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Conference on international indigenous photography to kick-off tomorrow

Features

Features Editor

April 2, 2009

“Visual Sovereignty,” a conference and exhibition on international indigenous photography, will begin tomorrow with an opening reception at 5 p.m. at the UC Davis‘ C.N. Gorman Museum located in Hart Hall.

“‘Visual Sovereignty‘ is about ownership, and the ability to mediate and control dissemination of one’s own images. It’s done respectfully within the [native] community, and it’s cognizant of the protocols of those nations. It’s about the right to photograph one’s own community, so that it’s not anthropological tourism,” said Victoria Passalacqua, the museum’s curator.

The conference will feature over thirty of the world’s foremost indigenous photographers from the U.S. mainland, Hawaii, Canada, Australia and Aotearoa (Maori for ‘New Zealand‘).

An opening reception, held 5 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Gorman, will welcome participating artists with a potluck-style dinner (including Indian Tacos from the Native American Student Union), as well as dance and drum performances by various campus groups.

“Hosting is one of the important things for native gatherings; one of the ways that we’ve done that is learning about the artists … we’ve made necklaces for them, as welcoming gifts,” said Jerold Blain, a graduate student in Native American studies and a member of the Benton-Paiute nation.

Artist Panel Sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Apr. 4 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Apr. 5 in the Sciences Lecture Hall. Panels each feature presentations by five artists, and are loosely organized around particular topics, like “Political Perspectives” and “Visioning Landscapes and Communities.“

Aimee Ratana, a member of the Ngai Tuhoe tribe from Aotearoa, will speak about her work on Saturday’s “Political Perspectives” panel.

“As a photographer of Maori descent I hold a responsibility to Maori to portray our people and our culture with consideration and integrity … my image making is a tool that allows me to express issues of identity, being of Tuhoe descent but being dislocated from [the] area,” Ratana said. “The self portraits express the pride and honor that I hold in being of Tuhoe descent.“

A focus on photography provides the strongest method by which to convey the spirit of visual sovereignty, Passalacqua said.

“Photography has an immediacy that visitors react [to] … There is a strong visual narrative that people seem to be able to interpret more easily than other media. At the same time, photography has been used to create visual images – stereotypes – of native peoples everywhere, and its photography that can redress that,” Passalacqua said.

The exhibition features several generations of indigenous photographers, from graduate students to world-renowned professionals.

“It brings together photographers from a variety of backgrounds … to showcase the contemporary reality of indigenous peoples,” Blain said.

“Visual Sovereignty” was made possible by grants from the Ford Foundation and the University of California Humanities Research Institute.

The C.N. Gorman Museum is located within Hart Hall. Founded in 1973 by the Department of Native American studies, it is one of three public art museums on the UC Davis campus, and one of only a handful in the world that specializes in contemporary indigenous art. Visit gormanmuseum.ucdavis.edu for more information.

ANDRE LEE can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Daily Calendar

Features

Features Editor

April 2, 2009

TODAY

March of Dimes fundraiser

4 to 7 p.m.

Yogurt Shack, 113 E St.

Go support research for premature babies and babies with abnormalities at this fundraiser.

Conversations with Writers

4:30 to 6 p.m.

MU II, Memorial Union

Professor Dan Sperling will discuss the writing of his new book, Two Billion Cars, a concise history of America’s love of cars, analysis of the root causes of unsustainable car-centric cultures, and strategies for change.

Vet Aide Club internship meeting

6:30 p.m.

176 Everson

Stop by for a fun and informational meeting! Learn about internships and spring club events, which include a field trip. Dues and applications for internships at the Vet Med Teaching Hospital are due at the meeting; no late copies will be accepted. For information, visit http://iccweb.ucdavis.edu/aes/vetaides/.

CALESS general meeting

7 to 8 p.m.

1150 Hart

Go to the Chicano and Latino Engineers and Scientists Society general meeting. Next year’s officers will be presented, and free food will be provided! First-years, transfer students and anyone interested is welcome.

FRIDAY

Passover Seder tickets

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Quad

Passover Seder tickets are available! Pick them up on The Quad all this week or go to hillelhouse.org. The deadline to RSVP is April 3. The Seder will be on April 8 at the Veterans Memorial Center.

Relay for Life campsites

5 p.m.

Toomey Field

Send one representative from your Relay for Life team to claim your campsite for Saturday’s event. Sites will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

Danzantes del Alma

7 to 10 p.m.

Freeborn Hall

Danzantes del Alma, the acclaimed folkorico dance troupe, will hold their 32nd Annual Showcase in Freeborn Hall. The theme for this year’s showcase is “Our rhythm ignites the flames in our soul.”

SATURDAY

Relay for Life

10 a.m.

Toomey Field

See your fellow Aggies in the midst of a 24-hour relay to help find a cure for cancer. Gates close to the public at 10 a.m. and open against at 7 a.m. on Sunday.

Composting workshop

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Student Co-ops

Learn all about the basics of composting. This fun activity is possible even for those living in dorms and apartments, and helps to keep “waste” out of landfills!

MONDAY

Academic Inclusion: Undoing Marginalization on Campus 2009

7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

MU Art Lounge

This exhibit, showing through Saturday, is a multi-disciplinary arts exposition that focuses on marginalization on campus.

Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournaments

6 to 8 p.m.

Griffin Lounge

Seats fill up quickly, so come early! Be one of the top players and you may be invited to play in the tournament of champions!

TUESDAY

Success Stories of Life After College

6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

158 Olson

Listen to the advice of established professionals, and learn business etiquette. Sponsored by Junior Investors & Entrepreneurs.

Yusuf Estes talk

6:30 to 9 p.m.

Davis Senior Center, 646 A St.

Go to Islam Awareness Week’s first event: The One True God with former preacher Yusuf Estes. There will be free food to enjoy.

Open Mic Night with Sickspits

7 to 10 p.m.

Griffin Lounge

An evening of you and the mic. Are you a poet, singer or guitarist? It doesn’t matter, just bring it!

Seventh Generation Slam

7 to 10 p.m.

Southwest Dining Hall, ASUCD Coffee House

Go to a night of music, poetry and spoken word from the seventh generation.

APRIL 9

Willow Clinic fundraiser

7 to 9 p.m.

MU Games Area

Go to this fundraiser for a chance to win a free Kaplan course!

Legacy of a Prophet: Muhammad

7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

234 Wellman

Go to Islam Awareness Week’s second event – a short film entitled Legacy of a Prophet: Muhammad.

APRIL 10

A Brighter Future for Afghanistan charity banquet

7 to 11 p.m.

ARC Ballroom

The Afghan Cultural Show is designed to educate Davis community members about the Afghan culture, politics and society. Tickets are available at Freeborn Hall or tickets.com. For more information, contact Sahar at (925) 321-5849.

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@theaggie.org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing, and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.

Editorial: Porno screening

Opinion

Opinion

April 2, 2009

The Entertainment Council will be screening Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge, an adult pornographic film, in the Chemistry 194 Lecture Hall tonight at 7 p.m. The XXX version of the production will be shown, as opposed to the less explicit R-rated edition.

Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge, which has been screened at multiple colleges across the country recently, will be introduced at UC Davis by a pornography producer.

The University of Maryland, meanwhile, will begin its viewing of the film with a presentation by Planned Parenthood. The EC could have looked into such an introduction in hopes of promoting safe sex as well.

Aside from this, though, it’s hard to criticize the decision to show the film.

While the idea may come across as over-the-top and awkward to some, it should be noted that the EC is simply doing its job. Over 800 guests – far more than Chem 194 can actually hold – are confirmed on the event’s Facebook page, meaning the EC has chosen a film that students are interested in viewing.

There will, of course, be those on campus and in the community opposed to the public showing of a pornographic film. It’s important to remember that this screening – like other on-campus presentations – is by no means mandatory. Additionally, viewers won’t be permitted to enter Chem 194 without identification proving they’re at least 18 years of age.

By attending the film, however, viewers should understand they’re forfeiting a large sum of privacy by choosing to watch a pornographic movie among a crowd of hundreds. Odds are it could make for an awkward experience. Viewers who leave voicing concerns of explicitness should have known what they signed up for in advance of attending.

Ultimately, though, UC Davis is a community about fostering discussion in hopes of furthering education. Sex sells. It’s worth talking about, too.

Pants Optional

Opinion

Opinion

April 2, 2009

Once upon a time, everyone in the free world gave me a hard time for liking Avril Lavigne. Okay, look … I. Was. In. Eighth. Grade. And “Complicated” sounds kinda cute when played on the ukulele.

I have a point, I swear: The number-one cited reason for hating on Avril is that she’s a poser. Apparently her baggy pants and loose tie just weren’t punk enough for the punkest of Sid Vicious worshippers. But look around, spider monkeys, posers are running loose all over this pop stand! I bet at least three of you are only pretending to read this column so you don’t have to talk to that weirdo who sits next to you every freakin‘ quarter. Or because you secretly think it’ll make you look smarter in order to impress said (cute) weirdo.

The poser is a ubiquitous fixture around these parts. There are many different types of posers who commit many different types of poser violations on the daily. Take, for example, the girl who shows up at the ARC in a perfectly coordinated outfit of magenta spandex, her hair done up meticulously, her face freshly powdered. She’ll make the rounds through the weight side of the fitness room to flirt with her bro contacts first before sauntering off to gossip with the treadmill chicks and ultimately leave without breaking a sweat. Exercise was never really on the agenda.

There’s also the library poser, who offends far less frequently. They usually show up around finals, when Shields becomes the new hotspot for the cool kids. Suddenly everyone is studying and everyone is stressed and everyone is deprived of sleep. It’s like, cool to be miserable. We all know because everyone insists on telling everyone how much their life sucks by updating their Facebook status every five minutes with a fresh new “Alastair is at the library. FML!” And then, “Alastair has two finals and is overcaffeinated and is gonna die. FML!” Many a poser will simply go to Shields to see who else is there and what they’re up to.

Posers also come in the form of wannabe intellectuals. You know, the kind of kids who want to have in-depth discussions and debates to show off how much they paid attention when their professor talked about varying policies in communist countries but actually don’t know jack shit about what goes on outside of Davis and/or the Arden Fair mall. That doesn’t stop them from yelling at each other while sitting outside Chipotle and using swank words like “Mensheviks” and “Anarcho-syndicalism.” The wannabe intellectual is the friend who insists on finding hidden symbolism in a Vince Vaughn film.

