Allan Bloom once said, “Rock music is junk food for the soul.” If this were the case, Valerian’s Imitations of Sorrow would be an extra large bag of sugary Pixie Stix with a jumbo 7-11 squishie on the side.
Managed by City Canyon records, Valerian is composed of five gifted artists from Scandinavia. Sporting denim blazers and leather jackets, they encompass a unique fashion style similar to M
Imagine walking down Duval Street in quaint Key West at midnight on Halloween weekend with droves of costumed, inebriated people and strings of sparkling metallic beads flashing in front of your face.
Unlike any other festival, Fantasy Fest is a two-week celebration of merrymakers, wild costumes, and mayhem. In it’s 26th year of celebration and sponsored chiefly by Captain Morgan and his Morganettes, Fantasy Fest is one of the ultimate Halloween celebrations.
Eye It
Famous for airbrushed women Fantasy Fest boils with fantastical costumes of devilish vixens, morbid creatures, angelic winged creatures, and of course, nudity.
Body painting, the “art” of painting the body with air brushed paint is on of Fantasy Fest’s biggest attractors. Women and men of all sizes and shapes line up and pay massive amounts of money to be spray-painted into marvelous creations. Popular airbrushed costumes are butterflies or bumblebees, but there are the ones who get locks painted over strategic places or have leaves painted over nether regions to emulate biblical characters such as Adam and Eve.
While the costumes are wilder and wilder every year, the mode of dress isn’t the only way people are getting their messages across. Each year missionaries or fanatics line the streets proclaiming the Word of God or state their political preferences. This year’s political preference was the Republican Party, as supporters trudged down the street with crosses and robes clearly stating “Democrats are Evil.” Then of course there was the tacky foreigner who turned the popular “Viva Bush” sign into “Show Me your Bush.”
Schedule
Although Fantasy Fest is pure chaos there is actually a schedule of events, including the Airbrush Expo, the Pimp ‘n’ Ho Ball, the Masquerade Parade, the Tea Party, and of course the Captain Morgan Parade which concludes every Fantasy Fest celebration.
>> For more information, dates, and a live webcast from Duval Street go to www.fantasyfest.org.
Joanna Davila can be contacted at j.davila1@umiami.edu.
Can the infinite abyss of space and time really tell humans about the world around them? Can a person’s birthday really determine their personality or predict the future? How much power do the stars truly hold? Considering that stars are simply enormous balls of gas burning millions of light-years away, it seems silly that mankind has been fascinated by them since the beginning of civilization. But it’s true. Ancient Egyptians used the stars of Orion’s belt to align the pyramids. Lunar patterns determined when the first farmers would harvest or hunt. And many cops, if questioned, would say that the full moon is their busiest night of the month.
If you’re one of those people who read his/her horoscope religiously, the stars control your love life and financial success, too. But what in the universe is mystic and what is scientific? It seems that may all be a matter of personal belief, and the Weintraub Planetarium, at the Miami Museum of Science, is trying to help answer these questions.
The museum was founded in 1949 with a “strong commitment in inspiring interest and enthusiasm in all areas of science, astronomy, wildlife and technology.” The Planetarium opened in 1966 and still uses a Space Transit Planetarium (STP), one of the last machines of its kind, which has the ability to re-create about 90 percent of what one would see on a clear, dark night. Among other exhibits, the planetarium holds free star shows every Friday starting at 7:30 p.m. in the museum observatory for anyone interested seeing what’s going on in Miami’s sky that particular night.
But the museum teaches about astronomy – not astrology. Astrology’s not an exact science. In fact it’s not actually a science at all. The zodiac, the constellations located along an imaginary line that divides the sky into hemispheres, does not even line up with its original placement from thousands of years ago. And horoscopes, which are based upon the time of the sun’s appearance in a particular constellation, basically all say the same thing despite a person’s “sign.” Whether or not a person applies the information to his or her own life becomes a matter of choice. On average, only mystics (or the highly superstitious) will attest that the predictions hold a greater truth. However, mystics may be smarter than science gives them credit for. Quantum mechanics are now studying what was formerly left to the mystics, and telescopes are able to detect a planet’s aurora – high energy – that mystics have been claiming to see around humans for years. So whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, superstitious or scientific, it couldn’t hurt to wish upon a star tonight and see what you get.
