On Tuesday afternoon, around 30 college faculty, staff, students and community members gathered to hear Professor Louis A. Hieb ’61 give a talk entitled “The Judgment of Laughter: The Hopi Clown,” about the role of clowns in Hopi culture. The lecture was sponsored in memory of the late Ralph Luebben, who was Grinnell’s first ever Professor of Anthropology.

It would probably be good to clarify that Hopi clowns aren’t so much a physical police force as they are a moral police force—calling out negative community behaviors during the annual Katsuna ceremony. They are thus tied to Hopi religion, which sees the year as divided at the solstices into two halves—the period following summer solstice marked by the coming of the Katsunas.

Katsunas (pronounced—and often spelled—“kachina”) are good spirits that, according to Hieb, are essentially “the embodiment of the Hopi way.” Katsunas, then, are the ideal Hopi role model, and clowns, or “tsuku,” are the exact opposite, since “the clowns depict life as it should not be.” Of the two main types of tsuku—there are about 12—one resembles the stereotypical western clown—a large grimacing smile painted on its face with dust—while the other tsuku looks like a cross between a zebra and a teletubby, with hair antennae and black and white striped garments.

The Katsuna ceremony has multiple elements and is loaded with symbolism, but the basic role of the tsuku are to usurp the performance plaza form the Katsinas and perform a variety of skits that Hieb described as “farcical morality plays that reflect current conflicts in Hopi society.”

Topics range from language usage—the ceremony is performed in the Hopi language, except when English and other languages are relevant to a topic—to gender roles, to traditional meal preparation, and sometimes target individuals in the community, their names pinned to a clown’s back. “There are some very personal and very pointed things addressed by the clowns,” Hieb said, citing the example of a skit that critiqued a man for cheating on his wife.

While the clowns used to deal mainly with conflicts and issues within the Hopi community, the ceremony has been adapted to address more modern questions. “Today the concern seems to be more with external boundaries—maintaining Hopi identity in the face of an increasingly dominant culture,” Hieb said.

The Hopi do not have an official police force. Rather, as the title of Hieb’s talk suggests, behavioral standards are maintained in part by threat of public humiliation—the laughter of the community standing in for the judgment of the court. Hieb suggests that laughter has potential in some ways to be more effective than law. “I would never want to be hauled down to the plaza,” Hieb said.

Many are not used to seeing clowns play such a serious role. “It’s interesting how it’s a means of social control,” said Becky Lyons ’10, who attended the talk. “It’s different from what I think of when I think of clowns.”

What seems different, however, is actually not so far off. Hieb notes that average circus clowns also critique human behavior, in a more common-sensical way, citing slipping on banana peels as the original behavioral counterexample.

The Hopi concept of clown as societal critic led listeners to consider the similar role humor plays in mainstream American society. “It’s kind of like an SNL skit in a way,” Lyons said.

Hieb, too, pointed out the Hopi-esque clowns hiding like joy buzzers in mainstream media. “People like Jay Leno and Johnny Carson are clowns dealing with much more secular humor,” Hieb said.

Turns out, that while clowns reveal actions that are deviant and unnatural within their society, there is nothing that comes more naturally to society than clowning. “Nearly all Native American societies had clowns or humor figures in some sense,” Hieb said. “Clowning is truly a nearly universal phenomenon.”

The doors to a new photography exhibit opened last Monday at Smith Gallery. The installation was composed entirely by Sumulong and is entitled “Levee”. Capturing instantaneous flashes of both calm and chaos, Sumulong’s project follows the lives of several homeless folk through their day-to-day experiences in Des Moines. After accompanying them through multiple events in their lives, Sumulong shot and chose the photographs, along with writings by the subjects themselves, that he thought best depicted the Levee ethos.

The project began last fall when Sumulong contacted multiple poverty-outreach organizations in Des Moines—namely, Hope Builders and Jappa Outreach—with a photography project about homeless culture in mind. Through these organizations, Sumulong was introduced to Al, Robert and Rita (last names withheld), among others, all of whom inhabit the levees of Des Moines. Sumulong went on to develop personal relationships with these people while sharing their experiences and tracking the course of their lives over the seasons. “I was afraid they would view me as exploitive,” Sumulong said.

Instead, Sumulong’s commitment to engage with his subjects on a human level resulted in a far more honest connection and Sumulong checked in on his subjects often, including phone calls during the winter holidays.

To give the homeless a chance to express their own personal narrative, Sumulong chose a few of their handwritten letters to hang alongside the photographs. “It is important to have their words speak for themselves,” Sumulong said. In one letter, Al, the primary subject of Sumulong’s project, remarks upon his “so-called homelessness.” In another, Rita discusses the unrecognized passage of her birthday and the passage of friends writing, “I lost a friend last week…I loved very much. I hope he knows today.”

While the overall aura of Sumulong’s project borders on the dismal, it also evokes a strong empathy for those without homes. “After working in a homeless shelter this past summer, I tend to have a strong emotional response to these photographs,” Lauren Johnson ’11, who visited the installation, said. All of the images were striking, most especially one of a bruised and weary pregnant woman sitting on a stool, eyes direct and somber, with a colostomy bag resting on her lap.

In addition to representing the commonly conceived lifestyle of homeless people, Sumulong’s project reveals many of the less considered aspects of life in the levee. “Al has a cell phone?” Carolyn Wright ’11, another viewer, asked. The project aims to depict a variety of the elements of the modern homeless person’s lifestyle—including social and technological interactions, nomadic travels and fits of frustrations.

Levee has been a huge success and a patron has already offered to buy prints for an exhibit in Des Moines. However, the exhibit means so much more to Sumulong than just another portfolio asset—it depicts the lives of some of his good friends. Sparking up conversations about local poverty both within the College and without, Levee is as provocative as it is visually stunning.

The publication aims to unify Grinnell artists through its experimental format. Initially, students provide an artwork—be it a poem, a photograph, etc—which is placed in the center of a page. Other students, inspired by the primary artwork, respond with marginalia that eventually, after enough students participate and the page becomes suitably concentrated, comes together in a sort of cooperative graffiti. The final product then consists of an array of varied student voices all conversing with the original piece.