Perhaps the most recent breed are the lovely people who’ve gone green and made sure that everyone knows it. Yes, I’ve seen An Inconvenient Truth. No, I don’t want the polar bears to drown and I’m down to conserve our lovely planet; I just don’t see why I should be guilted into buying a $40 organic cotton t-shirt. There’s a line between wanting to do good and being an Eco-Nazi. Surprise surprise, the suits have turned a well-meaning movement into a corporate fad. It’s especially uncool when your green freak roommate flips out and lectures you on how aerosol hairspray is bad for the ozone layer but is seen later that day sitting idle in their car at the In-N-Out drive-through for a good fifteen minutes. They’ve always gotta flaunt how much more biodegradable their soap is than yours. Hey oh, remember that time I bought a red iPod and didn’t rub it in everyone’s face that I’m awesome cause like a dime of that went to some totally rad cause?

Fact: Everyone just wants to seem cool. There are all kinds of fads and chasers out there. If there weren’t, no one would ever have any real reason to buy a fanny pack. I’m not sure what’s more annoying, people who only like bands because no one has heard of them or the hardcore Beatles fans who only know “Hey Jude.” But it’s okay. I wish they would realize that there’s no reason to play such games of pretend. Be yourself. Come out and let the world know what a lazy, unstudious, nonintellectual, non-organic individual you are. Maybe they’ll love you anyway. Maybe.

Contact MICHELLE RICK at marick@ucdavis.edu. All the cool kids are doing it, y’know.

The Defining Moments

Opinion

Opinion

April 2, 2009

Newspapers as we know them are dying. Print media outlets are decreasing production, declaring bankruptcy and retrenching – the New York Times is the latest among many to announce layoffs. Last month, TIME even published a case for rescuing newspapers, so severe has the crisis become.

In many ways, the potential death of the newspaper signifies not only the death of a source of information, but the collapse of rational, refined thought. Without newspapers and journalistic reporting, society is in danger of atrophying. The cessation of newspapers is thus a threat to the very existence of America.

Newspapers are under assault because the Internet has reoriented our conventional conceptions about the access to content. Here, macro-forces and micro-details converge.

The macro-forces are the emergence of a serious competing alternative: the democratizing qualities of the Internet and the blogosphere, allied somewhat to visual television, have discouraged readers from paid print subscription.

The micro changes, meanwhile, involve a strategic failure to plan: the print media’s inability to find and develop a profitable business models in the changing circumstances. With the emergent competition, the media was required to remunerate writers for their expertise; so far, they have failed.

To be sure, the liberating values of the Internet and, in particular, the blogosphere, aren’t negatives in themselves. What is at stake, however, is quality writing and reporting. Quality writing is sustained clarity of mind coupled to eloquence of speech, while quality reporting is the presentation of events from perspectives that are novel, multiple, independent and rich. Both offer focus and vision; most importantly, they offer coherence. From these, readers make reasoned judgments, calibrating their choices and decisions using the best available information.

Newspapers are about informing, but it also is a function of influence. Information is not merely about transmission. It’s about deep emotional engagement. Newspapers report absent of emotion, but by the nature of their reporting, great emotions are often aroused. They report about human acts and, by extension, humanity. For the reader, hearing about fellow people’s heroic deeds, this inspires civic duty. It reminds one to remain vigilant at times of grave danger. Newspapers therefore shape attitudes and behavior.

The blogosphere is similarly about ambition; it demands intense, personal engagements that are visceral and real. But by virtue of its fundamental character – personal interpretation allied to profound emotions – it fails to capture the complexities and orthodoxies of events in their entirety. Instead, the blog is an acquaintance with bits and fragments of news. On the contrary, by their strides for balance, newspapers provide the entire view.

And newspapers, through editorial commentaries and columns, offer authenticity and authority. Like the blog, a column is also about opinion, but it is opinion customized from particular attention to detail and from deep, objective analysis. They seem radical and reactionary at times, yet their honesty and immediacy is what shapes mindsets. At their very best, great columns flatter hearts, deliver devastating verdicts, beg further questions, move people to action. By these virtues, columns are an institution.

Most critically, newspapers are the incubators of reactionary democratic ideals. They fundamentally check and balance society’s greatest sin – excess. Through vigorous reporting, newspapers can shame offenders, provoke outrages, correct behaviors. Newspapers enact justice and preserve the constitutional character of our behavior. They are the upholders of our liberty.

At times of crisis, we sometimes realize what is truly meaningful to us, what we have been taking for granted but magnifies in importance when under danger. The threat to newspapers, where they could cease to exist in relevance, is one of these moments. The newspaper is America’s unsung institution, exposing what is inefficient and glorifying what is redeeming. Most importantly, newspapers regenerate our minds, souls and spirits – it is the essence of our identity.

Thankfully, The Aggie is still publishing … express your gratitude to the editors through ZACH HAN at zklhan@ucdavis.edu

PhiLOLsophy

Opinion

Opinion

April 2, 2009

We are all constantly throwing one giant marketing campaign for the most important product ever – ourselves.

Just like most companies, we are trying to build a “cool” brand amongst competitors with a very similar product. And just like these companies, we pull all these clever marketing techniques when the spotlight is on us.

