The Communitarian - Delaware County Community College

Volume 20, No. 4
y
December 4th, 2012
Serving Delaware and Chester Counties www.thecommunitarian.org
Tourists indulge in Philly City Food Tour
By Ashley Caldwell
Photographs capture light and
darkness of looming end of the
Mayan calendar
Page 9
In the end, faiths unite
Page 7
Author Dr. Diane Turner visits
Children's Literature class
I am standing with five
other women in a circle in
Center City on a Tuesday afternoon, listening to Judy Beck,
50, giving a brief history of The
Shops at Liberty Place on 16th
and Chestnut Streets.
Beck’s eyes widen and
her hands gesture as she tells a
story about “The Curse of Billy
Penn,” which was that if any
man constructed a building taller than the brim of Billy Penn’s
hat, the city’s four sports teams
would be cursed.
She says that 1980s developer Willard G. Rouse built a
58-story, 945-foot skyscraper,
which took 30 years. The skyscraper reached above the brim
of William Penn’s hat, and the
curse was executed. Philadelphia’s sports team have not
won a championship since the
Phillies’ World Series in 2008.
Beck, wearing a maroon
Polo-collared shirt with black
pants and white sneakers, is the
tour guide for City Food Tours:
Taste of Philly.
After Beck describes the
history of Liberty Place, she
identifies the food establishments we’ll be touring, while
she provides information about
nearby architecture, such as
the former First Philadelphia
Union League Confederate
Club, historic City Hall, and
restaurants popular with the
locals.
Beck, a longtime resident
of Philadelphia, has been a
full-time tour guide for more
than three and a half years and
says she loves her job.
“This is the best,” Beck
says about being a tour
guide. “I’ve worked in public
relations at Boscov’s for two
years, and then they closed
down many of their stores.
And then here, so, I’ve done it
all in the ‘media world.”
She found out about the
job on Craigslist.com and
thought to herself, “Wow! I
can do that,” so she applied
for it. She adds that she loves
food and calls herself, and
others who feel the same way
“foodie’s.”
The tour includes stops at
the Philly Soft Pretzel Factory,
Joe’s Pizza, The original Philadelphia Company, now Del
Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak
House, and many others.
Our first stop is Joe’s
Pizza, where we eat, what
Philly Soft Pretzel Factory, a stop during the City Food
they call, “Tomato Pie,” a
Tour: Taste of Philly, that bakes warm, soft, melt-inslice
(Continues on page 11)
Page 3
your-mouth pretzels.
Photo by Ashley Caldwell
A Longwood Christmas lights up the
eyes and hearts of Chester County
Campus Bible Fellowship
opens their doors to everyone
By Brooke Gwinner
By Tammy Pfaff
marketing and communication.
Longwood Gardens, located in
Kennett Square, Pa. is one of the world's
most exquisitehorticultural display
gardens. The garden is open year round
to visitors and displays 11,000 types of
plants, indoor and outdoor, as well as
performances, special/seasonal events
and attractions, and educational programs.
Patricia Evans has been the communications manager at Longwood
Gardens since 2004. Her duties include
media and press relations with media,
radio, and print. Evans recently sat down
with me to discuss the Longwood Gardens experience.
Q. Please explain your position
with Longwood Gardens and what your
duties are.
A. I make sure that interviewers
are matched with the right staff member,
depending on the story. I also help with
Nothing but the whole truth:
an open letter of apology
Page 5
Q. When you were growing up,
did you ever dream you would work at
Longwood Gardens? Please tell us how
you got started in this line of work.
A. I am actually from this area so I
grew up knowing what Longwood was
and visited it as a child. I loved it. I have
a degree in journalism and worked for
12 years as a journalist writing about
high tech computer technology. I had the
opportunity to come back to Longwood
Gardens and knew what a terrific place
it was. It was a great stepping point in
my career.
Q. What do you think makes
Longwood Gardens a favorite in not
only our area, but in the United States?
What separates it from any of the other
gardens?
A. Longwood is one of the great
gardens of the world, not just the United
(Continues on page 6)
MLB's fish team has
chum owner: Loria
Page 4
Against all odds, Deonte Simpkins,
19, dealt with hardships that no young
boy should have to face. Simpkins said
that he was discontent, self-centered
and had no connection with God.
“I was completely angry, lost,
hopeless and irritable,” said Simpkins
who attempted suicide when he was 7.
By the time he was 8, Simpkins
said he was smoking weed and doing drugs. When he was 15, he was a
heroin addict and had skin cancer.
“I could blame it on a lot of circumstances,” Simpkins said. “The hole
in my soul that I felt was filled by a
drink or a drug.”
Simpkins said he had a spiritual
awakening through the process of working the twelve steps while attending
meetings for Narcotics Anonymous and
Alcoholics Anonymous.
“The twelve steps mean being of
service, making amends and taking a
personal inventory,” Simpkins said.
Simpkins believes that an “amazing
God” deserves credit for Simpkins two
years of sobriety.
“God just knocked on the door,”
Simpkins said. “It has nothing really to
do with me. I just came and was willing
and open hearted to just do whatever he
says and I’ve had nothing but blessings.”
Today Simpkins is a behavior
science major at DCCC and works at
Panera Bread in West Chester and hopes
to become a rehab counselor.
“God’s running the show,” Simpkins said. “I’m helping my family. I’m
a son today. I found true peace. God’s
power has turned me around.”
Simpkins said he doesn’t get a
chance to go to a twelve step meeting
on Thursday, so he and his friends go to
Campus Bible Fellowship.
“It’s just a blessing to be able to go
(Continues on page 2)
'Funnies': student generated
comics featured for first time
'King Animal' mirrors Soundgarden's drama-free reunion
Page 14
Page 13
Page 2
CAMPUS LIFE
Campus Bible Fellowship opens their doors to everyone
(continued from front page)
somewhere and be encouraged and have
friends,” Simpkins said.
Campus Bible Fellowship meets
every Thursday at the Marple campus in
Room 2281 at 11:05 a.m., to find encouragement and fellowship with each other.
Since many Campus Bible Fellowship members were participating at a
table set up at the multicultural festival
on Nov. 8, Simpkins started the meeting
by leading the group in a prayer.
“I felt so at peace,” Simpkins said.
“I clear my mind and just say whatever
comes to my mind instead of trying to
control the situation.”
Robyn Stahl, president of Campus
Bible Fellowship, and a business major,
said that the group is diverse, and includes different ages, genders and races.
“We accept anybody,” Stahl said.
According to Stahl, Campus Bible
Fellowship participates in other college activities such as the Multicultural
Festival that took place on Nov. 8 and the
Student Expo last September, but they
also plan outside activities and field trips.
“We would like to go to the Tabernacle in Lancaster,” Stahl said. “So we
are trying to organize that.”
Stahl organizes the meetings, sends
out emails about the club and tries to follow an agenda each week.
A typical meeting begins with introductions and a word of prayer.
“We provide Bibles and start off
by reading the Book of John,” Stahl
said. “However, we are pretty flexible. If
somebody has a concern, they are more
than welcome to share.”
Stahl said she has shared her experi-
ences at times because “it’s always nice
to get a Christian’s opinion.”
Bronwyn Livezey a 17-year-old
health studies major, said she joined the
group for encouragement and the importance of having fellowship with other
Christians.
