Editor’s Note: Though albums and films are certainly worthy of review, there are other things that should also be looked at with a critical eye. This first of a new feature compares the various video rental outlets available to UC Davis students.

Netflix

Rating: 5

Someone once mentioned to me that since getting Netflix the quality of movies he watches has dropped dramatically. Though it was the opposite of my experience (Schindler’s List awaits me at home), it’s a likely outcome. That’s one of the best things about Netflix: whether you watch one movie a month or fifteen, it’s the same price. So what’s holding you back from finally watching The Love Guru, just to see what all the fuss is about? It’s only wasted time, not wasted money.

Along with inexpensive pricing and online viewing, Netflix is ideal for the lazy and tech-savvy. The smoothly organized online queue is designed for functionality and yet I could play around on the Netflix site for hours planning my next movie, or maybe more – my queue currently has 480 pending, I kid you not.

Blockbuster

Rating: 2

If you tend to be distracted by shiny things (guilty), Blockbuster would be the most attention-getting movie rental chain. They make a big deal out of the fact they have no late fees, which is admittedly convenient (though slightly fudging the truth … there is a “restocking fee” if you wait too long).

Sadly, Blockbuster is the place most movies go to die. They bank on the hopes that you’ve already forgotten about the terrible reviews and paltry box office receipts from a few months ago, and will try to re-sell you a familiar face on a DVD box. Don’t be fooled by the extensively stocked movies; it usually indicates that they’re crap.

Blockbuster Video is located at 303 F St.

49’er VideoRating: 4

For lifelong devotees of the cinema, this place is Mecca. Every so often I feel compelled to leave the pre-paid convenience of my Netflix account to spend time among the sea of pink movie cases.

The most marvelous part of the 49’er experience is browsing categories like BBC imports, art house movies and famous auteurs. When Heath Ledger died, he got his own section. The staff leave index cards around the store that indicate their favorites and why. They have yet to steer me wrong.

Uniquely, 49’er carries movies in VHS as well as DVD. This allows them to rent out those old or obscure movies not yet released on DVD. Rentals are reasonably priced (a few bucks, depending on which part of the store the movie comes from), but it’s those pesky (and expensive!) late fees that might trip you up. Still, highly worth the price.

49’er Video is located at 606 West Covell Blvd. in Anderson Plaza.

Redbox

Rating: 3

Redbox, which can be found in the Save Mart grocery store at 1900 Anderson Rd., is the only movie rental service where you can watch a movie for less than the price of a candy bar. One dollar, one night. That’s the deal. It’s great for movies on the cheap, though you’re limited to the select few new releases they can stock in a vending machine-type apparatus. This is probably the most straightforward of the options.

LAURA KROEGER can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

It’s been said that the message is in the medium, and Vent Magazine is taking full advantage of the old adage.

Today, the magazine – which focuses on Asian American politics and pop culture – releases its fourth issue, the “Marijuana Issue.”

Vent will hold a release party tonight at 10 at 217 Club, located at 217 E St. Pre-sale tickets are $8 and tickets at the door are $15. Admission is free for those 21 and over. Free copies of the magazine will be issued at the release party.

Vent, a student publication produced by AS Papers, was established in fall 2007 by a group of friends looking for a way to raise awareness and promote discussion of different issues from an Asian American perspective. Outside of courses in Asian American studies (ASA), many of these issues were unheard of in a larger context.

“The sole concept in Asian American studies [is] going out there, making our voice heard and doing all that, but a lot of the time it just ends up being just talk – no one ever really does something,” said Eric Lam, a senior ASA major and Vent staff writer. “So we wanted to cut through all the BS and do our own magazine and get our voice heard, and the best way to do that legitimately was to get through a publication.”

Currently, the magazine is composed of a staff of about 22 volunteers in different departments, including writing, publishing, advertising and design.

Before Vent was brought to campus, the only Asian American publication was a student magazine called Accents.

“That was probably a good six years ago,” Lam said. “We definitely wanted to revive some form of journalism within the Asian American community.”