These marketing techniques we use are called: status signals. Status signals are anything we do with the purpose of signaling to others that we are high status i.e. that we are “cool.” For instance, we might tell our friend that we never eat fast-food because we believe they value health-conscious or environmentally friendly people.

We all use status signals to our advantage and there is nothing wrong with that. However, there is a breed of status signals which cause a lot of problems – the cheap, unreliable signals. These signals are unreliable indicators of actual high status, but people use them anyway because they are cheap and still work.

For example, consider the Livestrong bands. For only a dollar, you could signal to everyone you meet that you’re a charitable and caring person. The band is simply not costly enough to be a reliable indicator of those desirable traits. On the other hand, consider the “I donated blood” t-shirt or sticker. This signals for similar traits as the Livestrong band, but is much more reliable. In most cases, people wearing the “I donated blood” shirt actually donated blood. Obviously, donating blood is more costly than spending a dollar and, therefore, the shirt is a more reliable status signal than the band.

People who aren’t truly high status resort to cheap signals. For example, someone who isn’t truly environmentally conscious can’t afford to go too much out of their way to signal for it. They would rather join the “Keep Davis Clean” Facebook group than to actually go around picking up trash.

We have to be more aware of these cheap, unreliable signals so we don’t falsely attribute higher status to someone. For this reason, I have made a list of cheap, unreliable signals that my friends and I have observed in Davis. Next time you catch someone saying or doing these things, you’ll calibrate your perception of them appropriately.

Once it is common knowledge that a signal is cheap and unreliable, the signal reaches expiration i.e. it becomes ineffective. Hopefully, publicizing this list will bring these signals closer to their expiration date.

This first signal is on the verge of expiration: making people know that you only like bands that nobody knows about. This signal is supposed to indicate your individuality; your taste in music isn’t influenced by group-think. Fortunately, most people are skeptical of those who make an extra effort to show-off their unique taste in music.

Telling people you don’t watch reality shows and, instead, only watch the Discovery Channel. This one is suppose to signal that one is intelligent or sophisticated. The Discovery Channel does not require much intelligence to enjoy and plenty of smart people like reality shows.

Saying, “Ah, I know, I am such a nerd.“ Usually girls say this after saying something atypically abstract or educational. This line is just a clever way for girls to covertly signal for intelligence. And as a rule of thumb: Real nerds never say this.

Blasting Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Spice Girls or Britney Spears when people are around. This sounds like a good status signal because occasionally doing something un-cool is cool. However, people who do this aren’t courageous individuals who can determine what is cool again; they just saw some other people do it and successfully solicit the desired response.

Telling people you haven’t eaten or barely ate all day. This signal is supposed to imply that you’re such a hard-working person that you haven’t had the time to even eat. In most cases, people who don’t eat all day were just too lazy to get food.

LIOR GOTESMAN wants to know what cheap, unreliable status signals you’re sick of hearing/seeing. Tell him at liorgott@gmail.com

Yolo wetlands get $425K boost for restoration

City News

City Editor

April 2, 2009

The Sacramento and Davis area will soon see a vast increase in wetlands area.

Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, located between Sacramento and Davis, contains nearly 16,000 acres of wilderness area. The California Department of Fish and Game along with the California Waterfowl Association are currently working to convert and restore this land into wetland wildlife habitat.

“We are going to take about 700 acres of agricultural land and convert it into wetlands,” said Carol Singleton, DFG communications officer.

In addition to converting this agricultural land into wetlands habitat, the DFG plans to restore existing wetlands, she added.

The funding for this project comes from two sources, according to a press release.

$79,000 came from a civil prosecution settlement that stemmed from a 1.3 million gallon dairy wastewater spill that contaminated a canal system in the Dixon area in November of 2003, the release said.

The DFG’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response conducted a damage assessment to determine harm to the wildlife and environment. The analysis ultimately found conditions that are known to adversely affect fish and other aquatic life that inhabit the canals.

Another $348,000 came from a federal grant to the California Waterfowl Association from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

“They’ve received this NAWCA funding and each year they’ve been trying to bring back some of the wetlands,” said Ann Brice, associate executive director of the Yolo Basin Foundation.

The CWA will be donating funds and managing the restoration project.

“Construction will begin this summer, and will be complete by the fall of 2010,” said Chadd Santerre, senior wetlands project supervisor with the CWA.

CWA will be responsible for the physical restoration of the wetlands, Santerre said. The final product will be a mix of managed seasonal wetland habitat and tidal habitat.

“The restoration aspect involves conversion from pasture into wetlands – the construction of levees and water control structures,” he said. “There are also 522 acres of habitat that is going to be enhanced and improved and repaired.“

The CWA was responsible for seeking funding and implementing the plan, but they will eventually turn the land over to the DFG for management, Santerre said.

Thousands of nature enthusiasts visit the wetlands area every year for educational programs, bird watching opportunities and general nature exploration.

“[The wetlands area] is a wonderful resource and a great asset to the community,” Singleton said. “It’s really a jewel of an area.“

The restoration and development of the wetlands area will make it a desirable place for wildlife as well as community members.

CAITLIN COBB can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Government rewards people who bike to work

City News

City Editor

April 2, 2009

Janet Garrison has been biking to work for almost 20 years.

