december 9, 2011

“only the insane equate pain with success”

cover art by alex aguirre

rawr

style pg 3tattoos pg 6

nerds pg 8

on the cover

“untitled”

your art in rawr

rawr is an alternative weekly publication covering art, culture, campus life and entertainment.We are accepting art sub-missions each week for the cover. All forms of art will be accepted.

illustration

photography

mixed media

paintings

sculptures

Email: arg-arts@uidaho.edu

Alex Aguirre is a perfectly orchestrated mishap. This helps her calm photos twirl by themselves. She makes parking lots turn to play-grounds and street lamps become lollipops, thus giving a sweet flavor to the plain mundane.

Sagittarius 11/22 – 12/21You will be placed in a mor-al dilemma this week when two TV channels showing “Who’s the Boss?” re-runs and you’re forced to choose between episodes.

your writingin rawr

short fiction

poetry

non-fiction

we are accepting all forms of creativity for an artists corner.

the argonaut2

anja sundali | rawr

Musical preference says a lot about who a person is: laid back, peppy, homegrown, secure. Consider that the next time your favorite song comes on. What does it say about you? Here are some songs about expressing yourself.

“Who Says”Selena Gomez and the Scene

“I’m no beauty queen, I’m just beautiful me, who says, who says you’re not perfect, who says you’re not worth it.” Selena Gomez sings a song meant specifically to get you out of a funk. If you’re having

a bad day and feeling low, this is the perfect song.

“Firework”Katy Perry

“Baby you’re a firework, come on let you colors burst.” Never be afraid to be yourself. If someone has a problem with who you are, they’re not worth having in your life.

“Dirt Road Anthem”Jason Aldean

It’s that small town life-style where everyone knows everyone. It can be hard to be unique in small-town

America, but this song proves you can be.

“Dust in the Wind”Kansas

Dreams are a vital part of who we are. Don’t let them get away from you.

“We R Who We R”Ke$ha

Yes, she may be the glitter freak, but she knows a thing or two about being herself. “DJ turn it up, it’s about damn time to live it up, I’m so sick of being so serious, it’s makin’ my brain delirious.”

“Beautiful Day”Kerli

Estonian singer Kerli sings an upbeat song about a beauti-ful day when the world is turn-ing for you. It’s never too late to make your move.

“Shake it Out”Florence and the Machine

Anything gets you down, shake it out. It might be hard to dance with the devil on your back, but get up the strength, shake him off and be you.

“Lights” Ellie Goulding

Just remember to be strong.

“Suddenly I See”KT Tunstall

Sometimes it takes awhile to figure out who you are and what you want — when you do, click this track.

“Don’t Wanna Be”Gavin Degraw

“I don’t wanna be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately. All I have to do is think of me and my peace of mind.” Enough said.

horoscopes

Capricorn12/22 – 1/19Brace yourself — your brand new iPhone 4S will find its way into the washing machine this week and you will be forced to use your old Black-Berry while you wait for Apple to send you a new one.

Aquarius1/20 - 2/18 Congratulations. You’ve won a week-end at a fancy penthouse in New York City. And by “fancy penthouse” we mean a seedy one-bedroom with no hot water. And by New York City we mean Compton, N.J.

Pisces2/19 – 3/20We know you love your dog, but you need to stop spending your food budget on canine cashmere sweaters. Seriously, it’s a dog.

Aries3/21 - 4/19All the stars and planets are aligned for you this week. Know that drastic haircut you’ve been thinking about? How about that awesome face tat-too? Get them both.

Taurus4/20 - 5/20Neptune is in line with your creative side this month, so get out that paintbrush and start creating. Better yet, get a little extreme and make that statue of the Virgin Mary out of toenail clippings that you’ve always dreamed of.

Gemini5/21 - 6/20This might be a good week for you to lay low — apparently that scene you made in front of the Theophilus Tower didn’t rub people the right way, even if your lawyer is trying to play it off as performance art.

Cancer6/21 - 7/22Love is in the air for you during dead week. Don’t be afraid to tell your crush how you feel with a truly original gift. Although the bouquet of used kitchen utensils might not get the reaction you were hoping for.

Leo7/23 - 8/22No one appreciates your originality, but keep your chin up. Just because no one here understands your clown make-up or homemade hobo-hair shoes doesn’t mean you’re not a true individual.

Virgo8/23 - 9/22Remember, cool people don’t need friends to have a good time. They need sugar pills to have a good time.