Dani McNally can be contacted at d.mcnally@umiami.edu.
QUARTERBACK – UM
Brock Berlin and his gang of misfits have finally coalesced into a dangerous quick-strike offense. Berlin has 11 touchdown passes in the last three games, one less than he threw all of last season. If Berlin keeps it up the home crowd will probably stop booing him.
Darian Durant has two weapons in his holster. He is a dangerous passer and has the ability to scramble when the pocket collapses. Mobile QBs have given the ‘Canes fits in the past. Durant isn’t perfect though, having an eight-to-six TD-to-interception ratio.
RUNNING BACK- Even
Frank Gore and Tyrone Moss’ performances have fallen off a bit, but it may have to do with the newfound passing game. These guys need to break off some big runs to reassert themselves.
The Tar Heels rotate between three different running backs but most of the time they just play the ones that are healthy. Jacque Lewis averages 7.1 yards a carry, but he and Ronnie McGill are both trying to return from injuries. Chad Scott is the third back.
WIDE RECEIVE – UM
Roscoe Parrish, Lance Leggett, Darnell Jenkins, Sinorice Moss and the tight ends have all stepped up with the injured Ryan Moore on the bench. They are making the big plays that the coaches knew they could.
Senior Jarwarski Pollock leads the team in catches with 28, but the most dangerous receiver on the team is actually Adarius Bowman, who was suspended indefinitely before the last game. Sophomore Jesse Holley needs to fill the void.
OFFENSIVE LINE – UM
Eric Winston: Lost for the season. Tyler McMeans: Out until further notice. If this list grows any longer the o-line might fall apart. Last week was the first game all season that they gave up zero sacks, and that was against the top defense in the country.
Jason Brown is a big center at 312 pounds and he is also one of the best in the ACC. Brown leads this o-line, which is missing starter Skip Seagraves.
DEFENSIVE LINE – UM
The d-line has not racked up too many sacks this season. No one on the line has more than two, but they are getting pressure on the quarterback. Kareem Brown stepped up last week after Santonio Thomas injured his knee.
There is no star player on this d-line, but freshman Khalif Mitchell made the biggest play of UNC’s season by tackling N.C. State running back T.A. McLendon and stripping the ball with six seconds left to preserve a victory.
LINEBACKERS – UM
Rocky McIntosh leads the team in tackles with 57, but this group has shown its youth in the past couple of games. McIntosh, along with Tavares Gooden and Leon Williams, need to get better at stopping the run.
Fred Sparkman, a sophomore, was suspended indefinitely before the Utah game two weeks ago. Losing the team’s middle linebacker and leading tackler is a big blow and it showed as Utah scored 46 points in that game.
SECONDARY – UM
The secondary has looked a little confused as of late, missing assignments and getting beaten for four touchdowns last week. Cornerback Antrel Rolle and safety Greg Threat need to lead this unit and stop allowing big plays.
Senior transfer Gerald Sensabaugh has a big mouth and claims that the UM offense is the simplest his team has seen this year. That is a big statement for someone on the NCAA’s second worst defense.
SPECIAL TEAMS – UM
Opposing teams don’t know where to kick the ball when Devin Hester is on the field. He’s a threat to score every time. Kicker Jon Peattie has hit just two-of-six from beyond 40 yards this season, but the coaches still have confidence in his long range.
Freshman kicker Connor Barth has hit on eight-of-nine field goal attempts this season. Receiver Mike Mason averages 23.6 yards per kick return, but the punt returning has not been great for the Tar Heels.
It is usually difficult to win back-to-back road games. However, the Hurricanes have extra incentive to play well this week against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Tar Heels strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh gave the ‘Canes that incentive when he ripped the Miami offense earlier this week. The East Tennessee State transfer called the Hurricanes offense the most simple he has seen and said Miami basically runs the same five or six plays over and over. Sensabaugh also said that Miami quarterback Brock Berlin was “all right” but he made mostly simple throws.