“We started with the idea that we wanted to include as many scripts and forms of art or ways to create as possible,” said & Friends Editor-in-Chief Patrick Kijek ’10. “It’s really an experiment in collective art.”

The primary pieces of art for the first issue of & Friends will be poems by Winsome Eustace ’12 and Paul Tavarez ’12, who both welcome the unique opportunity to watch discussion and further creation unfold based on their work. “Poetry is supposed to evoke an emotion, and & Friends speaks directly to that,” Eustace said. “It takes the emotion you left someone with and they give something back. Art can be a dialogue.”

In addition to fostering a singularity amongst the many and varied voices of Grinnell, editors of & Friends also hope to build an all-inclusive tent for student representation. In fact, the genesis of & Friends can, in part, be traced back to the feeling that many student publications tend to be dominated by those with a strong background in the arts and the resulting desire for an alternate option.

“Most publications tend to consist of only English majors,” said & Friends Arts Editor Gustavo Arambula ’10. “We’re trying to incorporate as many majors and people into the publication as we can. For example, in the first issue we have a Chemistry major who responded to a poem by writing an equation in the margin.”

By offering a creative outlet to everyone and anyone, & Friends aspires to succeed both as an art project and a social project. An ambitious goal, no doubt, but Kijek is confident the unique opportunity to engage fellow students and represent oneself will catch on and enjoy a time at Grinnell longer than his own.

“After I graduate, hopefully & Friends will become a series that fosters a collective community, instead of the alienated poet or artist,” Kijek said.

& Friends is still accepting student marginalia submissions for its first issue which comes out finals week. If interested, you can pick up a page with poetry at the Info Desk. Meetings will be held on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. and Wednesdays at 10 p.m. in Forum South Lounge.

Goodwin performed poems and songs from his most recent album, “Break Beat Poetica.” In his work, Goodwin addresses issues of race and diversity, referencing his personal experience of the transition of moving from the city of Detroit to a nearby suburb early in his life. His work was both insightful and humorous—while speaking about the discrepancies in public school food options, Goodwin evokes comical imagery of young students snapping their cheeto-stained fingers, and then slowly brings his listeners back around to reexamine the gravity of the nutrition situation in schools.

Jumi Bello ’13, founder and member of SPEAK, was a main instigator in Goodwin coming to Grinnell. At the beginning of his performance, Goodwin commented on meeting Bello, being excited to perform at the College and feeling comfortable with the crowd, which was evident as he talked, responded to and joked with the crowd throughout his performance.

In addition to this performance, Goodwin also led a poetry workshop earlier in the afternoon, in which students performed and critiqued each other’s works.
As he encouraged the crowd, to download Goodwin’s work, visit his website idrisgoodwin.blogspot.com.

“We were quick to take the opening slot because Elephant Micah, he’s a hard act to follow,” Trecka said.
Trecka and Remis’ opening show began by establishing an almost funeral atmosphere. For more than three minutes, Trecka hummed along with his tabletop quasi accordion for an ethereal, enveloping sound that the reporter could not quite shake.

Remis played the violin while Trecka sang and although most of what he was saying got lost, intentionally or otherwise, it sounded good–soulful, heartfelt, as if there was some definite emotion behind the drawn-out syllables.

The duo have played Grinnell before, as part of a three-person band.
“We’re two-thirds of a band called Pillars and Tongues. We’re also two-halves of a band called Mark Trecka and Beth Remis,” Trecka said, nearing the end of the set.

Elephant Micah, a band composed of Joseph O’Connell and his guitar, would definitely have been a hard act to follow. By the end of his first song, 20 or 30 people had filled Bob’s, and most were listening to his folksy, lyrical music. “Paintings are the work of the untrained mind/ so I stare at your still life/ as if it were wild,” sang Elephant Micah’s O’Connell.

He played a revised version of “Ramblin’ Woman,” a song by an old Appalachian singer, Hazel Dickens, which sounded notably different coming out of a deep-vocaled man’s mouth. Elephant Micah had an easy voice though, not trying too hard or singing too loud, just telling us, albeit broodingly, about his perspectives. He fit right in with the gossiping chatter and keyboard typing, lulling listeners without overpowering them.

Elephant Micah draws some of his influence from Joni Mitchell—his website’s tag-line is “one guy’s Joni problem”—but has also covered such classics as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” Grinnell, unfortunately, did not get to enjoy such a heavenly treat on Tuesday night.

Elephant Micah’s original songs can be bought on his website, elephantmicah.com, where albums recorded with Blue-Sanct Records and Time-lag Records are also available. Interested fans can find the Madonna cover on YouTube, though most songs are not available on iTunes.

“Every year we try to bring one person in, an artist of national acclaim, and this year I ended up settling on Marcus Belgrave,” said Jazz Ensemble Director and Professor of Music Damani Phillips. “He’s been around forever [and] he’s played with just about every great that we think of and we discuss nowadays in terms of jazz history.”

Though they may not be instantly familiar with his name, many Grinnellians are more familiar than they know with Belgrave’s sound. “Everybody who has ears to hear has heard him,” Tad Boehmer ’12 said. “But they just don’t know that it’s him. His trumpet’s well known.”
While here, Belgrave will provide an improvisation workshop in Bucksbaum room 152. By bringing a master of the skill to Grinnell, Phillips hopes to introduce beginners to the art of jazz improvisation outside of an academic setting and provide a more one on one learning experience.
“One of the cornerstones of jazz is learning to improvise and it’s basically spontaneous composition with the backdrop of a familiar tune, or a chord progression,” Phillips said. “This is one of the masters of this particular skill [and] I wanted to make sure that while he was here he shared some of his strategies with the students.”

The workshop, at 12:30 in Bucksbaum 152, is geared towards melodic instrumentalists such as trumpeters, saxophonists and guitarists. Student musicians will be encouraged to actively participate in improvisation with their instruments, but the workshop is open to everyone, instrumentalist or not.

