inside

Meet B.J. Novak of “The Office” fame and relax at a boba cafe this weekend...page 3
“Star Trek” blazes a new trail in the genre of space movies...pages 4-5
A look back at last weekend’s Charity Fashion Show...page 8 FRIDAY
A recap of the New Orleans Jazz Festival...page 9
Cantor presents its new exhibit, “Pop to Present”...page 10
Advice on which airline to choose for this summer’s travels...page 12
5.08.09

intermission
stanford’s weekly guide to campus culture
VO LU M E 235 . ISSUE 13
a publication of the stanford daily

google images

Happy Mothers’ Day!

ALSO INSIDE

Beam me up, “Star INTERMISSION REVIEWS

Trek!” Intermission raves “B E N T,” A STAMP
about the franchise
P R O D U C E D P L AY O N Q U E E R
reinvention
RIGHTS AND HOLOCAUST
PERSECUTION

...pages 4-5 Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures ...page 11 Michael Rooney

 HOW TO BE A
PAGE 2
RECESSIONISTA
Like most people, you probably don’t have a ton of extra
pocket money to go out and spend on new clothes. That’s
all right — frugal fashion does exist, and Intermission is
about to introduce some ways to make the old clothes that
you’d long ago discounted new and fresh again!

BLEACH YOUR JEANS

We all own those jeans that we wore to death three years ago but now sit untouched in
the back of the closet, or those cheap Target jeans we regret buying. Now’s the time to put
them back into use! All you need is some bleach, water and a spoon/towel/toothbrush.
Photo courtesy jakandjil.com
• Mix 2/3 water, 1/3 bleach.

• Take everything outside. Use a toothbrush to scrub the bleach onto the denim for a
detailed effect, or use a towel to rub it down if you want to cover bigger areas. Or just use
a spoon to splash it on. Put a newspaper in between the front and the back if you only
want to bleach one side.

• Alternatively you can also do this in the bathtub if you want your jeans to really
change shades. Fill your bathtub with the bleach mix, and soak those pants for 30 min-
utes to an hour.

• Then throw the jeans into the washer!

...THEN GO AT THEM WITH SCISSORS

Instead of shelling money on some new shorts, why not just hack at jeans
that you already own? There are actually a lot of ways you can transform a
pair of jeans into shorts (for girls anyway), and here are some of them!

The Sydney Cut

Pretty simple: instead of cutting your jeans evenly, cut in a diagonal so
that the shorts will be shorter at the outer sides — kind of like booty-
shorts but not quite. If you want a frayed effect, use a pocket knife or
just your hands to pick at the loose threads as much as possible.

Add some decoration! Here are some ideas

• Add studs to the belt-loops. 1/4 Standard Pyramid Studs from
www.crustpunks.com would be perfect.
• Use a hole-puncher to punch holes into the denim, and loop chains
or old necklaces through the holes.
• Sharpie away! If you’re good at illustrations, why not doodle on
your jeans?

— joanna Xu
contact joanna: joannaxu@stanford.edu

FRIDAY MANAGING EDITOR

5.08.09 Joanna Xu
LAYOUT EDITOR
Jin Yu
BONE TO PICK? COPY EDITOR
Samantha Lasarow
DESK EDITORS
photos by joanna xu Annika Heinle
Kyle Evaldez
well then, email us! PHOTO EDITOR
intermission@daily.stanford.edu
2 intermission Amanda Zhang

6
 THAT’S WHAT B.J. NOVAK SAID!
rowded prised the audience by pulling an adorable frog hand puppet night, according to Jeremy Keeshin ‘12, one of the founders of

C into a
small
auditorium, an
out of his briefcase for a sketch called “shy puppet.” The awk-
ward humor in the puppet too hesitant to deliver a joke was
part entertaining and part uncomfortable, not unlike the
the Stanford Flipside, whose favorite jokes were those that
revolved around polar bears and pandas.
After the show, Novak took time to meet people from
audience waited atmosphere in “The Office.” various on-campus groups. Signing autographs and taking
in ravenous Novak pulled off countless one-liners with gusto. Two pictures before he left to go hang out at Blue Chalk in Palo
anticipation for memorable ones were: “I bet a crack house starts out as a Alto, Novak commented that he was quick to dye his hair
the comedic tal- really good party,” and “My girlfriend’s body is like poetry — back from the bleach-blonde featured on “The Office.”
ents of B.J. it bores me.” Among clever witticisms about sleeping, flying, — Meghan BERMAN
Novak, a writer, pandas and Wikipedia, Novak’s Spring Cleaning — a clear- contact meghan:
producer and ing-out of jokes from years past that were written on note
meghanb@stanford.edu
actor of NBC’s hit cards — stole the show. If the audience didn’t respond to a
show “The Office.” joke, Novak would literally toss it into a garbage can on the
The line outside for stage. Yet he wasn’t tossing many, as nearly all his quips elicit-
students sans tickets ed roars of laughter from the crowd.
stretched 50 bodies With jokes about topics like Trident, Novak’s comedy
long, while students stings like a bee and then sticks with you. Mr. Novak’s
lucky enough to score positive interactions with the crowd were showcased
tickets during the when he handed his cards out to fans, notably when an
week filed into Annenberg Auditorium. The air was hum- audience member was the only one in the room to giggle
ming with expectation when the ASSU Speakers Bureau at a particular joke.
finally opened the show and introduced the two warm-up “Mr. Novak was really funny, a true professional, in
acts, both of whom are close friends of Novak from college. command of every second on stage,” says Michael Brandt
Steve Jabson served as the MC and started a round of bawdy ‘11, president of Spiked PunchLine,
humor. Dan Mintz, a writer for Comedy Central’s “Important Stanford’s stand-up troupe. Brandt was
Things With Demetri Martin,” had an amusingly deadpan especially keen on Mr. Novak’s on-stage
manner. His jokes, however, sounded like rejects from jokes about “The Office” as calling it “the
Collegehumor.com. elephant in the room.” Similarly, Bjorn
Fortunately, the opening acts were brief, and when Roach ‘11, who is a big fan of the
Novak walked out on stage the crowd erupted with applause. show, thought Novak’s performance
His first joke, a “That’s what she said,” won laughs from the was “funny, and he was a lot different
audience as a Pavlovian response. Later jokes about Ben from his character in ‘The Office.’”
Franklin also recalled the TV show and the memorable Keeping with the animal theme,
episode when Jim hires a Franklin impersonator. Novak sur- bears were the real winner of the
photos by michael rooney