A coordinator at the UC Davis Craft Center, she hauls along art supplies in a big basket on the front of her bike.

“Anybody’s lucky where you can ride your bike to work,” she says.

Now, people like Garrison will be rewarded for biking to work by the federal government, something she sees as icing on the cake.

The Bicycle Commuter Act was signed by former President George W. Bush in October 2008 and became effective this year. The act allows employers to give bicycle commuters a monthly pre-tax benefit of up to $20. The benefit is intended to encourage people to bike to work and is designed to alleviate some of the costs of bicycle upkeep and storage.

The League of American Bicyclists has been especially supportive of the Bicycle Commuter Act.

“We’ve been ecstatic since it passed,” said League spokesperson Meghan Cahill. “It’s one step closer to where we want to be – to be treated as any other commuter. It’s another way to get people on bikes.“

Although the act has been floating around Congress for the past seven years, it was finally passed as part of last fall’s federal emergency bailout bill. The act is in junction with the subsidies already provided by the federal government for carpooling and using public transportation to get to work. Employees must pick which benefit they want to use and may not use them concordantly.

The act does have its share of kinks.

“There’s a lot of small fine print and some things that haven’t been worked out,” said Cahill.

For example, employees must work full-time and have worked at their current job for more than fifteen months.

Although employers can provide employees with the bicycle commuter benefit by means of a $20 cash reimbursement, the most common way to receive the benefit is by applying online for a voucher. As of March 10, Commuter Check Services, a company that provides transportation vouchers across the nation, began providing the bicycle commuter vouchers. The vouchers can be redeemed at most bicycle shops for purchases made.

One of the biggest concerns among employees who can bike to work and don’t is having to bike in work clothes. Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists Andy Clarke believes an attitude change may be in order.

“You don’t have to go fast,” he said in an interview on National Public Radio on March 23. “You don’t have to be Lance Armstrong every time you get on a bike to go to work.“

To Garrison, biking to work is a no-brainer.

“It’s so much in one,” she said.

Besides being a healthy and fun way to get to work, she said she loves being able to cut across the town. The fifteen-minute ride from her Davis home, she said, is probably quicker than trying to drive and find parking on campus anyways.

“I don’t think twice about going somewhere with a bike,” she said. “Everything seems so much more doable.“

Because Davis is so flat, bicycling has always been easy. A receptive city government doesn’t hurt, either. Because of the city’s efforts to incorporate bicycling and bicycle safety into every aspect of its planning and development, the League of American Bicyclists has deemed Davis a Platinum Level bicycling city.

“Anybody who’s lucky enough to live and work in Davis should ride their bike to work if they can,” Garrison said. “Twenty bucks would be a win-win.“

RONNY SMITH can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Faithful Partner Memorial rededicated

Campus News

Campus Editor

April 2, 2009

Dozens of officers sat in respect on Tuesday afternoon, some nibbling on chewy treats, others calmly heeled beside their human partners, to observe a moment of silence for their fellow police dogs that have fallen in the line of duty since 1974.

Officers from all over the state, representing both human and canine, gathered alongside veterinary students and friends and family of all ages at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital to rededicate the UC Davis “Faithful Partner” Memorial. The memorial, a bronze statue of a German Shepherd made possible by an anonymous $200,000 donation in 2002, honors 15 police dogs who have died while serving in law enforcement in California.

Angus, an eight and a half year old German Shepherd, was one of many canine officers in attendance, representing the Sacramento Police Department. Panting happily alongside Officer Steve Oliver, his human handler, the two represented the unique bond of officer and partner, as most police dogs are both members of a police unit as well as a family pet.

“At work, Angus is my partner, and at home he’s part of our family,” Oliver said, a Sergeant for the K-9 unit of the Sacramento Police Department. “They really are the best partners – they’re loyal, they don’t complain, and the minute Angus wakes up in the morning he gets excited and starts spinning in circles, and just can’t wait to get to work.“

Zak, a seven-year-old German Sheppard from the Modesto Police Department, was another canine officer in attendance. At the start of the bagpipe solute, Zak celebrated by barking and prancing beside his handler Officer Jessie Gutierrez.

“Our canine officers are one of the oldest and most valuable resources to the police department,” Gutierrez said. “Zak is my extra eyes and ears, and he’s my partner – if we get called, we make sure we take care of business together.“

MICHELLE IMMEL can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Fourth Annual Search Party: Davis, Sponsored by the ASUCD Entertainment Council, KDVS 90.3 FM and The California Aggie

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

April 2, 2009

Student musicians, the spotlights are searching for you! It’s time for the annual campus media sponsored Search Party talent show. Co-sponsored by KDVS 90.3 FM, The California Aggie and the ASUCD Entertainment Council, Search Party gives UC Davis‘ budding musicians the opportunity to perform to the campus community. Submissions will be due by 4 p.m. on Apr. 17 to the office of KDVS 90.3 FM, located at 14 Lower Freeborn Hall.

The Search Party will take place in three rounds. First, all submissions will be listened to and judged by a panel of Entertainment Council, KDVS and Aggie staff representatives. Based on this judging, three winners will be announced and be given spreads in MUSE as well as air time on a KDVS show. The third round will be the live component – the finalists will perform at the ASUCD Coffee House in May.