“When you’re a coal outside of the
embers, you might be dull,” Livezey
said. “I also manage the delaGATE group
for the club.”
Walker said to foster an environment
of open discussion, the club implemented
a strict rule that whatever is discussed in
the meeting is kept at the meeting so students can be open about whatever inner
struggles they may have, and receive the
full support of the group.
Members of Campus Bible Fellowship participate at the Multicultural Festival by serving Sagu de uva, a Brazilian dessert. The club chose
this dessert because one of Campus Bible Fellowship attendees, Barbara
Moes, is a native of Brazil . Photo courtesy of Rebekah Albrecht
said. “But the moment you get pushed
back in the fire, you become hot again.”
Bret Walker, primary server specialist for information technology at DCCC,
said his role in Campus Bible Fellowship
is probably 60 percent participant, 40
percent advisor.
“I participate in a leadership capacity along with the faculty advisors and the
officers of the club, helping the club find
direction and stay on course,” Walker
The following week during the Nov.
15 meeting, the doors were left opened,
inviting other students to enter, as
members sat casually in a circle. Again,
Simpkins led the group in prayer.
Simpkins continued to pray that the
group would learn more about God and
his love for everyone.
The group went around the circle,
sharing their name, major and how they
are trying to improve their relationship
with Christ.
Candace Tolliferreo, a 27-year-old
behavior science major, said there has
always been a spiritual side of her since
she was little.
“Even when I strayed away, I always
ended up coming back [to God],” Tolliferreo said.
Tolliferreo said she tries to connect
to God on a spiritual level by trying to
acknowledge him more and to live by an
example.
“I don’t believe you should beat
yourself up over sin,” she added.
According to Tolliferreo, even
though she doesn’t read the Bible
[outside the club], she knows she is still
connected with God.
“I love going to Campus Bible Fellowship because everybody is so open,”
Tolliferreo said. “It’s not like you come
and feel like you are forced to do something. It’s really open and they give you
an opportunity to have leadership. It feels
good to participate.”
When it was Simpkins’ turn, he said
that he tries to practice keeping God in
his life the whole day and to feel God’s
presence.
Before the twelve step program,
Simpkins said he tried to make himself
happy with drinking and drugs.
“And now I don’t have to carry that
burden,” Simpkins said. “I can just give
it to God. He makes me happy. If I do
get discouraged or off track, it’s ok, it’s
progress not perfection.”
Contact Tammy Pfaff at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
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Historian and author Diane Turner visits DCCC
By Janae Houston
Dr. Diane Turner, a historian and author, was welcomed by Tracy Boswell's
Children’s Literature class on Nov. 12 to
discuss her children’s book “My Name is
Oney Judge.”
“I am thrilled that we were so fortunate to have her visit with us to share
some of her knowledge about Philadelphia’s African American History," said
Boswell, an adjunct English instructor,
“and the children’s book she wrote on
Oney Judge called ‘My Name is Oney
Judge.’”
Turner’s book is about a young
African American female child who was
enslaved by President George Washington. She is a historian, archivist and the
curator of Temple University’s Charles
L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.
Turner has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, a master’s degree in history and a
doctorate in history from Temple.
Influenced by Blockson’s collection,
Turner explained how much passion she
had for Judge after she ran across a novel
written about her.
“I was leisurely reading and came
across Judge’s story,” Turner said. “At
the time, I was working on another project, but Oney’s spirit channeled me to
tell her story.”
Turner had never written a children’s
book before, so she started by making a
skeleton of the book and found artist Cal
Massey. After she was finished writing it,
Third World Press published her book.
Turner said she dedicated the book
to her grandniece and niece. Turner
believes that it’s important that young
African American women can identify
with people in history.
Although Judge’s job was unique as
a personal assistant for Martha Washington, one of the most valuable lessons for
African Americans, including children,
was her willingness to negotiate after she
became free.
Toward the end of the class, students
bought several autographed copies of
Turner’s book.
“Children are disfigured everyday by
not being aware of their history,” Turner
said. “This was my channel to change
that Oney’s story shows how she took
her freedom.”
Contact Janae Houston at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
Dr. Diane Turner informs Tracy Boswell's children literature class about her first children's book titled "My Name
is Oney Judge." Photo by Janae Houston
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CAMPUS LIFE
Page 3
Millersville University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution.
A member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
4888b-1112
Page 4
EDITORIAL
The Communitarian is produced by both
current and former students of Fundamentals of Journalism II in collaboration with Campus Life and published at
Delaware County Community College.
Students who would like to write for
the campus newspaper and have already
completed Fundamentals of Journalism
I (ENG 130) should register for Fundamentals of Journalism II (ENG 131). Students who have completed both classes
are welcome back to join the senior staff.
For more information, send an e-mail to
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu.
Executive Editor
Robert Tierney
Managing Editor
Tom Dougherty
Honest word: an apology
By Robert Tierney
Dear loyal readers,
I must confess with the utmost sincerity that you have been lied to.
Nearly two years ago, when I was
just a reporter for The Communitarian, I
covered a variety of topics. For the most
part, I was comfortable tackling my assignments and interviewing a number of
people.
However, while working on an article about St. Patrick’s Day at Silk City,
a diner and bar in Center City, I ran into
some difficulties trying to interview loud
and drunk patrons.
I spoke with the club’s bouncer and
the assistant manager, but while reviewing my notes later, I felt there was something missing.
So I did the unthinkable for a journalist: I invented a couple of sources and
quotations.
This means I broke the most important rule in journalism: writing only the
truth. I violated the public trust that is the
foundation for any newspaper.
Following the article’s publication,
I felt terrible. I was sick. I didn’t tell
anyone because I was afraid of the consequences of my actions.
After a year and a half of grueling
inner struggles, I’ve come to a point in
my life where I want to become a new,
better version of myself: to become more
self-realized and actualized. As part of
this process, I cannot move forward without taking responsibility for the wrongs I
committed and making amends for them.
Reader, you deserve the facts and
because I let you down, it hurts the integrity of my own character, and that of The
Communitarian, where I have served as
executive editor for three semesters.
It hurts like a sharp blade to confess
this. But I believe that if you suffer from
a weakness, you shouldn’t hide it at the
cost of others or yourself. Expose it in
spite of everything that could happen
because that’s the only way others can
know if you need help or guidance.
Additionally, if you have done
something wrong, as I have, expose that
as well. It’s never too late. Every day that
you have the deed on your conscience it’s
going to be an unnecessary burden and a
barrier to your growth.
I ask that you please forgive me.
More importantly, I ask that you continue to trust The Communitarian and its
staff, who have strived to deliver the best
content at the highest standards since I
became the executive editor.
Because of my actions, I am resigning as executive editor of The Communitarian at the conclusion of the semester. I
will be replaced by managing editor Tom
Dougherty, who deserves the position far
more than I do.
It has been a wonderful experience
working with the college’s staff, faculty
and students, and, despite what has occurred, I am grateful for that opportunity.
