Friday, January 13, 2006
Look-Out for January's Upcoming Releases
By Sean Mihlo
music columnist
smm4Booepsu edu
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Cat Power's album is to he released this month
Cat Power, a.k.a. Chan Marshall, spent the bet
ter part of last year writing and recording material
for what would become her sixth album. The
Greatest, for indie-empire Matador Records. But
declare an
by January
if they want to reserve tickets
for guests at commencement.
Guys cling to their clogs
By De'Adra Walker
fashion columnist
duw I 03 Co , psu.edu
In the allegedly fashion-driven society
that we as college students live, young
people are constantly drowning in vari
ous mediums that govern current trends,
exile the ones that have grown tired and
old, and stand atop mountains proclaim
ing the newly emerging ones to the
masses. However, especially in the col
legiate setting, these proclamations and
rules fall victim to the simplicities of a
college lifestyle and are overlooked and
replaced with more practical attire and
wear. A wide variety of things may
cause instances ranging from uncoopera
tive weather conditions, classes that
require attendance before the sun is up,
and my personal favorite, mere comfort
Comfort ware has become a trend in
and of itself. This consists of hooded
sweatshirts adorned with everything
from high school and university logos to
band names, sweatpants or jeans so
worn-in that one worries that they may
fall to pieces if even stared at the wrong
way, and sneakers, or the closest equiva
lent to slippers without actually wearing
slippers, that can be found. For the most
part, the attire for both men and women
overlap and hold a very similar appear
ance. There is one place, however, in
which this overlapping of appearance is
not acceptable. Thus, I present what I
refer to as "man-clogs."
Clogs, sometimes referred to by a
prominent name brand of this particular
type of shoe, Birkenstocks, can be close
ly equated with slippers in the notion
that they are backless shoes in which the
wearer simply slides his or her foot right
in. The typical style consists of a looser
fit, with a strap held in place by a small
buckle on the outside of the shoe.
Primarily, these shoes are made out of
eir
Students planning to
in spring 2006
graduate
some sort of suede or suede-like material
or corduroy. These are mostly seen
worn under jeans or other types of denim
bottoms
I do not wish to cause any type of con
fusion, however. I am an owner of a few
pairs of clogs and am an avid wearer of
them. The issue comes from the fact that
so is a large portion of Behrend's male
population.
As previously stated, many articles of
comfort-ware are shared by both men
and women. However, differences are
evident. Hooded sweatshirts are closer
fitting on women, and hang more loosely
on men's bodies. Sweatpants may be
baggy on men while on women, the lat
est trend has them donning flared or
wide-legged bottoms, or the newly popu
lar phrases across the seat of the pants.
Sadly, the only difference between men's
clogs and women's clogs are that the
men's clogs simply appear to be a more
"evolved" version, having mutated to
five times a women's clog's size.
Again, I can take into consideration
that comfort is a key factor in the use of
these man-clogs. Regardless of gender,
there is a need for comfort. But honest
ly, is there really a need to wear the same
footwear as your female counterpart,
gentlemen? The shoe has become a
prominent part of female fashion now
being produced with different designs or
even in heels. What are men doing any
where near them? Besides, common
knowledge lies in the fact that certain
things are more physically appealing
when they are scaled down in smaller
sizes. Unfortunately, gentlemen, this is
one of those cases. The simple fact of
the matter is, if more than one pair of my
size five shoes can fit into your shoes,
the same type of shoes that are identical
to those size fives that have made your
land boats their new habitat, there is a
problem
don't let the album title, or cover art for that mat
ter, deceive you: this is neither a greatest-hits
package nor a tribute to Muhammad Ali. Simply
put, it's Cat Power at her best: raw and stripped
down, endlessly captivating and heartbreaking.
Ten years after her debut release, her voice
remains as precious. fragile, and enigmatic as it's
always been. In the summer of 20{)5, Marshall
headed south to lay down tracks with multi-talent
ed recording engineer Stuart Sikes, who had pre
viously worked on albums by Loretta Lynn, The
White Stripes and Modest Mouse. Following in
the footsteps of soul legends such as Al Green and
Isaac Hayes. Marshall poured her heart out at
Memphis, Tennessee's legendary Argent Studios.
In fact, former Al Green guitarist Mahon "Teenic"
Hodges plays guitar on the entire album, and even
found time to pen a few songs along with Miss
Power. A slew of other A-list Memphis musicians
contributed to the album, including Hodge's
brother Leroy "Flick" Hodges on bass and Booker
T. and the McG's drummer Steve Potts. After
much consideration, twelve tracks were chosen to
appear on the record, including "Living Proof,"
"Love and Communication," and the first single,
naturally. "The Greatest." The Greatest is set for
release on Jan. 24. To satisfy your impatient
appetite for the Cat's meow, Matador has posted
MUST
intent to graduate
23, 2006 on eLion
Trash the Textbooks. Scrap the Calculator:
Bring Out the Blades and Beads
By Kelly Houghton
contributing writer
kitoocmoDpsu.edu
The unwashed laundry, physics
hooks and freezer pops decorating
Matthew Zimbicki's dorm room floor
classify him as a typical college stu
dent. However, look closer and
you'll notice something unique in
Zimbicki's room-- a lure-making kit
and a collection of homemade lures.
