M usic , M oviesand M ore F ebruary 6 , 2 0 0 6

February 6,2006
Music, Movies and More
Artist Paints To Music Of Her Heart
CSUF Student Moonlights As A Rob
Robot
Entertainment news, 20 questions, Fa
ion tips
tips and more...
2
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2006
INSIDE
T H E B U Z Z @ DA I LY T I TA N . C O M
THE BUZZ
CONTENTS
02 Entertainment News
20 Questions
04 Free The Robots Profile
06 Willi
Willie Mason Profile
Top 10 iPod Download
07 Movie Reviews
08 Seven Things Every Guy
SShould
hould Ha
Have
ONTHE COVER: Art illustrationmajorStacyWhite
paintstothesongsinher
heart.(Photoprovidedby
Songha Lee)
THE BUZZ
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Dianika Abbott
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Nicole M. Smith
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
Can Sengezer
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
Emily Alford
PRODUCTION
Dianika Abbott
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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Kimberly Leung
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Copyright ©2006 Daily Titan
INSIDE
By Mahsa Khalilifar
Daily Titan Colunmist
L.O.V.E. is not only the title
of Ashlee Simpson’s new hit
but also the emotional topic
this week among celebrities,
or at least the lack of it …
it’s Splitsville for 34-year-old
Lance Armstrong and 43-yearold Sheryl Crow. The Tour de
France biker extraordinaire and
the singer called off their marriage Friday in a statement confirmed by “People” … another
couple saying their goodbyes
are actress Heather Locklear and
musician Richie Sambora. After
20 Q’S
By Dianika Abbott
Daily Titan Entertainment Editor
Have you ever watched TV
and wondered what the heck is
going on in Hollywood? Don’t
you get tired of hearing the
same dish about every celebrity? Shouldn’t someone speak up
and ask the questions everyone
wants the answers to? If you’re
reading this and agreeing, then
here’s 20 what that will make
you go “hmmmmm.”
1. Is P. Diddy trying to spark
a Bad Boys comeback with the
being married for 11 years and
having an 8-year-old daughter,
Locklear filed for divorce from
the Bon Jovi guitarist last week
… Former teen actor and singer,
Leif Garrett has traveled to the
celebrity home away from home:
rehab. The 44-year-old, who has
had alleged drug charges in the
past, decided to voluntarily enter
a live-in program, according to
the Associated Press … It’s a
baby girl for actress Joely Fisher
who had her second child last
Thursday with husband Chris
Duddy. The 44-year-old has been
most recently seen on “Desperate
Housewives,” playing an obnoxiously rude boss to Felicity
Huffman’s character … singer R.
Kelly announced last week that
he will be going on tour again.
The Light it Up Tour will feature
Kelly – who has been doing more
performing amid controversy
than in concert love – headlining and referring to himself as
“Mr. Show Biz,” MTV News
reports … New CD releases of
the week include family group,
The Corrs’s Home … coincidentally Collective Soul will
also release an album titled
Home … Sarah Harmer will
release I’m a Mountain … New
DVD releases include many
romantic comedies such as
Reese Witherspoon and Mark
Ruffalo’s “Just Like Heaven”
… Kirsten Dunst and Orlando
Bloom’s
“Elizabethtown
(Widescreen Special Collector’s
Edition)” … and funny film
“Wallace and Gromit: The
Curse of the Were-Rabbit” …
Celebrity gossip of the week: is
Dave Chappelle coming back
to our TV sets? Say it is so! …
Stay tuned for that and more in
the next Inside Buzz …
Biggie Duets album?
2.Does Kanye West really
think he’s Jesus?
3. Hasn’t Jamie Foxx come a
long way since his In Living
Color days?
4. Speaking of Jamie Foxx, is
his album really that good or is
it good because it’s his album?
5. Is Jessica Simpson officially back on the market?
6. How long will Eminem and
ex-wife Kim’s relationship last
this time?
7. What ever happened to
Pink?
8. Is Dave Chappelle here to
stay or will he be making a disappearing act anytime soon?
9. Doesn’t Ciara look too old
for Bow Wow?