Libra9/23-10/22You’ll start your superhero career early next week when an icicle breaks off the awning outside of Bob’s Place and you suddenly gain the strength and speed of inedible chicken cordon bleu.

Scorpio10/23 - 11/21You know that feeling you’ve been having, like someone’s watching you? Yeah, that’s a polar bear.

mix-taperhiannon rinas | rawr

express yourself

“aRgonaut Arts Weekly Review”

12.9.11

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Style is a statement of someone who is: Upbeat, outgoing, shy, quirky. The University of Idaho is a fashion runway without high-paid models.

Name: Hannah LynchMajor: Graphic design Year: Freshman Hannah Lynch combines comfort and

fashion in her cozy, simple style. “I make sure I am comfortable every

day, but still put-together,” Lynch said. “I love black, I’m not colorful.”

Lynch said she loves sweaters and scarves, but people should not sacrifice

appearance for the sake of comfort. She advises comfort-lovers to avoid look-ing like they just crawled out of bed by leaving “hoodies, and bell-bottoms and sweats in general” at home.

“If you want to be comfortable, wear leggings,” Lynch said.

Lynch said her favorite designer is J. Crew and style icon is Rachel Bilson. Her style pet peeve is trend-followers and anything bedazzled.

Name: Max Cowan Major: General chemistry, interna-

tional studiesYear: FreshmanMax Cowan said he “didn’t know he

had personal style.”

nicole lichtenbergrawr

His dark purple flannel shirt, dark wash 511s and beeswax desert boots tell a different story. Cowan’s style is simple and down to Earth but never sloppy or careless.

“You have to wear something, and you might as well look nice,” Cowan said.

Heavy on the classics, his wardrobe favorites include, “Clark Desert boots in beeswax leather, and this (aubergine Wool-rich Flannel) shirt ... a violent blue Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County T-shirt and my Levi 511s.”

In addition to nailing men’s style, Cowan had a few pieces of advice regard-ing women’s fashion.

“Improperly fitting bras are awful,” Cowan said. “It should only look like you have two boobs. Leggings aren’t pants. Un-derwear is a must, especially under skirts.”

Name: Jeff KloepherMajor: HistoryYear: SophomoreJeff Kloepher doesn’t let labels stick

to him, and describes his personal style as hipster.

“Clash of a little bit of everything,” Kloepher said. “Hipster, goth, cyber goth, what-have-you — mainly hipster.”

Kloepher said he is “sick of seeing major brand-name clothing — Hollis-

ter, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle” and wants to see more people wearing their own style.

His style icon is his friend Amber, a graduate of the UI.

A shopping spree with Kloepher leads to Metro Clothing Company and The Crypt in the Capitol Hill section of Seattle.

Name: Max LeuMajor: Clothing, textiles and designYear: FreshmanMax Leu said his style is “form-fitting,

gaudy, themed, costumey (and) wrong.” “I love attention,” Leu said. “Style is

an art form. It’s important to present yourself as unique. It’s important to stand out.”

Leu said a pair of knee-high boots from a thrift store is his favorite item of his wardrobe. Although Leu usually shops second-hand, he admires the designs of Alexander McQueen. His fashion idol, Lady Gaga, takes every risk she can.

“I love how her outfits are always so different,” Leu said.

Leu advises an increase in belts and de-crease in Ugg boots. His style pet peeve is when girls wear “unattractive silhouettes, like bad baby-doll dresses.”

Leu’s style advice to the world:“Dress crazier. Experiment with things.”

Making a statement with style

alex aguirre | rawrSenior Douglas Hogan plays pool Monday at the Garden Lounge. Hogan describes his style as portraying “the protagonist of a hyper-real stereotypical, metanarrative.”

the argonaut 12.9.114

Write it out:Journals are everywhere

and they’re as different as the people who write in them. They can be pink or leather bound, themed or a forum for free expression, typed or videotaped, hidden under mattresses or posted online for the world to see.

They’re called by various names — journals, notebooks, diaries, blogs — and while they’re all different, they share a common bond. Every journal is a place for writers to de-velop thoughts and concepts, reflect on ideas and work through the creative process.

Jeff Jones, a lecturer in the department of English at the University of Idaho, prefers the term notebook and de-fines them as a comfortable space for capturing thoughts and ideas, and working on aspects of craft.