Sensabaugh’s comments were passed out to every Miami player after practice Tuesday in case the Hurricanes needed another reason to beat up UNC this weekend.
The Hurricanes should easily handle the Tar Heels, who are not exactly an ACC powerhouse. The ‘Canes play their second straight game in North Carolina and haven’t had any trouble on the road thus far.
Berlin is playing the best football of his career this season. In his last two road games, he threw eight touchdown passes.
“The last three games Brock has played really well and he has done a great job of running our football team and being a leader,” Head Coach Larry Coker said.
The Tar Heels are 3-4 on the season and 2-2 in the ACC. They got beat in Utah last week by 30 points and have struggled defensively. However, the Tar Heels are 3-1 at home this season, with their only loss against Louisville. They defeated NC State, Georgia Tech and William and Mary this season.
Offensively, the Tar Heels have shown that they can run the football. Jacque Lewis is averaging 7.1 yards a carry and has over 500 yards rushing thus far. He is complimented by Ronnie McGill, who averages 5.3 yards a carry. Overall, the two have combined for 739 yards and seven touchdowns.
The receiving burden falls squarely on the shoulders of Adarius Bowman, who leads the teams in receptions (18), yards (329), and touchdowns (three). If the Hurricanes are going to be successful, they have to contain the Tar Heels’ offense.
“They are strong on offense and we have to game plan to neutralize their strengths and exploit their weaknesses,” Coker said.
The Tar Heels defense should not be bragging about Miami’s simple offense when they are on pace to break the school record for yards allowed. They are next to last in the country in total defense, giving up an average of 504 yards a game.
The Hurricanes’ two-touchdown victory at NC State actually dropped them to No. 3 in the BCS standings. However, they believe that if they run the table, they will be playing in the Orange Bowl for the national title.
“I don’t know why we moved up to No. 2 and I don’t know why we dropped to No. 3,” Coker said. “All we can do is take care of our games and if we go undefeated, I feel strongly that we will be in the national title game.”
Darren Grossman can be contacted at d.grossman@umiami.edu.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 17
10:55 p.m. 1101 Stanford Dr. Burglary
MONDAY OCTOBER 18
10:54 a.m. 5183 Ponce de Leon Burglary/Vehicle
1:34 p.m. 5185 Ponce de Leon Burglary/Vehicle
9:30 p.m. 1241 Dickinson Dr. Burglary/Vehicle
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20
11:19 a.m. 1239 Dickinson Dr. Theft
THURSDAY OCTOBER 21
12:58 p.m. 1203 Walsh Ave. Grand Theft Auto
1:50 p.m. 5050 Brunson Dr. Burglary/Vehicle
2:10 p.m. 5513 Merrick St. Assault
FRIDAY OCTOBER 22
11:26 a.m. 1241 Dickinson Dr. Theft
SUNDAY OCTOBER 24
9:50 p.m. 1231 Dickinson Dr. Theft
TUESDAY OCTOBER 26
12:57 p.m. 1241 Dickinson Dr. Theft
7:30 p.m. 1311 Miller Dr. Theft
Dear V,
I almost hooked up with my best guy friend last night, and it would have been amazing, except that his friend got sick before anything happened and he had to leave. I know he was mad that nothing happened because of how he slammed the door when he left, but I’m not sure we’ll have any new chances in the future, since at a party he was hanging out with his friends and I was hanging out with my friends, and he said he would call me after but he didn’t. I’m kind of confused and need some help.
Wanting to be more than just best friends
Dear Reader,
He is a friend. He said he would call. He didn’t. If I were to substitute the word “she” for “he,” would you still be this confused? Bingo. As a friend and only that, he really bears no higher obligation to you than those duties of a friend, and yes, sometimes friends do forget to return phone calls. But, don’t lose hope! You mentioned that he seemed upset with his friend because obviously, his friend got in the way of your business, which is a good sign. He could have chosen to politely say goodnight.
So, ask yourself this question: Do you want to bring this friendship to the next level? Because, I think that if you do, you can make it happen. He has shown interest in you both as a best friend and as kissy-friend. So, if you want it, do it silly!
Good luck!
V.