Please join the Facebook event group under the ASUCD Entertainment Council, look to issues of MUSE and listen to KDVS 90.3 for more information on the Search Party event.

Rules of entry are as follows:

Music group must include at least one UC Davis student or alumn.Paid staff members of campus media groups (KDVS 90.3. FM, The California Aggie and ASUCD Entertainment council) need not apply.Submit a full recording (EP or full length) to demonstrate the band’s ability to play a full live set at a concert. Indicate on the track listing the first/most appealing song you would like the judges to listen to.Include a brief paragraph to serve as a mission statement as to why your group should be considered, and a brief biography including information about the genre, band members and so on.All submissions are due by Friday, April 17 at 4 p.m. in the lobby of KDVS, the campus radio station, located at 14 Lower Freeborn in the “Search Party Submissions” box.

Contacts:

Thongxy Phansopha, EC Director, tphansopha@ucdavis.edu

Rachel Filipinas, Arts Editor, arts@theaggie.org

Ben Johnson, KDVS General Manager, gm@kdvs.org

Visit ec.ucdavis.edu, the Entertainment Council group on facebook.com or theaggie.org for more information.

At least it didn’t happen to you…

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

April 2, 2009

If people truly love anything, it’s themselves. Specifically, talking about themselves and how they have it worse than everyone else.

Enter FMyLife.com, a relatively recent website geared at letting anyone do exactly that – share their misfortunes with the world. FMyLife, or FML, is an increasingly popular online trend of self-deprecation. And as the hordes of fans that view the site over a million times daily suggest, it’s incredibly funny.

Topics generally revolve around sex, relationships, bodily functions and other forms of misfortune or embarrassment. Each submission is short written anonymously (an optional nickname field is provided), begins with “Today” and ends with the site’s ubiquitous, catch-all title.

“The motivation behind sending in a story should be to make people laugh with an amusing anecdote about something embarrassing that happened to them,” FML moderator, customer care and press relations representative Alan Holding said in an e-mail said. “It’s not the place to come and moan and whine about banal things, but [to] share your crappy day in an amusing way.“

Users can also choose to help moderate incoming submissions, in order to weed out obviously fake submissions or stories with poor grammar and spelling errors. One of the few guiding principles reminds volunteer moderators that “a good FML should be authentic, well written and make you laugh without being too shocking.“

After each story, users can express their opinions by voting for either the sympathetic choice of “I agree, your life is f***ed” or the thumbs-down “you deserved that one.” Registered users can also comment on each submission.

Created by Maxime Valette, Guillaume Passaglia and Didier Guedj, the website began in Jan. 2008 as viedemerde.fr, a French online network that loosely translates to “shitty life.” The site’s user base expanded to a larger community, reportedly reaching 200,000 visitors in May.

Plans for an English version of the website began to unfold in October 2008, and early names like “TodayShitHappens.com” and “WhataFAIL.com” were considered. Hits finally began to increase after the creators bought the FMyLife.com domain. According to website traffic analysis Alexa.com, FmyLife.com dramatically jumped from a near-nothing ranking in Jan. 2009 to nearly the top 1000 in February. Today, FML reportedly receives over one million hits per day – exceeding the original French version’s daily visitors.

FML is expanding beyond the site. The phrase itself is a growing fad of self-deprecation, popping up in Facebook news feeds and in UC Davis Bookstore cashier lines. The site’s creators are currently planning a book release with hand-selected FMLs to be published by Random House Publishing Group.

And like most other popular social sites, the FML website frequently changes to add new features. The creators plan to add an integrated messaging system to each registered account, and anyone with an iPhone can currently laugh at others‘ misfortunes on the go.

Holding said that FML’s growing popularity simply owes itself to “the fact that people get a kick out of laughing at some of the stories posted on the site.“

“Through the auto moderation system, the users can also contribute to the direction the site can go in,” Holding said. “It’s becoming a real community.“

“I [go if I’m] bored, or if I don’t have homework and I don’t have anything to do on Facebook,” said Noelle Phillips, an undeclared first-year student. “I like to laugh.“

Jesse Drew, the acting director of the technocultural studies department, said that the site lacks the creativity and depth needed to endure in the long-term – an essential feature of today’s popular and successful social networking sites.

“For every Facebook and for every Twitter, there’s 10,000 other sites designed for attention and popularity,” Drew said. “So many people are creating sites like that, [each] hoping to be the next hit.“

Drew also drew a parallel between FML and the website sorryeverybody.com, a submission-based website created in response to former president George W. Bush’s victory in the 2004 election. Users posted pictures of themselves holding various hand-drawn apologies to the rest of the world. The website quickly drew huge popularity after its creation, but later saw a significant decline in views after the website creator published a book of compiled submissions.

“I can see something like [FML] simply being an application within Facebook, for example,” Drew said. “It’s quirky, it’s funny, it might have some spur in popularity, but I don’t see any sort of longevity for the site. Everyone’s trying to grab the next big thing.“

Phillips noticed a downward trend in the quality of each story. When asked if she would buy the FML book when released, Phillips said she probably would not.

“I’d probably read it online,” Phillips said. “I might buy it as like a joke gift for my roommate.“

JUSTIN T. HO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Variations on a Theme

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

April 2, 2009

I like to consider myself a relatively easy-going and tolerant person, but if there’s one thing that I absolutely cannot stand, it’s when people take their anger/bad mood/general douchiness out on other people.