THE BEST BALLS IN TOWN!

ubble Tea. Pearls. Tapioca. Boba. Terms like these get on opposite sides of the street. Where should you go? Needing no introduction to the Stanford student pop-

B
ments.
Stanford students primed for a delightful study break
to one of the area’s several pearl milk tea establish-
For the initiated, pearl milk tea is a sweet tea of sorts
usually made with milk and various flavorings ranging from
fruit to root. The pearls, referred to as boba, are the most
recognizable part of the drink. These thick, chewy balls are
commonly made of sweet potatoes, tapioca (cassava root)
and brown sugar.
About 15 minutes from campus, on downtown
Mountain View’s happening Castro Street, students are pre-
sented with a delicious dilemma regarding boba tea —
there are two cafes serving the stuff
photos courtesy
www.pho78florida.com
Intermission is here to help you out.
At the junction of Villa & Castro, turning left will take
you to Tapioca Express (TapEx), a franchise of an interna-
tional string of boba cafes. The menu is abundant with sev-
eral snacks as well as light meals, including chicken, pork
ribs and chicken steak. But don’t come here for the food.
After trying the pasta primavera at another boba café and
sampling some snacks from others in the area, my recom-
mendation is to get your eats on somewhere else, especially
since downtown Mountain View has a lot of edible options
to explore. While the food isn’t a good draw, TapEx has a
great feel to it — there’s abundant seating, full tables and
pumping Asian music. The drink menu is huge, with
options including flavored milks, juices, tea, the
snow bubble, yogurt, shaved ice and coffee. TapEx
definitely has the edge over Verde in terms of creative
boba flavors, with offerings including the familiar
Thai, strawberry and taro, but also Okinawa,
Green Lei and chocolate milk teas. For the
boba beginner, a good introduction to the
drink is taro or hot hazelnut. While TapEx
delivers strong drinks, I tend to go for two
other reasons: (1) to study or talk with
friends, as TapEx is more spacious than Verde; or
(2) if Verde happens to be closed.
ulation, Verde Tea & Espresso Bar is the gold standard for
Stanford area boba. While sometimes crowded and often
loud, the quality of the drinks here more than compensate
for the ambient noise of the cramped café. Having tried
most of the menu here, I’ve learned to stay away from their
snack menu, where items are always drenched in grease.
With that said, the Taiwan Thick Toast is really delicious,
whether it is served plain, with peanut butter or with my
favorite — coconut cream. As for the drinks, stay away from
some of the more exotic sounding milk teas, such as rose
and dark brick. Instead, experiment with other options,
such as adding fruit, jelly or pudding instead of boba pearls
to your favorite tea. When I go with friends, I recommend
the peach or hot taro, both with pearls.
In downtown Mountain View, parking is plentiful and
Castro Street is an excellent place to take an afternoon stroll.
I encourage you to at least try the milk tea at both establish-
ments, especially as these boba cafes are open nearly all day
— both cafes open until 11:30 p.m. on weekdays and
approximately 1 a.m. on weekends. Also, it’s important to
note that TapEx is usually cash only, while Verde accepts
cards but has a $5 minimum purchase limit.
— tommy TOBIN
contact tommy: ttobin@stanford.edu