“With many other arts, the idea of practice is embed-ded — music, dance, theater,” Jones said. “However, with writing, we tend to have the idea that it just takes time, as if all I have to do is sit down and knock out this five-page essay and be done with it. I think that’s not the best way to think about writing. Just like any art form, it requires practice, and a notebook is the best place for that.”

He also said it’s important to have a place to explore creative thoughts and write down developing ideas before they’re forgotten.

“I’m completely taken with Natalie Goldberg’s defense of free writing — that we all have these lightning-bolt moments, but if we don’t sit down soon afterward and try to capture the energy in the idea, it’ll, poof, be gone,” Jones said.

Goldberg also writes about using a journal or notebook to create a free space to let

the mind roam, Jones said, to foster and pur-sue what Goldberg calls the “wild mind.” He said it can feel dangerous or risky, but a space for complete freedom of thought and expression is necessary, which is why he assigns notebooks in his classroom.

“I’ve found them essen-tial,” Jones said. “It’s true, though, that some students don’t take to free writing as readily as others. Everyone’s different, everyone has a dif-ferent process, but it never hurts to try a new method to generate work.”

For some, getting started can be daunting. Sara Ramirez, UI sophomore, said the last time she started a new journal she broke it in by carrying it around with her.

“I’d take my journal every-where and if I saw some-thing that I didn’t like or just wanted to write or I felt inspired, I would just take my journal out and write it down,” Ramirez said.

Writing down creative ideas, recording observations and journaling for class aren’t the only reasons students start journals.

Erin Nansel, UI freshman, said she started journaling

because it is an entertaining way to create a document of her present life for the future.

“When I was a little kid, my mom bought me a diary, it was a Barbie one,” Nansel said. “A couple of years ago I found it again and I thought what I wrote was funny, and I was like, ‘Wow, why did I do that or why did I say that?’ So I

started up again so in a couple years, or like 10 or 20 years, I can see what I was doing.”

Ramirez said she started journaling to capture ideas, and create an outlet for stress.

“Once I write them down, I can think more clearly about what’s stressing me and then I can reflect on that and think of possible solutions,”

Ramirez said.Nansel said she also uses

her journal to vent about frustration in a positive way.

“When I’m really stressed, I’ve noticed that when I write in my journal, I feel better,” Nansel said. “It’s my way of getting my steam out without getting mad or irritated.”

It can be difficult to get into the swing of journaling, Nansel said, and the best way to uti-lize and keep up a journal is to write in it every day, even if it’s only a few sentences.

“You just have to do it because it’s easy to not do it,” Nansel said. “You just have to do it, keep doing it and then it becomes a habit and it’s no longer a hassle anymore, it just feels good.”

Jones recommends Gold-berg’s book “Writing Down the Bones” to anyone inter-ested in keeping a journal or notebook.

“It’s utterly inspiring,” Jones said. “If you haven’t kept a notebook before read-ing this book, you will after.”

illustration by erin dawson | rawr

melissa floresrawr

Journal keeping as a form of expression, stress relief

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Daniel Orozco, associate professor in the University of Idaho English department and published fiction writer, said declaring your intent to be a writer is on par with chal-lenging the gods.

“To be a writer is so ab-stract,” Orozco said. “It’s like an act of hubris to say ‘I want to be a writer’ … I just kind of put one foot in front of the other, basically, and waited to see where it would lead me.”

He said he hated writing in school but decided to pur-sue it in his 30s for reasons that mystify him. He likes to immerse himself in the cre-ation of fictional worlds, and enjoys the problem-solving process of shaping words to dramatic effect.

Writing is re-writing, he said, and he loves revising his work. He doesn’t write to

establish an audience or tell the world his message.

“I don’t know if I have something to say,” he said. “The audience for my writing is me inside my head. The fact that I’ve found an audience is great, but for me it’s always about puzzling out and solv-ing a narrative problem.”

Orozco said he doesn’t like to talk about the busi-ness side of writing with his friends, but he will discuss the art of writing with anyone. The only significant competition a writer has is with himself, he said.

Associate UI English profes-sor Kim Barnes has published two memoirs and several works of fiction. She said she writes to understand the mo-tives and makeup of existence. People have life stories, she said, and those can be jumbled by pain and loss.

“Every day we wake up and tell ourselves the stories

of our lives,” she said. “But if something disrupts that, we can fall into chaos. My job is to help people make sense of their life narratives.”

