Comedian and Last Comic Standing (NBC) semi-finalist Tracey Ashley joined MSU students and East Lansing residents alike at the Union on the evening of Saturday, April 10^th. Following young comedians Felicia Gillespie and Ryan McKernan, Ashley performed for an hour and half to a full crowd in the main room of the Union. Ashley sat down with TBG’s own Alyssa Firth for a one on one interview after the show.

Firth: How did you like the audience?

Tracey Ashley: The audience was fantastic. They were great. They got everything, they were on top of it. They knew when to laugh. So obviously you guys get a lot of comedy here, so it was fun. This was a fun show.

Firth: Do you tend to get stuck up crowds once in awhile?

TA: Oh yeah. It’s not even that they’re stuck up sometimes. They might just be too young. We did a show last night and it was little sibs weekend so they had all their brothers and sisters, and like the youngest was eleven years old. You know, I’m talking politics, I’m talking about marriage, all kinds of things. I felt bad, so I did a joke for her so she could feel comfortable. It was just like a little kid joke, you know? They were fine, but there were some things I said and they were really like “Aww!” but they really thought, they took it literally. And their hearts were broken and I was like, “Come on you guys, just join reality.” But they were okay. But tonight was fantastic.

Firth: What did you think of the opening acts?

TA: They’re great. The young lady, Felicia Gillespie, she travels with me and she’s an up and coming star and you’ll hear her name a lot and I’m sure she’s going to be doing a lot of colleges. So I like her brand of humor a lot. And I like the young man, I think his name was Ryan, he was excellent. And you can tell he’s been doing this quite a bit, coming out here. And I like the twist with the guitar at the end. So it made for a, we had a variety show kind of tonight. So it made it, I thought it was great. It was a good build up.

Firth: Do you go to a lot of college campuses?

TA: I do a lot of college campuses. It’s funny that I didn’t do this school. A few years ago, I did a bunch of schools in Michigan. I started up in Sault St. Marie and I worked my way all the way back. I did big schools, small schools, but I never made it here because I think I was booked somewhere, so it was great to come back up here. We’ve done three schools in Michigan this week.

Firth: Well we’re glad to have you here!

TA: Thank you! Thank you!

Firth: How long have you been telling jokes?

TA: I’ve been doing comedy now for a total of 10 years, but not ten years straight doing comedy. I had a day job. I worked in advertising sales. I sold for a radio station that used to broadcast the Minnesota Vikings, so I sold there. I worked at a hip hop station for awhile and then when I decided to do comedy, I left the station and started doing temp work, so I could do a temp job and then go on the road. It wasn’t till I was able to get an agent and a manager that I could do it full time. Then I did Last Comic Standing and a lot of college students watch that. That ended up getting me on a lot of conferences, so since then I’ve been doing a lot of colleges and clubs.

Firth: Were you funny growing up?

TA: It’s so funny, cause in school I was funny. My family didn’t know cause, you know, I was raised by preachers, so at home I had to be contained and be on my best behavior. They would be shocked because they would get these phone calls from school, like, “Your niece won’t shut up in class.” I had one teacher, my professor, science professor, he threw me out of class and I wasn’t even talking. I said, “I wasn’t even talking!” and he said, “Well if you weren’t, you were gonna.” That’s how bad I was! He threw me out and I turned around and I just started acting out, like, “I’ma get you. I’ma get you!” and all the students were laughing. I just always liked to make people laugh, so it was something that I knew that I always wanted to and I couldn’t wait for the opportunity.

TBG Editor and ballroom dancer Marla Kalmbach takes you behind the scenes of MSU’s Ballroom Dance Team.

For most freshman, myself included, a student’s first job at MSU may go along the lines of something like serving food in a dining hall, making coffee at Sparty’s, or even handing out toilet paper and garbage bags at the front desk of any given dorm. RCAH freshman Brynne, however, took the alternative route for her first job. Brynne poses nude for figure drawing and sculpting classes at Kresge Art Center.

Nude Models have to stand in specific poses for a long period of time (photo credit: Emily Lawler. Note: Not real model.)

The Life of a Nude Model at MSU

Brynne found her job through myspartancareer.com. After finding out about it, she went straight to Kresge Art Center to get information. “There was just something inside me that was just like, ‘You have to do this,’” Brynne said.

Her parents were a little upset at first and her friends were confused by her choice of job, but now they admire and respect her. “My parents still don’t like it, but they knew they couldn’t stop me,” Brynne said.

Though she has never been ridiculed for her modeling, men sometimes get the wrong idea. “To guys, it’s a bit like being a stripper. They’ll say ‘Oh, maybe I should take one of your classes,’ but I really don’t care,” Brynne said. The embarrassment of standing naked in front of a room full of people faded away after two classes for Brynne. “I’m a pretty confident person, which makes it a lot easier. I wouldn’t recommend this to the weak-minded,” Brynne said.

The models do not know what class they are going to be modeling for or when. Brynne currently poses for five different classes, usually once or twice a week. It may get boring at times standing up there, but students will sometimes hold conversations with the models. “They’ll ask ‘What’s your major?’ or ‘Why are you doing this?’ Sometimes it’s awkward, but sometimes they play music to get the artists’ creativity flowing,” Brynne said. Though she does get breaks, it is difficult to stand still for such a long period of time. Brynne fell once during a forty five-minute pose. “It’s physically exhausting, but it depends on the pose,” Brynne said.