Senior Graphic Designer
Peter Albrecht
Webmaster
Victor Adu
Junior Editors
Ashley Caldwell
Christine Irving
Reporters
Brooke Gwinner
Janae Houston
Tammy Pfaff
Dan Shrader
Staff Photographer
Windy Joseph
Comic Artists
Blayze Garvin
Stephen Travers
Faculty Advisor
Bonnie McMeans
Contact Robert Tierney at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
Forget Powerball — we have already won life’s lottery
a hopeful inventor in need of a little capital
By Ingrid E. Newkrik
People for the Ethical Treatment to kick-start her promising idea.
Here’s hoping that the odds are in faof Animals
(MCT)
Hope springs eternal, no matter how
slim the odds. You can see that in the long
lines for Powerball tickets, despite how
cold it is outside in most of the 42 states
where the jackpot has climbed to hundreds
of millions of dollars.
No one can be blamed for wanting
to win a windfall that makes “Skyfall,”
another form of entertainment with long
lines, look like a home movie. With more
than $400 million in the bank, you could
have a lot of fun, buy a lot of things you
need and a lot of stuff you don’t, and do an
enormous amount of good for those who
weren’t so lucky, like those poster children
with cleft palates, the dogs in animal shelters, impoverished students who ache to go
to college, the homeless man who needs a
place to hang his hat and tattered coat, and
vor of coming Powerball winners who care
and want to share.
But even if we don’t win the lottery,
it’s good to remember that in fact, we have
all won life’s lottery and have good reasons
to count our blessings — even those of
us who don’t think of ourselves as lucky.
Someone who has lost a limb in military
service or in an accident, say; those of us
who have lost our home to a fire or flood;
and those of us who can’t afford the little
luxuries that we would like — we are all
still winners. How so?
When we feel sorry for ourselves,
it helps to put things in perspective, to
remember that we live in the United States
of America, where we have a great many
luxuries unknown to most of the world.
We don’t have to stifle our opinions or
get a government-issued pass to travel to
another state: We enjoy freedom of speech
and freedom of movement. We are entitled
to an education. We do not have to starve
or freeze: Someone will provide us with
food, shelter and water. If we are down on
our luck or out on the street, there are basic
support services available from the government and from charities to help us.
And even beyond all of that, we have
won life’s lottery because we have been
born human. Whether you believe we
lucked out because of karma or divine
intervention or by an accident of birth, just
imagine for one moment what life would
be like if you had been born a mouse in a
laboratory, a dog kept outside on a chain
this winter, a bear in a barren enclosure in
a roadside zoo or a bird confined to a cage.
Just imagine.
This is an appeal to all of us who
have won life’s lottery by being born into
the luckiest 0.0001 percent of life forms:
Remember to care and to share, especially
during this season of goodwill, Powerball
or no Powerball.
A customer fills out a Powerball lottery ticket at Jimmy's Mart on Two
Notch road in Richland County,
South Carolina, Wednesday, November 28, 2012. (Tim Dominick/The State/MCT)
The opinions expressed on the editorial and commentary pages do not necessarily reflect those of The Communitarian staff or College. We welcome your comments on any matter relating to Delaware County Community College,
and responsible rebuttal is encouraged. Write to communitarian@mail.dccc.edu. Please write "Letter to the editor" in
the subject box.
COMMENTARY
Page 5
Clearing the record
In our Nov. 13 2012 issue of The Communitarian we incorrectly
attributed the photos below. They were taken by Communitarian staff photographer Windy Joseph. We apologize for the innacuracy. Below are the photos
with their proper captions and credits.
Jack Frost, as played by Chris Pine, in the 2012 movie
"Rise of the Guardians."
Photo courtesy of blogspot.com
Nude model shows off her body artwork during ArtNUDE
exhibition Oct. 27 in Center City.
Photo by Staff Photographer Windy Joseph
Mary Eileen Johnston (front) and body art model (back) strike a pose
during the ArtNUDE exhibition Oct. 27 in Center City.
Photo by Staff Photographer Windy Joseph
Page 6
LOCAL NEWS
A Longwood Christmas lights up the eyes and hearts of Chester County
(continued from front page)
States. It has to do with the conservatory.
We have one of the largest in the world.
A lot of gardens around the world are
about the collection, but we are about
our display. We grow ordinary plants in
extraordinary ways. Our horticultural
display is amazing.
Q. Please tell me more about the
conservatory.
A. The conservatory was built in
1919 by our founder Pierre S du Pont, to
grow fruits and vegetables out of season.
Today, the Conservatory has grown to include more than 4 acres under glass and
features 20 indoor gardens that change
year round. I like to think of walking
through the conservatory as a trip around
the world—it contains more than 5,500
types of plants –and in one room you are
looking at plants from South America,
the next garden may feature plants from
the Mediterranean, and another room
plants from Australia. Every day, it is
dazzling!
Q. How many fountains are there?
A. Depends what you count as a
fountain: a single spout, a fountain head
with multiple jets, etc.
Our largest fountain garden is the
Main Fountain Garden which has 750
jets that shoot as high as 130 feet in the
air and recirculate 10,000 gallons per
minute. In all, we easily have over 1,000
jets
Q. Are there any common misconceptions that you feel visitors may have
about Longwood Gardens?
the conservatory there is a tunnel system
that not only serves for heating and
mechanics, but also the staff can walk
from the conservatory to other areas of
the gardens underground. It's 4 1/2 acres
from one side to another underground.
Q. Longwood Gardens is currently
holding a Chrysanthemum Festival,
which features the Thousand Bloom- the
largest in North America. What exactly is
this festival and what is so special about
it?
A. People look at them as a fall
favorite. Usually, everyone has mums
staff and volunteers to help. Everyone
asks us if we take the lights down after
and we do take them down.
Q. How does Longwood Gardens
ensure they all work?
A. (Laughs) One of the things we
have as part of the maintenance is electricians to make sure the lights work. If
something were to happen with the Peco
power, we have generators to run lights
and keep the gardens operated.
Q. Are there any new attractions
or events that Longwood Gardens plans
Q. What qualifications does Longwood Gardens look for when hiring? Is
there a specific type of person they look
for?
A. We have a wide variety of job
types: agriculture staff, marketing, guest
services, so there is not one specific type.
What they all have in common is the passion for what they do and the love for the
organization. That is demonstrated by the
number of members who have been here
for years. It's a great place.
Q. Please describe the amount of
work and time it takes into maintaining
Longwood Gardens year round.
A. We have 400 full-time and parttime employees, as well as 800 volunteers. It might surprise a lot of people
to know that. It takes a lot of manpower
to keep the gardens beautiful.We have
buildings through the acreage - 100
buildings on the property that people
don't see - water treatment plant, employment housing. I equate Longwood
Gardens to a college campus.
Q. Longwood Gardens has more
than 11,000 types of plants. How does
Longwood Gardens pick which plants
they will have displayed?
A. Part of our personal staff is
the display designer. His job is to come
up with displays every year with what
the conservatory will look like and he
chooses a plant palette. We are always
looking for new plants and it's all done
through trial and error. We will first see if
it grows the right way and if it's worthy.
Once it is, it's ready to be displayed. The
designer will work for a year ahead of
time. He is already working on Christmas
next year since the plants take awhile to
bloom. You have to know what you want
and always be ahead of the curve.
Q. What time of the year do you
feel is the best time to visit Longwood
Gardens?