Such disruptions make the best stories. Barnes said her second mem-oir, “Hungry for the World,” was a kind of tale she’d never attempted before, and it was difficult to explore her motives and work through the “silence and shame” of her experiences.

“I want to write something that will break your heart and be beautiful,” Barnes said. “Something that will stay with you because it affected you deeply.”

Barnes said writing is as much a discipline as any-thing else.

“It’s like any other practice,”

she said. “If you don’t take your time to practice your meditation, go to bed Buddhist and wake up Buddhist, you won’t grow (as a Buddhist). It’s like that for me.”

Tim Rich, Sisters’ Brew cafe co-owner, writes for two non-fiction websites about stamps, TV shows and old movies, and was published in the fantasy fiction magazine “Bards and Sages Quarterly” last year.

He said his first explorations into fantasty literature were through the

superhero comic books his father bought for him when he was a child. The first novel he read, H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” further cultivated his imaginative interest. He said he sees each day’s events through the lens of a storyteller.

“Just about every experi-ence I have during the day will make me go off some-where else and start thinking how that could be in a story,” Rich said. “I get into the mood to write thinking about those things, and then just turn them into stories.”

This means he never has trouble coming up with ideas, he said. His wife frequently reads and provides feedback on his work. She will be honest without cruelty and read multiple drafts, and he has the freedom to play with ideas. Such a regular, objec-tive perspective is crucial, Rich said, and every writer would benefit from some-thing similar.

“You never stop learning how to make a story better,” Rich said.

Scott Janke, owner of used bookstore Read It Again, Inc., said he started writing early in his life, with character stories and outlines for games with his friends. He prefers to write fantasy literature for its sense of imaginative mystery, but is also interested in TV and film genres. He said he organizes a lot in his head before he sits down to write, particularly with first sentences.

“I will probably write that a hundred different times, while I’m in the shower, while I’m walking the dog, while I’m on the treadmills, whatever it is,” Janke said.

Janke said whether writing fantasy entertainment fiction or complex literature that gives insight on humanity, all writing helps hone a writer’s craft. He hopes to have some recognition internationally but has no ambitions of be-coming the next Stephen King or Nora Roberts.

Whatever he writes, Janke said he enjoys texturing his worlds with details.

“When was the last time you looked at a sunset?” he said. “Notice the world around you, and maybe I can make you a world.”

Stories we tell

matt mawrawr

zach edwards | rawrScott Janke, owner of Read It Again Inc. and a fantasy literature writer, tends to his store on Second Street in Moscow. Janke said he thinks a lot about how he will organize a story line prior to actually writing.

I want to write something that will break your heart and be beautiful.”

kim barnes

Local writers discuss their process

Tattoo artist Telisa Swan said women tend to want tattoos that are pretty and decorative, while men go for something more grisly.

“It’s like men will wear their demands on the outside, some-thing kind of gruesome a lot of the time or death-related, or may-be more warrior-ish,” said Swan, of Swan Family Ink. “Women tend to want to beautify themselves with tattoos and men maybe want to more express themselves with tattoos.”

Swan hadn’t intended to be a tattoo artist, it just snowballed into a career after she did her first tattoo in 1993. Swan said she thinks people get tattooed for healing purposes and that she does a lot of memorials, along with religious tattoos.

“I love to do portraits,” Swan said. “It’s something that I’m

good at and it really seems to make people happy. A lot of times they’re memorials for something and it helps the person to heal somehow so it makes me feel good.”

Swan said people like tattoos because they are a display of ex-erting control over their bodies.

“I get a lot of women and especially those who are getting divorced or something like that,” Swan said. “It’s just like they have this idea of their personal freedom and they can express themselves by getting tattooed. But I’m not exactly sure what makes them so popular, because it’s painful and it also carries social stigma.”

The pigment in the ink makes the tattoo permanent, Swan said. A tattoo places particles of pig-ment in the upper layers of skin

Rhiannon Rinas | rawrWearing emotions on your skin

alex aguirre | rawrPolitical science senior Lindsay Oden shows o! his tattoos Thursday in an abandoned lot. Oden got his peace-sign tattoo (not shown) at Untamed Art and his skull tattoo at Falling Moon in Moscow. Oden said he likes tattoos because it allows him to express himself and com-municate his personality to those around him.

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— the epidermis and the top layer of the dermis.