What the Artists See

Journalism and design specialization freshman Dennis Vlahoulis took the STA 110 class last fall with Britta Urness. This was his first time drawing a nude figure. “I wasn’t as uncomfortable as some of my classmates… In my eyes, there was little distinction between the mannequin and an actual person. In the end, it all turns into art,” Vlahoulis said.

Seeing the human body makes it easier to draw for him. “You start to see the body in shapes that are interconnected to create the human form. The more you practice and develop, the easier it will become,” Vlahoulis said.

Brianna Ritivoy drew nude models in an art class she took (photo credit: Emily Lawler).

Why They Need to be NAKED!

But for anyone who has never taken an art class or had any interest in the field, you might ask yourself, why? Why must they be naked of all things? Graduate teaching assistant and painting major April Matthews teaches the STA 110 class this year, in which the class views a nude model for two weeks at the end of the semester. “Students get a better idea of the structure of the human body, and how the body moves,” Matthews said. “You can compare it to a doctor working on a cadaver. Even if you don’t end up drawing, you need to get an idea of why the body moves, why clothes fit the way they do,” Matthews said.

The models do a variety of poses for three hours for the class. They start with short, active poses to show movement and they last from anywhere between thirty seconds to five minutes. Throughout the class, the poses will become longer, going from fifteen minutes to even forty-five minutes. “It’s really important for life drawing. It’s a lot harder than people realize to get the right posture,” Matthews said.

The models are not always nude for every class. It all depends on what the teacher or professor wants for the class. “[Models in] sculpture classes will sometimes wear clothes,” Matthews said. It may be less awkward to draw someone who is wearing clothes, but seeing the body makes it easier to get the right shape. “Clothes, though they can somewhat be form-fitting, are often much simpler from a drawing aspect than the curves, tonal differences, holistic nature of the nude human form,” Vlahoulis said.

As strange as it may sound to be willing to pose nude, it becomes normal for teachers, students, and models. “It becomes a job. You just kind of ignore the strangeness and it becomes ordinary,” Matthews said. “Most of us care more about the artistic details presented within our own artwork than an uncomfortable situation,” Vlahoulis said.

For Brynne, the modeling has become an enlightening experience that she plans to continue doing throughout her stay at MSU. “I’ve become a lot more confident in myself; I have nothing to hide anymore. It makes being myself a lot easier,” Brynne said.

Imagine sitting down in the cafeteria and instead of reading the news or looking at those triangle things on the table, a new, free, fashion magazine is staring back. Lauren and Julie Christopherson and Kerry Chereskin all came together in hopes of launching a new fashion magazine for MSU. The Vogue Project was their idea to bring a new spin on fashion, interior design and entertainment.

Fashion photography will be featured in the new magazine (photo credit: Abby Herber. Ethical note: this photo has been artistically altered.)

“I thought creating a fashion magazine here would be a great addition to MSU’s campus and would unite many students in different majors around a common interest,” Chereskin said. Chereskin and Christopherson are both advertising majors, but anyone who is interested in fashion can become a part of the magazine. “MSU students from a variety of majors are bringing many talents to the project and filling all the necessary positions,” Christopherson said.

Chereskin and Christopherson are learning that starting up a magazine is a lot of work. Organization is key. “To do this right and put out a magazine that is well-done, we have to be committed and put all of our efforts into it,” Chereskin said. They plan on teaming up with local stores and businesses to advertise, where a majority of the funding will come from until the magazine can be recognized as a student group. “We have definitely put in a lot of time in the beginning stages of this magazine!” Christopherson said. “We are still figuring logistics such as printing costs, advertising, etc. With the help of the staff, we can get this off to a good start and running smoothly!”

Chereskin, the editor-in-chief, said her inspiration for starting The Vogue Project came from her experience with a local campus fashion publication in Miami, Up Magazine. Her writing experience at Up, while the magazine was getting started, gave her great insight into how a magazine runs. With Up in her back pocket and knowledge she gained from attending Teen Vogue seminars, she is fully equipped to handle the start-up of the magazine.

Chereskin has high hopes that The Vogue Project will eventually be seen as an elite fashion magazine on campus. “I hope that the magazine will become a topic of conversation in the fashion community at Michigan State University, offering quality writing and photography that will highlight the latest trends in fashion,” she said. The Vogue Project wants to become a print magazine that is offered free to the students. “The overall goal of The Vogue Project is to inspire students to portray their individual styles in the way they think, act and live,” Christopherson said.

There is a small problem with the name, however. “Vogue” already has a strong affiliation with the current fashion magazine, and the new publication’s founders do not want to compete with that.  The Vogue Project got its name because Vogue meant “in style.” So, while the group will be called The Vogue Project the magazine is still trying to find a name, Christopherson explains. Currently their Facebook group is having a contest for the name and the winner receives a $25 gift card to Urban Outfitters.

Interdisciplinary studies in health senior, Cara Ruggeri is thrilled to have a fashion forward magazine coming to campus. “I’ve always had an interest in anything fashionable,” Ruggeri said. Advertising sophomore, Emily Misko, is also excited for the launch of the magazine. “[It’s] something that I would be very interested in. If I saw it on the racks in halls I would definitely pick it up,” Misko said. She is also excited about the fact that the magazine would be free; “Students are broke enough as it is, they probably wouldn’t pay to take their chances on a new magazine that they may or may not like,” Misko said.

Clothes and style will be a featured in the new magazine (photo credit: Emily Lawler).

