New Scene Reviews
Scene Cover
Deeply and completely
I. The Priming I deeply and completely accept myself. I deeply and completely accept myself. That’s right, Simon. Remember when you told me I have no friends? Remember, Harvard, when you waitlisted me? Remember, Ms. Donahue, when you gave me a B in second-grade Handwriting? I deeply and completely accept myself. Okay — deeply, maybe, but not completely: they...
Living
Shiner loves the veg
Vegetarians are not evil. There. I said it. Just last year I argued otherwise in the Yale Herald, dismissing vegetarianism as the childish product of poor self-control, faddism and cultural ignorance. I was wrong. To go veggie is a noble decision in pursuit of sustainability. The data doesn’t lie: Depending on the animal, every calorie of comestible meat demands...
Film
Blockbusters à la carte
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: June 24 Ingredients: Sweet robot cars, a militaristic agenda, Megan Fox’s boobs Recipe: With such a painful screenplay to accompany unbelievable special effects, the “Transformers” sequel will surely continue to do the cinematic equivalent of serving Grey Goose vodka in Moe’s Free Cups. The whole cast and crew returns (thank...
Living
Jedis at Toad’s
Monday night’s Jedi Mind Tricks show at Toad’s was a pretty standard underground concert — audience full of hip-hop heads and adventurous rockers, high-intensity verses and a lot of call-and-response. Every time DJ Kwestion dropped a beat, the whole crowd knew what it was and jumped up and down in anticipation. Rapper Vinnie Paz proceeded to tear through his verses...
Music
Sic futuristic
“Was it alright? Would you change anything?” he asks. Yes, more than. No, not a thing. I think. But I cannot express myself. I am dumbstruck. I could not create this // I want to create this. “He” is Steven Feigenbaum ’11, composer and director, and “it” is “Sic Futuristic,” a collaborative arts endeavour that merges Feigenbaum’s compositions with...
Interview
Backstage: Rufus Wainwright
Meet Rufus Wainwright, Canadian, son of Loudon Singer-songwriter extraordinaire QSo, you’re coming to Yale [Wainwright performed Thursday night], the “Gay Ivy.” By the way, did you know that we have that nickname? The maxim is, “One in four, maybe more.” Anyway, you’re here to perform a benefit concert as part of the first Yale LGBT alumni reunion. All...
Living
Can’t beat this meat
In most instances and for most people, discovering a fleshy torso-shaped object wrapped in an oversized garbage bag in the back of a friend’s car does not immediately conjure thoughts of a delicious meal. Even knowing what it was, I couldn’t help making any number of “I Know What You Did Last Summer”–inspired jests about destroying the evidence from a...
Living
Cigars: Healthy like CO2.
Mark Twain once quipped, “If I cannot smoke cigars in heaven, I shall not go!” Welcome to hell, Mr. Twain, and lasciate ogne speranza. In 80 countries around the world, fascistic politicians, egoistic self-righteous activists and Harvard University have nearly eradicated the happiness of cigar enthusiasts. Harvard has even gone so far as to suggest that any film in...
Theater
‘Body’ politic
Befitting a production that condemns a simplistic view of sexuality and gender, “The Student Body” evades classification. It is both performance art and play, both historical re-creation and original narrative. Although it is sometimes more provocative than constructive, it is ambitious and thoughtful throughout. Because the movie has impressive direction and stellar...
Living
Go big — like a freshman?
When Danielle Tomson ’12 walked into my “International History” class on the first day of the semester, I noted her use of bold red lipstick in conjunction with black skinny jeans, black leather boots and a wonderful black military coat. This girl was anything but funerary in her New York uniform, and I made sure to survey her outfits over the coming weeks. I was...
Living
Taste this, America
Even when our economy is malnourished, there are those who want to make sure everyone is fully fed. Last night at Taste of the Nation New Haven, nearly 400 people gathered at the Omni Hotel for a huge culinary gala to raise money to end childhood hunger. Sponsored by Share Our Strength, a national organization dedicated to making sure that the 12.4 million (one in six)...
Scenic Views
Kochevar: Cute smilin’, drnk dialin’
My father recently cut me off from our Verizon Family Share plan. “You’re your own ham cow, Steven!” Because my phone service was no more, we were using semaphore to communicate. Daddums was having some trouble minding his p’s and q’s. “What?” I waved back. “Whore your old man now, Steven!” “Dad, you’re scaring me!” “It’s just a part of...
Scenic Views
Fuhrer and Dockendorf: Poetry in pre-motion
Bulldog Days came and went, and pre-frosh got their first tastes of Dubramountain, Porn in the Morn, Portuguese (sim, tudo bem) and the occasional, unrelenting SAE penis. We spent Bulldog Days ’09 reading, writing, whittlin’ and generally being miffed that DUH was out of the new glow-in-the-dark condoms. (Who’d want to choose abstinence when you can make your Dick...
Scenic Views
Stephen: Cutz for Kidz
A few weeks ago, I got a haircut. It was remarkably bad. Approaching this unnamed barbershop — let’s call it Shmil’s (the one on Shmall Street, not the one on Shmroadway) — I was pretty damn nervous. There’s something very personal about haircuts, at least to me. That may be in part due to the fact that as a 6-year-old, an elderly barber accidentally cut a tiny...
Scenic Views
Gordon: crzy sxy frndly?
Last Saturday, I was babysitting an old alum. He was in town for the night and presenting a paper at some convention the next morning and wanted to have a good college time because he was creepy. I wanted to be around other people, because I had suspicions that he was creepy. So he left his stuff in my apartment and I took him to a couple parties. Bringing a 55-year-old...
Scenic Views
George: Relationships: nasty stuff
Dear Abby, It’s me, Matthew. You remember? I wrote to you once about the best way to win friends at Christian Camp. You suggested playing miniature golf with people, so I ended making up an invisible friend named Happy, and he always won! I tried to get Happy to go on the tandem ropes course, but the instructor kept insisting that “you’re just one person, kid...
Living
Late night snacks: Eating Yale for under $8
Where I Went: Yorkside Pizza & Restaurant, 288 York St. What I Ate: Gyro sandwich What It Set Me Back: $7.25 plus tax Everyone knows that Yorkside serves pizza, but those with Flex Points should delve deeper into the multi-page menu of this classic Yale eatery. To spend $150 a semester between two restaurants can be a chore, but the depth of Yorkside’s menu makes...