The concert itself, which will be at 7 p.m. tonight in Sebring-Lewis, will not only feature jazz improvisation but also complex arrangments chosen by Belgrave himself.

“Everything that we’re playing at the concert is composed or arranged by Thad Jones…at the request of our guest artist Marcus Belgrave,” Jackie Ernst ’11 said. “It’s very challenging [and] it’s the hardest concert I’ve ever been involved in, [but] it’s a really exciting opportunity to play with such a talented, famous musician.”

While Belgrave will provide the majority of the improvisational solos throughout the hour-long concert, Ernst will also contribute a singing scat solo—or vocal improvisation—during one of the performance pieces.

Boehmer is also excited to play alongside such a talented musician, and believes the combined efforts of the jazz ensemble and jazz master Belgrave will create a great experience for the performers and audience alike.

“Jones’ music really shows the wide range of musical styles and emotions that he was able to bring about in this writing,” Boehmer said. “We’re all very passionate about the music, so to be able to add [Belgrave] into it plus how much we like it, it’s just going to be fantastic.”
The college ensemble has been practicing since January, and hopes the culmination of their efforts tonight will show all of their hard work and dedication.

“This concert represents a significant amount of work for the students,” Phillips said. “I hope that folks…recognize and respect the amount of time and work and energy that these students have devoted into making this concert happen, [and] I hope that they consider coming out and sharing in it with us. It will become overtly clear when you experience the music the love and the passion and the enjoyment that the students have for what they’re doing.”

The visually-stunning 'Flowers of E' focuses less on dialogue and more on the imagery of the stage to communicate with the audience. - Courtney Moore

Although the show grew from this textual influence and the final product includes poetic recitations, rehearsals began with no script and no rigid plan. The play is intentionally the result of ongoing artistic collaboration. The images and moments that form the piece were entirely devised over the course of the rehearsal process. The director, designers, actors and a group of visiting Taiwanese performers experimented and engaged with one another in the creation of different visual spectacles. “We were able to draw from the collective creativity of everyone involved,” actress Gillian Hemme ’10 said.

From collaboration to the stage, image-based performance distinguishes itself from conventional drama in many ways. It is free from the boundaries of a script or even a concrete definition of its own aims. Traditional acting techniques are out the window. “Performers in Craig’s show are just like the light—they’re something that exists on the stage,” professional dancer Li-Mei Chung said.

Rhythm, movement and time meld with costumes, music and lights. “We create the inner world,” collaborator Jie-Fa Huang said. “It all comes together. You don’t know the recipe, but suddenly, everything mixes.”

The resulting imagery, described by watchers as “chilling,” “beautiful” and “unforgettable” in turn, does not produce a clear or simple message, but encourages the audience to create one all its own. “This show reveals what’s happening inside of us—the music of everyday life,” Quintero said.

Grinnell is only the first stop in a series of international performances. Over Spring Break, the images created here in Iowa will travel to Paris with a new company of actors. In June, “Flowers of E” will move to Taiwan’s National Experimental Theater, and finally, in July, back to France for the Avignon Off Festival.

It’s not shocking that this production is worthy of wide circulation. “It’s like the performance of a demented magician. But so much more,” said Brenna Ross ’13, the show’s sound board operator said, after watching six rehearsals.

Hemme addressed the richness of the work as she described the pervading emotions of the play’s imagery. “Loneliness and false hope shape my character. I experience growing older, being left behind, finding beauty in unlikely places, crushing defeat and realizing that home can stop being home,” she said.

“Flowers of E” promises to deliver all the imagination that went into its creation and will be followed by a brief talk aback after the show in Roberts Theater.

Ben Saderholm '12 cradles Molly Ridout '10 in the improvisational swing perforance in this year's Cookies in a Dance Jar. - Robert Logan

The event allows student choreographers and dancers to share their work in an informal, student organized performance. It was a kind of cookie in itself, composed of a variety of acts. In the past, it has included more traditional ballet as well as modern and other styles. The diversity continues this year, according to Podair. “I think that we have a lot more diverse dances than in the past,” she said. “We have the swing, the bellydance, jazz and then modern, which is cool.”

Sofia Carpio Leon ’12, performed the show’s bellydance solo. “[Cookies] motivates students to choreograph and come up with something,” Leon said. “It started with the purpose of creating a space for students to present their choreographies and to motivate students to dance and do choreography. It encourages all kinds of dance.”

The audience sits on platforms level with the stage and watches the performance while being plied with a variety of cookies—which moves towards an explanation of the show’s name. “When people come and see the performance, there’s cookies that they come and eat and watch dance,” Podair said. “That’s why it’s called cookies in a dance jar, so it makes sense.”

For the first time, Cookies in a Dance Jar includes a swing portion which fits well into the informal aspect of the show. “We asked who wanted to be in it, we chose two songs, and then we improv-ed everything else,” said swing dancer Karin Bursch ’12. “[The] dancing was excellent. Alex [Exarhos, my partner] didn’t drop me or anything.”

Some swing moves involved flying across the stage. Bursch and Exarhos executed an original aerial maneuver called the ‘Half-Karin’ in which Exarhos catapults Bursch into the circle of dancers. “The other one is the full Karin,” Bursch said. “But we didn’t do that one because it’s dangerous…I’m not doing it on fricking tile the first time.”

The event aims to allow for all kinds of expression, from the serious to the comedic. “[Cookies] adds to the cultural part of campus life,” Leon said. “People come up with really creative things. It’s a really cool event.”

“It’s like a really fun atmosphere just to see what your friends have been doing, just on their own,” Podair said, “to be able to see what they enjoy doing and share with them… and eat cookies!”

Todd Armstrong, Russian, originally suggested that “Rabbit a la Berlin” be shown. A Polish movie filmed in Germany. “Rabbit a la Berlin” was recently nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary Short category. The plot follows a colony of rabbits living in the “death zone” of the Berlin Wall—the area of land between two walls, which is full of grass to feed on. “These rabbits have this safe zone, without any predators,” Armstrong said.