The main part of the magazine is from a fashion view point, but it will also feature a section that showcases interior design and ideas for decorating dorm rooms and houses on campus. Ruggeri always enjoys looking at interior design layouts. “It inspires me to make my own house look nice,” Ruggeri said. Misko agreed, “I’m always looking for fun ways to make my apartment look decorated, especially since the Christmas lights just aren’t cutting it.”

Chereskin believes that MSU students would be interested in a fashion-oriented magazine, which she hopes can influence and inspire more students to dress creatively. Business general management sophomore Brody Coplai is excited about the different fashion perspectives he hopes the magazine will bring to the MSU community.  “I see a lot of different fashion types at MSU. Indie [the Urban Outfitters look] seems to always be in as of late, as well as the UGG, North Face and black leggings look for the females. I would be very interested if this magazine showed more creative fashions because people are always interested in finding out the newest trends,” Coplai said.

Misko thinks that most students like to look good and fashion forward while putting as little effort into it as possible. “I think more ideas on how to easily and cheaply, look put together would be beneficial for college students,” she said.
The feedback of a fashion oriented magazine on campus has gotten a lot of positive response from students. There are plenty of fashionable people at MSU who may take interest in this new magazine. As long as the magazine makes itself known, students are bound to show interest. “I have plenty of friends, especially in my sorority, who are always looking through various fashion magazines and I think The Vogue Project will be among those soon enough,” Ruggeri said.

The Vogue Project has already tapped into technology with a Facebook group sporting more than 200 members, and they also update their Twitter account daily. The magazine also wants to offer an online issue letting people blog their thoughts. ‘It’d be nice to hear what students have to say about [the fashions], hopefully encouraging more students to share their opinion as well,” Misko said.

The publication just had its first meeting and organized a staff of over 50 people. Two among those staff include linguistics senior Jack Tarantino and packaging sophomore Alyssa Wisenbaugh. Jack is applying for the photo editor position, choosing which photos go into the magazine. “The magazine will be launched online and in print. Online media is the best way to do things nowadays but printed magazines are so much more fun. There will also be more interactive content online to keep people engaged,” he said.

Wisenbaugh hopes to take the position of women’s fashion director. “I have always loved anything to do with fashion and art, and have spent countless dollars on many magazines…The Vogue Project have set certain standards to follow in the footsteps of the elite high fashion publications,” Wisenbaugh said. Look for the first issue scheduled to come out in Fall 2010.

Whether or not we mean to, we are constantly judging, stereotyping and labeling and then making assumptions based on fashion. These standards then play a part in defining who we are as individuals. “Stereotypes exist because there are people that would rather create labels and groups then get to know someone,” said apparel and textiles sophomore, Bennedy Kennedy. Not many of us choose to categorize people like this, and many of us would change it if we could, but it is an ongoing fact of human nature that has little hope of fading. “I don’t think it will ever go away, but it will get better,” said apparel and textile instructor Rebecca Schuiling. One of the many ways this stereotyping and categorization expresses itself today is in the fashion industry.

Certain brands of clothing are often associated with a specific cultural group and there are a number of reasons behind this. “You see repetition in the street and you start to notice certain categories of people wearing certain things over and over again,” said Schuiling. When people see this repetition in dress, it becomes an association. When one thing becomes associated with another, it often sticks and even gains prominence.

At this point, it’s possible for a brand to be strictly associated with a certain type of person, group of people or cultural group. Some groups desire this – they want to be noticed for something specific or have a desire to be viewed a certain way and use appearance as an outlet. They may wear certain brands because they’re high end and are associated with class. “No matter what neighborhood you live in or what race you are, a lot of the time it’s a status thing,” said mixed raced business owner Jeremy Scott. “People wear things to communicate to their peers. No matter what race [you are], people treat you differently for what you’re wearing. Its about respect.” Many feel when you wear something high end, you become high end yourself – you are what you…wear.

On the other hand, some people may not be going for attention at all and are even perhaps going in the complete opposite direction. “It’s painful for them,” said Schuiling. “They want to wear what’s acceptable to wear.” They may not want any association with labels and thus steer clear of them, but then the fashion industry sees this, places a label on this without-a-label way of life and it becomes another style in the world of fashion.

These people may not want to be stamped, but through the process of avoiding this, it’s possible they are actually attracting it. “Reverse adoption is where people are wearing things in the streets and designers take ideas from that,” said Schuiling. Take the grunge look for example – without a desire to belong to anything specific, people created a style of their own (now, the grunge look). This style became a look and the designers took notice of it. Once this happened, designers began to mimic the street style doing precisely what was trying to be avoided in the first place – the creation of a new label.

In all these different labels, groups, classes and categories like to use a term that is widely known and often used – individuality. The scary fact is that, in the fashion world, none of us is completely our own. “It’s almost funny when people think they’re creating their own styles,” said Schuiling. “Everything is done over and over again.” Designs are used and then recycled. Styles go through changes, but that doesn’t mean it’s the new product of sheer imagination – instead, the new and improved product of a past product. One thing comes from another and it continues. “But as long as you feel good in what you wear,” said Kennedy, “that’s what I’m going to see.”

Schuiling said that by nature, people want to have a sense of individualism while simultaneously being accepted by everyone. That’s where people go their separate ways. For some, even just a small sense of belonging will do, so there’s a smaller class of people that turn to sub-cultures. That way, they still maintain this strong feeling of individualism, but at the same time are being accepted by this group of people that they are able to relate to. For others, the feeling of being accepted may be more important and they have no desire to stand out.

It’s weird to try and imagine a world without all this labeling and stereotyping. “Everyone would have to create their own clothes to be entirely original,” said Schuiling. Not to mention the size of the roll the fashion industry plays on our economy. “It’s a fine line,” she said.