friday may 08 2009 3

 A CONVERSATION WITH J.J. ABRAMS
KNOWN FOR TELEVISION
SHOWS LIKE “ALIAS” AND
“LOST,” J.J. ABRAMS IS
NO STRANGER TO SHOWS
COMBINING MYSTERY
AND INTRIGUE.
W hen thinking about the most visionary directors in
Hollywood today, J.J. Abrams is sure to come to
mind. Known for television shows like “Alias” and
“Lost,” J.J. Abrams is no stranger to shows combining mystery
and intrigue. His last major motion picture, “Cloverfield,” was an
exploration into experimental film making and science fiction.
Today, Abram’s new film, “Star Trek,” opens with a lot of antici-
pation from die-hard fans the world over. Recently, Intermission
got to listen in on a phone call with J.J. Abrams, where he was
asked about his ambitious and enormously awaited new film.
University of Chicago: You are known for visionary television
shows like “Alias” and “Lost.” As for Star Trek, I just wanted to ask
if you had difficulties reconciling your own creative ideas with an
already established kind of canon.
J.J. Abrams (JJ): You know, the fun of doing something like this is
sort of in embracing the limits. Whenever anyone has said, you
know, you can do anything you want, I’ve tended to, you know, I
tend to find it much more difficult to respond because there are
no walls to sort of bounce off of. It’s sort of, you know, limitless.
And when someone calls me as, you know, Lloyd Braun did
at ABC five years ago or so and said, you know, I want to do a
story, a TV show about people who survive a plane crash, you
know, immediately I’m like ‘oh my God, this is awesome’ because
I have this sort of plan, you know, a certain sort of set of expecta-
tions or limits or rules. And once you have rules, you know, you
can kind of go anywhere or do anything.
So I know it sounds silly, but the rules of Star Trek, which I
was not really familiar with because I wasn’t really a huge fan to
begin with, were actually sort of a wonderful thing because it
gave us the sort of playground. And then once we were in the
playground, we could do whatever we wanted and we could just,
you know, go nuts.
And I think part of the fun also is taking the established
characters and playing with expectations. For
example, when you meet Chris Pine,
who is this, you
4 intermission
6
know, kind of hunky sort of punk
and you go what, his name is Kirk,
Captain Kirk? You know, you know
he’s going to be Captain Kirk, but
when you meet him he’s hardly a
captain, he’s sort of an aimless, lost
guy. So the interesting thing for me
was playing with the baggage that
we inherited and that to me is —
was really part of the fun.
Maryland: Hi, so which character
aside from Kirk and Spock did you
most look forward to bringing to life in Star Trek?
JJ: I think that the, you know, they were all interesting to me by
the time we were shooting. At the beginning, I was sort of hard-
pressed to kind of connect with any of them, and now I feel like I
love them all.
I would say that selfishly, I was most looking forward to
Scotty because I love Simon Pegg so much, and we had worked
together on “Mission Impossible 3,” and I was excited to work
with him again. I knew he’d be funny and great. Obviously work-
ing with Leonard Nimoy was sort of, you know, a thrill even
though I wasn’t a fan going in. I appreciated that he was this leg-
end and thought that would be cool.
But as I worked on the movie, honestly every character
from, you know, Chekov to Sulu and Uhura and, you know,
Bones, they — each of them has such a distinct voice and each
actor who played them, I thought they just did an extraordinary
job. So the truth is it was a total thrill working with each and
every one of them.
University of Florida: With your resume spanning anywhere
from “Felicity” to “Armageddon” to “Joy Ride,”“Mission
Impossible,”“Cloverfield,” and so on, and now with “Star Trek,”
what else do you kind of hope to accomplish in your already
eclectic career?
JJ: I love working on any kind of thing. I mean, I don’t care if it’s,
you know, a drama or comedy or science fiction or horror film.
You know, I love movies and the idea of doing a movie or
TV show about almost any subject I find, like there’s — I can
imagine a version that would be, you know, a thrill to be a part
of. I don’t think I’m, you know, the downside is I don’t feel like
I’ve got necessarily any one thing I’m particularly, you know,
good at, meaning I just sort of dabble in everything and master
of nothing.
And so the one thing I would say is that doing a project that
is not a sequel based on a TV show that
Leonard Nimoy starred in because
michael rooney
having done “Star Trek” and also “Mission Impossible,” which
Nimoy was also in, I feel like I’m living on this bizarre track of
recreating series that he did in the ‘60s. So I’d love to do an origi-
nal film next.
University of San Diego: For “Star Trek,” what aspects of the
chemistry of the cast of the original series did you seek to recre-
ate in this film?
JJ:That’s a good question, and I think that, to me, it was impor-
tant for the whole movie was to take the spirit of “Star Trek,”
which, again, I never really got into at the beginning when I was a
kid, it never really worked for me, but I’ve come to understand it
and appreciate it and see what the fuss is about.
And I think that some of the elements — the key element is
the characters. There are these, you know, terrific characters at
the core. And not for the actors to do impersonations of the orig-
inal actors but to, you know, bring their own stuff to it. But that
was the beginning.
Secondly, I love the optimism of the world that Gene
Rodenberry created. You know, for people who don’t know about
Star Trek, you know, or for fans, I’ll say that the idea that it’s a
vision of our future in which, you know, we’re alive, we’re collab-
orating across racial lines, political lines, religious lines, that there
is this inherent optimism for this world that I think is — some
would say — naïve, and I would say well that’s sad; I think it’s
actually incredibly refreshing.
And I think that, you know, as someone who has loved
many films of recent years that have been very heavy and, you
know, shown a future that’s been dark and cynical, I still like a lot
of those movies. It’s just nice to see a version of the future that is
not post-Apocalyptic and dire.
And finally, I think that the, you know, sense of humor and
adventure that the original promised — I think that they were
always limited in resources, so they were never able to deliver the
kind of adventure that the show often discussed. And because
discussion was cheap, there was a lot of discussion in the early
shows.
And I think that the script that we have, and I think that this
movie, this version of “Star Trek,” is a very different animal. It’s a
much faster paced, sexier, I think even funnier and more kind of,
you know, adventure-delivering than what they were allowed to
do in the past.
“Star Trek” opens in theatres everywhere today.
— annika HEINLE
contact annika: anheinle@
s t a n f o rd . e d u
 LIVE LONG AND PROSPER, “STAR TREK!”