10. Should Tommy Lee really
re-make the O’Jay’s hit “Love
Train”?
11. Does Hilary Duff really
deserve a record deal?
12.Did the music industry give
the South permission to take
over? And if they did, why?
13. Does Brokeback Mountain
really need eight Oscar nominations?
14. Now that Angelina Jolie
is having her own baby, is she
still on a quest to have her own
United Nations?
15. Did G-unit hype Olivia up
a little too much?
16. Does anybody still watch
Real World?
17. Is model Kate Moss finally drug free?
18. Does Cam’Ron feel stupid
because his wanna-be beef is
only one sided?
19. Will Jay-Z and Beyonce
ever get married?
20. Shouldn’t Kevin Federline
stick to being Brittany Spears and
Shar Jackson’s baby’s daddy?
Does he really need make a rap
album?
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2006
MAINSTREAM
T H E B U Z Z @ DA I LY T I TA N . C O M
THE BUZZ
Concert
Calendar
FEBRUARY
O6
MONDAY
Coldplay
The Arrowhead
Pond of Anaheim
@ 8:00 p.m.
07
TUESDAY
Y
Yellowcard
Avalon Hollywood
@ 8:00 p.m.
08
WEDNESDAY
Sex Pistols
Experience
HOB Anahiem
@ 7:00 p.m.
09
THURSDAY
The Blender
Chain Reaction
@ 7:30 p.m.
10
FRIDAY
Res & Van Hunt
Roxy Theatre
@ 9:00 p.m.
11
SATURDAY
Mason Jennings
Troubadour
@ 8:00 p.m.
12
SUNDAY
Keiko Matsui
Long Beach
Covention Center
@ 7:00 p.m.
13
MONDAY
My Life with the
Thrill Kill Kult
El Rey Theatre
@ 9:00 p.m.
OVERALLS KEPT US COVERED
By Kirk Dingley
Daily Titan Staff Writer
Usually fashion trends go in
new and exciting directions,
but who can forget when we all
wanted to dress like farmers and
coal miners? Most of us wore
them, and those who didn’t simply weren’t cool. Yes, I’m referring to that period in the ‘90s, the
overalls years.
Adolescent hip-hop group
“Kris Kross” spawned this fashion movement, though this could
be debated since a number of hiphop groups also wore overalls.
We really don’t know for sure
who started the fad, but it is
widely believed that hip-hop culture is responsible for the movement.
The most common way to
wear overalls
was to have
one suspenderstrap buttoned,
while letting
the other hang
freely.
Some took
the look a step
further, leaving
both suspender-straps unbuttoned, and others bought their
overalls two or
three sizes too
big to show
off their boxer
shorts. Others
still rolled one
pant leg up to
the knee, and
anchored the other down with a
turquoise Converse.
Overalls varied
drastically in color.
The stonewashed
look was probably the most common, but overalls
came in just about
every color possible. Cross Color
overalls were the
boldest, favoring
bright basic colors, such as school
bus yellow, pumpkin orange and fire
engine red.
The
popular
Guess
overalls
weren’t as loud in
color, but they made
up for that by using
lots of zippers and
pockets. You could never have
enough storage on your Guess
3
overalls.
The comfortableness of overalls is what truly made them
great. You had to be comfortable
back then because the dance
moves at the time required tremendous flexibility.
Imagine doing the “running
man” or the “Roger Rabbit”
in today’s skin-tight, low-rise
jeans. It’s probably pretty dangerous, but in overalls we could
all be our favorite Fly Dancer
from “In Living Color.”
So let’s hope that overalls
come back on the fashion carousel again soon. I’m tired of
painting houses as an excuse to
wear mine.
Remember, it just takes one
revolutionary hipster to walk
through the Quad on campus
and give us all the green light to
strap them back on.
PUTTING THE FORCE BACK IN YOUR WALLET
By Jackie Kimmel
Daily Titan Columnist
Last week I discussed parks
as a cheap way to have some old
school entertainment.
This week I am counter-acting
the fresh air, fun-loving time you
can have at a park with the fog
breathing, strobe light, kill-or-bekilled mentality of laser tag.
