CD Review: State Radio

Written by BRETT BUNGE
Aggie Arts Writer
Published on November 1, 2012
Filed under Arts

Artist: State Radio Title: Rabbit Inn Rebellion Rating: 4.5 “This is rock; unrefined, hard and volcanic.” So declares the website of Massachusetts-based rock band State Radio. Listening to the band’s newest album, Rabbit Inn Rebellion, one would be hard-pressed to disagree. State Radio has returned not only to the studio, but also to their hard rock roots. The album conjures up images of a dystopian future led by ruthless oligarchs and ravaged by war. In particular, the track “Big Man” echoes the recent Occupy movement. Through their driving beats and thought-provoking lyrics, State Radio’s newest release will entertain new and old fans alike. If you like hard rock and indie bands, give State Radio’s newest CD a listen. “‘We didn’t care if it was [a] little messy or not perfect, if the energy and the driving nature and sense of urgency was in it, then we would go for it. That’s what carries the album,’” said Stokes, the lead singer, on the band’s website. “This is totally a full steam... ...

Vegan culture becomes Aggie Culture

As students of UC Davis, we carry the honor of being called Aggies — but don’t forget the root of this title. We call ourselves Aggies because of our agricultural readiness and abundance of farms. According to peta2, more and more UC Davis students are taking this a step further and going vegan, awarding our university as runner-up in the nationwide most vegan-friendly college contest. The vegan station in the dining commons, the ASUCD Coffee House’s great variety of vegan meals, the Davis Food Co-op and city events like the farmers market have fostered the local vegan culture in recent years. “[Turning vegan] had always been in the back of my head because of animal cruelty and films like Food Inc., but the UC Davis dining commons gave me that small push that I needed,” said John Caccamo, a second-year biological sciences major and vegan of one year. “The Blue Onion’s wide selection of vegan foods made the choice much easier by exposing me to delicious foods I didn’t know... ...

News in Brief: Attempted robbery at North Davis CVS/pharmacy

On Oct. 31 at around 7 a.m., a man wearing a mask attempted to burglarize the CVS/pharmacy at The Marketplace on West Covell Boulevard. The man fled when employees called for security. The suspect is described as a white male adult, about 6 feet tall. He was last seen wearing a black mask and a black sweatshirt with a marijuana leaf in a white circle on it. — Claire Tan ...

Campus Judicial Report

Third time’s the charm A second-year student was referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) for submitting multiple papers that were not his own in a lower division class. This was his third offense. When he met with a judicial officer, the student admitted that he had submitted papers that were actually the work of other students in the class. As a result of this violation, he accepted a one-quarter suspension, Deferred Separation status for the duration of his time at UC Davis, 50 hours of community service and two workshops with the Student Academic Success Center (SASC). Deferred Separation is the agreement to give up your right to a formal hearing if you violate the Code of Academic Conduct again. Anything for love A first-year student was referred to SJA for allegedly letting his girlfriend cheat off his quiz in a physics class. In a meeting with a judicial officer, the student denied that he had allowed his girlfriend to copy from him during the quiz. However, he and his... ...

Review: Cloud Atlas

Rating: 4/5 Cloud Atlas is a rarity. How can we begin to describe what an accomplishment it is that this film even exists? Its source material, a novel of the same name by Englishman David Mitchell, was said to be unfilmable: six stories, all distinctly plotted, representing several centuries from the 1800s to the post-apocalyptic future. Mitchell pieced them together in a narrative structure that won him critical praise and landed him on the Man Booker shortlist. But using the same concept for a film? Impossible. Yet here we are with just that: the film. The Matrix-famed Wachowski siblings and their good friend Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), a German director, pulled it off by weaving the stories together instead of presenting them at length one at a time. It was the right decision for the nuts-and-bolts reason that it’s easier to remember characters this way (the film is hefty, clocking in at two hours and 43 minutes). It was also the right decision for pacing, to keep things interesting.... ...