A company’s success is greatly affected by its target market. If a brand strictly markets to a specific group of people, they’re going to have a significantly smaller amount of people that will even consider their product. “Every brand markets and designs for certain people,” said Kennedy, “it’s a fact.” However, if a company has no limits, neither do its customers – they have that many more possible sales. “It might shy people away from buying a product if they don’t feel like they can be a part of that tribe,” said Schuiling. People aren’t going to buy a product if they don’t feel comfortable in it.

It’s a whole new ball game for the designers. “Good designers keep in mind all of their clientele,” said Kennedy. “You have to if you want to be successful.”

“If I’m a designer designing high-waisted poofy minis, there’s a target customer that I’m designing for,” said apparel and textiles junior Alissa Seymoure. They might create a line with no intention of a target clientele, but if a group of people adopt this designers look, that look can quickly become associated with that group of people. “Other people might get left out and it could hurt sales,” said Shuiling, “particularly if [the line is] tied to race, it might be uncomfortable or strange for a designer if it’s not what [he/she] intended.”

The upside of this grouping of people based on style and appearance is that most of the time it gives us a good idea of where we fit in. It would be wrong to make assumptions based strictly on appearance, but it sometimes is an aid on say…the first day of school. “You kind of know where you belong,” said Schuiling, “it’s almost a safety thing.” This is not to say (at all) that two people of two entirely different cultures, backgrounds or styles couldn’t become the best of friends. Simply stated, it just gives a little sense of comfort and belonging.

These specific categories of people associated with a certain style might be difficult to take in for someone who is more of an experimental dresser. Not that he or she has the desire to fit into every cultural group, just that he or she doesn’t feel that he or she really has anywhere that he or she belong. “It can be frustrating if you like to explore new styles,” said Shuiling.

It may seem to be dictated by the consumers, but there are a number of designers that create styles specifically for certain cultural groups. “Style should be able to be unique and show your personality,” said Seymoure, “but it shouldn’t affect how people treat you.”

Initially we all may want to believe that fashion is completely separate from who we are as people but the truth is, it is inevitably associated with exactly who we are.

When I first looked up the tutorial for an e-reader, the Amazon Kindle, I thought that it was absurd. A tutorial to read a book?  E-readers kill the simplicity of the novel. A book doesn’t need a tutorial. You pick it up and you read. A book is a physical thing with pretty covers and pages that you can feel with your hand. As you read you can see how far you’ve come and how far you still have to go. For me, the act of reading consists of sitting in bed with the covers pulled up, a pillow under my head and a paper book in my hand. I’ve never imagined sitting in bed with a piece of plastic, clicking through the pages and I’m not alone. When it comes to e-readers, there are two kinds of people: those all for it and those completely against it. Like Mac users versus PC users, people are adamant.  So, is one really better than the other?

Photo credit: Shuyi Meng

For me, e-readers ruin my dream of having a physical library in my house for my guests to see. I’m an avid reader and as such, I collect books. Like any collector I would like to have a place in my home to proudly display my compilation. If all my books are digital there’s nothing to show. I ranted about this to my friend on a long drive home when she interrupted me. “I thought you’d be pro Kindle.  You’re always trying to declutter your life, throwing things out all the time.” I went quiet. It was true that I try to keep my material possessions down to the bare minimum. Eight moves in the last five years have made me annoyed with possessions that have to be boxed up and carried away. An e-reader would mean less things to pack up and a more space. I tried to reason with myself that I could always buy hard copies of the books I really loved and keep the rest in a digital library. But how would I decide which books to buy? I fall in love with almost every book I read. At the same time, it might be nice to read Chelsea Handler’s “Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea” without constantly having to check if someone is watching and judging me for my choice.

“You should at least look into it,” my friend continued.

She was a fellow English major and I figured if she could be open minded about e-readers, I should at least give them a shot. Not wanting to throw away $259 just to try out a Kindle I decided that I would go online and look at the tutorial.

The tutorial opens with a woman sitting on a beach. When the Kindle is shown I see how small it is, under a third of an inch wide. It looks nothing like a book. The least they could do is ease us into the idea of electronic reading by designing it thick and in the shape of a book. The voice-over said that Kindle uses electronic paper technology to make it easy on the eyes.  Electronic paper technology?  With a name like that I had to resort to Wikipedia.  E-paper, as it’s sometimes called, is designed to look like ink on paper.  “To build e-paper, several different technologies exist, some using plastic substrate and electronics so that the display is flexible,” Wikipedia says.  It seems ridiculous to me.  All this to create the appearance of ink on paper?

The tutorial goes on to talk about Kindle’s built in dictionary. That’s convenient.  I always mean to look words up that I don’t know, but I never get back to them and end up forgetting them. According to the tutorial, Kindle allows you to click the text and the definition appears on the bottom of the electronic page. Kindle even lets you Wikipedia words. That’s definitely a bonus.

Oh no, I’ve become pro Kindle. I had to turn off the tutorial halfway through. I decided that I was overwhelmed with good advertising and needed to take a break before I let the bias opinion take over my own.

I logged onto my Twitter to distract myself and saw that Barnes and Noble was a trending topic. This got me excited. What could people possibly be talking about Barnes and Noble on Twitter for? I clicked around and saw that everyone was a flutter over Barnes and Noble’s release of the Nook. The Nook was their new e-reading device. I clicked around on the Web site for a while and found that certain stores would have a Nook on hand for people to try out.