I rediscovered this ancient
game by accident while hanging
out with my friends.
We had gone to Camelot
amusement park to play a round
of miniature golf and some arcade
games when we noticed we could
get a game of laser tag with our
golf for an additional $3.
Naturally, we took the deal.
We played our round of golf and
proceeded to the laser tag arena
for battle.
We listened to the safety
instructions, donned our vests and
laser guns, and let loose into the
maze with nothing more than an
adrenaline rush.
Since we had only three players, it was not as exciting as if you
had a whole busload of targets.
We ended up spending more time
running than we did hunting.
Now I explained that little
story because laser tag is an economically reasonable way to get
one to shoot at friends without physically harming them, or
secretly pretend you are James
Bond, Austin Powers or one of
Charlie’s Angels.
But, as a word of caution,
those who have high levels of
competitive spirit must remember laser tag is only a game.
Yes, the objective is to hit as
many people without being hit
yourself.
However, there are so many
ways to be surprised during your
“mission” it can be easy to forget
the entertainment of it by replacing the fun with the need for
victory.
So, for those looking for something new to do on a Friday night
find a local laser tag venue.
On average games cost anywhere from $5 to $10, and range
from seven to 15 minutes per
game depending on the place.
Perhaps I will encounter some
of you on the battleground.
4
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2006
MAINSTREAM
T H E B U Z Z @ DA I LY T I TA N . C O M
THE BUZZ
CSUF STUDENT MOONLIGHTS AS A ROBOT
Photo provided by Chris Alfara
By Dominic Kingdamo
Daily Titan Staff Writer
Chris Alfara had been buying
records before he even owned
a turntable. Whether purchasing
from dollar bins at record stores
or random garage sales, he somehow knew one day he would have
use for his strange obsession.
“I was a big music collector. I
always knew that there was going
to be something going on,” said
Alfara, an entertainment studies major at Cal State Fullerton.
“We used to just dig for records.
We’d be out just buying scratch
records and then I’d come up on
a Pharoah Sanders record, and
I’d be like, it’s a buck, we’re
going to use this someday.”
In 1994, Alfara had his first
hands-on music experience when
his brother came home with a set
of turntables. But it wasn’t easy.
“I was kind of like their
record boy, and I would try to
sneak on their turntables,” he
said.
Finally, tired of having to
“sneak” onto his brother’s equipment, Alfara, 24, said he saved
up his money while working at
Mrs. Fields bakery and, at the
age of 15, purchased his first set
of decks and a mixer.
Around this time Alfara, came
to be known as DJ Urth, occasionally using a second alias,
DJ Adeo. However, his love of
music and vinyl would eventually take him in another direction.
Now his main focus finds him
as the sole creative force behind
an experimental hip-hop project
known as Free the Robots. The
sound, which is easier to compare than describe, is in the same
vein as DJ Shadow or RJD2.
“When I do music by myself,
it’s more open, I don’t have to
impress other band members. I
have 100 percent creative control,” Alfara said of his music,
which he mainly bases on the
concept of progressive instrumentals, like jazz.
While the genre label “hiphop” limits the Free the Robots’
sound, it definitely is hip-hop.
But it’s also jazz and down
tempo. More than anything, Free
the Robots’ pushes the boundaries of what most people think
when they think “hip-hop.”
“I think it’s almost like a
genre in itself. It is hip-hop. It’s
everything really. The way I
make it is how hip-hop producers
have been making this since way
back,” said Alfara, who made his
first Free the Robots EP, “The
Prototype,” over a four-year period using his keyboard, turntables
and computer software.
“I still make hip-hop beats.
It’s always going to be in me, but
I’ve just kind of branched into so
many different genres throughout
my life and I don’t want to limit
myself,” Alfara said
Alfara considers himself a DJ
and primarily a hip-hop musician, though his musical tastes
and experiences run the gamut.
He’s played with several rock
bands, mostly as a DJ, but also as
a bassist, and he has made beats
for other hip-hop artists.
Alfara’s inspiration for the
Free the Robots sound is usually
sparked by his current mood or
his latest musical tastes.