“The particles of pigment are larger than your body can really deal with,” Swan said. “When you get contaminants in your body you process them out through your lymph nodes and out of your body … your body encases the pigment in your skin and kind of makes a protective coating around it and it holds it there to protect your body.”

Swan said each client reacts differently to getting tattooed, from being completely stoic, to crying, screaming and cursing, but the reaction when it’s finished is always positive.

“As soon as you’re done with needle-to-skin they’re great,” Swan said. “I think they have a residual endorphin high, so a lot of times they forget a lot of their stuff here. They walk out door and they’ve left their jacket and their wallet … There’s some euphoria at the end.”

University of Idaho senior Lind-say Oden got his first tattoo when he was 19 and the other when he was 21. He has a skull with flow-ers growing out it — roots coming out of the mouth and flowers coming out of the eyes — and a peace sign made of an olive tree — one on each arm.

“(The skull) symbolizes the afterlife. When I die my body will be returned to the earth where it came from,” Oden said. “And the other is because the most impor-tant value that we can all strive for is peace, and the olive tree is an international symbol of peace.”

Oden said he likes the visibility of his tattoos.

“I think that a tattoo expresses who you are (and) expresses your beliefs,” Oden said. “So I wanted to put it somewhere where people could see it and either interpret as they wanted to or see it and ask me about it.”

Melissa Appel’s tattoo is of a shooting star with the circle of fifths from music theory and a line from a musical theater song called “Left Behind” from “Spring Awakening” on the back of her shoulder.

“I am synesthetic, I see sound in color — conversations, music,

natural sounds, and the notes are different colors according to what I see when I hear those particular notes,” UI student Appel said.

The song itself , she said, de-scribes her drive to be a musical theater actress and the different music symbols represent her pas-sion for the stage.

The biggest issue Appel faced getting her tattoo was money and the possible ramifications in her career of choice.

“Studying music and theater requires you to be professional,” Appel said. “In the theater aspect you have to be careful where you put tattoos because of costum-ing, and for me I wanted it to be visible, but I needed to have in a place that could be covered in make-up or a costume.”

Swan said she interacts with a

lot of younger people and she tries to talk to them about the stigmas that can come with tattoos.

“I thought I had a handle on the stigma, but then I got my arms tattooed, my sleeves, and I’ll be in a checkout line somewhere usually in the south (of Idaho) and somebody’s just being so rude to me, and I can’t figure out why,” Swan said. “Then I realize it’s because of my tattoo. People have it in their mind that you’re some type of terrible person.”

Swan tells her clients to consider how their skin is go-ing to age.

“They want to write, like whole Bible verses on their rib cage in tiny little lettering and you have to explain to them that over time your skin softens,” Swan said. “Ink’s going to kind of spread out

a little bit, They’re not going to be able to read it if it’s too small. It’s not going to look perfectly straight when you sag somewhere.”

Appel said she is the process of designing another tattoo.

“(I’m) also trying to figure out a place I can put that,” Appel said. “Originally it was going to be kind of like a flower bracelet and have the names of my five younger siblings in there … I may get it on the back of my neck and have a tropical flower design.”

Oden said his skull tattoo took the longest, but was less painful than he expected.

“It’s like getting a flu shot a bunch of times in a row, but even-tually you either get used to it or you become numb,” Oden said.

Oden said he wants to get the rest of his arms, chest, back and

possibly legs tattooed. “For my back I’m thinking

about a big tree,” Oden said. “I think the tree symbolizes a lot of things like strength and dexterity and perseverance.”

He’s working on an hourglass with wings for his chest to sym-bolize mortality.

“We all have to come to grips with the fact that we’re all going to die some day and our own personal hourglasses are going to eventually run out,” Oden said.

He said he likes tattoos because they communicate his personality to passers-by.

“It’s almost like literally wearing your heart on your sleeve”, Oden said. “It’s like wearing your emotions and beliefs on your skin.”

Wearing emotions on your skin

alex aguirre | rawrEnglish literature senior Rachel Harmon shows o! her tattoo in her Moscow apartment Monday. Harmon said she got her tattoo May at Swan Family Ink. The tattoo was inspired by album artwork from the band “of Montreal.”

the argonaut 12.9.118

In 1950, Dr. Seuss’ “If I Ran the Zoo” told the story of Gerald McGrew and his plans if he were to own a zoo that creatures known as Nerds would come from the land of Ka-Troo.