Dear V,
I took this girl that I’ve had a crush on to one of my formals. We had a great time at the dance, I took her home, and then I never heard from her again. I know that I may not be the best of dancers, but I don’t understand why we haven’t chatted lately. What is this all supposed to mean?
Jaded
Hello Jaded,
Maybe this girl didn’t go to the dance with you under the pretenses of anything more than friendship. Did you do something aggressive at the dance to scare her off? Were you sending off overt vibes of lust? Was your dancing not only bad, but also extremely offensive? (I’m just kidding!) Maybe you think that you had a great time, but perhaps her feelings are different.
Don’t judge her behavior post-dance and her lack of contact with you as anything more than what it was at the time. I would suggest calling her to catch up first. If things go ahead as planned, then try to rekindle the friendship before resorting to drastic measures a la negative thoughts and sketchy behavior.
Hope all is good.
V.
Random Fact O’ the Day: The more sex you have, the more of it you will be offered. The sexually active body gives off greater quantities of chemicals called pheromones. These subtle sex perfumes drive the opposite sex crazy!
Please submit all questions, comments or concerns to DearV@hotmail.com or to the Dear V box in The Hurricane office. All submissions are strictly confidential. Dear V. is published on Tuesdays and Fridays, and yes, V will respond to almost (don’t push it) anything.
If this weekend’s Wilson/ITA South Regional Championships is any indication of the woman’s tennis team’s upcoming season, teams throughout the ACC will be circling its dates with Miami.
The tournament, held at the University of Alabama, featured eight of the nation’s top collegiate singles players as well as premier doubles teams from 21 different schools. Miami, No. 15 in the nation, proved it could compete with national powerhouses like the University of Florida and University of Georgia. Not only did it compete, it dominated.
The doubles duo of senior Megan Bradley and sophomore Audrey Banada teamed up to beat FIU’s doubles in the semi-finals and advanced to a Sunday morning final against intrastate rival UF. Bradley and Banada, No. 28 in doubles, defeated UF’s Lolita Frangulyan and Whitney Benik to win the doubles championship.
With the doubles championship in hand, UM looked to make it a sweep and grab the singles championship as well. Top seeded at the tournament and No. 2 nationally, Bradley overwhelmed her opponents en route to a Monday morning finals showdown with the player who ousted Bradley from the tournament last year, Shadisha Robinson of UGA. Robinson defeated Bradley in a three set semi-finals victory at last year’s Wilson/ITA Championships.
This year, however, Bradley was poised for payback. She reversed her fortunes and solidly defeated Robinson 6-3, 6-4 to win the championship.
While Bradley and Banada made headlines during the tournament, Head Coach Paige
Yaroshuk-Tews was very pleased with the performances of all her players. The team is comprised of a valuable mix of veteran players and freshman.
Yaroshuk-Tews pointed out the play and leadership of senior Staci Stevens. Stevens reached the Round of 32 in last weekend’s tournament and has played well throughout the fall season. Stevens, now in her fourth year in the program, will help develop the younger players and solidify the No. 2 spot.
Sophomore transfer Emily Mowery compiled an 18-14 record at the College of William and Mary last year and will need to make an immediate impact for the team. Mowery also advanced to the Round of 32.
UM has the tools it needs to be competitive in their inaugural ACC season. Three of the nation’s top 16 teams are members of the ACC, with Clemson and Duke holding the Nos. 5 and 6 spots respectively. While the team is not exceptionally deep in players, they hope to make up for it with a combination of talent and hard work. Every player on the seven-woman roster will play.
Yaroshuk-Tews said the team has the potential to do great things as long as they stay healthy and play well on a consistent basis.
Halloween is just around the corner, but there are no ghosts on the women’s tennis team. Yaroshuk-Tews said that the Hurricanes fear no one, which is a good thing because, come spring season, teams across the nation will have plenty of reasons to fear UM.
Chris Hamilton can be contacted at c.hamilton@umiami.edu.
Are student athletes being exploited when they compete tirelessly while schools make millions of dollars off of them? Donald Moss examined that issue and the overall commercialism of college sports in his new book Going Pro.