*Warning, the following film review season was a huge hit because of its theme of change. Secondly, it then tells the general truly outstanding. Big kudos to John Cho (aka
may contain spoilers* space exploration and the great chemistry and masses that prior knowledge of Star Trek is Sulu aka Harold from “Harold and Kumar”)
dynamics among all of the completely unnecessary since the plot is and Simon Pegg (Sean in “Sean of the Dead”),

J ust to get it out in the open: “Star Trek”

is BACK and it is AWESOME.
After being scrutinized by
the watchful eyes of
Trekkies (definition: avid
“Star-Trek” fans) and
non-fans alike, both had
characters. Since that first
ground-breaking season,
there have been four other
live-action seasons, one
entirely new.
This, in my opinion, is a truly brilliant
set-up. Not only does this formula relieve a lot
of the adaptation pressures on the film and
who are able to put their own spins on their
characters. Finally, I was personally surprised
to discover that Aussie actor Eric Bana was in
this film — let alone playing the lead villain! It
animated season and make it more appealing to the masses, but it was enjoyable to see him in a different con-
eleven feature-length also sets this movie up to be a much-needed text.
v it a l st a ts . ON
A SCALE
O
films — “Star Trek” reboot to the Star Trek film franchise — sort Touching back on the story, as previously
th e F
1

9
TO

(2009) being the latest of what “Batman Begins” did for the Batman mentioned, “Star Trek” chronicles the lives of
legitimate concerns about
S t a r Tre k
10...

this sci-fi franchise remake.
You can’t blame them; “Star P G -1 3
-f i ac ti o n
Trek” is a multi-million dol- S ci
lar franchise that is over 40
A ch ro n ic le
years old. Combine that Ja m es T . K ir k an
cr ew m em be
with the fact that most E n te rp ri se
remakes are very often hit-
or-miss, and you have a whole lot of skeptical
people to please. Thankfully, “Star Trek” suc-
ceeds at updating a classic space concept while Sulu. The film’s story begins as a Federation
appeasing both loyal fans and new viewers.
Before diving into the actual film, let’s
first go over the basics. “Star Trek” began, first
and foremost, as a television series in 1966.
The original series was set in the not-too-dis-
tant future, where space is explored and kept
safe by the intergalactic force known as The
Federation. The show’s story revolved around
a diverse and quirky space crew whose mis-
sion was “to boldly go where no man has gone strengths. The very presence of these time-
before,” or explore space in their super
advanced space ship, the U.S.S. Enterprise.
The original cast included William Shatner as
Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as
Spock, DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard
“Bones” McCoy, James Doohan as
Montgomery Scott, Nichelle Nichols as
Uhura, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu and
Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov. The original
Photos courtesy Paramount Pictures
addition.
Getting back to
the 2009 release, “Star
rl y da ys of Trek” weaves the story
of th e ea
d hi s fe ll ow
U .S .S .
behind how Kirk and
rs .
Spock became friends
aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. We also meet
every one of the rest of the ship’s crew —
Uhura, Dr. McCoy and (my personal favorite)
ship is attacked by an unknown alien ship —
later to be revealed of Romulan origin (anoth-
er alien race within the Star Trek universe).
But the fact that those baddies were Romulans
isn’t the surprise — as we quickly discover,
they actually hail from the future and have the
only goal of changing Star Trek history as we
know it.
Herein lies one of the film’s biggest
traveling Romulans within the story means
that the storyline is new, not a rehash of what
fans originally knew about the Star Trek uni-
verse. Uhura, played by the sexy Zoe Saldana,
says it best when she notes that they are now
in an “alternate reality.” This little plot device
then accomplishes two important things. First,
it tells all the Trekkies out there that every-
thing they know about Star Trek is going to
series.
But that’s not the only thing that makes
this film great. The movie’s director, J.J.
Abrams (whose only other film credit is
“Mission Impossible III”), does an excellent
job. Action movies are definitely his forte and
he knows exactly how to make the cameras
work for him. As someone who is constantly
observing camera angles and movement, I can
tell you that Abrams’ subtle attention to
details only further adds to the movie’s mind-
blowing action sequences. Playing off of this
element, even when the CG effects aren’t
blasting off of the screen at warp speed,
Abrams is able to emphasize the depth and
development of the characters, whether they
are in an intense arguments or humorous
interactions with one another.
Character interaction is another stand-
out quality of the film. The Star Trek franchise
has always prided itself on its mix of charac-
ters and personalities, and I am happy to say
that the movie succeeds again in creating
character depth and relatability on every level.
New actor Chris Pine really digs into the shoes
of the attractive yet brash Captain Kirk, while
Zachary Quinto fits the role of a young and
emotionless Spock almost too perfectly. Most
of the actors within the film are of minimal
acclaim, but regardless their performances are
friday may 08 2009
the U.S.S. Enterprise team before they became
the way we know them today. Not to oversim-
plify the plot — because it is not simple by
any means — but it basically revolves around
The Federation fighting Romulan threat, try-
ing to determine what they are after and how
to stop them. The film’s story is wildly enter-
taining and unpredictable, but even so, I have
to say that this film isn’t perfect. The pacing
— although very suited to great action
sequences — can come off manic at times.
Also, even though the time-traveling aspect of
the Romulans helped to frame the overall
film, the concept of time travel, even after
being explained by the characters, comes off
as downright confusing.
Minor flaws aside, “Star Trek” is no longer
just your father’s TV series. This film is able to
stand on its own, prior knowledge be damned,
and the franchise is all the better for it. I
would even go so far as to say that this film
has the potential to be the “Star Wars” of the
modern generation. The summer blockbusters
are truly here, so beam us up “Star Trek!”
— k y l e E VA L D E Z
c o n t a c t k y l e : k e d e m o n @ s t a n f o rd . e d u
5
 HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY!
...Now meet
the mothers
who gave birth B
D
C
to yours truly,
the Daily staff! A