I had to do it.  It wasn’t the Kindle, but after reading about it for a half hour, the Nook seemed almost identical to it.

Photo credit: Shuyi Meng

Unfortunately I had to wait about a month for the Barnes and Noble near me to get one in.  But when it arrived, so did I. I walked into the store and went straight to the customer service booth where there was one on display. It was a lot smaller than I imagined and extremely light.

I studied it in my hand for a minute before I tried to turn it on. I looked for a button that might say “on.” Where the hell was it? A female Barnes and Noble employee walked up and embarrassed, I asked her how to turn it on. She pointed to a discreet silver button at the top of the Nook and it instantly began to light up. I thanked her and began to press buttons, not knowing exactly what I was doing.

The screen was divided in two. The larger portion was where the text displayed and it was not a touch screen. I kept getting confused and tried to touch my way through it a few times. The smaller screen on the bottom is a colored touch screen. This is where you can type things in and see book covers in color. There are two buttons with arrows on each side of the screen. I soon found that I could scroll through a page on the bigger screen with the arrows and that the bottom touch screen could change the page completely.

I had figured out the navigation enough to pull up the available novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I was shocked. The pages actually looked like the pages of a physical book. There was no bright white glow like a computer screen and there was no glare from the ceiling lights. Electronic paper technology actually looked like ink on paper.  As I read the pages, the glow from the bottom small screen faded and I was absorbed in the book. I clicked the arrow button to turn the page and was immediately taken out of the dream world.  The next page appeared on top of the current page and the two jumbled together.  About a second later the old page faded and the new page fully appeared. It took a few seconds and I found myself impatient to finish reading.  When I read at home I prepare to turn the page seconds before and am able to flip quick enough to remain entranced in the book. The Nook was not fast enough.

I tried to get back into the book and was almost there when I was interrupted by a male employee. He had come over to give me a demonstration. This had broken the intimacy between the book and I, yet again. I don’t like to have people hovering around when I read. I imagined that this kind of thing would happen all the time as people tried to get used to e-readers. People on the street would walk up to me and get in my personal space. They’d ask what the device was and then what I was reading on it. “Goddamn book,” I would respond in my best Holden Caulfield voice.

“Hi, would you like a tutorial?”

I responded that I would and he started his salesman spiel. The first thing he showed me was how to buy books.  ]You touched the Store button on the small bottom screen. You could then type in the names of books and newspapers. It was exciting to think that I could get newspapers from other states. I don’t read newspapers often, but if I could get them delivered to me without having to hunt them down I’m sure I’d read them more.

He pulled up the touch screen keyboard and began to type in “Stephen King.” I smiled to myself as I watched the salesman falter. He kept hitting multiple letters and had to constantly delete them. I later tried to type on it myself and had the same problem. The letters are small and the touch screen is sensitive. Once he finally had Stephen King typed out he hit “enter” and all of the books by Stephen King popped up on the larger screen. You can then use the arrow keys on the sides to click down until you find the book you want.  He clicked on Stephen King’s Under the Dome and then “buy” and within a few seconds the book was delivered to the Nook.

(Photo credit: Brett Ekblad)

“What methods of payment does the Nook take? Can you pay with your checking account?”  I asked.

“No, you can’t. You can pay with a credit card and if you don’t want to do that you can always come into the store and by a gift card to be used.”

“The gift card works. I read too much to be charging books to my credit card. My bill would be enormous with interest.”

He continued to tell me that they had a deal worked out with Google Books for older titles. They transfer books like Jane Austin’s to e-book format and you could own them on your Nook for free. That would have come in handy for all the English classes I took earlier in college. The Nook would have saved me probably $100 easy. Of course, I would have to pay $250 for the Nook.

I asked if academic books, like math books, were available on the Nook and he responded that a few were. It was up to the publishers of the book to decide if they want to put their textbook in e-book format. So, some textbooks you can get and others you can’t. It was unfortunate because e-books are much cheaper than physical books.  Most books on the Nook only cost $9.99.

After we discussed book prices, the salesman showed me how to scan through the text using the arrow keys on the sides of the Nook. You could highlight text, bookmark pages, and look up words in the dictionary. The Nook even allowed you to type in words or phrases and it would find every page that those particular words appeared. I was still thinking about the feature when the salesman moved on to the text size. If you wanted you could make the text smaller or larger, but I prefer the normal text size.

When he was done he left me alone with the machine and I began to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo again. Nook remembered the page I was on when I last read and it returned to it. I started to settle into the e-book, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was cheating on the physical book. Here I was surrounded by thousands of books and I had my back turned to them while I read on an e-reader. I soon lost interest and left the store.

After I left, I couldn’t stop thinking about something that the salesman kept repeating. “You can still come to the physical store,” he said over and over. I could go to buy gift cards for the Nook, to buy storage cards for it, and to read books on the e-reader for free (which you will soon be able to do, but only if you’re at a Barnes and Noble store). He would throw it into the conversation as if he was worried for his job.

Some people fear that e-readers will run bookstores out of business, and this is even more terrifying than reading books on a piece of plastic. Some libraries are already transcribing books online and getting rid of the physical books. Hemingway, Anais Nin, Edgar Allan Poe, authors whose work was written by hand on paper will be read not on paper, but on a machine. Our connection to these writers through paper will be lost, and I can’t help but wonder if generations from now people will lose touch with the writing itself because they don’t know what it’s like to read a physical book with paper pages. Maybe in history e-books they will be taught that people used to read on sheets of paper, just like we learned about literature written on rocks.