A. There is never a bad time.
Whenever you come, there is always
something different to see. It's like a
living museum. We routinely change out
things and it may look different day to
day. The plants even look different every
day. Our busiest time is [the Christmas
season], which starts Thanksgiving Day.
We have approximately 325,000 visitors
during that time. But summer and spring
are also really popular with fountains.
We have more fountains than any other
garden in the United States.
A Longwood Christmas, at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., is one of Chester County's largest Christmas attractions. The gardens are transformed by Christmas displays, trees, lights, and thousands of poinsettas.
Photo by Brooke Gwinner
A. I do. People feel like if you don't
like water culture, you will not like the
gardens. That is not true. They may not
have a garden or never will, but they still
love to come. First and foremost, it's a
garden, but there's so much more than
that. We have many programs, performances, and classes for visitors to learn.
It's more than a beautiful garden. It is a
good place to unwind and unplug from
the daily bustle of life. Some visitors
bring books and read outside.
Q. Longwood Gardens has a
Performance Series that includes jazz, organ, and classical performances featuring
seven Grammy Award Winners and artists from seven countries. What can one
expect when attending a performance?
A. We have always had a perfor-
mance arts program. The founder of
Longwood had a love for the performing arts and it has always been a part of
the garden experience. We continue this
throughout the year. Longwood works
with agents to get artists. We try to attract
different ones because we want to expose
people to artistry around the world, just
like plants. When you come, it's the
venue that makes all the difference and
all concert tickets include garden admission.
Q. Please tell us something about
Longwood Gardens that not even
members, volunteers, or employees may
know.
A. I would say that one cool thing
that most people don't know is that under
in their garden and yard, but the only
place in the United States that you can
see the chrysanthemum is at Longwood
Gardens. The chrysanthemum is brought
over from Japan and China, where they
began and they are grown into amazing
shapes and forms. We have had a grower
for the Thousand Bloom for many years
who went back and forth from Japan to
learn from the masters how to grow it. A
single chrysanthemum has to be pruned
and pinched in 18 months to form large
1,339 blooms. We do it because it's horticultural and it is an art form that should
be preserved. It's a beautiful display that
people enjoy seeing. We are very proud
to keep this tradition.
Q. Longwood Christmas is one of
the most popular Christmas festivities
in our area. Could you please explain
the preparation that goes into making
Longwood come so alive during this
time? How long does it take to set up the
entire display and what is done differently for this event than any other time of
the year?
A. Planning for Christmas starts
a year in advance. They try to change
it up every year to keep creating a new
magical experience for guests. After September, Arborists string a half a million
lights around the gardens. We get ready
for the change over the Sunday before
Thanksgiving at 5 p.m. and shut the
gardens down while we put up Christmas
trees, poinsettias, and the other Christmas displays. Christmas is the biggest
team effort that takes hundreds of the
to unveil in 2013 or the near future that
visitors can look forward to?
A. Every year we try to come up
with a theme for our visitors. In 2013,
we are going to let guests see areas of
the garden and see how we make magic
happen. We'd like to introduce them to
the talented staff and let them see what
they do, how they do it, what it takes to
make displays, and maintain the garden
year round.
Q. What is your most memorable
moment while working at Longwood
Gardens?
A. There have been a lot. Every
holiday season, we have a T.V. show that
is done live the Friday after Thanksgiving. We have had a lot of musical acts
from Boyz II Men to Doney Osmond.
Those days would be filled with visitors
full of excitement and holiday spirit.
Those days were the highlights. But the
firework and fountain shows are just as
wonderful. The last minute of the finale
is spectacular. Just hearing the crowd
erupt, applause, and say "Oh my god,
that was so awesome!" With their reaction, you just feel so proud to work there
and be part of it and the displays. That's
what I'll always take with me.
Q. Anything else you would like to
add?
A. We're open every day. People
should come and see us!
Contact Brooke Gwinner at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
Page 7
Apocalypse or New Age?
A Mayan Special Edition
Al Gore, MTV anxd the end of the world
By Tom Dougherty
The end of the world; it’s upon us, at
least if you believe the Mayan calendar.
On Dec. 21, the Mayan calendar ends.
It’s over, finished, no more.
And so are we, the adage goes. Remember Y2K, the Hale-Bopp comet and
the Rapture? These are just a few from
my lifetime.
Lunatics have convinced folks that
the world was going to end many times
before this particular tale and those
people ended up just being mental on the
day of reckoning.
Then, the next day, those wacky
individuals continue to praise Jabba the
Hut as the Almighty Savior and spew
nonsense.
But if the world does end, and the
most accurate calendar known to man
stays on path and the human race does
vanish, then here are few reasons why we
let it happen.
Al Gore and global warming
We might have had a chance to prolong the demise, but we thought Al Gore
was some bonehead spreading malarkey to the masses. You know the whole
global warming thing that no one really
paid attention to.
Gore’s 2006 documentary, “An
Inconvenient Truth,” won two Academy
hurricanes have increased
and the sea level has
started to rise. These are
just some of the global
warming predictions that
have come true.
If this fairy tale
becomes true, Mr. Gore
will be standing wherever
the afterworld is, and,
with his finger pointing at
everyone, will say “I told
you so!”
MTV’s role
If there were other
signs of a pending demise, we should have
paid more attention to the
“Jersey Shore.” If there
is a God, that would have
been his warning to the
human race that we’re
pretty much a doomed
species. I guess we all
missed that signal.
The world will never be ready for Kid Rock to be a soul singer, and that's one reason why
Side note: MTV’s
the world could be coming to an end on Dec. 21.
goal must have been to
(Luis Cinco/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
completely corrupt society and shatter the family
Awards and made $24 million in the
wasn’t enough.
unit. Mission accomplished, color me old
United States. Its goal was to educate
Climates are changing, polar ice
school, but the society we live in today
the general public about global warming,
caps are melting, although less than
isn’t exactly the one I’d wish on my
and while it was a box office success, it
originally thought according to reports,
(Continued on page 8)
What do Muslims, Jews, and Christians have in common? An end.
By Dan Schrader
Will there be another Noah’s Ark?
Some astrologers believe that Earth
is in the Age of Aquarius, which means
there will be more water-related natural
disasters.
Gerald Benedict, author of “The Watkins Dictionary of Religions and Secular
Faiths” and “The Mayan Prophecies of
2012,” wrote, “Flooding is associated
with both the creation and the destruction
of the Earth, and a deluge is one of the
most persistent themes in Mayan literature.”
In the last decade, there have been
major hurricanes and tsunamis that have
damaged coastal regions in the United
States – Hurricane Katrina in 2006, the
most recent tsunami that hit Hawaii in
2011, and Hurricane Sandy in October.
As Dec. 21 draws near, many people
of faith have also reflected on the possibil-
ity of an apocalyptic ending of the world.
Sean Loomis, a 28-year-old Deacon
of the St. Anselm Parish of Philadelphia,
Stars will realign in a cosmic shift
didn’t hear about the Mayan prophecies
that alters all human minds and transcends
until recently, but he doesn’t believe it’s
the human race into a new age of prosperso much the end of the world, as it is a
ous living. The oceans will flood the lands
reset in the Mayan calendar.
while the sky shoots constant lightning
“I heard their calendar ends in 2012
bolts to the crumbling Earth.
and people are up in arms,” Loomis said.