L
E

J K

A. IN HO LEE
B. STUART BAIMEL
C. RYAN MAC
D. JANE LE PHAM
E. CHRISTIAN TOM
M F
F. NIKHIL JOSHI n
G. EMMA TROTTER
H. AMANDA ZHANG
I. CRIS BAUTISTA
J. JAMES HOHMANN
K. JOANNA XU
L. JIN YU
M. SAMANTHA LASAROW
N. ANNIKA HEINLE
O. CHRISTIAN TORRES
P. WYNDAM MAKOWSKY

P G
I
6 intermission H 7
friday may 08 2009
6
 CFS STOMPS DOWN THE RUNWAY
tanford students were beautiful and unique, and I could barely believe people and loving fashion myself, I believe CFS is

S strutted their stuff

on May 2 in the
largest fashion show on
she was just a high school student.
The entire show had vibrant ambience, and the
excitement carried by the models and contributors was
very unique at Stanford,” said model Raquel Goya
‘12. “Fashion doesn’t have a major presence on cam-
pus, so this was a way to participate in raising aware-
the West Coast: Charity contagious. The runway music was energizing, and ness about fashion, but more importantly helping
Fashion Show (CFS). though CFS took place in a white tent on Roble Field, it Doctors Without Borders and promoting cul-
With fashion ranging had the feel of a high-end fashion show, with countless tural diversity at Stanford and around the
from exotic couture to photographers and columnists present. The lighting Bay Area.”
lingerie to men’s and stage setup were cool, yet simple, which helped
underwear and casual draw attention to the fashion and the models. — nicole RODRIGUEZ
wear, the show was The CFS production is planned by a group of contact nicole: nicole13
spectacular and pro- enthusiasts of the fashion industry who are dedicated
@ s t a n f o rd . e d u
fessional — and to developing the arts, diversity and entertainment on
the models them- the West Coast and beyond. The CFS association of
selves were very individuals is highly selective and diverse, including
skilled, trained public relations specialists, models, designers, artists,
and classy. financial managers, agents, photographers, business
specialists and Web designers.
Numerous “Everyone was really fun and friendly, and I devel-
designers had oped some amazing friendships,” said Raymond Braun
exciting lines. ‘12, one of the models.
Among the more The CFS team works throughout the
well-known year to produce CFS, along with various
designers fea- other events and photo shoots.
tured on the Their mission is to promote an
runway were increased fashion presence
Betsey Johnson, here in the Bay Area and on
Claiborne, Oscar de la the West Coast in general. All
Renta and Ralph Lauren. Some of the more excit- proceeds are donated to charity
ing clothes, however, came from Tu Tu Blu, — this year, Doctors Without
Nanette Lepore, Jai’re International Couture, Borders was selected.
Tadashi and Kittinhawk. Charity Fashion Show actu-
Personally, Nanette Lepore was my ally originated from a dif-
favorite designer. Lepore’s couture was ferent event, the AASA
gorgeous and every outfit looked per- Fashion Show. That pro-
fect. The dresses were colorful, flowing gram ran for more than
and irresistibly beautiful. I also enjoyed the 10 years as an outlet for
presentation of Kittinhawk by Allysum Asian American designers
Dutra. This line had lovely clothes and only uses to promote awareness for
vintage and recycled materials, aiming to be classy, various causes within their
but also eco-friendly and sustainable. community. As the event grew,
I also really enjoyed Jai’re International Couture; the focus shifted to national and
the line was different, chic and European. Tu Tu Blu global creative causes, linking not
had cute and trendy dresses, and Tadashi’s collection only Asian Americans, but also
featured one-of-a-kind pieces created with luxurious other minority groups. Thus, CFS
fabrics and hand-embroidered beading. As for more promotes not only an increased
unconventional eye-candy, I, along with many girls in arts presence on the West
the audience, enjoyed the men’s underwear expo . . . Coast, but also cultural diver-
CFS also hosted a competition around Palo Alto sity and multicultural kin-
high schools for prospective designers. Molly ship.
Murphy won the competition and her designs “Besides it being a
(MBGXM) were exhibited in the show. Her designs fun way to meet new