I shake the thought and try to put my bias away. E-readers definitely have an advantage over physical books when it comes to class work. Being able to highlight, search the document, look things up on Wikipedia, and look up words on a dictionary brings the power of the internet to the book and makes class work faster and easier. E-books also have the advantage of being much cheaper than physical books, which saves students money. The Nook is $250 now, but as the technology becomes better and more common the price will most likely drop, like the price of computers has.

It seems that e-readers have more advantages than simple books and may make books completely disappear one day. But for the people who look at reading as an experience, you can’t beat the crisp, warm pages of a new book and the feel of the hand turning a page. So, like the PC user I am, I will stick to what I’m most comfortable with and I’ll take comfort in the fact that I’m not alone. And so the book will live on to see another day in my library.

I don’t know if Esperanza Spalding is real. Surely the bassist-singer is real in the sense that I saw her and her badass band play the Wharton Center on Jan. 20th.  And surely she’s the “real deal,” attesting to any avocation of her sizable skills.  And yet, someone seemingly capable of anything cannot be, forgive me, genuinely real.

All bad jokes aside, it’s true that musically she’s got an unbelievable amount to offer (and her looks and personality don’t hurt either).  So like jazz guitarist George Benson in the 1970s, she has great crossover appeal.  But regardless of her being 26-years-young, or the fact that she’s played for the Obama White House and has taught at the prestigious Berklee College of Music since the age of 20 – making her the youngest faculty member in the history of the college – nor that she buoyantly sings in three languages (Portuguese, Spanish and English) and flirts with the music of Stevie Wonder and Wayne Shorter as much as she does with her audience, it could be said that Esperanza Spalding’s talent is almost too pronounced.  This is the only criticism I can give after coming away awestruck from her performance with a quartet that included pianist Leo Genovese, the Brazilian guitarist Riccardo Vogt and John Davis on drums.

They were absolutely superb, and her ebullient charisma was infectious.

Before anyone even played a note, her band mates already seemed to recognize the brilliance they were backing.  Silently they strolled onstage without her. The audience was at first coolly receptive.  Mr. Vogt began to quickly groove on three chords, and the piano and drums fell in line.  Esperanza entered after about a minute of this and sang to the crowd with open arms – “GOOD-EVENING.”  It was indeed a bold entrance, but one that taught us all a lesson – this was her show.  And why not?  If you can’t stop a shooting star, how do you stop a rising one?

The groove that Mr. Vogt had started developed into “I Adore You,” a composition from her 2008 album Esperanza. Essentially a Latin shuffle, the song was so ridiculously funky, with her soaring flute-like voice scatting up, down and around a beat that Mr. Davis began to stop and start at will; it ultimately exemplified her propensity to see what a musical neighborhood of Latin music, jazz-funk fusion and r&b/soul actually resembles. This neighborhood doesn’t yet have a name. Not that Esperanza cares.

Now hybridity can definitely be problematic, especially if it’s being touted as the “next-step” in, or “savior” of a musical genre.  All the same, Esperanza Spalding cooks up something different, something edible and indeed delectable; something with pop music plans.  Songs from Esperanza like “I Know You Know” and “Precious,” if not for their inherently syncopated rhythms, are sophisticated pop songs about love learned and love lost.  The grooves in these songs, and a new one called “Cinnamon Tree,” are ripped right from the fabric of popular music.  They aren’t simple, per se, but they’re laid-back and easy to digest as something other than the often fussy and stuffy jazz. Esperanza wants you to forget that she is a jazz musician. She is fresh. She doesn’t worry about boundaries because, as she told the audience, good music is “just about soul.”

All but one song off Esperanza and all but two songs from the two-hour live set had vocals. On record her voice is flawless, as if she is singing through a crystalline pipe, like on her version of Milton Nascimento’s Brazilian flavored “Ponta De Areia.” Live, she isn’t flawless; she’s fearless, and the difference lets her personality shine like the sun. The constant presence of her bona fide sirens’ call of a voice – high pitched, silvery and seductive –fluently beacons her irresistible personality. It juts out and cries. It simmers but doesn’t simmer down, and it never ever lags. So this is where her crossover appeal lies. She can be the next great bassist if she wants to (her stint with top-notch saxophonist Joe Lovano demonstrates this), but I think she’d rather be listened to as a soul sister able to thwack a bass figure than be revered like any first-rate 26-year-old Ron Carter or Dave Holland acolyte.

Esperanza prefaced her song “Precious” by mentioning that she had great aspirations to write a pop song. A pop song that would be sung by teenyboppers round the world and make her a millionaire from royalties.  A pop song for someone like Jay-Z or Beyoncé. Except her jazz upbringing kept getting in the way of this perfect pop song. For those of us who like their music to have a little bit of finesse, or be a little bit brainy (or dare I say jazzy?), we can be thankful for the verve and virtuosity of Esperanza Spalding.

With a brand new year here, everyone seems to be off to a fresh start – including MSU. Construction will start on a new art museum for the University this spring. So while all of us are busy rethinking, reevaluating and then completely disowning our new year’s resolutions, the MSU campus and Art Department are preparing for a leap into the future with a new building.

This video on MSU’s YouTube channel provides an illustration of what the Museum will look like:

But how did this futuristic building land at Michigan State University?

WHAT:
In the summer of 2007 MSU announced that a new art museum would be built on campus. “The museum outgrew its facility decades ago,” Director of Kresge Art Museum, Susan Bandes said. “This building will help put mid Michigan on the map in a way that we are not already.”