The American Heritage Dictionary lists Dr. Seuss as the originator of the word ‘nerd.’ It defines nerd as: “1) A foolish, inept, or unattractive person; and 2) a person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.”

And then there is the Renssaleer Polytechnic Institute who claimed “knurd,” (drunk spelled backward) meant people who prefer technical hobbies to socializing.

But Rob Gibson, sixth-year march-ing band member and self-proclaimed nerd and geek, has his own definition.

“It’s difficult to define geek or nerd because I use them interchangeably,” Gibson said. “There probably is a definition, but these terms are thrown around so loosely that it seems to be very subjective.”

Gibson said the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a nerd is devotion — there is a common goal they are all trying to achieve. That goal, he said, is usually academic.

Though Gibson could define what makes up a nerd’s personality, he could not describe physical characteristics.

“I’m less interested in what people look like as opposed to who they are because I want to know who they are, because that is the person I am inter-ested in,” Gibson said. “Looks change, but your personality and who you are develop. You’ve got your core and that’s going to remain.”

Gibson said he has never seen the stereotypical nerd with glasses and a button up shirt. He believes that mov-ies and television shows use those physical stereotypes to save time.

“I think you stick to stereotypes so you can go in and out of scenes in shorter time and people can understand what’s going on by the way they are dressed without saying much,” Gibson said. “You can auto-matically define them by what they are wearing and certain stereotypes.”

Gibson believes that is not true in real life, however.

“I’m a nerd and I dress for com-

fort,” he said. “It goes back to the core and personality.”

Additionally, Gibson claims he is a geek.“In band, we call ourselves band

geeks, which seems to be the social norm regarding most band individu-als,” Gibson said. “Society is in agree-ment with those participating in the band as well as those not participating in the band that we are bank geeks.”

The American Heritage Dictionary defines geek as “1) a person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy; and 2) a person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.” It also defined geek as a carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts.

Gibson said “band geeks” are pas-sionate and love music.

“We are all spirited, and we don’t really apply to the social norm and we aren’t out here to be cool or to impress people,” Gibson said. “We are here because we want to be here and we are confident with who are.”

Gibson said he doesn’t apply stereotypes completely because their accuracy is limited. He said there is a threshold.

“If you are talking to someone out on the street, I am a band geek, but if you are talking to someone on the professional level, I am a mem-ber of the Vandal Marching Band and I am very passion-ate about what I do,” Gibson said. “These are my inter-ests and this is how I dis-play them so it’s a sense of professionalism.”

Andy Read, UI student, describes his passion with computers as geeky. Read said both terms — geek and nerd — have negative and positive connotations.

“Nerds tend to be the sort of people that want to get deeper into understand-ing issues than others would,”

Read said. “They want to truly under-stand how something works.”

Geeks are interested in things that others are not interested in and are dedicated to what they like, he said.

“They really don’t care that much about what other people think about them,” Read said.

But Read said the common geek and nerd passions are now becoming popular.

“I don’t know if now everyone wants to be unique now, but now it seems that a lot of things that were once nerdy or geeky are becoming popular like Star Wars, or gaming among everyone,” Read said.

Read said nerdy and geeky trends have become even more mainstream because of the Internet.

“Before, only some people could operate a computer due to its difficulty,” Read said. “Now computers are becom-ing more user-friendly and with the help of the Internet, it seems that everyone can operate a computer — they think of themselves as computer geeks.”

It’s always been apparent that nerds are smarter than most people so they’ve accomplished more things,

he said. “Now you have these nerds

that are famous and everyone wants to be like them,” Read said. “People like Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates because of their success.”

Nerds vs. Geekskristi atkinson

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What’s the difference between the two?

alex aguirre | rawrMusic education majors and fraternal twins, Pete and Je! Chambers, walk through the Administration Lawn to their class in Ridenbaugh Hall Monday. The two said they share a great deal in common and will often unintentionally show up to classes wearing the same clothing.

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Growing up as a twin, one never has to worry about lack-ing a best friend.

Pete and Jeff Chambers were told by their mother they wouldn’t ever have to worry about being alone. The two are from Kennewick, Wash., and a family of six.

“We have two older broth-ers that are 9 and 11 years older than us,” Jeff said. “By the time we were in middle school they were off to college, so if one of us wouldn’t have been born, one of us would’ve been pretty much an only child from sixth grade on.”

The boys are fraternal University of Idaho seniors, but people often mix them up.