Photos Courtesy Charity Fashion Show & Justin Hou

8 intermission
6
 NEW ORLEANS JAZZ
FESTIVAL BEATS ON
nly in New Orleans would a church
O sell beer to festival-goers to raise
money for a new handicap ramp.
This is just one of the many unique touches
that distinguishes the New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Festival. Celebrating its 40th
anniversary, the festival stands as a testa-
ment to the resiliency of New Orleans and
its locals. For seven days over two weekends,
over 400,000 attendants celebrated
Louisiana cooking, crafts and, of course,
music. This festival stands apart due to the
obvious age gap in the attendants, ranging
from the typical party-hard frat boys to the
grey-haired men and women who come
every year.
The acts included everyone from locals
such as Washboard Chaz to national bills
like Dave Matthews Band. Despite the local
protest against Bon Jovi performing at the
Jazz festival, many of the 90,000 attendants
on this past Saturday nonetheless went to
the main stage to hear Bon Jovi’s new songs
and ‘80s classics like “Shot Through the
Heart.” The other chunk of the crowd wait-
ed for Kings of Leon, an “indie” band that
has now become synonymous with festivals
across the country, on the opposite side of
the park.
The Neville Brothers are a Jazz Fest sta-
ple but their best acts occurred when they
performed individually. Aaron Neville
brought in a crowd that was twice the
capacity of the Gospel tent, causing the
NOPD and Fire Department to delay the
show until the crowd numbers were man-
ageable. Some of the most upbeat perform-
ances were from relatively unknown names
that patrons stumbled upon on their way to
the port-a-ports: Jazz trumpeter Sharmarr
Allen woke the crowd up with his rendition
of Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit.”
Photos courtesy Chloe Bade
Though jazz and blues are festival essentials,
every genre is represented from country to
rap to indie rock. Across the 11 venues,
there was always someone to discover, even
if only to hear a song or two.
Though the music may draw in the
crowds, the food keeps them coming back.
For the weekend, it was essential to put any
Sprouts or Fraiche California diets on hold
and dive into the distinctive Louisiana cui-
sine. There was no shortage of fried food or
butter, but that does not take away from the
distinctive dishes that have made a name for
themselves. Crawfish Monica and Cochon
de Lait are the most popular dishes — festi-
val-goers formed lines so long that people
often stopped at another booth just to get a
snack while waiting. Though it is difficult to
know what is in the dishes other than the
main staple of “alligator” or “duck,” most
people choose their food simply based on
recommendations from people. The boiled
crawfish shell trails left by experienced
eaters led back to the music.
While the performances at the
Fairgrounds ended by 7 p.m., the music car-
ried on through the night throughout the
French Quarter. Some of the best were not
the national names at the House of Blues,
but rather the local street performers like
Grandpa Eliot, who sits at the corner of
Royal and Toulouse with the same red shirt
and overalls every day. Overall, the New
Orleans Jazz Festival is a must-do experi-
ence, sprinkled with spontaneous parasol
dancing trains and festive parades that can
only be found in New Orleans.
— chloe BADE
contact chloe: cbade@stanford.edu
STAMP SHOWS
SUPPORT FOR GAY RIGHTS
WITH “BENT”
uring a time when queer rights
D issues remain controversial, the
Stanford Theater Activist
Mobilization Project (STAMP) addressed
their acceptance of queer rights by putting
on a production of Martin Sherman’s
“Bent.” With superb performances by the
cast members, STAMP was highly success-
ful in conveying their acceptance of love
and queer identity.
Based on Nazi persecution during the
Holocaust, “Bent” was first performed in
1979 on West-End and Broadway produc-
tions before the play was adapted into a
movie in 1997. With its depiction of Nazi
persecution of homosexuals, the play
fueled historical research of queer people
who died in concentration camps.
The story focuses on Max (Doc Tor
‘11) and his complex relationship with
Rudy (Patrick Ardinger ‘09) as they are
eventually captured by Nazis and sent to
Dauchau, one of many concentration
camps during the Holocaust. Max then
becomes acquainted with Horst, played by
Patrick Kelly ‘12. While the play deals with
a grim matter, the storyline does have
some bits of humorous dialogue that helps the audience to develop a personal connection
with the characters.
From my previous knowledge of the Holocaust, I knew that yellow stars were given to
captured Jews. Pink triangles were given to homosexuals. While I was aware that social
groups were persecuted during the Holocaust, the emphasis in the play on the pink triangle
as a poignant symbol had me realizing that I truly did not know enough about the persecu-
tion of homosexuals during this time.
The outstanding performances by the cast really capitalize on the great quality of the
play. The character of Max has a cynical attitude towards his gay relationships due to his
previous experiences. In a number of emotional scenes, Tor really delivers a powerful por-
trayal of the character.
The supporting cast of Ardinger and Kelly also should be commended for their excel-
lent performances. Ardiner effectively utilizes some over-the-top antics with his portrayal of
the gay dancer Rudy. Meanwhile, Kelly gives an emotional performance as Horst. There are
quite a few intense scenes between Max and Horst, and based on those merits I would high-
ly praise Tor and Kelly for their acting.
The clever dialogue and writing by Martin Sherman is one of many reasons for the
| CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 |
friday may 08 2009 9
“POP TO PRESENT:” AN ACQUIRED TASTE?
intricate designs, at first glance, look
completely unrelated to traditional
music notation. However, upon clos-
er inspection and with a pinch of
imagination, I found a few ways I
could interpret them. For example,
one panel features a series of circles,
which grow bigger and more defined
as they arc. This could potentially be
a visual representation of a crescendo
on an ascending scale.
Student reactions to this exhibit
ranged from bafflement to intrigue.
“Traditional notation cannot cap-
he Cantor Arts Center held a student reception yester-
invited to perform this work by interpreting it however they
like. Tonight’s musicians were Stanford students Michael
Berger, Laura Chau, Blair Foley and Devin Mooers. They are
all members of the Stanford Improvisation Collective.
Trumpet player Michael Berger said that he wanted to
emphasize that they were not “improvising blindly” but
rather truly trying to interpret Applebaum’s creation. The
musicians also explained how they wanted to create a “spatial
experience” by each starting at a different point in the work
and then converging together in the middle, all while playing
off of each other the whole time.
Personally, I still cannot decide what to think about
Applebaum’s vision. He definitely breaks free of the con-
straints in music theory and the like, but I believe he finds