The decision for a new art museum was definitely not an abrupt one. “The current Kresge Art Center had been looking to expand and after numerous conversations between President Simon and museum donor Eli Broad a rough plan was made,” said Linda Stanford, professor of art and art history, and associate provost for academic services. She said Eli Broad is very supportive of the university and the new art center. Stanford said that Broad was even quoted as saying, “you need to do something transformative and if you do I’ll give a gift to help.”

Having previously taught architectural history here at MSU, Stanford said it hits close to home. “It’s something I actually know about,” Stanford said, “its fun.” The university is hoping the new museum will aid in linking campus life to the community. The museum’s placement on campus as well as it’s modernity and educational and creative opportunities will allow it to thrive in both campus and community involvement. The importance already being placed with the new museum coming to campus allows us to understand the significant roll it will soon play in the arts.

WHO:
In June of 2007 philanthropist Eli Broad and his wife Edythe donated $18.5 million toward the university’s new museum. With an additional $7.5 million for a signature sculpture and other operations, their $26 million gift to the university is the largest monetary gift ever made. “Without the Broad’s gift, we wouldn’t be talking about transformation for Kresge,” Bandes said. “Because of their generosity, we’ve leaped into a whole new world.” Bandes also said that the Broads are listed among the top ten art collectors in the world and have always been avid museum and contemporary art supporters.

The estimated cost of the project is said to be about $30 million. Additional money for the project has come from MSU fundraising which raised about $6.5 million and also a $2 million gift from MSU alumni Edward and Julie Minskoff.

It was anything but a simple process when world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid of London was chosen to design the building. In June 2007, MSU began an international design competition to choose the architect for the new project. Hadid was announced as the winner of the competition in 2008. President Simon and Eli and Edythe Broad joined Hadid in accepting and then a presentation and celebration of the decision at the Kellogg Center. Renowned architect and design critic Joseph Giovannini was chosen by MSU to officiate the contest. There were ten finalists chosen from a group of about 30 international firms. From the ten, five were then chosen to present ideas to a jury and the public on campus in July 2007. The job of the jury was to simply make recommendations to President Simon and the university’s design committee. From there, President Simon and the committee reviewed the concepts of the five finalists and made their final decision.

WHERE:
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum will stand on Grand River next to Berkey Hall near the Collingwood entrance to campus. The museum will have two entrances – one from Grand River, the other from campus. “It stands as a sculpture itself without really a front or back,” said Stanford. The goal of the building’s unique appearance and placement is to visually represent how the university is linked to the community. “We’re trying to make people understand that this museum could easily be a part of their life,” Stanford said.

Inside, the museum will feature some major exhibitions and collections that will come in and out, shows that are created by the art museum staff as well as some of the work from the university’s permanent collection that is currently housed at Kresge. “This is the transformative part,” Stanford said, “We’re not just moving things from one place to another.”

By and large, admission to the museum will be open to the public. This will allow students to linger in and out of the museum between classes with community members. “It could be closed for special events, but it would be highly unusual,” Stanford said. “That’s how most university museums function.”

WHY:
The museum’s board of directors hopes that it will do much more than just serve as the university’s new art museum. “President Simon wanted us to think in a bigger way,” Stanford said, “and not only about the building, but about expanding our international reach.” Many aspects will play a role in internationalizing MSU’s new museum from the architect being internationally known to the museum’s specific placement on campus.

“The university museum right now is sort of out of sight, out of mind,” Stanford said. “The state doesn’t have an art museum – it’s here to serve the mid-Michigan community. When we expand our world, it becomes international.”

Bandes seems to think the actual museum itself will be the largest attraction. “The architect is internationally renowned and her work is not well represented in the U.S,” she said, “so people will certainly come just for the building.”

The board is hoping to attract major exhibitions and collections, and become recognized around the world. With the additions in artwork that the museum will be able to hold, they are eager to enhance student and community art appreciation. “We will finally have a fitting home for the collection as well as having a significant architectural building,” Bandes said.

As far as the space that will open up in the Kresge Art Museum, there are no definite plans yet, but the area is assigned to the College of Arts and Letters.

WHEN:
Groundbreaking for the museum is scheduled for March 16, 2010. “Once we have the groundbreaking, they’re going to come in and dig up the ground the day after,” Stanford said. Stanford further explained that the groundbreaking and construction can be done one of two ways: groundbreaking, wait, build or wait, groundbreaking, build – MSU has chosen the latter. “In the mean time, we’re getting questions answered,” Stanford said.

WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING:
“I think the museum will be able to give the art students a wider range of subjects and medium to explore,” said Jessica Ford, freshman studio art major. “It’s going to provide more opportunities for us to not only learn about art but creating inspiration for our own work.”

Ford also said that she thinks the new expanded and updated museum will be able to attract more people to come and experience the art. “Open events and exhibits are a chance, for not only the art students here at MSU, but for anyone who wants to go.”

There are a lot of students unaware that they should even be expecting a new construction site this spring and when it pops up they’ll be shocked by its appearance. It’s a project the University has really put a lot of thought and energy into and the administration is really hoping to change not only the art program here but the community as well. “I’m really looking forward to it,” said Ford. “Being an art student, it’s important to have an effective museum available to learn more and create more.”

The new museum should open sometime in 2012. So if the world doesn’t end first and you’ve already graduated, come back and check it out.

The East Lansing area is no stranger to up and coming bands trying to start some buzz after doing numerous shows at local venues. ASMSU did their best to take advantage of this by hosting three local acts. Unfortunately, the crowd did not look too thrilled for a majority of the show, and at times the crowd looked pretty nonexistent.