Moss gave a discussion and signed copies of his book at Books and Books in Coral Gables Wednesday night. After spending seven years in the high tech aerospace industry as a research analyst, Moss decided to return to the sports world, covering events at the University of Southern California, where he was once a walk-on for the football team.
Around this time, Moss ran into a former teammate hustling concert tickets. This inspired him to research what happens to student athletes that do not take advantage of the opportunities given to them.
“I realized after meeting with him that we both had opportunities,” Moss said. “I was a walk-on; he was a full-scholarship athlete. It was tough to see him making a nickel-and-dime here and there. He was an athlete with an opportunity to go to school and have a great career.”
The book is written from the perspective of a budding journalist named Dan Christensen who seeks to find the truth about the big business aspects of collegiate athletics. During his seven years of research, Christensen finds out many disturbing things about the side of college sports most people are not exposed to.
“The biggest problem is how prevalent the university promotes student-athletes,” Moss said. “In reality, they are more interested in winning, and usually education gives in. There is a lot of money going around and contracts with television, and the universities use this to draw students in.”
Moss said that as long as athletic departments have a hand in education, nothing will improve.
“To change the current system the athletic departments will have to give education back to the university,” he said. “As long as the athletic department oversees the education of these athletes, there is always going to be a conflict of interest because the most important goal is to win games.”
In the book, Moss talks about how athletes are exploited, but he does not think that student athletes should be getting paid for playing sports.
“The benefit of being a student athlete is to earn a degree to prepare for life after college,” he said. “The students don’t see the big picture, which is that most of them are getting a $130,000 education, because they are not getting any money to put in their pockets. They should receive some spending money, however.”
Moss also discussed the growing rate of athletes leaving school early for the professional ranks. He said that students will continue to forgo the rest of their education in large quantities.
“I have talked to professional athletes, college athletes, parents and agents to try to give the perspective of each side,” he said. “Agents make promises to college athletes that they don’t deliver. I don’t foresee a decline in the number of athletes that leave school early.”
Going Pro will be in bookstores on Nov. 1. The book can also be found on www.amazon.com.
Eric Kalis can be contacted at e.kalis@umiami.edu.
Got a dictionary at hand?
Look up the word “break.” How’s it defined? You may find the following:
1) some abrupt occurrence that interrupts
2) an unexpected piece of good luck
3) a pause from doing something (as work)
Unfortunately, I won’t be focusing on the second definition. In fact, I would be focusing on the opposite-an unexpected piece of bad luck. And, coincidentally, this bad luck has everything to do with the last definition. The “break” I am referring to is “fall break” (also applicable: “winter break,” “spring break” or “summer break”).
This fall “break” was supposed to be a much-needed pause from the everyday drudgery of coursework for my girlfriend and me. We planned a quiet weekend in the Florida Keys where we could relax and forget about all the hurricanes, midterms, papers and responsibilities that had haunted the first quarter of the school year. Little did I know that my Existentialism teacher went ahead and-with three days’ notice-invited Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre to come along for the trip with us.
You see, the Tuesday before fall break commenced, my class received a writing assignment to be due the following Tuesday-one week. But, forget for a second that we got a week to complete it, or that my class had the option of doing another paper a couple weeks before. Fall break ran from Thursday afternoon until Monday morning. Peculiar. That would mean that-unless we were to use our “break” to continue doing the schoolwork we were set to have a “break” from-we were given three days to complete a four- to six-page essay.
Of course, for any of us, this wasn’t the first occurrence of “break” work (not nearly), nor will it be the last. Since childhood, educators have attempted to instill in us the idea that there are no real breaks; even in adulthood, they justify, there is no such thing as a free lunch. We must be willing to work even during our “breaks” because there is no telling when it will become imperative that a task be completed.
Well, here’s some news, apparently, to a number of culprits, er, professors out there: We take more than one class per semester. So, the next time a professor tries pulling some lame authoritative “I told you so” such as “you know, in the real world, if you turn something in late, you get fired,” let them know that in the real world you usually don’t work five or six “jobs.”
What is especially disappointing is that this is occurring in a semester constantly interrupted by hurricanes. Here we are, finally, with a few good days of weather and some free time, and the only thing I’m bronzing at the beach is my brain.
Quit hogging the sun, Sartre.