The film offers an interesting view of the effect of the Berlin Wall coming down. “It becomes a really compelling metaphor for life under communism, I think, sure it’s safe physically and you’re able to live your lives in some sort of happy warren, but at the same time, there are some certain problems with that,” Armstrong said. “You also couldn’t read what you wanted to read, you couldn’t say what you wanted to say, but nonetheless there was a sort of peaceful, happy existence. The wall comes down, you’re able to say what you want to say…[but] it becomes a less safe physical environment.”

The second movie, “Lotman’s World,” is about Russian cultural critic Yuri Lotman. This film has a few surprising connections to Grinnell. Leonid Ivanov, a Moscow native and campus webmaster, knew Lotman through his father—who is featured in the movie. Ivanov’s father was in the same intellectual school—structuralist—as Lotman and the two were friends. Even so, Ivanov was young when he met Lotman. He remembers that one night Lotman came to his house for dinner wearing outrageous clothes. “He had an amazing Valour suit, that were very in at the time, and you couldn’t get them anywhere…That’s all I remember from that night…I don’t remember what they talked about.”

“The one warning would be that ‘Morphia’ is going to be pretty graphic,” Geller said of the festival’s third film. “Morphia” is based on several of Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov’s short stories of the 1920s.

“[The movie is set during] the most turbulent time of the 20th century in Russia, right after the October Revolution when the Tsar was dethroned,” said Anatoly Vishevsky, Russian, who is currently teaching a course on the History of Russian Cinema. “[The plot] is quite dark, and it follows the person’s descent into illness and insanity.”

Although many of the films deal with the social and historical implications of communism in nations which are no longer communist, their content and style are still distinctly current—an explicit choice on the part of the committee. “The topics these films deal with—the world around the Berlin Wall, semiotics and cultural critique, and a challenging but deeply beautiful narrative from Russia—are not what you see every day at the movies,” said Courtney Sheehan ’11, a student on the committee. Overall, the committee expressed the importance of actively engaging with modern foreign film both for purposes of entertainment and edification. “The more you see, the more you learn about cultural, political and social things around you,” Vishevsky said.

“They have an exciting energy,” Schechter said. “I didn’t think shoegaze and surf-rock were compatible, but they make it work.”

Vivian Girls’ eponymous debut album is unapologetically noisy and, at the same time, unobtrusively bashful. Somewhere, in the torrents of chaos, buried under the cacophony and feedback, is a small, melodious voice which wants both to be heard and not to interrupt. It’s heartbreaking in a way, but the Girls seem well-adjusted (especially for Brooklyn!) and by the end of each song their various indignations are shruggingly deferred a la Scarlet O’Hara—“After all, tomorrow’s another day.” The album isn’t all shoegazery though, as the uber-dancey final track “I Believe in Nothing” gleefully insists. Nihilism, an oft-quoted man once said, must be exhausting. For Vivian Girls—a trio of Dudettes, if I may—it’s also a hell of a lot of fun.

The Girls’ sophomore effort, “Everything Goes Wrong,” features a higher level of cohesion and polish, as well as a more confident voice that, perhaps, can be attributed to the success of the first album. That being said, “Everything” still manages to retain that bizarre conflation of merriment and bleakness which has come to characterize the band. The punky, energetic “I Have No Fun,” for example, invites you to dance along to the lead singer’s unfortunate anhedonia. The swoony lamentation “Can’t Get Over You” seems like it could have been a Beach Boys song—“So c’mon baby stop the cheating/ because I can’t stop my heart from beating/ Uh huh-uh huh-uh huh-oh no/Just come on back to me baby/ The summer’s start is making me crazy.” Even at their most surf-rockiest, the Girls can’t take a break from some introspection and brutal self-honesty.

Vivian Girls’ influences, some obvious and some not, are eclectic to say the least: The Wipers, Nirvana, The Ramones, Crazy Horse and Burt Bacharach (who lead singer Cassie Ramone calls “the best songwriter ever.” Hm.) Having grown up in an affluent New Jersey suburb, bands like Blink 182 and NOFX also made their way into the Girls’ early musical consciousness. It was only after mistakenly stumbling on The Germs’ “Lexicon Devil” while surfing Napster that the seeds of hardcore punk were sown. And, if you’ve ever seen Vivian Girls live, you know those punk seeds are now in full bloom.
“The show will be raucous, fun and upbeat,” Schechter said. “They’re becoming a bigger name and people will be able to say, ‘I saw them at Grinnell.’ Also, I don’t know if you can write this, but we got a keg.”
Vivian Girls will be playing with Male Bonding in Gardner Lounge at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The members of the cast all seem to agree that the experience has been irreplaceable. “This is the second time I have done Neverland, and considering my experience with it last semester, there was no doubt in my mind that I would audition again,” Natalie Eisenberg ’12 said.

Unlike other plays or productions in which auditioning can be quite competitive and rehearsal for the show can get pretty tiring, Neverland Players prides itself on its relaxed and fun approach to theater. “Actors and actresses are chosen through a really short audition process, where we ask you to show us your childhood—be open to us and we’ll be open to you,” said director Alexis Leuszler ’12 (Leuzler co-directs with Johnny Buse ’11, who also serves as Editor for the S&B.)

Far from an added stress, many cast members found rehearsing for Neverland a welcome break from the day-to-day seriousness of schoolwork. “Just everyday going to rehearsal has been really fun, which is really different because usually during a theater rehearsal, it can get really tiring, but the rehearsals for Neverland are never like that,” Grace Carroll ’12 said.

“I think anyone that is in Bucksbaum during our rehearsal times is can hear how much fun we have during practice,” Eisenberg said.

Each production will last somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour and will involve several short-skits. The preparation for working on a skit involves a special ritual that gives the performers the chance to appreciate the work of the elementary school student.

“Before every scene we state the title written by the kid and the kid’s name, and thus we always start by giving the kids recognition and praise,” Eisenberg said.