T
ture all the sounds that instruments himself rather awkwardly caught between composition and
day evening to feature its newest exhibition “Pop to can make,” observed Will Basset visual art. Music, in my humble opinion, should communi-
Present,” which highlights art from the 1960s to today. ‘12, as he and his friends dis- cate something to its listener — whether a feeling, a mood or
During the event, students milled around the museum, cussed what they thought the a whole story. “Metaphysics of Notation” is cool, but it
enjoying features of the event like a caricaturist, pipe-cleaner work meant and what reminded me of a famous quote by Oscar Wilde: “All art is
sculpture and free refreshments. Applebaum’s motives quite useless.”
“Pop to Present” does what any good modern art exhibit were in creating it.
should do: it challenges your definition of art. One painting, I overheard — meghan BERMAN
entitled “Study for Fall (Brown)” was simply a brown square. one student jok- contact meghan: meghanb@stanford.edu
To be fair, it looked like it took quite a few coats of brown ingly wonder-
paint. However, I struggled to see it as a work of art. Upstairs, ing aloud,
I encountered a similar work. This was a black square, with . . “Is this Photos courtesy Cantor Arts Center
. wait for it . . . a white semicircle attached to its side. Hmm. I guy on
am afraid it was all far too pretentious for my taste.
Walking back to Cantor’s stately marble entryway later in
the evening, the sound of a trumpet caught my ear. As a clas- drugs?”
sical cellist, I had found what was, for me, the evening’s most and a few
interesting and controversial display. Stanford Prof. Mark minutes after
Applebaum created a series of 12 pen-and-ink drawings, staring at the draw-
inspired from music notation, entitled “Metaphysics of ings, he declared,
Notation.” “Whatever, I like it.” An
I would not recommend trying to make sense of these enthusiastic girl whispered, “I want to
drawings. Parts of them look like Applebaum went wild with try to play something based on this!”
the font Wingdings. Parts look like my doodles from IHUM In fact, that evening — and indeed
lecture — little airplanes, hearts, flowers and apples. These every Friday at noon — musicians are

GET IN THE GAME

PLACE YOUR AD HERE
650.721.5803

10 intermission
6
 9
ROXY GETS ONE IN THE HOLE!

.14.0
LIN EU P oxy loves games. Doctor and Patient, Five Card Stud — these And hun, when it comes to fencing, don’t be scared by the epee

R are but a part of Roxy’s repertoire. But she likes to bring more or the sabre — Roxy can take on hard swords of any kind, and she’ll

9-5
unconventional activities into the bedroom, and sports pro- never have to parry. Relax, and let Roxy be your foil. Touché, indeed.
vide her with plenty of ideas. With so many balls to choose from, it Roxy likes a rhythm, and who keeps it better than a rowing crew?

5.08.0
doesn’t take Soulja Boy to Superman me — just get Roxy some Stroke her surface, and bring along your cock-swain, and take her
Dwight Howard! from port to starboard.
Speaking of basketball, Wilt Chamberlain once claimed that he Even the non-contact sports have plenty to offer. Golf ’s 18 holes
F slept with 20,000 women. Unfortunately, Roxy can’t are a bit too much — Roxy only has three. But you
claim to be one of them, but she’s up for setting and your clubs are welcome to drive into any one
5:30pm records of her own. Roxy’s always up to go behind of them. Let’s not start swimming (or shall we?).
Citizens of Wine - Wine Tasting the back, or cross over, and nothing gets her It goes without
CoHo going like a carnal scream after you dunk saying: scantily-
learn the art of wine tasting through her hoop. Want to power forward? Feel clad athletes
6:15pm free. doing the
SIMPS If we’re talking erotic — and that’s a breaststroke are
CoHo given with Roxy — then wrestling deserves its enough to get
because improv is funny due. With spandex, constant groping and a Roxy wet. And with track and field, you can
reset position that reminds Roxy of a certain position your pole and vault me to new
8pm
canine-influenced sex position, she may not heights — I promise, my climax will clear any
Relay for Life Benefit Concert
CoHo even need to leave the mat! bar.
good music for a great cause And then there’s football. Roxy doesn’t even And oh, equestrians, I haven’t forgotten about you.
have to result to innuendo. In all of the tackling and Roxy isn’t into bestiality, but she does like a good whip-
ass-slapping, it’s just like a Wednesday night at Roxy’s. Even ping. Slap away and ride her to the finish. Just promise
the stance — bent over and wide — is tailor-made for some you won’t close too fast.
Sa naughty fun. Drop the pads and you can blitz Roxy’s tight end for Volleyball, soccer...Roxy could go on and on, but some
as long as you like. sports should be left to the imagination. Besides, she already
8pm Baseball also makes it far too easy. Form-fitting pants? Check. made a date for doubles. Anyone up for a post-coitus rubdown?
Spoken Word Poetry Slam Attempts to release shots into holes in a well-kept turf, or muddy
CoHo dirt? Check. “Rounding the bases” is a time-honored tradition, so XOXO
come and feel the power of words take me home with some nicely swung bats and well placed balls. Roxy