The best way to get their voice heard? Controversial issues.

“I think Vent Magazine is a really interesting publication in that it’s controversial, but it knows it’s controversial,” said Vent Art Director Michael Wang, a senior economics and design major.

A look into Vent’s past issues is a testament to their controversy factor: winter 2008’s “Sex Issue” featured articles on the racy topic and an even racier cover. The magazine’s last issue focused on unsung heroes within the Asian American community, including an ex-gang member.

For their current issue, Vent focused on another hot topic popular amongst young folk: marijuana. The staff gathered anecdotes from Asian American students on campus about drug use, opinions on the legalization of marijuana and drew the relationship between weed and the Asian American community.

“One of the main stereotypes – not just with marijuana, but with a lot of hot button, taboo issues – is that Asian Americans are very quiet, passive, not involved in those types of things,” said Vent Editor in Chief Leo Cristobal, a junior communication major. “It goes along with the model minority [stereotype].”

More than just working to challenge stereotypes, one of the magazine’s main aims is to foster discussion on issues that affect the Asian American community.

“This is our chance as a community to really have a say in how we define what it really means to be Asian American, because who really can define [it]?” Cristobal said. “It’s up to the individuals within the community.”

Another issue the magazine indirectly addresses is purposely leaving out the hyphenation in Asian American.

“When you hyphenate something, it implies that it’s a certain type of something,” Lam said. “It limits the experience.”

More importantly, Wang added that students from all backgrounds could learn from the topics covered in Vent. Ethnic studies majors such as ASA usually focus on one ethnicity or group, but the concepts and ideas taken from those classes are widely applicable, Wang said.

“This magazine’s written from an Asian American perspective, but I think it’s important because it provides perspective from one ethnic group that can be used to compare and contrast other ethnic groups and you can definitely see similarities in experiences,” Wang said. “It takes that knowledge from people who are constantly thinking about these things and disperses it to a wider audience so they can talk about and learn what’s going on.”

For more information, about Vent Magazine, visit their Facebook group or e-mail staff@vent-magazine.com.

RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Student films return to the big screen next week as the ninth annual UC Davis Film Festival will take place on May 27 and 28 at 8:30 p.m. at the Davis Varsity Theatre. Tickets are $5 and available for purchase at the Varsity Box Office.

The festival – which accepts film submissions from all students regardless of their major – has seen a spike in popularity this year as over 60 films have been submitted, up from just 30 last year. All of the films are unique and represent a wide-range of genres and concepts from music videos to documentaries.

Last year’s “Best Comedy” winner Michael Sun, a fifth-year senior biology major, will be submitting three more films for this year’s festival: Flight, Tell It Like It Is and Monday Morning Graduate.

Flight tracks a relationship from start to finish by following the flight path of an origami crane that has come to life, Sun said. The idea to follow an object through a relationship came to Sun while studying.

“I was listening to Explosions in the Sky and thought it would be interesting to shoot something for the song,” he said.

Soon enough, Sun gathered a few friends in Central Park and worked through the logistics of the camera work and acting.

“We decided to do it in one shot, so the director of photography and myself did a few walkthroughs and choreographed the whole thing,” he said.

This choreography resulted in Sun and fellow actress Andrea Manners, a senior technocultural studies major, running from spot to spot in order to be ready for the camera. After an hour and half of shooting, the project needed only to be edited into a finished product – a process that Sun said took around four hours. The completed film is just over six minutes and includes an instrumental post-rock track by Explosions in the Sky as its soundtrack.

Randall Wilson, a senior English major who directed four films that were submitted, said she sees the UC Davis Film Festival as an event that brings together the local filmmakers.

“I think the festival is a great idea for student filmmakers to express themselves and appreciate other students’ works,” she said. “It also builds on a community that exists in Davis but isn’t always recognized.”

Wilson said that her most involved submission is the short drama Happenstance, which follows the correspondence between a boy and a girl who leave objects for one another in a secret nook.

“Happenstance explores the same themes that most of my films have,” she said. “It is a whimsical story about two strangers trying to communicate.”