The roles the actors and actresses will embody are quite playful and imaginative. “I play many different roles ranging from a dog with severe gas, to a door that raps, to a talking stuffed seal that is more dramatic than anyone I have ever met,” Eisenberg said.

The stories also vary quite significantly in subject matter. “Some of them have real interesting topics like writing a 20,000 thousand-dollar check to Davis and tater tots in the cafeteria again,” Leuszler said. “It’s just truly rewarding to bring the imaginations of these terrific kids home.”

Cast members are fully anticipating the moment when they will actually get the chance to perform in front of the youth. “I’m really excited to have kids in the audience, because I think they amp up the energy a lot, they laugh a lot more than adult audiences,” Carroll said, “and since these are their stories it will just be really cool to have them say, ‘Oh I wrote that one.’” Carroll said.

Playwrights will also be given the chance to come up on stage for full recognition of their work. “After each performance we ask any playwrights in the audience to come up on stage, and that’s so rewarding, because they have their parents, peers and Grinnell community applauding their work,” Leuszler said. “It gives them the chance to feel like they’ve reached this certain creative level where everyone is exploring their adventures with them.”

The Oscars share an uncanny resemblance to this picture of scabby-kneed 10-year-olds peaking through make-shift periscopes and tirading against imagined foes. To start with, gender matters. You better be doing it right, especially if you hope to show your face on the red carpet or compete for an acting award. NO GENDER TROUBLERS ALLOWED. The secret password changes every year, appearing in the form of an invitation to attend the big event. This gives celebs access to the red carpet. When the club meeting is about to begin, they clamor over each other into the Kodak Theatre, a tree house for glamazons if ever there was one. Aloft and glorious, club members must adhere to a whole lot of bizarre rules. Let’s take a look at a few of my favorites, courtesy of Wikipedia:

1)“Neither winners nor their heirs may sell the statuettes without first offering to sell them back to the Academy for US $1. If a winner refuses to agree to this stipulation, then the Academy keeps the statuette.”
2)“A film must be feature-length, defined as a minimum of 40 minutes, except for short subject awards and it must exist either on a 35 mm or 70 mm film print or in 24 frame/s or 48 frame/s progressive scan digital cinema format with native resolution not less than 1280×720.”
3)At any point, winners may be cut off mid-sentence during acceptance speeches with the stroke of the conductor’s wand. The chances of this happening increase if the winner’s accomplishment is merely technical (editing, cinematography) or if his/her accent isn’t American.
4) “Reluctant at first, [Mexican film director Emilio “El Indio”] Fernández was finally convinced to pose nude to create what today is known as the “Oscar.”

While the last may not look like a rule at first glance, it was nonetheless a foundational condition for the development of the club—the rule of Othering. In fact, let’s take a look at some of the Othering that’s going down at this year’s Oscars. It’s no big spoiler to say that “Avatar” will probably win Best Picture. A lot of people dig this movie—and audiences are certainly entitled to enjoy a thinly veiled white guilt-ridden, sexist war-mongering cash cow under the guise of post-Walmart environmentalism—I will merely judge them for doing so. Another best pic nom, “The Blind Side,” tells the equally embarrassing tale of a rich white lady taking a poor black boy under her wing, showing him the road to success in the white world. Bottom line, a genuine social critique like “District 9” will not win. How about the director’s category? Kathryn Bigelow is set to beat her ex James Cameron, scoring a big one for women filmmakers. But there’s still the issue that in the year 2010, when black director Lee Daniels found out he was nominated for best director, he exclaimed, “It was crazy, off-the-hook, insane.” His disbelief at the very thought of receiving a nomination indicates that he knows he won’t win, but perhaps he’ll be comforted when Morgan Freeman takes the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in “Invictus,” a.k.a. “Remember the Titans 2.”

No wonder George C. Scott who won Best Actor in 1970 for Patton refused to accept his award. “The whole thing is a goddamn meat parade. I don’t want any part of it.” Maybe the biggest difference between the Oscars and the tree house is that when kids climb back down from the tree at the end of a sun-soaked afternoon, they leave the world of pretend behind them and prepare to tuck in to dinner and homework. In Hollywood, the meat parade never ends.

“Somebody said we had a meeting and everybody was kind of scared cause nobody knew what was going on,” Defensive Back Marquis Bradley ’11 said. “So when we all get into the room, he sits us down and says there’s no easy way to put this and he just broke down to us why he had to leave.”

Hawsey, who is from Austin, decided to take the job in order to closer to his family and his alma mater, Austin College. Despite the initial surprise, Bradley said that he understood Hawsey’s motives.

“I was just shocked,” Bradley said. “This is going to be my third coach. I was like, ‘Man, not again.’  I was hoping Hawsey was going to be my last coach. At first I was upset, but then he broke it down to us why—it was the best for his family.”

The news of Hawsey’s departure even caught Pedersen off guard.

“I didn’t hear for sure until Sunday [the 14th] night,” said Pedersen. “It was definitely a surprise. Coach hawsey was in it for the long haul, we thought.” Interim Head Coach Jeff Pedersen is coming in with a lot experience with the Grinnell program. A two-time All American tight end, Pedersen graduated from Grinnell in 2002. Pedersen began coaching at the University of Chicago in 2002 but returned to Grinnell to Coach from 2003-06. Before returning to Grinnell in 2008, Pedersen was the offensive coordinator and head strength and conditioning coach at The Catholic University of America.

“I felt very comfortable moving forward with Jeff Pedersen,” Wallace said. “I knew Jeff—I recruited him personally. He played for me, he coached for me, and so I certainly feel that he’s certainly ready for this type of responsibility.”

As Interim Head Coach, Pedersen will coach through to the end of the 2010 fall season. The Athletic Department will then decide where to go beyond that point but Wallace’s primary concern was making the transition between Hawsey to Pedersen as seamless as possible.

“I wanted it to be a hand-off, not a fumble,” Wallace said. “[Coach Pedersen] was an easy way to bridge the gap. Jeff hasn’t missed a beat as far as working with the players and communication.”

