.

The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2

Old

The first side of the album is personal, hard, and gritty, a la his previous efforts Detroit State of Mind 1-4 and XXX. The first track “Side A (Old),” acknowledges his split personality rap, calling out fans that “want that old Danny Brown” back. In “The Return,” featuring Freddie Gibbs, Brown trades crazed vocals in for a calmer, more grounded tone.

If that wasn’t enough, after it debuted Timberlake announced that there would be a second part to “The 20/20 Experience,” sending fans into a frenzy. Although I was skeptical that Part 2 would be able to live up to Part 1, I was definitely proven wrong on September 30 when he released the second half. Part 2 also debuted at number one.

The second part consists of 12 additional songs with two bonus tracks on the deluxe edition. Timberlake proved his talent once again with this one by giving us a variety of singles and mixing genres. From the single “Take Back the Night” which has a dance, almost disco-like vibe, to “Only When I Walk Away” that has more of a pop/rock vibe, to the smooth love song “Not a Bad Thing,” Timberlake shows us his versatility and why all kinds of people like his music.

I still can’t decide if Part 1 or Part 2 is better, but i will say that Part 2 is slightly edgier with songs such as “True Blood” and “Murder” while Part 1 has some smoother, softer songs.

Both parts of “The 20/20 Experience” make fans want to dance and sing along and were well worth the wait.

STARTRIBUNE.COM

John Mark Nelson THE WHOLE - Friday, October 4

By Andy Buckley

Musicians are few and far between when it compares to the likes of John Mark Nelson. Playing on a stage that has housed other local legends, Nelson proved himself a true artist at his Oct. 4 show at The Whole.

Unlike his usual performances, John Mark Nelson played accompanied by only three other band members, rather than his usual company of six or seven musicians. They were still able to take the crowd on an escapade of sound with their wide variety of instrumentation, including fiddle, mandolin, and accordion.

The hardened street life that Brown grew up with is explored on Side A, with tracks like “25 Bucks,” featuring Purity Ring.

The tracks “Wonderbread” and “Torture” discuss Brown’s drug dealing past.

The go H.A.M./get bacon trend in mainstream hip-hop is spat out in “Lonely” and put into action for much of Side B. “Dope Song,” “Dip,” “Smokin & Drinkin,” “Break It [Go],” and “Handstand” are all classic examples of MDMA-fueled party anthems. With Old, Danny is simply living up to a philosophy he presented in an interview with Danish hip-hop bloggers DrozDailySteezin: “Hip-hop is not a sound man, it’s a lifestyle.

Whatever is true to you is what hip-hop is.”

Past experiences have led to a split point in life for Brown, between his rough roots and party lifestyle, his music represents this duality. A multifaceted portrait of this epoch of Danny Brown, Old is his magnum opus.

The band shows range from mellow, soothing songs such as “The Shore” to more upbeat singles like the popular “Reminisce.” John Mark Nelson seems to have perfected the art of lulling fans to sleep with one song and bringing them to their feet and dancing by the next.

John and company also played new material from their upcoming album, such as the songs “Boy” and “The Moon & The Stars.” The album finished its Kickstarter campaign last February, and the music video for “The Moon & The Stars” was released last month on MTV.

BROADWAYWORLD.COM

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october 14 - october 27

With all the progress the band has made this year, it’s hard to believe I once sat next to John Mark Nelson in high school English class.

HIPHOPDX.COM

Sound & Vision

Events Calendar WEDNESDAY, Oct 16

MONDAY, Oct 21

Radical Face w/ Johnny Rogers Varsity Theater / 18+ / 7:00 p.m. / $18.50 door

THURSDAY, Oct 17 Twin Peaks w/ Crimes and Fury Things 7th St. Entry / 18+ / 8:00 p.m. / $18 door

Poetry reading w/ Alex Lemon, Brian Laidlaw, Patricia Kirkpatrick, and Wayne Miller Honey / 7:00 / Free Poliça Electric Fetus / Free with album purchase / 10 pm

TUESDAY, Oct 22 Janelle Monae Skyway Theater / 16+ / $23 / 6 pm Little Green Cars w/ Foy Vance First Ave / 18+ / $15 door / 7:30 pm

FRIDAY, Oct 18 Costume Contest Coffman Union / 8pm Yasen Marie with Leah T. The Whole / All ages / Free / 8:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, Oct 23 The Pretty Reckless Varsity Theater / All ages / $18 door / 5:30 pm

SATURDAY, Oct 19 VOGUE|TRASH: Costume Fashion Ball 2013 Patrick’s Cabaret / $15 / 7:15 pm

Making the World Suck Less with Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian First Ave / 18+ / 8:00 p.m. / $25

FRIDAY, Oct 25 Rhymesayers Talk Hip-Hop with Touré Coffman Union / All ages / Free / 6:30 pm Those Darlins w/ Gambles and Pink Mink 7th St. Entry / 18+ / $12 / 8:00 pm

SATURDAY, Oct 26 Film: The To-Do List Coffman Union / 7 & 10 pm

SUNDAY, Oct 27 The Head and the Heart Electric Fetus / All Ages / Free / 5 pm WAM Bees Weisman Art Museum / 1 pm

HTTP://WWW.FLICKRIVER.COM

DEALFLICKS.COM

THURSDAY, Oct 24

PATRICKSCABARET.ORG

KINDNESS.RAVENANDCROWSTUDIO.COM

www.wakemag.org

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chill out on some Come to our next meeting Monday October 28th @ 8:00pm @Folwell Hall 12// we need writers, illustrators, photographers, and solid fans// wakemag.org for more info