At the festival screenings, Wilson said she will be watching to see how other students combine film and narrative.

“I like to see how others creatively frame a story – the cinematography and how that conveys the story, that’s the part I get most excited about,” she said.

John Iacovelli, a Theatre and Dance professor and one of the festival’s three faculty directors, said that he founded the festival nine years ago in order to help students.

“There is a great interest in filmmaking among the students on this campus [and] I feel that film is a natural outgrowth of work in the theatre and many other disciplines,” he said in an e-mail. “I wanted a place where all the disparate filmmakers on campus could be celebrated and promoted though the visibility of this festival.”

Iacovelli emphasized the success of the festival as demonstrated both by the quality of the submissions and by the success of UC Davis students who have entered and subsequently found careers in media.

“I have seen students that have worked on this festival be launched into careers in Hollywood, where some of the faculty and I [have been] involved in this work regularly,” he said. “It is quite satisfying to know that we have students who have had short films in this festival and now have jobs as editors, art directors, producers and agents in Hollywood.”

ZACK FREDERICK can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

On Monday, the ASUCD Entertainment Council encouraged one and all to put on their best pair of fishnets, dust off their pumps and slap on some red lipstick by presenting a free screening of the tantalizing cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 194 Chemistry along with a $100 prize winning costume contest.

There were Brad Majors, Janet Weisses, Columbias, Rockys and Magentas all vying for the honor of winning. A Rocky Horror virgin, Nicole Barfknecht, a junior neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, tap-danced in true Columbia style to persuade the room to vote for her.

Some costumes were more authentic than others and some participants were more hardcore and enthusiastic in putting them together.

“I dressed up as Brad Majors,” said Patrick Dayton, a junior classic civilization major. “I got the suit off of Ebay and the plaid bowtie and cummerbund at a thrift store. The prescription on the glasses is so high that I can barely see, but they complete the costume!”

In the end though, the winner by audience applause was Althea Kent, a sophomore English and medieval studies major, who stole the show as “The Lips.“

“I decided to dress up as The Lips because I was certain that there would be plenty of Riff Raffs and Magentas and maybe even a few Frank-N-Furters, but there are very rarely The Lips, even though they open the movie,” she said. “It was lovely to win, but it was even better to see so many fans of the film.“

In addition to as many free churros and cookies as the audience could eat, the Love Lab was parked out front handing out a wide variety of free condoms before the main event began.

There were some of the classic Rocky Horror participation traditions taking place during the show, such as some scattered yelling and props, but the entire audience got into the spirit by shimmying and jumping their way through the “Time Warp” and singing along.

“The best thing about Rocky is the whole experience with everyone calling out lines and acting like they’ve known each other for years,” said David Vergona, a sophomore comparative literature and English major. “The movie isn’t that great by itself, but the whole sense of event makes it worth going to.“

– Elena Buckley

If your music palate calls for something deliciously indie yet amped up with savory pop tinges, then indie rock group One for the Team will ensure a musical bon appétit.

Hailing from Minneapolis, Minn., One for the Team is set to take the UC Davis Coffee House by storm tonight at 8 – and although it will be their first performance in Davis, their music is nothing new to many ears on campus. The show is free with a UC Davis student ID and $3 general admission.

“The Davis show will be fun,” said songwriter Ian Anderson, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band. “We’ve had a lot of requests to come to play in Davis – this is our first time here and we’re really excited to play here.”

Currently on tour, One for the Team started as a side project and as an outlet for Anderson’s musical talent and songwriting that did not quite fit his former band.

“We were a much harder type of rock band,” Anderson said. “I wrote poppy songs on the side and didn’t know what to do with them.”

And from that side project came fellow band members Grace Fiddler (vocals and keyboard), Elliot Manthey (drums) and Jacob Huelster (bass), two full-length albums, a growing fan base and the name “One for the Team,” which is a reference to a song by fellow Minneapolis rock group Dillinger 4.