So when I find myself in one of those very rare but inescapable teeth gritting, fist clenching, overall headache-inducing moods, I choose to avoid social interaction altogether and try to appease my doldrums with some easy listening.

Literally.

I’ll share a secret with you: When I’m in a bad mood and my iTunes library just doesn’t cut it – the hip-hop becomes too gritty, the pop-punk becomes too whiny and the indie chirpiness gets to be too ingratiating – I know I can count on the smooth radio hits that your parents and mine would approve of.

Honestly, I just don’t know what it is. The generic lyrics about love, the cheesy piano medleys, sweet guitar hooks and the occasional classic saxophone riffs never fail to lift my spirits when I’m being a Debbie Downer.

Lite rock, soft rock, EZ rock – all labels aside, I call it an homage to my childhood.

My father, ever a fan of OPM collections (that’s Original Pilipino Music, FYI), instilled in me a strange and embarrassing love for cheesy love ballads and peppy melodies from Filipino pop classics like Jose Mari Chan, Lea Salonga and Gary Valenciano. One of my first “real” concerts was headlined by Regine Velasquez and Kuh Ledesma. For non-Filipinos, these are singers who have been dubbed as “Asia’s Songbird” and “The Pop Diva,” respectively. The names alone should be indicative of what kind of music to expect.

Of course, this is America. Like any well-adjusted immigrant coming to the states, my father transitioned his admiration for such Filipino songstresses to more regional artists. He arrived in California during the ‘70s, a poppy, disco-lovin‘ decade. Bell-bottoms and big glasses were his uniform of choice, and artists such as The BeeGees, ABBA and Simon and Garfunkel were his jams.

Unfortunately, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. As much as I’d like to maintain some sort of semblance of cool music prowess and sophisticated taste, the fact that the first thing I searched for when I downloaded uTorrent yesterday was The Ballads by Mariah Carey is really telling of my musical integrity.

And despite years of downplaying my heritage and straightening the ethnicity out of my hair, the Filipino in me has deemed karaoke singing as the standard activity at family parties (second to eating, of course).

Nowadays, the cool thing to own when it comes to karaoke is Magic Mic, which offers a library of over 1000 songs to choose from. At the end of the song, it even gives you a score grading your vocal abilities.

However, these were the pre-Magic Mic days, when laser discs ruled the home karaoke scene and the only validation you had for good singing was the loud cheering of tipsy relatives. After getting the mic from a drunkle whose favorite songs to sing included “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Love Boat,” my cousins and I would form our own karaoke group to perform renditions of hits such as Michael Jackson’s “We Are the World,” “A Whole New World” and anything by Whitney Houston.

Besides embarrassing myself with this confession, my overall point is this: Whatever your outlet for the blues – corny pop tunes, twangy country, mid-‘90s hip-hop slow jams – as long as it makes you happy, that’s all that matters, right?

RACHEL FILIPINAS is currently bumpin‘ Mariah Carey’s The Ballads. Bring her back to her senses at rmfilipinas@ucdavis.edu.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

April 2, 2009

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs

It‘s Blitz!

Interscope

Rating: 4

Despite the “early release“ of Yeah Yeah Yeah‘s third studio album It‘s Blitz! fans are undoubtedly grateful for the refreshing lyrical and audio bliss that Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase present to them on a silver platter made of 100 percent synth-drenched alternative rock.

After recovering from the emotional exhaustion that resulted from 2006‘s Show Your Bones, the band members reconvened in late 2007. O, Zinner and Chase rented out studios across America – in locations such as a dairy farm in Massachusetts and barns in New York and Texas – to focus and write for their next record.

Listening to It‘s Blitz! the first time through, it‘s impossible to deny the brilliance of Zinner‘s dreamy synth melodies, Chase‘s nicely formulated and catchy dance-beats and Karen O‘s soothing, eerie and at times shrill voice. Most tracks on the album feature some if not all of these components to form one awesome synth-dream-dance adventure.

It‘s clear after hearing the entire album that the Yeah Yeah Yeah‘s are capable of creating impressive and inventive music now as they have in the past. However, a couple tracks off It‘s Blitz! lack the lyrical and emotional rush that fans know the band is capable of delivering. The lyrics like “Well it‘s a shock, shock to your soft side/ summer moon/ Catch your shut eyes/ in your room/ in my room“ in “Soft Shock“ don‘t reach the same emotional level as the lyrics from “Maps“ off their debut album Fever to Tell.

Though the Yeah Yeah Yeah‘s challenge themselves by taking a new direction, a good number of the tracks off It‘s Blitz! have similar undertones, such as “Skeletons“ and “Little Shadows.“

It‘s a difficult task for a band to continuously come out with good music throughout the years, but the Yeah Yeah Yeah‘s definitely pulled through.

Side note: Fans of It‘s Blitz! should not read the album review written by Popsense editor Jeffrey Luppino-Esposito (popsense.com). It may cause some anger and/or heartbreak.