“If I find a fresh sample I just
want to mess with it. The way I
want to make these albums is I
just want them to be echoes from
another era. A lot of the musicians from back then were just so
pure, jazz musicians and the psychedelic rock era. People were
just making music to make it.”
Free the Robots does have a
heavily sampled sound, a common trait of instrumental hip-hop.
Alfara said that using samples is
a good way of remembering artists from the past.
“The sampling thing, people
criticize it, but it’s just kind of
preserving what is. I’m not just
going to sample something and
then call it my track.”
“The Prototype” itself is a
60/40 percent blend of samples
and original beats, Alfara said.
“I do a lot of sample-based
stuff. I’m really more into the
grimy drums,” said Alfara, who
sounds more like a music historian than an entertainment studies major. “Anything from jazz
records, to classic rock records,
to old soul & funk records from
the 1960s and 1970s – those have
the best drums.”
Alfara added that he prefers
the gritty sound of older records
as opposed to the polished sounds
on many of today’s records.
In the future, Alfara plans
to release an official Free the
Robots album.
Although Alfara has never performed live as Free the Robots,
he has amassed a following primarily by word of mouth and
the Internet community on
MySpace.
“Most of the Free the Robots
audience is not from around
here,” said Alfara, an Orange
County native. “I have a lot of
fans in New York, Texas and
Mexico. Texas is a huge audience.”
For his next album, Alfara will
keep his same vibe and continue
with the same kind of sound, only
heavier and more progressive.
He said he would someday
like to connect with an Orange
County audience as he continues
to look forward to what the future
holds for Free the Robots.
UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT TAKES
HIP-HOP TO ANOTHER LEVEL
By Jon Castillo
Daily Titan Staff Writer
The raspyvoiced underground rapper
known as Awol
One
teams
with producer
Mascaria in a
new 13-track album titled The
Chemikillz.
The album is dark themed and
eerie textured, something reminiscent of a B-rated horror movie
soundtrack.
Awol One’s style of slow,
melodic rhyming meshes well
with Mascaria’s dark beats. The
two have never released an album
together but have certainly found
a common ground in expressing
self-pity.
First time listeners beware:
Awol One is definitely an acquired
taste.
He has been a constant in Los
Angeles underground hip-hop for
16 years now and not much has
changed with his delivery.
His style is unique in that he
will break into non-rhyming
rapping that will leave listeners
scratching their heads about what
he is talking about.
The album shines in tracks like
“Chemikillz” and “When I’m
Dead” with Awol One’s straightforward delivery of everyday life
happenings.
In “Chemikillz” the upbeat
tempo is accompanied with Awol
One lyrics about the talents of
other rappers, while Mascaria
mixes in a long trumpet and soft
acoustics in the middle and end
of the song.
But unfamiliar listeners will
be turned off with tracks like
“Blood Red Villain” in which
he sings in a high-pitched voice
about being the “scariest face,
the scariest villain.”
Overall the album has solid
production with nice bass lines
created with Mascaria’s beats and
eerie sounds. The Chemikillz is
an album one can listen to alone
and lose themselves deep within
the bleak lyrics by Awol One.
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2006
MAINSTREAM
T H E B U Z Z @ DA I LY T I TA N . C O M
THE BUZZ
5
ARTIST PAINTS TO MUSIC IN HER HEART
By Songha Lee/Daily Titan Staff
By Lisa Chung
Daily Titan Staff Writer
On paper, Stacy White looks
good; on canvas she looks even
better.
She is a 22-year-old illustration and Afro-ethnic studies major
at CSUF, she will graduate this
spring, and she’s been the featured artist at many exhibits here
on campus and beyond.
After she finishes school,
White wants to illustrate children’s books that represent the
black people and culture, a part of
the population she feels is drastically underrepresented.
“Growing up I knew that I
saw the world differently than my
friends,” White said.
And that’s where the story of
Stacy White, the artist, really
begins.
White found inspiration in her
mother, a painter and sculptor,
who White refers to as her “kindred spirit.”
Another powerful female influence in her life, her stepmother,
introduced her to animation and
production arts.
Throughout high school, White
took painting classes and decided
at an early age that children’s
book illustrations would be her
chosen career path.