Oh…and pass the sun block, Heidegger.
Ben Minkus can be contacted at b.minkus@umiami.edu.
There is a vast misconception among the Jewish-American population that George W. Bush supports Israel’s cause more than John Kerry does. It’s true that Bush does support Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism by means of the security fence. In fact, President Bush is even against stopping Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory. In the eyes of many Jews, this is a clear message that Israel and the U.S. are bound to work hand in hand together to preserve the solidarity of the state of Israel and work toward fighting terrorism in the Middle East. But not many Jewish Americans are aware of the ulterior motives that our kind and benevolent president has. President Bush aligns his views with conservative Christians who believe that the only way the second coming of Jesus Christ can occur is when every piece of land that use to belong to the Jewish nation is reclaimed by the Jewish people. To many Jews this might sound like a Christian belief that happens to benefit Israel’s benefit. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
To many scholars’ understanding, in the second coming, more than half of the Jews will be killed off while the other portion will be forced to convert to Christianity. This doesn’t sound very appealing. I’m not knocking on Christians for what is prophesized by a certain right-wing conservative portion of the population, but how can Jews living in America consciously accept this kind of support from people who only want them to get their land back in order to finish them off when J.C. arrives?
Aside from the religious concepts that entail this discussion, the Bush administration refuses to move the American embassy to the Israeli capital of Jerusalem. This is because if they do so, then they will lose face with neighboring Arab countries that do not recognize the state of Israel.
John Kerry is no less of a friend to Jews all around the world then George Bush is. In over 60 congressional votes in regards to Israel, he has voted 100 percent to support Israeli interests. And unlike our current president, Kerry doesn’t have any tricks under his sleeve as to why he would support Israeli issues. Jewish Americans also need to consider that just because Bush says he supports Israel, it should not be the only deciding issue as to whom we are going to vote for. We all need to remember that there are more pressing issues as to how this current president has failed us.
Slava Borshchukov can be contacted at v.borshcukov@umiami.edu.
Much the same way that autumn is subtly introduced via the brisk chill in the air and the brown falling of flakey leaves from their branches, a presidential election has its own ushers. Speaking as a Cuban American and not quite sure which part of that distinction is the noun and which is the adjective, I can always tell that a national election is at hand by the ponderous increase in the shameless political ads that blanket the Spanish-language media. Regardless of their respective parties, and often in a piecemeal Spanish that would have made Cervantes opt for a job as a bricklayer, the candidates initiate the hackneyed practice of the anti-Castro rhetoric as well as empty, self-serving gestures.
John Kerry actually rented office space across the street from the Versailles restaurant in hopes of capturing the agora-like essence of the oftentimes-public debates that take place there. It has even been rumored that Kerry, in an abundance of political correctness, is trying to get owner Felipe Vals to effect a menu change. Instead of listing black beans as “frijoles negros,” Kerry is insisting on “frijoles afro-cubanos.” Not to be outdone, George W. Bush has asked his brother Jeb to help him out with Spanish lessons and was reportedly seen trying to place a floral arrangement on the tomb of Celia Cruz. Only the quick thinking of an unidentified Secret Service agent, who informed the president that the beloved Queen of Salsa is in fact buried in New Jersey, prevented a PR embarrassment. On his own initiative, however, Bush cleverly placed the flowers at the grave site of Desi Arnaz.
In response, Kerry has contracted a Latin dance instructor and has entered a conga line group that is scheduled to participate in next year’s Calle Ocho Festival. Bush then declares the Mojito (a Cuban version of a mint julep) as the national beverage, but cautions us all not to drink and drive. Kerry is fitted for a red, white and blue (incidentally, the Cuban national colors) guayabera with the words No Bush, No Problema stitched over the left breast pocket.
If you think this all sounds ridiculous, you should listen to what they are really saying. It’s hard to tell the difference after 40-plus years. The sincerity in U.S. policy towards Cuba died a long time ago, and all that we are likely to get instead is pandering. By the way, did you hear that both Bush and Kerry are promising to participate in the next running of the bulls down Palm Avenue?
Octavio Ramos can be contacted at o.ramos@umiami.edu.