“I do enjoy going along with it when I’m called Jeff,” Pete said. “Other times it’s tough to know when it’s appropriate to make fun of somebody versus

just letting it slide.” Recently, a professor could

not tell them apart. Pete said he spent the entire class debating whether or not to correct him.

Pete said he doesn’t under-stand why people get them mixed up so often because Jeff is a foot taller than him and is blonde, while Pete is brunette.

On Black Friday last year, Pete said he woke up at 4 a.m. to go shopping for a black jacket, and then had to work an eight-hour shift the rest of the day. His brother woke up at noon and also went shopping for a black coat. He ended up getting the jacket that Pete was originally looking for but couldn’t find — the better jacket.

The boys said they frequent-ly show up to class wearing the same outfit without even see-ing each other ahead of time.

“I think having a twin is such a rare thing, it’s not that common,” Jeff said. “Every

now and then it occurs to me ‘whoa, I’m a twin – what are the odds of that.’ And then I wonder what it’s like to not have a twin … I guess I’ll never know.”

Ashley and Lindsey An-derson, UI fraternal twins, said their twin relationship resembles that of an old mar-ried couple.

“We have a lot of ups and downs but more ups for sure. It’s cool to have a best friend,” Ashley said.

Growing up, Ashley was the pink girl and Lindsey was the purple girl. Ashley hated pink as a little girl.

“I remember (Mom) dressed us in matching clothes but different colors until the age of 12. It was really embarrass-ing actually,” Lindsey said. “I’m glad those days are over.”

Lindsey said being a twin is like having an “Ashley moni-tor.”

“If (Ashley’s) down about something, I can just feel it. It’s kind of weird how that works,” Lindsey said. “You just develop a bond you won’t find with a lot of people. It’s better to embrace it instead of just hate being a twin. There are a lot of benefits.”

Lindsey said she knows twins who absolutely hate each other because growing up people put them in the same identity bubble.

“Ashley and I have always had a pretty good relationship probably since we’ve been through so much together — it’s rock solid,” Lindsay said.

“We are so different which is probably why we complement each other well because if you’re too similar you end up hating each other.”

The women said they have favorite twin moments every day and are constantly making each other laugh.

One year, they spent most of their time away from each other. Ashley said it was really hard for her because she feels she’s more dependent than Lindsey is.

“I haven’t had a relationship like this with anyone else and I don’t think I will,” Ashley said.

molly spencerrawr

alex aguirre | rawrSophomore fraternal twins Ashley (left) and Lindsey Anderson (right) hang Christmas ornaments on a tree in their o! campus apartment Monday. The two said they often have uncontrollable laughing fits, making ordering through drive-thrus almost impossible.

Two is better than one

Twins talk about similarities, di!erences and life together

Two is better than one

12.9.1110

The point of a toe, line of an arm, and the feeling of soaring through the air, using every muscle perfectly in sync and making it look as

simple as walking. This is ballet, something

mostly seen in movies and on stage and that only a few ever feel.

Anna Hein, student in an advanced ballet class at the University of Idaho, said bal-

let is a meditative act for her. “You get really in-tune

with yourself,” Hein said. “You can really think about the different parts of your body and how they react to each other — kind of what’s holding you all together.”

Every bodily movement and placement in ballet is done with intent, Hein said. Everything has to work to-gether to achieve the perfect look, down to the minute rotation of joints.

Veronica Pupava, a dance minor also in an advanced ballet class, said she loves the “law and order” side of dance, the notion that there is a right and a wrong way of doing things.

“I like that you have that consistency, and you’re al-ways having to think,” Pupava said. “It kind of makes it so everything else falls away.”

Pupava said dance can be peaceful and frustrating. The balance of emotions is what makes dance enjoyable for her though.

Mia Song Seshiki, who teaches advanced ballet classes at UI, said dancing and moving are huge stress relievers for her as well.

“If I don’t move for a week I get kind of antsy … My husband is like ‘you’ve got to do something because you’re driving me nuts.’ It’s also thinking of the artistic aspect of it,” Seshiki said. “In ballet it’s all about being artistic — so how to make your body an art form and creative.”

Hein said she loves the rules of ballet, but it is still an art form. Expression still comes from the dancer, she said, even if they are follow-ing all the rules.

“You can follow all those rules and be correct, but then there’s that extra that you can give it — that extra oompf of you that makes it yours,” Hein said.