The transition was able to go smoothly thanks to Pedersen’s close relationship with the players.

“Coach P knows the game and he’s been with us,” Bradley said.  “He knows the players and he’s not looking to change to the entire program, and I don’t see that as a bad thing. Coach P has a little swag to him. So we’re planning on having a lot more swag, feelin ourselves a little bit and hopefully our performance at the same level.”

“He’s the kind of guy that you can relate to as players,” Receiver Robert Seer ’12 said.

Pedersen sees his objective as simply bringing the team together despite the turbulence.

“I just wanted to stress, first and foremost that no matter who the coach is, it’s the players team,” Pedersen said. “And they’re pretty fired up. They’re ready to keep the momentum going. They’re ready to win some games.They’re ready to do what ever it takes to make that happen.”

But despite the changes that the team will have to undergo in the coming months, the team hopes to hold on to their growth and build on the experience that they had with Hawsey.

“It’s going to be good because we have some really good players,” Seer said. “My class, the sophomore class, was Coach Hawsey’s first big recruiting class and now that we’re starting to get older, the team is starting to mature more.”

Even with a mere four tracks, “Impressions of the Night EP” features enough variety and originality to satisfy a first-time listener’s insatiable appetite for “good music.” Consider these five adjectives when describing Dearling Physique’s sound: sinister, calming, intelligent, refreshing and totally kickass.

“Simple You,” the opening track off the debut EP is dance music—well, sort of. It is a slow electronic-burner that begins with a fairly simple piano riff but then quickly escalates into one of those rhythmically complex-sounding tracks that somehow taunt you into dancing badly, partially because the beat is so hard to follow. Moving past the chest-pumping kick and echoed snares, “Simple You” is just a fun instrumental track. Almost 8-bit, but not quite, multiple percussive layers work with several hi-hat to mask the pervasive boom bap of the kick/snare drum combination. Part musique concrete, part pop, “Simple You” sounds like the sequel to the Knight Rider theme but also moves beyond it.

Yes, there is a bit of that eighties flavor in Dearling Physique’s sound, but other tracks like the EP-titled “Impressions of the Night” and “Beat Is Gone” go in a completely different direction to create this mysterious synth-laden world reminiscent of NIN and Gorillaz.
At first, Dearling Physique may sound familiar to some and the beats may feel a bit simplistic but all of the songs begin this way. It’s as if Davis is silently preparing the crowd for what’s coming. Thirty seconds in and “Impressions Of the Night” adorns its squelches and beeps with layered percussions and reverbed vocals. For this type of music, it takes a certain person to fully admire and enjoy the sonic perfection and tonal quality that can be found within each track.

Davis made the soundtrack to your life and this Friday, you are going to hear it for the first time.

The most established of the a cappella groups, Con Brio, has existed on campus since the early nineties. The group has developed a reputation on campus for excellence, extending beyond the quality of their voice to the music that they perform. Con Brio exclusively performs a cappella music that is arranged by group members.

Although arranging music can be time consuming, many members of Con Brio view the group as a musical release. “It’s a great outlet for students who don’t have time for Grinnell Singers, but still want to participate in a group that has reputation for high level musicianship,” Mona Ghadiri ’10 said. In addition to performing throughout the year, Con Brio releases an album annually.

The smallest of the a cappella groups, A Cappellicopters, contains eight members and was created by Rose Kory ’10 in the Spring of 2009. “I started the A Cappellicopters because there were more people who love to sing on this campus than there were spots available in the established groups,” Kory said. “A Cappellicopters is for everyone who loves to make music.”

Although five of the eight members are graduating seniors, Kory hopes that a small group with a similar purpose will take up the reigns should the group dissolve. “I’d love for a group with a similar mission to take its place, even if their name isn’t half as good,” Kory said.
Noteworthy is another a cappella group created during the spring semester of 2009. Although the group is larger than A Cappellicopters, Noteworthy also welcomes singers with any level of musical interest and skill. “We pride ourselves on being an approachable group,” Anne Ross ’12 said. The group’s open-minded attitude towards what defines musical skill extends to its attitude about performances as well. Most recently, the group preformed at Doug Cutchins’ house for his daughters’ Valentine’s Day party.

G Tones, the all-male a cappella group, is another ensemble with a reputation for unorthodox performances. “I wouldn’t say that we don’t take the group seriously, but we definitely approach the music in a less formal way,” Ethan Kenvarg ’12 said. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously.”

G Tones practices on a regular basis and continues to find ways to keep their music new and exciting with impromptu performances and through the release of their first album later this spring.
While none of the groups have performances scheduled for the immediate future, they all encourage student attendance for their shows later this spring once dates and locations are determined.

Though director Kathryn Bigelow (formerly Mrs. James Cameron) has been making films for nearly 30 years, “The Hurt Locker” is undoubtedly her magnum opus. It was one of the most lauded films of 2009, earning awards from a multitude of organizations and festivals. The movie recently swept the 2010 BAFTA awards, winning best film, director, original screenplay, editing, cinematography and sound. It is expected to be a major contender at the Academy Awards, where it was nominated for Best Picture and Director, as well. One of the greatest selling points of the film is the cinematography, and Barry Ackroyd (“United 93,” “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”) outdoes himself with his jarringly naturalistic, neo-realistic style.

The camera is perpetually shaking and jerking about, which adds a level of intensity lacking from many high-budget war films. Performances from previously unknown actors reveal the darker sides of humans at war, including a conversation between two American soldiers regarding the possibility of murdering their sergeant. The film is filled with these quieter, deeper ruminations on the nature of war, and they serve to contrast nicely with the high-intensity shootout scenes.