A Messiah will rise and lead humans
“This is frequently interpreted as meaninto a new age, or Jesus will return to
ing it’s the end of the world; however, my
battle the anti-Christ, saving humanity in
understanding is that the Mayan calendar
one final duel between good vs. evil.
is cyclical, so it’s not that the world ends,
A comet will force shifts in the
but the calendar starts from the beginning
Earth’s magnetic poles, or solar flares
again.”
from the sun will spawn the atmosphere
Roman Catholics believe Armagedinto destruction.
don or the apocalypse will occur at the
Any of these events could occur in
end of the world. Loomis, however, said
only 22 days.
that “apocalypse” is a Greek word that
These are the world’s dominant relimeans “revelation” and the Armageddon
gious beliefs regarding the apocalypse and
isn’t a happening, but an actual place.
the alleged end of the world on Dec. 21.
According to Loomis, Catholics
believe that the de-creation of the cosmos
coexist with the prophecy of God, revealing himself and exposing the mysteries of
life, although he admitted that passages in
scripture like “stars falling from heaven”
aren’t meant to be taken in a literal sense.
For that reason, Loomis believes that
if something happens in 2012, it wouldn’t
be the death of the world, but a revealing
of God, and if it is the end of the world,
people would want to prepare.
Eli Kopel, a Rabbi at Aish Hatorah in
Philadelphia, thinks the Mayan prophecies
are nonsense.
“Whoever tells me the world is ending and they’re sure of it,” Kopel said, “I
say: ‘oh yeah, no problem. Let me get the
deed to your house and I’ll give it back
after the world ends.’”
Apocalyptic Mayan theories are based on astronomical occurrences, such as
Kopel said that Jews believe the
comets raining down on Earth.
coming of the Messiah will occur after
Illustration courtesy of National Geographic/Nicolle Rager-Fuller, NSF.
6,000 years of human existence on Earth.
Currently, Kopel believes that humans
have been around for about 5,700 years
and that the Messiah will return in less
than 300 years.
“It’s just not something that people
will be made aware of,” Kopel said. “If
the Messiah would come on a set date,
then everybody would do whatever they
wanted until the last moment and then
start behaving themselves a week before.”
Dr. Francis Bellini, a professor of
world religions at DCCC, said Sunni
Muslims believe that “there will be an end
of the world and actually it will be Jesus
that will fight the anti-Christ or devil, but
nobody knows when it is.”
Bellini spoke about an event titled
“The Mirage” which is about the Muslim
Prophet Muhammad taking a trip to the
Seven Heavens to meet the past prophets, but before he goes to the heavens; he
leads many of the old time prophets from
the Bible into a prayer. Before the prayer
is finished, Muhammad asks the prophets
when the end of the world is-- the prophets tell him there is no known expiration
date, but the day will come.
“Even though it will happen, human
or prophets are not told,” Professor Bellini
said. “Only God knows when this will
happen; it cannot be foreseen.”
Although most religions seem to
come to the same conclusion that the
world will end, Siddhartha Gautama, the
original Buddha, explained that “The
whole secret of existence is to have no
fear. Never fear what will become of you,
depend on no one. Only the moment you
reject all help are you freed.”
Contact Dan Schrader at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
Page 8
A Mayan Special Edition
Al Gore, MTV anxd the
end of the world
Doomsday as unfresh as spoiled baloney
(Continued from page 7)
child. MTV’s partially to blame for that.
Best case scenario: The Mayan calendar signals the end of the world, which
in turn, kills today and future generation’s mindset that all that’s important
in life is sex and money—at least, that’s
what I get from listening to today’s
music.
Worst case scenario: Nothing happens.
Kid Rock is a soul singer
Maybe we didn’t have any control
over this. Maybe we did. But Kid Rock
now is a soul singer. Yep, the American
Badass now sings soul and that’s a sign
of the apocalypse.
Started out as a rapper, then a
rocker turned into a country singer, Rock
released his latest album, “Rebel Soul”
on Nov. 19. The halftime show of the
Thanksgiving game between the Detroit
Lions and Houston Texans was enough
for one to think the end of the world was
only a few weeks ahead. It was that bad.
I’ll give Kid Rock some credit.
There may not be an entertainer or musician who’s able to reinvent him-or-herself like Kid Rock. But the world’s not
ready to see Kid Rock perform as a soul
singer.
And the world will never be ready
for that, so the end must be near.
Contact Tom Dougherty at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
The Sam Venable Column
21.
I can't wait for the arrival of Dec.
When that day finally comes, we'll
all know the Mayan calendar's alleged "end of the world" prophesy was
baloney. Just like the hundreds, maybe
thousands, of similar predictions
throughout history.
What's more, the dawning of an
otherwise uneventful Dec. 21 will
drive the final nail in the coffin of the
most-hyped non-event since Y2K.
For years, there have been books,
magazine articles and scholarly
debates galore on this hocus-pocus
nonsense. Not to mention the 2009
movie "2012."
Happily, this lunacy also has
sparked a wave of humor in the form
of jokes and cartoons -- including this
week's panels of "Mother Goose and
Grimm" on the News Sentinel's funny
pages.
Even greeting card companies
have cashed in.
My favorite among this treasure
trove shows two ancient Mayans. One
of them, leaning against a large stone
calendar, announces, "I only had room
to go up to 2012."
His buddy retorts, "Ha! That'll
freak somebody out someday!"
On the other hand, you gotta admit
there are certain advantages to cashing
in our chips on Dec. 21.
Among them:
No sadness over UT's dismal
football season.
No need to envy Alabama, Georgia and other SEC teams that kicked
major butt (including Tennessee's)
throughout 2012.
No agony over not having an
exciting, post-Christmas bowl game to
attend. Even better, no sense even listening to mindless gossip about who's
going to be the Vols' next head coach.
No fear of the fiscal cliff.
Let the Repubs and the Dems continue their refusal to compromise over
this important issue. Who's worried
about an economic meltdown when
there won't even be such a thing an
economy?
Speaking of money, no need to
fret whether or not the Bush-era tax
cuts cease. No hassle with end-ofyear W2's, receipts, dividends, bank
records. And no nail-biting next year as
April 15 approaches.
No panic over the Christmas rush.
Missed Black Friday and Cyber
Monday? Haven't purchased cards? No
tree? No front yard display? Haven't
practiced for the church's Christmas
cantata? Way behind on your holiday
baking?
Pfft! Don't sweat it. Once the Mayan prediction comes true, the world
simply reverts to a large, lifeless blob
of eggnog.
No resentment if it's not your candidate who takes the oath as president
of the United States next January.
Not that this matters, really. The
Repubs and the tea partiers won't have
to wait until Dec. 21 to find blessed
relief.
Their world came to an abrupt end
way back on Nov. 6.
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Page 9
A Mayan Special Edition
'A World of Light or
Darkness?'
Photos by Windy
Joseph, Staff Photographer. Musings by Robert
Tierney
The future is the forest trail never
traveled. To light or darkness, we know
not where it will lead us, or if there
may be something more tantalizing off
the beaten path. There are times where
this hike feels like a lonely one. The
trees can blend together, becoming a
monotonous mass of indifference to
your struggles.
They are your challenge and in a
sick way, your only company. You are
often lost, the path goes cold, but you
keep searching in a world that doesn’t
care, just to prove that you are the
stronger force.