Seshiki said the best danc-ers are those who can follow the rules and are dynamic to watch.

“Some people are really good technicians and some people are really good per-formers — some people are both,” Seshiki said.

Seshiki said making bal-let look effortless is one of its greatest challenges to dancers. Pupava said she hates that she has to make it look easy while dancing, but

that’s the reason she loves to watch ballet.

“Ballet to the audience members seems like a little girl thing,” Pupava said. “But really the reality of it is that you have blisters and bleed-ing feet, and your teachers are telling you pretend like you have a meat hook in your chest making you stand taller. I’m always jealous of the football players who can make the ugly faces.”

Not only do dancers have to follow rules while making it look simple, but differ-ent disciplines that have different rules. These meth-ods include Russian, Asian, Vagonova — a type of Russian technique — and Balanchine.

Hein said these technical differences are small, but they make a huge difference when they are presented on a stage as a whole.

“One of them has your leg going out to second before it comes in to passé. The other one just has your leg going straight to passé. It’s just a bunch of little things, stylis-tic differences,” Hein said.

All the styles approach ballet in different ways, but strive to achieve similar shapes — the longest line, or lifting up the body and work-ing through the feet, Ses-hiki said. She said she thinks some of the techniques are more body-friendly, while some of them have a “do or die” air about them.

“I teach modified Va-gonova Russian style … We try to ideally get to a perfect turnout — 180 degree rota-tion from the hips. The modi-fied, we focus on reaching out or lengthening the body. Old school Russian is a little more dainty, a little bit more delicate,” Seshiki said.

Hein said that she wishes people understood that ballet isn’t just a sport, it’s an art. She said it makes her sad that people think of ballet as something that is boring or archaic rather than the ever-evolving beautiful art form it is.

the argonaut

alex aguirre | rawrJunior diatetics major Anna Hein practices during a ballet class Friday in the Physical Education Building.

see love, page 11

Harnessing strength, balance to perform with grace

kristen koester-smithrawr

rawr 11

Lots of celebrities change their names to improve their career, if you could change your name what would it be and why?

SPEAK

OUT

megan risivirtual technology and design / junior

“Megra, because I love Meg from Hercules. She’s gorgeous and

always kickin’ ass.”

jeff kloepferhistory / sophomore

“Guy Bradley is a combination of my middle name ‘Bradley’ and the name that I choose in French class, which is Guy pronounced ‘gi,’ but I’m going with the English version, which is ‘guy.’  I choose this as a pseud-onym while in high school and it has stuck ever since.”

jordan crumEnglish / junior

“Victoria Krum would be a play on my last name and the fact that everybody knows of Victor Krum from the Harry Potter books and would get a good laugh from it.”

nicole lichtenbergrawr

“It’s an art and it should be looked at as an art instead of a sport ... It’s some-thing to be mastered. It’s something that is continuous, that you work on throughout your life,” Hein said.

Pupava said people don’t realize how athletic and competitive ballet truly is. She said she feels that people don’t think dancers work very hard, especially at UI.

“Maybe we’re not working as much with academics … but you’re work-ing in a different way, athletically. I’ve seen dance injuries (that) are some-times even worse than the football injuries,” Pupava said. “I think people misconceive how tough it is to be a dancer.”

Seshiki said she thinks many people view dancers as anorexic, and that is just not true. Professional dancers have demanding schedules, she said, and if they were feeling weak from not eating, their jobs would be in jeopardy.

Despite the challenges and society’s sometimes-dismissive view of ballet, it continues to be a defining factor in

the lives of dancers, even if they do it for different reasons. Pupava said she loves to be the center of attention when she is on stage.

“I definitely love the spotlight. If I didn’t perform I don’t think it’d be worth it ... it’s the hardest feeling to explain, but it’s the best feeling in the world when you’re up on that stage,” Pupava said.

Audiences can tell a lot about danc-ers when they perform, Pupava said.

Hein said although dancing is important internally for her, people can see her love for dance when she performs.

“Especially after I took that year off, I had people come up to me and say ‘wow I’ve never seen you so happy before, a part of you came alive,’” she said.

Seshiki said when people watch her dance they can tell it comes from her heart.

“It’s like ‘this girl, she loves to dance,’” Seshiki said. “It comes from the soul, rather than the methodical thought of ‘oh this step goes to this step, which goes to this music.’ It’s a true passion.”

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alex aguirre | rawr