“In their song ‘Walk Away,’ there’s a line about a lot of name-dropping and how people like to talk a lot,” Anderson said. “The line says ‘take one for the team’ and in the music scene, sometimes you need to do just that.”

Anderson called the band a family unit and he said he enjoys touring with the people he considers his best friends. Although they all come from different places, he said, they ended up in the same spot and with the same hopes for the group.

After becoming a full band, getting older and producing “better music,” said Anderson, One for the Team has enjoyed their presence in the music scene.

“We’re not trendy, not big,” he said. “It’d be nice to be the next Lady GaGa, but we’re comfortable with what we are. We write pop songs in a catchy way with loud guitars and the way we fool around with it produces the indie rock feel. Everyone involved, including fans, is really committed.”

Anderson playfully terms the band as veterans. With over 180 tour dates last year alone, he described the band as “no longer a shiny penny” in the music scene. Armored with their growing popularity and music from their two albums, One for the Team is set to conquer the stage here in Davis tonight.

So what’s next for the group? After finishing up their current tour, Anderson will begin writing songs for their upcoming album. They are set to record in August after touring Europe.

MARIO LUGO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Just a week ago, I was put in an awkward situation. It wasn’t quite F My Life worthy, but it wasn’t mundane enough to post on Mylifeisaverage.com.

Long story short: AGTV put me in front of a camera and interviewed me.

Okay, so maybe it doesn’t sound that bad, and it wasn’t. Other than a bee hovering dangerously close to the reporter’s neck during filming, me peppering unrehearsed answers with nervous laughter and breaking the fourth wall by giving the camera a smile, wink and thumbs up when the interview was over, it really wasn’t bad at all.

Almost as interesting as being put on the spot was being able to observe what would normally be my role.

I come from the reporter’s end of journalism. I research, I gather, I ask the questions – I’m not meant to be the interviewed, the quoted, the sourced.

Which is exactly why doing this column was so difficult. It’s tough enough to come up with 20 inches of at the very least minimally entertaining text when you also have a job and schoolwork to do, but to have my name and face advertised along with it, telling readers around the Coho, “Look everyone, this chick wrote this! This is what she thinks! And oh hey, she looks like this!”? Strange, to say the least.

Thinking over this led me to my next question: what are journalist stereotypes? On a more self-indulgent note: Do I fall under any?

In the film and television realm, journalism has more or less been portrayed as a stylishly busy profession: hunting for the latest scoop, digging for sources, tapping furiously on a keyboard surrounded by stacks of important documents, demanding your editor give you an extension because your story’s so important, goddamnit, and then ultimately winning something like the Pulitzer Prize.

Don’t get me wrong: When it’s good, it’s really good. Having a legitimate reason to pick people’s brains apart with questions is always fun, and finally getting a story pieced together and on the server for editing is one of the most satisfying feelings ever.

But these dramatic reproductions conveniently edit out other things: following style guides, sifting through the daily e-mails from publicity people, calling and re-calling people you know have to be included in the story, living off of a well-rounded diet of Coho pizza and cake (I recommend the pumpkin!) and feeling slightly validated that your story was picked up on Uwire.com. Glamorous, I know.

Then we’ve got the negative side of journalism – the picture of the cutthroat workaholic. There’s the trashy (Courteney Cox, Scream), the ambitious but ball-breaking writer (Kate Winslet, The Life of David Gale), the relentless, power-hungry newshound (Christina Applegate, Anchorman), the fat and eccentric recluse (Russell Crowe, State of Play) and that one writer who watched his own dog die (Owen Wilson, Marley and Me).

In reality, one of the bitchiest things about journalism is deadline. A close runner up for J-douche would be writer’s block. Third, the man.

Of course, I can’t finish a column on journalist stereotypes without addressing the image of the talented but alcohol-dependent writer. In the March 2007 article “New York’s Drunkest Journalists” on Gawker.com, one reader commented, “Being a nasty drunk is like a prerequisite to be a journalist, no?” News I can use? Perhaps. Or maybe that’s something they only teach you in J-School.

RACHEL FILIPINAS thinks that cheesing in her column mugs is a good start for her headshots. Beg to differ at rmfilipinas@ucdavis.edu.