White said her Christian faith
and music have been the two factors that have really helped her to
develop into the artist that she is
today.
Her boyfriend, Sharlok Poems,
describes her art as, “exciting,
outgoing, loving and funny.”
A trip to Brooklyn last year
really opened her eyes to the
musicians of today who are continuing to revolutionize society.
White, who said she listens to
music while she paints and almost
always includes a treble cleft in
her paintings, was afforded the
opportunity to visit Dead Prez’s
music studio, “Warrior,” where
she learned the RGB code, which
stands for red, green and black,
the colors of the black revolutionaries.
White is more than just a girl
who enjoys animation and art,
She paints for a reason.
“I have always loved illustration, but the more children’s
books that I read the more that I
began to realize black children,
our culture and our stories, are
underrepresented,” she said.
During her freshman year of
college, White decided to cre-
ate artwork that showcased the
uniqueness and beauty of black
people.
“Black children need to know
why they are beautiful; they need
to know about their glorious history, about the beauty of our
people,” she said.
Like White said, she sees the
world differently, and in that difference, she is able to gather
inspiration from a variety of
sources.
She uses the influence of God,
her mothers, fellow illustrators
like Faith Ringgold and Tim
Ladwig, and musicians like India
Arie and Erykah Badu, and pours
it all into her art.
Poems said White has a positive influence on those around
her.
“I see her making a change
through her loving heart. She
loves more than anyone I know,”
he said.
“She can find something loving in the worst of things. She
shares love every day with family, friends, and everyday people.”
Samples of White’s artwork
are available for viewing on her
Web site,www.myspace.
www.myspace.com/
nubianpaintr.
nubianpaint
By Songha Lee/Daily Titan Staff
CSUF’s art illustration and Afro-ethnic major Stacy
White uses the songs of revolutionary musicians as
inspiration for her artwork.
6
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2006
TOP 10 IPOD
DOWNLOADS
By Mahsa Khalilfar
Daily Titan Columnist
The Buzz is your source for the
latest trends in the music industry
and where would we be without
the ever so popular
and trendy iPod?
So for you iPod
fanatics out there:
shuffle, nano, mini,
etc. (we don’t discriminate)… Here
is the list of the top
10 downloads for the
week, according to
Apple iTunes Web site.
There’s some pop, hip-hop and
everything in between. Happy
Listening!
1.James
Blunts“You’re
Beautiful”
2. Beyonce’s “Check on it”
3. Gabriella & Troy “Breaking
Free”
4. “Unwritten” by Natasha
Bedingfield
5. T-Pain & Mike
Jones “I’m N Luv
(Wit a Stripper)
6.St. Louis represents,
Nelly’s hit featuring
Paul Wall “Grillz
(Dirty)”
7. Ashlee Simpson’s
“L.O.V.E.”
8. TheAll-American
Rejects’ “Dirty Little Secret”
9. “Get’cha Head In the Game
by Troy
10. Eminem’s “Shake That”
MUSIC
T H E B U Z Z @ DA I LY T I TA N . C O M
THE BUZZ
BRIGHT EYES PROTEGE
EMBRACES NEWFOUND FAME
my head I was still on a road
trip, you know? I had just
left school and I was playing
gigs and I put out a record for
Team Love but it was all very
informal and casual. I was
still getting around like hitching rides from people, so at
that point I was the observer.
Nobody had a fixed notion of
me or of who I was. I was just
taking in the world because I
grew up in such a small town
and then all of a sudden I
became the observed. It took
some quick adaptation.
DT: Did you feel pressure by
that at all, that people were so
By Jickie Torres/ Daily Titan Stafffamiliar with your work?
By Jickie Torres
Daily Titan Staff Writer
It’s a difficult place out there
in the world of music if you don’t
have cash to flash, high powered
cribs to flaunt, and high tech
boards and power producers that
work them to fashion ready made
hits that seem destined for the
charts.
Willy Mason, a 20-year-old (of
all things) folk singer, had absolutely none of these.
In fact, what he did have was
a room in a house in Martha’s
Vineyard where he recorded his
tracks himself and played most of
the instruments.