| CONTINUED FROM “BENT” PAGE 9 |

S
cast’s plausible and effective depiction
of their characters. The interwoven
8pm colloquialisms with the historical con-
Call and Response @ FlicKs! texts add greater understanding and
MemAud
sentimentality to the play. Because of
a powerful movie about the slave trade
that, I really enjoyed watching the
characters interact.
In a brief discussion with STAMP
after the play, they all were very pas-
M sionate about queer rights and theater
as a convincing medium for activism.
8pm
They cited the recent events of Prop. 8
Jazz Jams
and the theatrical release of “Milk” as
CoHo
just chill out and relax reasons for choosing “Bent” as their
next production. After asking if the
actors had prior acting experience, I
was surprised that this was quite a few
cast members’ first acting experience.
T To me, this simply shows the openness
and outspoken attitudes of STAMP to
7pm foster queer rights.
Tango Night STAMP produces its plays as a
CoHo
means of political activism, and with
learn it for the ladies
“Bent,” the group is particularly effec-
tive. The message resonates through
the cast’s exceptional performances.
Th The play will be performed at the
Nitery tonight at 8 p.m., as well as on
Saturday at both 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
8pm
Felipe Gomez
CoHo — d.j. ABUY
another fabulous coho concert contact d.j.:
djabuy@stanford.edu

friday may 08 2009 11

 G ETTING THERE BY AIR
n the past, Intermission has taken you around the Bay
I Area to find everything from cheap eats to high end
feasts. But sometimes San Francisco and environs can’t
cut it. Whether you need some deep dish pizza in Chicago,
or you simply find it difficult to enjoy a meal within 500
miles of the Axe and Palm, sometimes getting the right food
requires getting on a plane. So this week, Intermission looks at
how to get there with your sanity and wallet (relatively) intact.
Perhaps the most used airline by Stanford students is
Southwest, which might best be described as the Greyhound
bus of the air. Fares are cheap and the pricing structure is sim-
ple. Their fleet, which consists universally of Boeing 737s, is
sparse with respect to amenities — but at least but they get you
there in one piece, which is noteworthy considering
Southwest’s record in keeping up with FAA mandated safety
inspections. Some may find the open (unassigned) seating
annoying, but at least Southwest doesn’t bother with many of
the bogus fees that other airlines have instituted. But customer
service is first rate, and if you’re traveling within their relative-
ly small, mostly short-haul, network, it’s an economical way to
get the job done.
The low-fare airline was reinvented and the bar was raised
across the industry when JetBlue rolled out its fleet of A320s,
in which every seat is leather-covered and equipped with
DirecTV. Consistently adding more destinations, JetBlue’s
hub-and-spoke network has grown to almost resemble a lega-
cy carrier. Though their main hub is an impressive new termi-
nal at JFK, they now offer numerous west coast services, flying
out of three major Bay Area airports. And while it’s hard to
argue with the JetBlue experience, it is worth noting that their
fares frequently are not the cheapest.
12 intermission
6
Richard Branson shook things up again with recent intro-
duction of Virgin America. Each A320 is equipped with leather
seats, mood lighting and an entertainment system called Red
that provides live TV, on-demand music and on-demand
movies (for a fee) to every seat. Also with a few taps of the
screen and (if necessary) a swipe of your credit card, your food
and drink selection will arrive at your seat momentarily. The
addition of standard power outlets at every seat and the fleet-
wide rollout of Wi-Fi, which is currently in progress, make
Virgin America a runaway for the best domestic coach there is.
And their fares are unbeatable. Destinations are still limited,
but the airline is SFO-based and offers flights mainly to SoCal
and the East Coast.
If you’re traveling internationally or to a more obscure
destination, you may still have to brave a legacy carrier. With a
major hub at SFO, United might be the best bet for traveling in
and out of Stanford. If you’re traveling to JFK, they offer a pre-
mium service with a few extra inches of seat pitch and AC
power throughout coach, but otherwise their domestic has no
redeeming value. And if you ever have to call customer service,
your call will be routed off-shore, to agents who are impossi-
ble to understand. You might even think they are intentionally
misunderstanding you because there is no other way people
could be so clueless.
American, in most ways,
can be lumped in with United,
though they deserve recognition
for being the only major airline to
offer in-seat power in coach on
virtually all of their planes, though only in select rows and
requiring a cigarette-lighter adapter. If you’ve got miles to
burn on an upgrade, their 767 fleet has a great domestic busi-
ness class, though this aging segment of the fleet (which hope-
fully will be replaced by 787s soon) breaks down about as often
as the printer in your dorm’s cluster.
Rounding out the lineup is Delta, which is a relatively
small player in the Bay Area. But with its recent acquisition of
Northwest (known to frequent-fliers as Northworst) is now
the world’s largest airline. They still have a lot of work ahead
to upgrade their massive fleet, but it seems they are working to
mix the best aspects of both legacy and low-fare carriers. Of
course, they already have a massive global network and are
nonetheless slowly rolling out leather seats and live TV and
on-demand entertainment on more and more planes. This is
complemented by style and professionalism throughout the
Delta experience from their Web site to the crew to the safety
video. It’s still hard for them to compete with some of the new
startups, but for an old airline, Delta has made a solid effort to
separate itself from the competition.
— theo POLAN
contact theo: tpolan@stanford.edu
12