Seen also as a new beginning for humanity, the end of
the Mayan long count ticks down to the point where our ties
to one another become stronger.
No longer will the color of one’s skin matter, nor one’s
heritage or gender. These are not reasons people can use to
ignore or degrade each other’s existence.
The gifts each person possesses will be magnified when
others encourage their growth and when the gift is shared
and made special by each person who comes into contact
with it.
Love One, as in love one’s self for the gift that your love
is to the world.
Love All, as in every acquaintance, friend, lover, hater or
stranger for what their existence does for your self-development and understanding of your world and life.
Freedom and Hope. Despite the self-fulfilling conditions of our pro-
Hopelessness and Imprisonment. Problems have a way of
perpetuating themselves and undermining one’s faith.
These problems could stem from belief systems we were imbued
with during childhood. It could be attitudes that were hyperbolized or
negatively reinforced.
Our minds, programmed to act and react in certain ways becomes
like a prison. The soul becomes corrupted and maintains an aura of
darkness that hangs inside our bodies like a storm cloud.
grammed minds, if we ‘wake up’ to ourselves, our motivations and our actions,
we can learn our ‘process of destruction’.
Through reflection and staying open to learning we can see our behavioral
patterns for what they are; a modus operandi meant to achieve our desires, but
which is unable to do so because of its self-defeating nature.
Once we realize our true desires, and once we get a healthy dose of reality, we can take proactive steps to gaining what we want from life and on the
whole, live happier.
Page 10
A Mayan Special Edition
Collage of relic images, map and tables explain what was behind the Mayan Long Count calendar, and why it is not meant to predict global disaster on Dec. 21, 2012, when the current long count ends.
MCT 2012
Linda C. Black [Doomsday] Horoscopes
12/21/12
By Nancy Black
Tribune Media Services
(MCT)
Today’s Birthday (12/21/12). This
Winter Solstice witnesses a collective awakening toward a higher
purpose, an exceptionally auspicious
way to begin your year. Maintain
busy-work energy (until June) with
healthy food and exercise. Social
life sparks this summer. Home
changes bond. Follow love.
To get the advantage, check the
day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0
the most challenging.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today
is a 6 -- Do the work to get the best
results. List problems to be solved.
Travel, education and publishing
are favored this month. Share ideas,
don’t hoard them. Ask for help.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today
is an 8 -- Provide excellent service and complete numbers as you
plunge into a busy work month.
Back up talk with action. A friend
connects you to someone influential,
who has a common cause.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today
is an 8 -- Finish a tough job that
pays better than expected. Invest in
domestic comfort. This month, delegate to a perfectionist. Take your
partner on a trip. Take notes.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is
an 8 -- Go ahead and commit. It
could seem risky. You could take a
loss. There’s more work coming. Put
your heart into it.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is
a 6 -- You’re especially affectionate
this month. Listen to creative ideas.
Confidential information helps you
save. Invest in your home. Dividends come later. Measure success
in healthy food, water and family.
spiring cause.
Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is a 9 -- There’s no way to go
but full speed ahead. Follow your
vision, and release old paradigms.
Accept a new service opportunity
with determination. Easily sell your
brilliant idea.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/
home technology by barter.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is a 9 -- Imagine you have what
you want. Consult an authority and
talk over all angles, obsessing on the
details. The money’s available this
month. Take persistent action. Hear
someone who’s angry.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is a 9 -- More work means more
savings. Postpone expansion and
stash the riches. You’re really on
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is
an 8 -- You’re gaining confidence.
Conditions are good for a family
discussion. Convince your team of
their awesomeness. Be a calming
influence. Press for action. Put your
house in order this month.
http://horoscopefortoday.org/
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today
is a 7 -- Focus on studies and learn
quickly. Your mood is infectious, so
choose one you’d like replicated.
Conserve resources and update
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today
is an 8 -- Complete one game, and
begin a new one this month. Learn
from a master, and get inspired.
Luxuriate with time in solitude. Eat
slowly and well. Gather additional
benefits.
http://www.colorcompany.ca/
http://horoscopefortoday.org/
your game this month. You have a
distinct advantage. Forward an in-
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today
is a 7 -- There’s an inspection or
test, and you get farther than expected. For the next month, your team
is hot. Let the kids do their share.
Stash away winnings.
Page 11
LOCAL NEWS
Tourists indulge in Philly City Food Tour
(continued from front page)
of pizza with nothing but pizza dough
and tomato sauce, created and sold in the
U.S. since 1914.
“It tastes so soft!” says Gwenn
Holtz, a retired elementary school
teacher for five years. “I’ve always had
the rectangular-shaped style at room
temperature. This was new to me!”
Next, we head for the Philly Soft
Pretzel Factory at 15th and Sansom
Streets. During the walk, Beck points out
and recommends a few restaurants, including Oyster House and 500-Degrees.
“The Philly Soft Pretzel started in
610 A.D. with the Italian mob,” Beck
explains. “The reason we know that is
because its name in Italian is “Pretiola”.
It was a reward by the monks to children
who prayed properly.”
Beck adds that the traditional shape,
which looks like folded arms and has
three holes, represented the position for
praying.
“I never knew that was like that,”
Holtz says referring to the triple-hole
shaped pretzel. “I’ve always only known
the long one with the two holes.”
As we stand in front of the pretzel
factory and eat our pretzels, Beck asks
each of us to share our own “childhood
pretzel story.”
“I remember my dad bringing them
home,” says Barbara Burnetski, also a
retired teacher from Levering Elementary
School.
Across the street from the factory
stands the Philadelphia Union League
Confederate Club where former President, Abraham Lincoln, is considered to
have spent more of his personal and professional time than anywhere else, during
his term, according to Beck. The club is
now part hotel, part memorial museum
dedicated to Lincoln.
“I stayed here for my son’s wedding,” says Mary Lee Malen, a retired
teacher at Levering Elementary School.
“It was so much fun. It’s so exciting to
know that Abraham Lincoln stayed here
too.”
Leaving the pretzel factory, the
group walks around to the front of the
Confederate Club, over to 14th and
Chestnut Streets, and finally to Del
Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House
restaurant.
The restaurant is the renamed and
renovated Philadelphia Company, established in the late 1880s.
The top area is transformed into a
dining area, while the lower dining area
consists of tables set on either side of the
restaurant, with two stairs that lead inside
a bank vault. Inside the vault are tables
set with white cloths and two or three
wooden chairs, alongside a wall of wine
bottle racks.
Next, we go to Zio’s Brickoven
Pizza, where we eat our specificallyordered cheesesteaks and two plates of
fries, spread with real cheese whiz.
This cheese whiz is considered to be
the best in the city, according to Beck
Only a few of us are able to eat our
whole steaks, but that doesn’t stop us
I M M A C U L A T A
from sharing our thoughts about them
“I love it with cheese,” says Jan
Kanoff, another retired teacher from
Levering Elementary School.
Our last stop is at the Reading
Terminal Market, where we walk through
an assortment of different food stands,
ranging from chocolate candy to meat,
poultry and fruit. We try chocolate covered pretzels at Mueller’s Chocolate, a
family owned and operated business.
Our final destination is the Flying
Monkey, which specializes in many cake
flavors covered in different toppings,
such as chocolate and peanut butter.