However, what he did have
was raw honest talent and a pure,
stripped down sound that he took
with him to New York, where he
struck out to hit the open-mic
market. Soon after, the recent
high school graduate was discovered by Bright Eyes’ Conor
Oberst and was yanked from his
eBay-purchased van where he’d
been living and taken on tour as
an opening act.
From there Mason landed for
an extended stay in the UK where
a few pub gigs turned into a
three-week tour due to an overwhelmingly positive response.
As Mason sits, ready to perform in Los Angeles at the famed
Troubadour, he shares his thoughts
on his burgeoning fame, the pressures of being called another Bob
Dylan and the weird world of
MySpace.
DT: You’ve been so well received
over in the UK. You arrived to this
preexisting fan base that knew all
your lyrics, how did that feel?
WM: It’s weird. It’s surreal. In
WM: I didn’t at first really. It did
catch up with me a bit towards
the end but, like, I don’t think that
was necessary. I don’t think that
was conscious. It was weak ego.
DT: A lot of people describe your
music and lyrics as honest and
stripped down of pretense. Do
you agree?
WM: Um, yeah, I mean I’ve
never been very good at taking
on a role. When I do that, I tend
to make a fool of myself. But
most of these songs were written
before I had a career, they were
songs to pass the time, to play
with my friends, so I had nothing
to gain by trying to fool anyone.
There was nobody to fool. No one
was listening.
DT: So is that going to change
things the second time around
when you lay down a new
album?
WM: No, I don’t think so. I
wouldn’t worry about it because
by the time I started thinking
about another album, I realized
that I have quite a few songs.
They all came out slowly; I didn’t
realize how much I was writing.
It is a little different but … I think
that its good that it’s different.
DT: Your song “Oxygen” is
quickly being adapted as this
anthem for new hope and a more
benevolent generation. How do
you feel about that being your
sort of ID song?
WM: I guess it’s kind of a cool
starting point you know, as far
as ID songs go. That’s a pretty
healthy way of thinking for your-
self.
DT: So I looked you up and
you’re on MySpace, do you manage your own site?
WM: I really like the idea of
it. It’s a weird feeling to write
to like, thousands of people
but at the same time things like
MySpace and my own site, which
I’m working on, those are all
independent forums where I can
share. It runs parallel to what a
record is. A record is a document
that represents me and the Web
sites are like a forum of not going
though any middle men.
DT: By now you must be sick
of comparisons to Bob Dylan
and Tom Waits, and even Elliott
Smith. But what are your expectations of yourself and are you
pressured by these predictions of
being the next great folk musician?
WM: You know, there’s a quote
that Louis Armstrong said, “All
music is folk music, ain’t no
horse ever gonna sing a song.”
It’s like I guess people call me
a folk musician now because I
play by myself with an acoustic
guitar and my roots are apparent … and I mean that tradition
of having clear lines of yourself
to past generations is probably
something that I’ll always carry
with me but my ancestors are
not Bob Dylan’s. There are some
crazy people back there and I
have plenty of different colors to
shine. I’m not the kind of writer
that can decide what kind of song
they want to write. For me I have
no choice but to let the songs
come out.
DT: So other than touring, what’s
next for you?
WM: I’m recording a new record.
I’m building myself a house, a
shack. Actually officially, it’s a
tool shed because I don’t have
the permits yet … And I’m starting to work on a recording studio
with some friends of mine. And
reading a lot. I just got a new
truck to replace the van I had
been living in.
DT: Did you buy your truck on
eBay too?
WM: (Laughs) No, I didn’t actually, I decided to go official and I
went to a dealership.
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2006
MUSIC
T H E B U Z Z @ DA I LY T I TA N . C O M
THE BUZZ
7
THERE’S SOMETHING NOT SO NEW
By Kirsten Alto
Daily Titan Staff Writer
A white person falls in love
with someone of a different race,
while his or her family members
and friends disagree with the
love affair. We’ve all seen it
before.
Most recently in Guess Who
with Ashton Kutcher and Save
the Last Dance with Julia Stiles.