The night started off with Black Jack Persia as the opener. The quartet— comprised of two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer—did everything one would expect of an opening band. The vocal performance by the lead singer, and occasionally the second guitarist, was nothing spectacular, but it was certainly far from bad.

Black Jack Persia is a band that is using the musicianship of the members to carry it through live shows. This was easy to pick out after only a few songs. With every track featuring an entertaining solo, the only thought that came to mind was whether this was a legit band, or if it was just a group of friends who only came together for jam sessions. If the latter was the case, then Black Jack Persia certainly succeeded in putting on a worth while show.

While the guys kept a small crowd entertained, they even had some friends of theirs filming footage for a music video. It was unclear which song the video was being made for, though, because the first 20 minutes of the show were filmed. After the film crew left, everyone assumed that the guys were going to be leaving the stage shortly after. But that was not the case.
In what seemed like a backwards approach to show promotion, ASMSU had Black Jack Persia on stage for almost an hour. When the jam session obsessed quartet finally left the stage, they were followed up by the band Loune, who only went on for 25 minutes.

Was I mad that Loune only performed for 25 minutes? Not even. Was this indie-emo quartet bad? Not really. Were they an exact replica of the over hyped bands that find their way into WDBM’s rotation? Yes.

If Loune finds their way into mainstream success—and by success, I mean a nomination at the MTVU Woodie Awards at the very least—then it will only prove that bands who sing and dress like geeks are what the kids love these days.

Loune may have been gimmicky, but they weren’t a complete write off. Unlike Black Jack Persia, Loune placed an emphasis on the sounds they were making. When the lead singer wasn’t dying to hit high notes, the quartet was able to play their music in a way that didn’t sound formulaic. It was intriguing and always unpredictable, and the small audience loved every moment of it.

As Loune made its exit, I was wondering if there would be a sudden rush of people coming to see the third and final act. After 15 minutes, and a much deserved break from the dim lighting of the Union ballroom, I realized that rush wasn’t going to happen. I remembered that a big crowd doesn’t make for a great show, so I was excited to see who ASMSU was going to bring on stage. I soon found out that there are weirder things in music than Lil Wayne’s wordplay.

Cloud Magic was the third and final act for the night. The quartet members could be described as hippies. It’s hard to describe the music, mostly because it seemed like a barrage of sound. The vocals sounded distorted, and not on purpose. The only thing interesting about this band was the female back up singer who also happened to play the tambourine.

It was a night of stylistic diversity mixed with a desire for actual vocal presence. If these are the bands ASMSU thought would attract a crowd, then it may be time to go back to the drawing board. Not only did the crowd peak at a mediocre showing of enthusiasm, but most people left before the third act was even done setting up. Minus Cloud Magic, the bands weren’t bad. The problem is that they weren’t able to really draw any positive response out the audience.

If you want to see some of the best in bubbling musical talent around East Lansing, go check out a hip hop show at Mac’s Bar; at least they do call and response.

SCENE

“The Bremen Town Musicians”

November 27-29 & December 4-6, 2009, Riverwalk Theatre Mainstage

A family friendly show about animals looking to live the good life and be musicians.

HEARD

Re:Action Battle of the Bands

December 4, Erickson Hall Kiva, 7 pm, Free

Ten of MSU’s organizations are collaborating to bring 4 local bands to campus and raise awareness for their work to make better world.  It’s a “social event for social justice.”  Bands include: Fields of Industry, Januzzi Watchmen, Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate), and Res Publica.

How the Fifth’s Stole Christmas

December 4, Kellogg Center, $5 tickets at the door

Every Sparty
Down in Sparty-ville
Liked Christmas a lot…

But the students,
Who had to take midterms,
Did NOT!

They hated semesters end! The whole midterm season!
They wrote papers, made projects and wrote blue books for no reason.
High stress during this time of year did not seem right.
Someone must do something, please put up a fight!

To distract all the Sparty’s who long for some cheer.
But, wait. What are those wonderful noises you hear?
The sound wasn’t sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so!
Midterm season was scary!

The students opened their doors and opened their ears.
And 16 lovely voices ended their exam fears.
They then heard a sound rising over the snow.
It started off low, then it started to grow…

They were “Rockin’ the Suburbs” and asking “Whatcha Say”?
“Falling Slowly” and saying “Hey girl, hey!”
Their heroes had come and at the perfect time
A week before exam week, a time that is fine.
State of Fifths was their name, they had both girls and boys.
They knew that the stage would be filled with lights and toys.

“Let’s walk towards the sound and see this glorious show!”
So they walked and they walked and they trudged through the snow.
Their feet led them to a beautiful scene
The Kellogg Center was before them and their bright lights gleamed.
Inside they walked and for only five bucks
They could watch the show, because studying sucks.

December 4th was the day of this festive event
Even some of Oakland University’s Golden Grizzlies went.
They came to hear the sound of the Vibrations
When the Fifths and GV joined forces they honestly change nations.

So come to hear the sounds that sparked this tale.
And I promise if you leave your books you will not fail.
Come hear the songs that I got to hear
Then after the show have some egg nog and/or beer.

Maybe Christmas, this year, will come after all!
So come hear State of Fifths, you will have a ball.

-      Dr. Steven Seuss Book

MSU’s Home for the Holidays

December 5, Wharton Center, 8pm

Celebrate the holidays with MSU’s Symphony Orchestra, Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs and the MSU Children’s Choir.