MUSIC

One for the Team, Zach Harju

Today, 8 p.m., $3 general admission, free with a UC Davis ID

UC Davis Coffee House

The last weeks between midterms and the start of finals is a trying time for all. When you’re in mental overdrive, there’s nothing better than some physical distraction, so I suggest that you dance your stresses away. Perfect solution: One for the Team, whose upbeat tunes brings to mind equally cutesy, equally poppy acts like Mates of State.

Michael Vermillion, Kelli Schaeffer, Boxes

Today, 10 p.m., $3, 21

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen

It’s a troika of great acts tonight at everyone’s favorite Thai-restaurant-moonlighting-as-a-musical-venue location. Portland’s always good for folk, and with the same alluring qualities as Ingrid Michaelson and Anni Rossi, Kelli Schaeffer is no exception. And for those who missed out on Search Party last week, make sure to check out Davis duo Boxes!

Santigold, Amanda Blank, Trouble Andrew

Friday, 8 p.m., $20 in advance, $25 day of show

Empire Events Center in Sacramento

Santigold can only be summed up with one word: fierce. A mix of dub, synthy new-wave and energetic dancefloor, Santi White will make this trip worth the quarter-Benjamin you’ll fork over, the sweat you’ll lose dancing and the bevy of high school teenyboppers sure to pack the place.

The Golden Cadillacs, The Bottom Dwellers, Matt & George & Their Pleasant Valley Boys

Friday, 8 p.m., $5

Luigi’s Fun Garden in Sacramento

Google tells me that a Golden Cadillac is one part Galliano liquor, one part light cream and two parts Creme de Cacao. But with their alt-country twang, I’d say that Sactown group the Golden Cadillacs is more cold brew than creamy cocktail.

Shotgun Party, Misner & Smith

Friday, 10 p.m., $3, 21

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen

Swing to jazz to danceable country, Shotgun Party vocalist Jenny Parrot has a voice brassy and sassy enough to handle any genre and make it the band’s own. The soft, mandolin-driven bluegrass of San Francisco duo Misner & Smith (also known as Sam Misner and Megan Smith) should complement it well.

Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk, Blue Sabbath Black Fiji, Mucky The Ducky, Multi-Peace

Saturday, 7 p.m., donations accepted

DAM Haus

So Baby Birds Don’t Drink may have gotten some attention from the A.V. Club’s year in band names (they were categorized under “Cutesy Bullshit”), but the band’s music is something more to write home about. With an experimental spirit to their psych rock, the band makes me think that we’re not in Kansas anymore.

The Submarines, Red Cortez

Wednesday, $10 general admission, $5 with a UC Davis ID

UC Davis Coffee House

The Submarines have an impressive resume, at least when it comes to how many television shows their songs have been in: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Gossip Girl,” “Nip/Tuck” and an iPhone commercial (check out the track “You Me and the Bourgeoisie” and you’ll recognize it). It’s not hard to see why – the duo’s cutesy pop is pretty much universally acceptable.

AT THE MOVIES

Sin Nombre

Now playing at Varsity Theatre on Second Street

This Spanish-language film follows the story of Casper, a gang member who loses his girlfriend by accidental murder and the consequences that follow.

ART / GALLERY

The Long and Short of It

On display until Friday

Nelson Gallery (Art Building)

Explore the issue of scale in different mediums, including sculpture painting and photography.

THEATER / MONDAVI

San Francisco Symphony

Today, 8 p.m., $70 general admission, $35 with a student ID

Jackson Hall

Tonight’s event features conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Yuja Wang, who was heralded as “extravagantly gifted on every front” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Nathan the Wise

Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., free

University Club Dance Studio

Directed by graduate student Claire Blackstock and senior dramatic art major Amber Nolan, this workshop follows a group of racially and religiously diverse people – including a Jewish merchant, a Christian knight and a Muslim sultan – and explores how their lives intersect. To reserve a seat, pick up a ticket at the Freeborn Box Office.

RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.