The audience always knows
in the end the relationship succeeds, but watching them struggle along the way, whether it’s
dramatic or comical, is what the
movie is about.
In Something New, directed
by Sanaa Hamri, the focus is on
Kenya (Sanaa Lathan), a successful black woman who is a
big control freak.
As one of the only black
women in a senior managerial
position at her accounting firm,
“black tax” is major issue. Kenya
feels that because she works in
a predominately white environment, she has to work harder to
be taken seriously.
Because of her racial struggles
in the business world, and the
world in general, she finds it
almost impossible to date anyone
who doesn’t meet the requirements on her list: black, established, well traveled, fine and a
part of the black upper class.
Her list prevents her from
finding a man who can satisfy
her desires.
That is, until her colleague
sets her up on a blind date with
a man who is totally opposite
of the IBM (Intellectual Black
Man) she’s looking for.
Her love interest, Brain
(Simon Baker), a white architectural landscaper, falls madly in
love with the real Kenya, not the
pretentious woman she pretends
to be.
In an attempt to “let go and
let it flow,” she throws her list
out the window and becomes the
free-spirited person she always
wanted to be.
Just when she thinks she’s
found the man of her dreams,
she is introduced to an “IBM”
that her family and friends agree
is “the one.”
But before it’s too late, Kenya
realizes that the foundation of a
relationship is based on love rather than race and allows herself to
love Brian, despite their obvious
differences.
The movie works well as a
romantic comedy (sometimes
more with romance than com-
Picture provided by Focus Features
for a group of girlfriends who
edy).
With occasional spurts of need a pick-me-up or maybe even
laughter, the casts’ delivery was a date for Valentines Day.
I don’t think this movie is a
average and every now and
then, Baker’s Australian accent must see wait for this to hit video
slipped through his well prac- stores. In fact, bring Guess Who
and Save the Last Dance along
ticed American dialect.
I recommend Something New too and make a night out of it.
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS ON SUSPENSE
By Jody Cason
Daily Titan Staff Writer
High school student Jill
Johnson (Camilla Belle) had
no idea what she was in store
for when she took an offer for
what seemed like an ordinary
baby-sitting gig.
It wasn’t that the children
were misbehaved; in fact, they
and director Simon West
manages to do somewhat
the same with his remake
of the classic cult-horror film When a Stranger
Calls.
Jill’s terror starts
almost immediately after
Dr. and Mrs. Mandrakis
leave her in charge of
their secluded house in
the country.
At first she thinks her
boyfriend and friends
are responsible for the
creepy phone calls, but
soon discovers they are
coming from a stranger who is watching her
Photo provided by Screen Gems, Inc.
every move.
The stranger, who does not
were already fast asleep by the appear until the very end, keeps
time she arrived.
the audience in grand suspense
It was the homicidal maniac as Jill constantly struggles to
on the other end of the phone find his whereabouts.
line that gave Jill her troubles
There are many obstacles
when he kept asking the same that keep Jill from rescue, like
annoying question, “Have you the maid who disappears and
checked the children?”
the police who don’t take her
This disturbing question ter- claims seriously.
rified movie audiences in 1979,
One of the best aspects of
this film is the fact that the
filmmakers make the house
one of the main characters.
The house overlooks a large
lake and was built solely for
the purpose of this film.
Its large glass windows
that assists our heroine as she
battles for her life.
Belle does an adequate job
portraying this young woman,
filled with terror who finds
the strength to put up a good
fight.
Belle isn’t given
much dialogue due
to the nature of the
story, but makes up
for it nicely with
great facial expressions that convey
her
character’s
angst.
Overall, I can
honestly
rate
“When a Stranger
Calls
Calls” as a decent
film and a pretty
respectable
remake.
The filmmakers took good
care not to go overboard by
making it a typical teenage
slasher film. Sure there is a
little blood and guts, but it is
the lingering suspense in this
film that will keep you on the
edge of your seat.
“Have you checked
the children?”
- When A Stranger
make Jill a very vulnerable character by giving the
stranger incredible vantage
points to survey her.