Give these tracks a listen: “Hysteric,“ “Soft Shock,“ “Dull Life“

For fans of: TV on the Radio, MGMT

– Simone Wahng

Kelly Clarkson

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

April 2, 2009

Kelly Clarkson

All I Ever Wanted

RCA

Rating: 4

“Since U Been Gone” Kelly, you have left me to wonder what’s next for America’s first, and perhaps best, Idol.

After a soulful debut record, a sophomore album loaded with chart-topping hits and the darker, less successful My December, Kelly Clarkson rises from the December ashes to deliver a powerhouse fourth studio album, All I Ever Wanted.

Somewhat reminiscent of the smash album Breakaway, All I Ever Wanted houses a repertoire of pop rock tracks similar to Clarkson’s past hits: songs of female empowerment, failed romances and the inescapable pop ballads.

Most tracks may remind you of current tunes taking over the airwaves since many artists have turned to rock tinges to amp up their pop style. However, Clarkson champions the genre by complementing the charged music with riveting vocals. Although the album carries a cookie-cutter pop composition throughout, its foot-tapping beats, electrical guitar riffs and catchy lyrics blend perfectly with Clarkson’s fierce and passionate voice.

“My Life Would Suck Without You,” the album’s first single (and my current shower anthem), proves that Clarkson’s voice and pop rock “belong together now, yeah.” The song’s performance on the Billboard Hot 100 is surely a reflection of the entire album’s success – a record-breaking jump from #97 to #1. The album itself remained in the #1 spot for weeks after its Mar. 10 release.

All I Ever Wanted offers many potential hit singles. My favorites include the upcoming single “I Do Not Hook Up” and “Long Shot” (both co-written by fellow chart-topper Katy Perry). “Don’t Let Me Stop You” is another favorite that offers a message I can happily deliver to my oh-so-over-you ex: “Nice knowing you but there’s the door/ ‘Cause I know I can find someone/ Who can give me what I want.“

Being an enthusiast for dominant divas who can belt it out (Beyoncé, anyone?) and a sucker for a good pop tune, I am very satisfied with All I Ever Wanted. Clarkson has definitely found her niche after test-driving the harder rock sound of the more “personal” My December. The Kelly who gave us the Grammy-winning Breakaway is back, and if I were obligated to describe her restoration in one word, that word would undoubtedly be: FIERCE.

Give these tracks a listen: “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “I Do Not Hook Up,” “Don’t Let Me Stop You“

For fans of: Katy Perry, P!nk, Avril Lavigne

– Mario Lugo

How do we define beauty?

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

April 2, 2009

For the last five years, the Davis Film Festival has brought cinematic expressions of exploration and worldliness to the city of Davis.

Tonight, the festival kicks off its sixth annual event at the Varsity Theater on Second Street with the screening of Beauty Mark, a film designed to speak to people of all backgrounds.

Beauty Mark will be screened tonight at the Varsity at 6:30 p.m. Following the film will be a question and answer session with the filmmakers and a presentation by Elizabeth Applegate, UC Davis senior lecturer in the nutrition department and director of sports nutrition for intercollegiate athletics. Tickets are on sale at the door for $7.50 for students and $10 for non-students.

“I was on a quest to understand what is genuine beauty,” said Diane Israel, producer of the film. Israel, along with directors Carla Precht and Kathleen Man, created a movie designed to address the body issues dealt with by everyone.

She described her frustration with American culture’s definition of beauty and unattainable standards, calling the images of beauty society promotes “the impetus for [her] rage.“

Israel’s work with the fitness camp Women’s Quest was the beginning of Beauty Mark‘s realization. Many women expressed the desire to be good role models to the next generation, said Israel, but at the same time these women possessed significant body image issues themselves.

She united with Man and Precht (Israel’s childhood friend) and the process began. They interviewed a broad range of people from athletes to burn victims, psychotherapists to employees of mannequin companies.

During this interview process, it became apparent to Precht and others that Israel would have to come to terms with her own personal self-esteem and body issues. As a professional runner and triathlete in the ‘80s, Israel also dealt with issues of body dissatisfaction. She summed up her experience as “being a great athlete but also dying inside.“

Precht said that she learned a great deal about body issues from Israel’s personal story; she supported Israel’s eventual decision to address her struggles in front of the camera.

“These are people who were striving for perfection; a lot of it was striving for … filling a hole in their life,” Precht said about athletes with body issues. “There really weren’t a lot of people around at the height of their athleticism to support them and help them see that this was a real illness.“

In addition to the film screening, the Davis Film Festival’s opening night will include a guest appearance by Applegate.

Applegate, also a former triathlete, said that she works with many athletes who experience the same feelings of striving for perfection that Israel did.

“Exercise [can be] … the means by which athletes are trying to heal or submerge the issues from their backgrounds,” she said.

She noted in particular the uncommon discussion of the kinds body issues plaguing men.

“Because they’re men, you’re automatically in awe,” Applegate said. “You fail to think that they have their own demons and are compelled to excel much in the same way as women.“

Though Israel’s story comes from a very personal place, the film’s broad range of interviews is designed to reach all people and all types of body issues. Applegate called Beauty Mark “a movie about internal struggle that I think will transcend to individuals in many different ways.“

“People think that people with eating disorders have a choice. That’s just not true,” Precht said.

For more information about Beauty Mark, visit beautymarkmovie.com. For a full schedule of the Davis Film Festival, visit davisfilmfest.org.

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

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