What really brings this film to the head of the pack, though, is its ability to deftly illustrate what Freud calls “the Uncanny.” The theme of alienation runs rampant throughout the film, and the most haunting moments concern themselves with making the familiar terribly unfamiliar. Rusty “Pepsi” signs swing from Iraqi doorways amidst firefights, U.S.-made Ford sedans are laden with explosives, and the sergeant maneuvers his space-suit-like bomb gear through the post-apocalyptic neighborhoods of Baghdad. Storywriter Mark Boal, who worked as a freelance journalist with an American bomb squad in Iraq, hypes up this sense of being a stranger in a strange land through his icy dialogue (“What are we shooting at?!” “I don’t know!”), and his use of language barriers to convey a sense of estrangement. Characters often communicate through hand gestures, which highlight both linguistic differences as well as the painfully-human ability to find a common ground for interaction.

Although some Iraq War veterans have spoken out about the film’s unsuccessful attempt at accurately portraying life in combat, “The Hurt Locker” is at once a white-knuckle thriller and a rumination on the human side of modern warfare. Technology, surprisingly, is not always treated kindly, as the three soldiers are constantly on the lookout for cell-phone detonators and civilians with video cameras and access to YouTube. An opening scene that features a faulty robot and references to fantastic representations of modern warfare in videogames serve to pull the audience from the comfortable distance at which they might have previously been considering war. Though the film may not be a wholly accurate account of life on the front lines, its beauty lies in its ability to bridge the gaps of civilian and soldier, of American and Iraqi, and of machine and mankind. From a person who doesn’t really like war films, this is definitely not one to miss.

What is the name of your guys’s show
Chris: East meets western.

Why?
Chris: Because I’m asian and I love country music

What inspired you to do all country music?
Chris: I actually love country. I didn’t really listen to country until I got here, to Grinnell, and it just kind of grew on me and… you know, it’s kind of a laugh-factor, you know? I’m usually the only asian guy at a country concert.

So what are some favorite country artists? Are you guys more new-school Taylor Swift pop-y country or are you Johnny-Cash-Merle-Haggard?
Chris: Personally I’m more of a Brad Paisely, kind of sarcastic country music. That’s like my favorite thing. I’d say I like Big N Rich—guys who, like, know how to party.
Tom: That’s my attitude too. It’s all about those guys that can party.

Well what specifically appeals to you about country music? I just don’t feel like that’s something that comes typically to a lot of people here.
Chris: We are kind of like the odd-ball, out-of-place country music fans if you think about it.
Tom: I like that it’s a little more down-to-earth, and it’s just real. This is a lot of what I hear from my friends that are into it as well, they express the same feeling that it’s just real. You can just kind of understand what’s going on. I don’t know

There’s no ‘this is so post-modern or meta’ [bull]?
Tom: Exactly. It’s just straight up and honest.
Chris: When I first started listening to country I was dating a girl from Iowa and she took me back to her hometown, and it’s just like blue-collar, down-to-earth people who just like to have a fun time. A lot of the music really categorizes that. It’s not just about your dog dying or your truck dying or you know just bad things and depressing music. There is a really fun attitude about it.

How do you decide what music you’re going to play? Is there a lot of talk?
Chris: As of right now we don’t have many listeners. We just kind of leave it that like if I have any feedback knowing that there are people listening then maybe we’ll talk a little bit about stuff. I really want to do trivia and current events and just fun stuff.
Any Dolly Parton being played?
Chris: That’s actually the first song I ever heard. My mom loved Dolly Parton when I was growing up so she played “Nickels and Dimes.” Really old school Dolly Parton. That was the first time I ever listened to country.

Everybody’s really into Jolene, but 9 to 5…
Tom: 9 to 5 is where it’s at. No doubt that’s where it’s at.

Ladora Bank Bistro in Ladora, Iowa - Contributed

Its classical stone architecture and the triumphant engraving above the entrance—“the wealth of this community embodies the richness of her soil, the integrity, frugality and diligence of her people”— are a reminder of an earlier time in Ladora, the year 1920, when high grain and land prices drove a prosperity and straightforward optimism that has long since disappeared, along with Ladora’s main street businesses. Even by the time the bank opened in the summer of 1920, the post-World War I affluence that drove its construction was drying up.

The Ladora Bank was only able to survive as a bank for 11 years, closing down in 1931 during the onset of the Great Depression. Since then it has played many roles—a community center, an insurance office, a civil defense shelter, a voting station, a place for truckers to sleep (before the completion of I-80 in 1964 drew commercial traffic and business away from Highway 6 and Ladora), an attorney’s office, an antique shop and a drapery business. The bank’s latest one, a wine bar and bistro, may be the strangest and most fitting one of all.

Brad Erikson, a Grinnell resident, first saw the bank on a motorcycle ride through the country in 2003. “Look at this jewel in the middle of nowhere,” Erickson recalled, recalling spotting the bank for the first time. It is an impression probably shared by many travelers on Highway 6 over the years. Brad Erickson, unlike other passers-through, decided to buy the bank in 2004, intending to make it a home. As he worked to restore the marbled, high-ceiled interior of the bank, he found visitors wandering in and peeking through the windows, thinking it was museum. He eventually had to lock himself in when he was working and rethink how he was going to use this 85-year-old edifice.

After four years of restoration work, he and his wife Colleen Klainert opened the Ladora Bank Bistro in May 2008. At a glance its easy to think that an upscale wine bar and bistro, with wines ranging in price from around $20 to $190 a bottle and appetizers running between $8 and $10, would be a gentrified establishment in a place like Ladora. Although Brad notes that they rely on a far-ranging customer base from urban areas like Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, with people coming from as far as five hours away to visit, locals and out-of-towners alike have embraced the Bistro.

There is even a group of local farmers who formed a club based on Dom Perignon, the Bistro’s most expensive grape delicacy. Brad also noted that the Bistro has become a halfway meeting point for Grinnell College faculty and their colleagues in Iowa City. He hopes more people from Grinnell, including students, will make the drive out to Ladora.

While the Bistro serves only drinks and appetizers, rather than entrees, Brad and Colleen encourage customers to stay for while, to savor their food and drinks and to share. The appetizers incorporate a number of local ingredients, including Maytag Bleu cheese, Dayton Locker meats and Amana Colony preserves.