Student Assistants to the Chancellor aim to encourage student-administrator interaction

The 2012-2013 Student Assistants to the Chancellor (SAC), Annemarie Stone, Artem Trotsyuk and Miguel Espinoza, hit the ground running this year, organizing events to bridge the gap between students and the administration at UC Davis. “We act as liaisons between the administration and the students,” said Trotsyuk, a fourth-year biological sciences major. The student assistants all come from very different backgrounds, giving them the opportunity to bring something unique to the table. “We can approach things differently, but we work as a team,” said Miguel Espinoza, a fourth-year women and gender studies major. Espinoza served as an ASUCD senator and member of the Gender and Sexuality Commission before beginning work as a Student Assistant to the Chancellor this year. Trotsyuk served as a member of the ASUCD Business and Finance Commission and as a research ambassador for the Undergraduate Research Center. Stone is a fourth-year English major. Last year she chaired the ASUCD Academic Affairs Commission and was vice chair of the ASUCD Scholarship Committee. The student assistants work to... ...

News in Brief: Fire started outside Olson Hall Wednesday

A fire occurred yesterday morning on the east side of Olson Hall, causing students, faculty and staff to evacuate the building. Both Olson Hall and Sproul Hall were evacuated. According to Nathan Trauernicht, UC Davis Fire Department fire chief, the department received a call notifying them of the fire at 9:14 a.m. The source of the fire was determined to be a pile of dead leaves in a metal grate outside the building. Trauernicht said the fire was likely unintentionally caused by someone dropping a cigarette on the pile, which produced a large amount of smoke. The flames, however, were small. “We knew it was small and easily resolved,” he said. Students reported smelling the smoke inside Olson Hall as well. “We could see the smoke coming out of the vents in the ground,” says Jordan Lowery, a student who was in the building for class at the time of the fire. Lexi Gritlefeld was in the middle of a midterm when the alarm sounded. “We smelled smoke maybe five... ...

Column: Keep reading

Despite Chancellor Linda Katehi’s and UC President Mark Yudof’s statements encouraging the vote as a voice, I am not in support of the idea that voting is having one’s voice heard. In fact, I believe that what’s more important than voting is the depth behind the education of the issue and what one is willing to do with it. While I do encourage those who can vote to go and do so, I am far more in support of everyone who can read this to inform themselves regardless; to keep reading, or to start. Speaking of which, here’s a fact from the UC itself: “In 1990-91 the state funded 78 percent of the total cost of education per student. In 2010-11, the state provided 47 percent.” Another fact from the UC: Prop. 30 or not, state funding for our public education will continue to fall. “As state support has declined, the students’ share of their education costs, net of financial aid, has tripled, from 13 percent in 1990-91 to 41... ...

Aggie Digest

In a pivotal Big West Conference matchup for UC Davis men’s soccer, Cal Poly took down the Aggies by a score of 1-0. The two rivals exchanged blows, with UC Davis controlling most of the possession time, until the Mustangs got on the board five minutes into the second half and preserved the lead for the rest of the game. UC Davis battled back and forth in a chippy game that resulted in six yellow cards between the teams — including four issued to Cal Poly — but were unable to get the advantage. Cal Poly had 25 fouls in the game and the Aggies tallied 17. The Aggies managed five shots on goal to the Mustangs’ four, but couldn’t convert those opportunities. The loss drops UC Davis to 8-6-4 overall with a 6-3-0 Big West record. Sacramento State faced off with UC Santa Barbara yesterday and had the opportunity to take over first place in conference because of the UC Davis defeat. The Aggies will square off with the... ...

Women’s Volleyball Preview

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine; vs. Long Beach State Records: Aggies, 12-12 (6-5); Anteaters, 10-15 (5-6); 49ers, 11-11 (6-5) Where: The Pavilion — Davis When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m. Who to Watch: Putting a twist on a common phrase, ‘consistency is queen.’ In that regard, junior setter Jenny Woolway has been the Queen of her team. The San Diego native has recorded over 1,000 assists each year she has played for the Aggies and is on pace to shatter former standout Denise Bilbaeno’s school recorder of 3,549 career assists. Woolway recorded 36 assists in the Aggies’ four set victory against Cal State Fullerton last Friday, totaling 754 for the season and eighth among all Big West setters. When UC Davis last met LBSU earlier in the season on Oct. 5, Woolway recorded 37 assists, but the effort was not enough as the Aggies dropped a four set loss. For UC Davis to pull out a win against a tough 49ers team this weekend, expect them... ...