There is also a very reflective glass atrium inside the
home with a super-powered
mister that helps serve the
plot, as well as trick lighting
8
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2006
THE BACK PAGE
T H E B U Z Z @ DA I LY T I TA N . C O M
THE BUZZ
7 FASHION TIPS EVERY GUY SHOULD KNOW
By Lauren Padilla
Daily Titan Staff Writer
O
K mister: Admit it.
You want to look
good. Why wouldn’t
you? It is understandable that
you might not want to survey your friends on the latest
fashion trends, so let this be
your outlet. No one has to
know your reading this, but
a little advice wouldn’t hurt.
Besides the way you dress can
either scare off the girl of your
dreams or reel her in. Don’t
you want to make sure it’s the
ladder? So let’s get started…
(1) Casually over-dressed
There is nothing hotter than
a blazer thrown over a t-shirt
with jeans. It’s like your trying
to look nice but at the same
time being your manly laid
back self. Best of all, it takes
like zero effort. You can throw
a blazer over almost anything
and suddenly look so pulled
together. To get the whole
casual effect try not to match
your shirt to your blazer. The
contrast carries this look. If you
try to match the two, it doesn’t
look so effortlessly sexy and you
don’t want anyone to think you
tried, right?
(2) Dress the Booty
It’s uncool to act like you
know all the designers your girlfriends freak out over, but it’s
pretty obvious you’re checking
out our nicely clad rear ends.
Even more obvious is the rising trend of Clueless boys wearing these same designer jeans. It
seems rather rational; if you have
a nice rear end, why not show
it off? Besides a nice pair of
jeans dresses up any shirt. Also,
it might show that girl you’ve
had your eye on that you do pay
attention, and might just supply
her with a hot shopping partner.
Just let her continue believing
this: You’re the clueless boy.
(3) If it won’t cooperate, cover
it up
It’s well known that the concept of a girl spending hours
blow-drying, curling or straight-
ening her hair seems completely crazy and pointless to a guy,
but at the same time he wants
to look good too. Although he
might only contribute minutes
rather than hours to his hair, the
concept is the same. Wanting
to look hot is gender blind.
Just like girls, there are days
when your hair just won’t cooperate. We’re talking bed hair,
and not the sexy kind. This is
where men have one of the few
advantages over women; a man
almost always looks hot in a
hat. Just cover the unruly hair
up, and you will look even hotter, minus the effort.
(4) Stepping in style
This is the one fascination
men never had to play down.
From the days when you were
starting to wobble, you were
bombarded with “cool,” flashing footgear or whatever new
sneaker your favorite basketball
player was endorsing. A man’s
shoes speak for him. When
something you wear has that
much power, you must do it
justice. So men, go in every
shoe store, you’re even allowed
the privilege of looking at new
shoes on the Internet. Find the
right shoe that polishes your
outfit. You know, the “one” that
will make you the envy of all
your “macho” friends.
(5) Decorate yourself
That’s sound uber-feminine,
but it’s the truth. Instead of earrings or necklaces, your focus
should be watches and belts. A
watch can change your whole
outfit. If you want to make your
outfit night worthy add some
bling; if you prefer a laid back
athletic vibe go for the new
thicker wrist bans that seems to
make a man look so much more
muscular. Don’t forget your
belts. Please, women have been
scared away by way too many
plumber butts. Forget what you
have heard, it is not sexy! Pull
yourself together and find the
perfect belt to complete your
look.
(6) Be a little shady
How can you live in Southern
California and not have a nice
pair of sunglasses? Besides the
boring but very important reason that they protect your eyesight, they also add a bit of
drama and mystery to any man.
What man doesn’t want to keep
a girl guessing? Sunglasses have
always been sexy, from James
Dean to Stephen from Laguna
Beach. This is definitely not
a passing trend, so be a little
shady.
(7) The Classic
The T-shirt is definitely the
all-time favorite. It is comfortable, and you can never have
too many. The cut is the same,
but depending on the color or
brand they please all different
kinds of boys. To be honest
it is a little perplexing how a
printed brand name can make
one T-shirt so much better than
another, but men probably feel
the same about women’s brands.
Although, the T-shirt may seem
a bit dull, the sexy and easy
confidence it oozes makes this
classic anything but boring.