We tried the artichoke spread and mini mushroom tart—both were excellent. There are wines and beers from around the world, enough to suit many tastes and price ranges, but this a place to appreciate quality, not quantity. It’s also a place to appreciate the building itself, with the bank teller’s windows still dividing the central room in half and lettering around ceiling spelling out common-place wisdom like “frugality is the parent of fortune.”

From the local farmer enjoying some of the finest champagne in the world, or Iowa natives traveling long distance, looks like the Ladora Bank finally has a resident that is there to stay.

Jerl Fields ’11, Jeremy Johnson ’11 and Victor Golden ’13 were all recruited by Jacks in their senior year of high school in the suburbs of Chicago. Through the persistence of Jacks, all attended the Chicago bus tour to Grinnell, which ultimately resulted in their decision to attend the school. “If it weren’t Marlene Jacks, I probably wouldn’t be at Grinnell,” Fields said.

Throughout their three years at Grinnell, Johnson and Fields both frequented the John Chrystal Center to simply talk with her. “She was authentic. Every aspect of her,” Johnson said. “She’d tell us about her family, about her kids[...]. It felt very natural, I think. Almost like a mother figure. Which I think for people coming from a huge city, like Chicago, going to a small town like Grinnell, it really felt good to see that someone had your back.”

Jacks’ involvement with Grinnell students extended far beyond her as admissions counselor—she also took on the role as of the CBS sponsor. Charisma Montfort ’11 encountered Jacks on an entirely different path than most of Jacks’ mentees: she sought out Jacks to be the CBS leader during her first year. Jacks lived over two hours away from campus but whenever Montfort called her, Jacks would come. “We developed a friendship, a mentorship. I remember at times we sat down and she would say, ‘tell me what you want to do with your life. talk about your career path,’” Montfort said. “She actually sat down with me and my resume before and said, ‘okay, if this is what you want to do, you’re lacking in this area.’ So I just felt that she was that person. One of the few on campus that I could just go to and say, ‘okay, I need this.’”

Montfort wasn’t the only student Jacks advised over her time at Grinnell. According to Golden, Jacks was spotted time and time again in the dining hall, having lunch with a student to simply find out what was happening in their lives and of course, to check up on their academic progress. “Marlene is always at lunch with someone, always bringing in new students and so much,” Golden said.

The news of Jacks’ removal began as a rumor, according to Monfort. She then went to a number of different college officials before she received confirmation from the Admissions Office. “I felt like we deserved to know. I want to know who’s going to fill in that gap,” Montfort said. “No, we don’t have to be guided and have somebody to hold our hands but somebody to understand that sometimes Grinnell really is an uncomfortable place.”

With Jacks’ absence this semester, students are beginning to realize the repercussions of no longer having her at Grinnell. “Where do all the students of color go to? That’s a big deal. I have no one to go to now,” Golden said. “If I needed help, who do I go to? I don’t know anyone from administration or anything. Marlene was my person I go to, the only person I confided to so well at this campus. So, who do I go to now?”

'Readings of Forgotten Slave Narratives' - Sophie Fajardo

Victors do not just write history—rather, they disseminate it, validate it and inculcate it. One example of this paradigm is the one-sided history of the slave experience. Even though many students at Grinnell are familiar with Frederick Douglass’ slave narrative, most slave narratives went un-published. Shanna Benjamin, English, teaches an English Seminar focusing on this group of historic “losers’” written accounts of the pre-Civil War era. Last Monday at noon in Faulconer Gallery, the seminar’s students presented “Readings of Forgotten Slave Narratives.”
Each of Benjamin’s students approached the lectern stoically, evidencing a deep respect for the narratives’ writers. Then these 13 students each read an excerpt from an unpublished slave narrative.
Before reading their narrative, most of the students provided background information about the author of their piece, both to contextualize the readings and to highlight themes of identity, slave society and literacy.

RJD2 - Contributed

RJD2’s debut album, “Deadringer,” came out in 2002 on the now defunct Definitive Jux Records. That album features some of his most notable work, with the paranoid “The Horror,” a track featuring so many menacing sounds its title is redundant. Then, there is the one song everyone’s heard. “Ghostwriter,” features one of the best compositional build-ups the last decade via a plucked guitar that explodes into the triumphant horned chorus Sufjan Stevens dreamt of when he slept in that parking lot on his van ride to Chicago, but couldn’t quite get right. Couple this with ending track “Work,” which is so soulful and blues rooted it makes the original Alvin Robinson song sound perky, and you start to realize what RJD2 is so good at. He expresses emotion brilliantly and wordlessly.

Well, he did in his first and second albums. His next two: “Since We Last Spoke” (2004) and “The Third Hand” (2007) were both albums with a noticeably straighter pop aspiration on which Krohn played live instruments and sang. This vocal move proved a far less effective method for his artistic expression. Though Krohn is not a particularly bad musician or singer, the material on “The Third Hand” probably wouldn’t have gotten him signed.

Most recently, the Philadelphia based artist dropped “The Colossus,” a mixture of his two distinct styles and in some ways a return to his earlier form. It is also the first album being released under his own newly created label, RJ’s Electrical Connections, a process RJ has found to be rewarding overall.

“I had relatively low expectations, but things have been phenomenal. It’s a lot harder, it’s a lot more work,” Krohn said. “Though I definitely feel it stream lined the process.”
One clear benefit of Krohn’s expansion of sounds are the new aspects it adds to his live show.

“I have so much more fun with this show than I do on my own. A big part of that is the variety…I get to play a couple different instruments and I’m not stuck on the turntables…there’s more of an ‘X’ factor to do it,” Krohn said. “It’s very hard to get into an improvisational mindset if I’m just out there by myself DJing.”

When RJD2 takes the stage this Friday in Harris many people may be hearing him for the first time and in a show which features his full range. The audience will see a master of vocals samples, a supreme user of horns and an artist who may be playing a song or two more for himself than for the listener. Plus, it sounds like they may even have a few surprises for us.

“I want people to come because this show is unique, it’s special,” Krohn said. “You’re not going to see this particular show again.”