News in Brief: Safe sex service provides condoms for Halloween

This Halloween, CloverUp Club, a condom-distributing service, will be working with Davis fraternities and sororities to distribute a large number of sample condoms from Halloween through the weekend, both on campus and at the organizations’ houses. Halloween weekend is historically one of the most sexually active of the year at university campuses. Throughout the year, CloverUp Club delivers condoms online, providing a cheaper and less awkward way to procure protection. The program is also working with various universities to spread the availability of their product and sex education. “Sex should be fun, safe and hassle-free,” said UC Davis alumna Marisa Swain, who works in marketing with CloverUp Club. “That’s why we are working for this cause.” Over the next week, plain, flavored, colorful and glow-in-the-dark condoms will be distributed. For more information, visit cloverupclub.com. — Rohit Ravikumar ...

Talent displayed weekly at Poetry Night Reading Series

The Poetry Night Reading Series is held at the John Natsoulas Gallery at 521 First St. in Davis on the first and third Thursdays of every month. The reading series, which starts at 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public, features an hour-long reading from a guest poet followed by an hour-long open mic performance. Emeritus professor Sandra Gilbert speaks tonight, while English professor Joe Wenderoth performs on Nov. 15 and Sacramento State professor Joshua McKnight performs on Dec. 6. The Poetry Night Reading Series is emceed by Dr. Andy Jones, writing professor at UC Davis. It started in the summer of 2007 at Bistro 33 and has since moved to the Natsoulas Gallery. “John Natsoulas is a longtime supporter of the arts and a longtime supporter of my radio show,” said Jones, whose show “Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour” airs on KDVS. “He lets us use his gallery rent-free.” How does Jones attract guest readers for Poetry Night? “Because of my radio show and my... ...

Measure E creates tension within community

While other counties are waiting to see if Proposition 30 will pass and how many cuts they may face next year, the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) is trying to take a preemptive measure. The proponents for Measure E state that this is a way to safeguard against Prop. 30 failing. Opponents argue the measure isn’t a transparent process and creates new taxes that would cost residents more than necessary, especially in a recession. Public school funding has become so controversial that there are two propositions on the ballot to increase funding. Gov. Jerry Brown and Molly Munger, an attorney, both proposed initiatives to help public schools: Prop. 30 and Prop. 38, respectively. According to the California Voter Guide, Prop. 30 and Prop. 38 both allocate money to K-12 schools, although they propose different ways of doing it — Prop. 30 plans to tax those who make over $250,000 for seven years and increase the sales tax by 25 cents. Prop. 38 proposes a tax for incomes over $7,316... ...

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor: Your Oct. 29 article “Measures and propositions on the Nov. 6 ballot” may have inadvertently given a misleading impression of the potential impact of Measure Q. In 2002, the taxpayers of Solano County funded a $124.5 million bond measure (Measure G) to improve the facilities at Solano Community College. Of that amount, $5 million was used to remodel the science/engineering building. The remodeling was just completed during the summer of 2011. Now the district has spent $300,000 to float a new bond measure (Measure Q) in the November 2012 election, asking the taxpayers of Solano and Yolo Counties for an additional $348 million. Part of the money from Measure Q will be used to gut or entirely demolish the newly remodeled science/engineering building and build a new one. In addition, $1 million from Measure G was spent on building a new soccer field. If Measure Q passes, the soccer field is to be demolished and replaced with a pond. Meanwhile, 14 programs, including engineering, remain under threat of... ...

Column: Hurricane Sandy

The internet has done it again. Parodying serious events, even as the events are still occurring. Case in point: Hurricane Sandy. Serious and dangerous but somehow extremely entertaining online. Some genius created the Hurricane Sandy Twitter account not to inform the nation of updates on the disaster, but rather to say ridiculous quips that celebrities are even finding humor in. With tweets such as “RT [Retweet] IF U WANT ME TO DESTROY YO SCHOOL. I GOT YOU” and “YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO DESTROY CITIES AND TWEET AT DA SAME TIME? YOU AIN’T BOUT DIS LYFE,” most of us can’t resist laughing out loud. Not to worry; this account does acknowledge the real damage that’s occurring. Information is being spread by this account on how to help through Red Cross, and it’s nice to see that these joke accounts can still do good. But in order to relate this entire topic to the theme of Arts and Entertainment, I’m going to reference the multiple “photos” this Twitter account... ...