Beck points to one delicacy and
says, “These are double-dark chocolate
cake truffles.”
The chocolates are delicious and a
fitting conclusion to our tour.
“I’m always excited about these
tours,” Beck says. “You meet new people
each time you go out. You leave everything behind and give the people a good
time. It’s all about the positives.”
Contact Ashley Caldwell at
Communitarian@dccc.mail.edu
"This building is where President Lincoln spent the majority of his time..."
says Judy Beck giving the history of the Philadelphia Union League Confederate Club on the Taste of Philly Food Tour.
Photo by Ashley Caldwell
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Page 12
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Burlap and Bean’s Open Mic Night creates supportive community
Christine Irving
Ryan Leahy, 28, who sang an original song titled “Car Drama,” received the
loudest applause of the night from the
crowd at Burlap and Bean’s Open Mic
Night Thursday evening.
Most participants in this event knew
Leahy by name, and Leahy knew just
about everyone in the café, and would
excitedly ask people what they were
planning on singing that evening.
While Leahy sang, he walked
around the stained, wooden tables and
large comfortable couches, microphone
in hand, encouraging people to sing
along with the chorus.
And many people did just that—
loudly with broad smiles; it was as if
Leahy’s enthusiasm was contagious.
All the regulars at Open Mic
Night, which takes place at Burlap and
Bean, located at 204 S. Newtown Street
Road in Newtown Square every Thursday, are very supportive of Leahy, who
has pervasive developmental disorder,
otherwise known as autism.
Andrew Wisneski, 16, performs for the first time at Burlap and Bean's Open Mic Night, doing his original song,
"First World Problems" while his friends watch with the rest of the audience.
Photo by Christine Irving
That’s the type of crowd you find
at every Open Mic Night: a supportive
group of friends making music together.
Burlap and Bean is a café owned
by brothers Ben and Brent Endicott and
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their wives, Christi Endicott and Tara
Endicott, respectively.
Kyle Swartywelder, 33, the host of
Open Mic Night, is as charming as he
is talented. Every event, he starts the
performances off with a song or two
of his own.
I was lucky enough to hear him
sing “Around the Wheel,” which he
wrote himself. His voice was deeper
than expected and had a country
twang to it.
In fact, all the performers were
surprisingly exceptional musicians.
I didn’t know what I was expecting
going in, but by the end of the night,
I found myself thinking, why aren’t
you all famous?
Swartywelder, who has been
hosting this event for five years now,
introduced each performer. A good
number of participants were regular
performers who come to every event,
some for many years now.
But the regulars don’t appear
only in person.
“We have quite a large following
online,” said Bob Kurtz, responsible
for live streaming the events each
week. “We’ve got people from all
over — Canada, England, Australia,
Scotland…”
Kurtz, who by day handles the
shipping at a printing company called
Campbell Business Forms, explained
that while live streaming, one can
also start a chat room with the viewers and they can interact with each
other.
One regular live stream viewer,
Chloe Godbar from Manchester
England, is planning to fly in one
Thursday to see her friends perform
in person.
“We’ve got our own little community,” Kurtz said.
He’s not the only one who thinks
so.
Another familiar face was
25-year-old Jason McGovern, who
sat down with his acoustic guitar and
a cup of coffee at a recent event.
“I’ve been performing almost
all my life,” McGovern said. “Here,
there is more of a family atmosphere,
rather than just people performing.”
McGovern enjoys his public relations job at an electric industry called
PJM Interconnection, and has been
playing guitar for eight years. At a recent
Open Mic Night, he sang an original
song he called “All My Tears.”
As McGovern was getting on stage,
Leahy’s booming voice could be heard
shouting, “Hello, Jason!” to which
McGovern laughed and replied into the
microphone, “Hi, Ryan!”
By the end of the song, McGovern was belting out the lyrics so loudly
that I’m sure no one could hear anything
else, but the crowd loved it.
Another performer at the event was
newcomer, Andrew Wisneski, 16.
Wisneski, who attends Christian
Acadamy, claimed he was not nervous,
despite the fact that he has only been
performing in public for one month and
that this particular Thursday was his first
time at Burlap and Bean.
His friends, 16-year-old Paige Rodgers and 15-year-old Sage Sica, were there
for moral support.
Wisneski sang a song titled “First
World Problems,” which he wrote himself, while playing an acoustic guitar.
New or old, though, everyone was
welcome at Burlap and Bean.
Ryan’s mother, Eileen Leahy,
expressed her gratitude at having found
Open Mic Night four years ago.
“We’re very appreciative of everyone’s support,” Leahy said. “We’re so
grateful. This place is really the best.”
Unfortunately, there are only two
Burlap and Beans in the world. But a
third is about to open up, so perhaps
there will be a chain of Burlap and Beans
in the future.
The Endicott family probably never
dreamed when they opened Burlap and
Bean six years ago that they would offer
a place where performers can do what
they love: make music, lasting friendships and happy memories.
Contact Christine Irving at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Page 13
Chris Cornell & Co. worked hard to get the sonics right on ‘King Animal’
By Mikael Wood
Los Angeles Times
(MCT)
LOS ANGELES — Of all the bands
that emerged from Seattle’s so-called
grunge scene in the early 1990s — think
of the moody, flannel-clad likes of
Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains
— none was harder to pin down than
Soundgarden.
Brutish but thoughtful, muscular
yet deeply melodic, the group’s music resisted easy classification, just as
frontman Chris Cornell seemed to defy
attempts to parse his densely allusive lyrics. Even the band’s biggest hit, “Black
Hole Sun,” which cracked the Top 10 of
Billboard’s pop-radio chart in 1994, remains a mystery from its opening couplet
on: “In my eyes, indisposed/ In disguises
no one knows.”
Here was an outfit — one that broke
up in 1997 — fully in touch with the
value of obscurity.
It came as something of a surprise,
then, to hear Cornell describe Soundgarden’s new reunion album as an attempt to
“demystify” the group’s attack.
“There’s a certain quality we create
in a room that since we started has been
our greatest challenge to get on tape,” he
said, sitting with bassist Ben Shepherd
recently in a suite at the Beverly Wilshire
Hotel.
Cornell recalled building elaborate
microphone setups during studio sessions
for “Superunknown” — which spawned
“Black Hole Sun” as well as “Spoonman,” another of the band’s hits — yet
being disappointed by the result.
“It was small and horrible and
totally unlike Soundgarden,” he said with
a laugh.
So for “King Animal,” its first set of
new songs since 1996’s “Down on the
Upside,” the group employed a less-ismore approach, using one microphone
where in the past it might’ve sprung for
a dozen.
"King Animal" was Soundgarden's
first album in over a decade, which
was released on Nov. 12, 2012.
Classic Rock Magazine
“The other day, we were rehearsing
some of the new songs and we put the album on,” Cornell said. “And for the first
time in my life, I swear, I was shocked:
‘Oh, that sounds exactly the way we
sound right now.’ Hallelujah! We finally
did it right.”
The band’s members aren’t the only
ones who think so: Reviews for the appealingly raw “King Animal” have been
positive, while strong first-week sales secured a top 10 debut for the album, ahead
of new records by Christina Aguilera and
Green Day.