Zimbicki, a sophomore Plastic's
Engineering major at Penn State Erie,
was destined to become an angler.
Growing up in a fishing family, his
interests in fishing and the outdoors
were sparked at the age of five by his
father. "My father triggered my inter
est in the great outdoors when I was a
young child," said Zimbicki. In fact,
all of Matthew's fishing knowledge
began with his father, George, and his
father's friends.
However, it wasn't until last May
when Zimbicki began making his
own walleye lures. After his father's
friend inspired him at fishing camp
by constructing his own lures,
Zimbicki immediately wanted to
adopt the hobby. "I wanted to be
throwing different lures than every
one else," Zimbicki said. "Putting
something different down there might
be more successful."
Zimbicki's success begins by cut
ting approximately 5 feet of 30 lb test
fishing line. He originally began
making lures with fishing wire, but
quickly realized that he also had to
make a leader out of fishing line since
the wire didn't give. He then decided
to purely make the lure part of the
leader, differentiating his creations
with the normal fishing apparatuses.
an mp 3 of "The Greatest" on its website:
http://www.matadorrecords.com/
mpegicat_poweriThe%2oGreatest.mp3
coNTRIBuTED PHOTO
Singles & Sessions hits stores on January 24th
Short-lived, but highly-regarded British post
punk act,' Delta 5 is getting the reissue treatment
this month from Kill Rock Stars, the Olympia,
Washington label that's infamous for its early
[I Ell
Two hooks are next affixed to an end.
Regular Mustad Ultra Point hooks
are regularly used on Zimbicki's lures
because in his opinion, "they arc the
best." He recently started assembling
lures using red colored hooks, which
he believes may also be the ticket to
more successful fishing.
Zimbicki then adds colored beads
that are 8/6/4 mm in size. "What's
nice about making your own lures is
that if you know a certain color that
you're catching walleyes on, you can
make similar lures quickly and
throw," said Zimbicki. However,
black and purple heads have proven
to be the most effective so far. Next.
he adds a blade. From metallic stick
er sheets he cuts various designs and
strips in an array of flashy colors and
places them on plain blades. Once
the blade is attached, he attaches a
red bead, the final piece. Zimbicki
believes that a predator, such as a
walleye, would more likely prey on
wounded, bleeding bait. Therefore,
the peak bead on his lures is always
red. He then ties a loop or swivel
knot, finishing his creation. The
liters are ultimately threaded with
nightcrawlers, attached either io
dipsy divers or downriggers and cast
into Lake Erie.
"It's up to you," Zimbicki said. "II
something isn't working and you're
not getting any bites, you can easily
make a new lure to try." He has
already constructed roughly 100 lures
and is looking to expand his collec
tion even further. In addition to lure
manufacturing, he also repairs old
lures by replacing rusted hooks and
beaten blades with brand new, quality
pieces.
He also strives to cast a line when-
The Behrend Beacon I
releases from 'riot earl' acts such as Bikini Kill
and Bratmohile Along yy ith the Mekons and Gang
of Four. Delta 5. comprised of three women and
two men, gage rise to the underground punk scene
during the late 1970 s and early I 980 s in Leeds,
England. Shortly alter their inception. the hand
signed to Rough trade and released their first 7'
single. "Mind Your OWII Business." in 1979. Two
singles followed the former. "Anticipation" and
- Try," both in I Otill. In I 98 I. the hand signed with
Pre, a subsidiary of the London-based Charisma
label and (hopped their one and only full-length.
See The Whir/ In 1982, alter putting out one final
single on Pie. "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." the
hand called it a da \ (her two decades later.
''Singles & Sessions" is guatantecd to relive the
name of one of post-punk's pis otal hands. The
disc contains all of Delta s's Rough Trade singles.
as well as tracks from two Peel sessions from
1980 and one Richard Skinner session in 198 1.
,S'ingless & Sessions hits the shelves on Jan. 24.
"Now 'That You've Gone. - t rom the hand's first
Rough Trade situ* ttid track nurnher two on
Singles S Sessions. iti ;1\ adahle for download at
lnsound:
http://mplin , ,ound com/dov, nload 'mp3id=2
676
ever the weather permits and when he
has the time. A demanding schedule
and challenging classes at Penn State
make it difficult fiff him to fish as
often as he wants. However, during
the summer. he makes up fur lost
time. Zinihicki regularly travels from
his home in Cecil. PA, to the waters
of Lake Erie and the launch ramp at
Walnut ('reek. where he is his dad's
"first mate" on their 20-foot boat.
Even though his father trained him
on fishing the lake. Zimbicki often
works the rods and cleans the fish,
while his father lounges observantly
and relaxes. However, his love for
the outdoors. especially the lake, has
made these tasks anything hut bother
some. He, in return, has caught more
than just walleyes with his home
made lures--he has acquired a passion
for the sport of fishing. "1 will fish
until I can't fish anymore," said
Zimbicki. And even though produc
ing walleye lures won't award him
with an income, the best-looking girl
on campus or an A on his physics test,
it may lead to his reeling in of Lake
Erie's monster walleyes, perhaps the
grandest prize.
This article was origi
nally published in the
Jan/Feb issue of
Pennsylvania Angler &
Boater which includes
pictures. For more infor-
mation
www.fish.state.pa.us or
pick up a copy of the
magazine in the Library.