Cornell and Shepherd said the album’s no-frills nature mirrors the dramafree circumstances of Soundgarden’s
reunion, which grew out of the band’s
efforts several years ago to solidify its
online presence.
Though they’d grown tired of the
music industry and the demands of life
on the road, the members hadn’t soured
on one another when they originally dissolved the group.
They returned to active duty slowly,
playing a handful of shows in 2010
(including a headlining slot at that year’s
Lollapalooza) and issuing archival material such as last year’s “Live on I-5”
concert album.
In May, Soundgarden performed an
unannounced set at KROQ-FM’s Weenie
Roast y Fiesta in Irvine, Calif., and the
band’s old chemistry was clearly intact.
“They rehearse at our spot in
Seattle,” says Pearl Jam’s bassist, Jeff
Ament. (After Soundgarden’s breakup in
1997, Matt Cameron joined Pearl Jam;
the drummer now plays in both bands.)
“They’re always smiling and seem
excited to be around each other.”
Thayil said by phone from New
York that part of what kept his enthusiasm alive during the hiatus was the
respect paid Soundgarden by a new breed
of adventurous young rock acts.
“I’m proud of that legacy,” he said,
and indeed it’s easy to hear the band’s
influence in the work of groups such as
Oneida and High on Fire.
“Kim’s playing on ‘Badmotorfinger’
is what got me to tune my guitar the way
I do,” says Peter Adams of the Georgia
band Baroness, referring to Soundgarden’s 1991 breakthrough. “He always
stood out.”
Devoted fans such as Adams are, of
course, chief among those Tom Whalley
is hoping to reach with “King Animal.”
The former chairman of Warner
Bros. Records, Whalley signed Soundgarden as the first group on his new
Loma Vista Recordings, a partnership
with Universal Republic.
Yet the executive is aiming also
for younger listeners who might know
Cornell’s name not from Soundgarden
but from the singer’s tenure with the
hard-rock supergroup Audioslave or
from “Scream,” Cornell’s bizarre 2009
collaboration with the hip-hop producer
Timbaland.
“Kids can go online now and discover any artist from any point in time,”
Whalley says.
“We want to make them aware that
this great record exists and use the past
to influence the future.”
To that end, Soundgarden has been
more active in social media than many
bands of its vintage; it announced its
return via Twitter, for instance. And earlier this year, it partnered with iTunes to
release “Live to Rise” (from the “Avengers” soundtrack) as a free download.
“I don’t want to not do something
because I’m afraid of it,” Cornell said.
The comparatively quiet Shepherd
nodded his assent but piped up quickly
with a caveat:
“The basic foundation of Soundgarden,” he said, “is that we’re here to play
the music.”
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Page 14
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
By Blaze
By Stephen Travers
It’s Not Too Late
To Attend Penn State!
Penn State Brandywine is still accepting applications for:
Spring 2013 (classes start January 7)
Summer 2013 (classes start May 13 and June 26)
Fall 2013 (classes start August 26)
Come to a transfer student information session
Saturday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m.-noon.
RSVP to 610-892-1200.
Apply online at http://admissions.psu.edu.
For other opportunities to visit the campus,
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Discover the many opportunities available.
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SPORTS
Page 15
Dougherty: Selig must exile Jeffrey Loria from MLB
Meet Jeffrey Loria, the owner of the
Miami Marlins. He’s parasite to baseball.
Loria bought the Marlins in 2002 as
part of an organized sale with commissioner Bud Selig and then-Marlins owner
John Henry because the team Loria
previously owned, the Montreal Expos,
were losing money and games largely at
Loria’s fault.
MLB stepped in and, along with 29
other franchises, agreed to buy the Expos
from Loria for $120 million and moved
the team to Washington, D.C. Loria was
then allowed to buy the Marlins from
Henry.
During his time as the Marlins’
owner, Loria has won a World Series and
convinced the City of Miami and MiamiDade County to pay a combined $508.8
million to build Marlins Park, which
opened in 2012.
The Marlins contributed only $125.5
million of the total cost of $634 million
to build the stadium. The city also paid
$10 million toward the demolition of old
Orange Bowl stadium and $94 million
for the parking facilities.
It had seemed like Loria started to
point his franchise in the right direction,
but don’t be misled. Loria has made a
mockery of MLB, the city of Miami and
all Marlins' fans and it’s time for him to
be exiled from Major League Baseball.
Loria has been at the front of two
fire sales: one after the 2003 World
Series and the one that started in July.
His motives, from a baseball perspective,
appear to be nothing more than dumping
salary.
The most recent ploy came on Nov.
14 when the Marlins agreed to trade Jose
Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle,
John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio, who
combined have $170.2 million remaining
on their contracts, to the Blue Jays. That
number could increase depending on
what Bonifacio, who made $2.2 million
last season, gets in arbitration.
In return, the Marlins are getting
shortstop Yunel Escobar, right-hander
Henderson Alvarez, catcher Jeff Mathis
and prospects Jake Marisnick, Adeiny
Hechavarria, Justin Nicolino and Anthony DeSclafani.
Since July, the Marlins have traded
12 players, including the five to Toronto
and erased the entire 2011 offseason,
which gave fans hope that the Marlins
were going to be spending money to
compete each and every year, justifying
the new stadium.
It’s not the only time Loria blew up
a roster.
Within two years of winning the
2003 World Series, the Marlins dumped a
ton of salary in cost-cutting moves. They
traded Derrek Lee to the Cubs for HeeSeop Choi and a minor league player to
be named later, only to package Choi
with Brad Penny during the 2004 season
Jeffrey Loria (right) sits with Mark Buehrle (left) at a press conference after signing him last year. Buehrle was traded as part of a five player salary
dump that sent about $170 million in contracts to the Blue Jays on Nov. 17.
(David Santiago/El Nuevo Herald/MCT)
to the Dodgers for Pal Lo Duca, Juan
Encarnacion and Guillermo Mota.
The Marlins lost Carl Pavano and
Ivan Rodriguez to free agency in 2004
and Antonio Alfonseca, A.J. Burnett, Jeff
Conine, Encarnacion and Todd Jones left
via free agency the following year.
On Nov. 24, 2005, the Marlins
traded Carlos Delgado and Lo Duca to
the Mets for Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro
Petit. In a separate deal, they traded Mike
Lowell, Josh Beckett and Mota to the
Red Sox for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal
Sanchez and two others.
Later that offseason, the Marlins
dealt Luis Castillo to the Twins and Juan
Pierre, who re-signed with the Marlins
this winter, to the Cubs.
Then in 2007, the Marlins traded
2012 AL MVP Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers.
Loria got what he wanted; a new sta-
dium and Miami to adopt the Marlins as
its own team. But he showed once again
that to be a Marlin, it means that you’re
not going to play for an organization that
anyone respects.
Not even their players.
In the aftermath of the recent salary
dump, Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Morrison and Ricky Nolasco all voiced their
outrage on Twitter.
They’re not the only ones who
should be angry. The citizens of Miami
should be furious because their tax dollars went toward building Marlins Park
and the return on their buck will be years
of futility as long as Loria calls the shots.
It’s time for Selig to banish Loria
from MLB because it’s at the point
where his antics have diminished the
game’s integrity.
Contact Tom Dougherty at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
TRANSFER
Page 16
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