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The Lion’s Eye
SERIES PRESENTS:
TIM BLAINE
Photo courtesy of www.timblaine.com
By Pat Scanlon
Lions Eye Editor
pjsS129@psu.edu
On November 8, 2007, Penn
State Brandywine’s Fireside Music
Series continued it’s ever increasingly
successful run this fall. Stepping up
to the stage this time was the folky,
streetwise sounds of Tim Blaine and
his genuinely talented two-piece band.
Joined by fellow Boston natives Adam
Olenn and James Williams, Blaine’s
only form of initial introduction was
simply “Ok, we’re gonna play some
songs for you.” This turned into a seri-
ous understatement, as Blaine and his
band wove a tapestry of modern adult
contemporary stylings with a combi-
nation of the street wisdom of Jason
Mraz and John Mayer, and echoes of a
fusion of Jack Johnson and Dave Mat-
thews.
However, comparing these
players to bigger names is certainly
unfair, as Tim Blaine and his band
of performers have found their own
simultaneously ethereal/down-to-earth
alternative sound, possessing a deeper
sense of soul and personality than any
of their mainstream familiars. Crafting
a classic pop rock duo between acous-
tic guitar and electric bass, and a single
drum box style instrument called a
cajon, Tim Blaine’s modest personality
shines in his performance, allowing an
exceedingly genuine connection with
the audience and creating an experi-
ence perfectly suited for the fireside
atmosphere.
Blaine himself switched be-
tween his trusty six-string to a Yamah
keyboard to perform the eponymous
track from their newest album, Clock-
work. The band then followed with a
much mellower piece entitled “Drift-
ing and Driving”, evoking the tones
of a starlit stroll through the city and
crafting a calm, soothing feeling that
encompassed the entire Lion’s Den.
Rejoining his band on foot, Blaine
returned to his guitar for the latter
portion of the set, achieving the feat
of actually making their performance
of Fall Out Boy’s “Dance, Dance”
actually sound interesting and, more
importantly, listenable.
Having been to our cam-
pus before, Blaine and his comrades
seemed right at home performing in
our midst. The sun energy exuded
by the energetic tones of their chosen
tracks was more than welcome against
the oncoming November flavored
chill, which has descended with the
autumn.
Needless to reiterate yet still
bearing repeating, Tim Blaine was,
simply put our stand out performer for
this season’s Fireside Music Series.
~ Philadelphia Goes Wireless
By Tom McGlinchey
Lion's Eye Staff Writer
tam5160@psu.edu
Philadelphia is the first city in the world to be totally wireless, but there is a catch. The
wireless is not yet fully operable. The company that will supply the network is Earthlink, a wire-
less provider, and spokespeople have stated that they aim to have it working throughout the city
by January 2008.
A variety of places in the city do have strong connections, such as The Philadelphia Museum of
Art, Washington Square, in North Philly by Temple, and in West Philly near the University of
Pennsylvania. Earthlink has set up 23 free access zones throughout the city.
The Penn State Brandywine campus is completely wireless, so does this mean that we
are more advanced than the city of Philadelphia? Not necessarily, according to the investigation
done by NBC 10. Philadelphia has a wide area to cover, whereas our campus is very small in
comparison. The city is filled with areas and codes. There is North Philly (including northeast
and northwest), South Philly (including southeast and southwest), and West Philly that Earthlink
has to connect, whereas our campus is not even half of the Penn State system. PSU Brandywine
is 1/20th of the system. The majority of the users would be up at University Park being that it is
the largest campus of Penn State. The difference between PSU and Philadelphia is that PSU is a
free wireless connection (reportedly), when Philadelphia uses a subscription to create a wireless
Philadelphia.
Philadelphia city councilman Frank Rizzo thinks that a free connection is not always
the right way to go. He is skeptical about Earthlink, citing the company’s financial problems and
making the point that they laid off 900 employees in recent history. However, Mayor John Street
has stated that he has been in contact with Earthlink representatives and has been assured that the
city would be wireless by the first month of the New Year. When asked about how many people
had signed up for the service, Earthlink declined to comment, but did mention that there is no
service in the northeast or northwest part of the city.
According to Justin DiMatteo, an assistant in the Information Technology Services, the
wireless connection here on campus that is in place right now is temporary, and he agrees that
comparing us to the city of Philadelphia isn’t really fair, as a city versus a small college campus
are worlds apart.
Currently, Penn State Brandywine is looking to change from the VPN client that is in place some-
thing more like what the city of Philadelphia is aiming for, primarily to aid in more reliability in
the connection.
Hometown Hero
Name: SrA Aiden Kaskela
Age: 26
Hometown: Yeadon, Pa.
Service Branch: Air Force
Status: Air National Guard
Boot Camp: Lackland AFB, Texas.
February 2005 - 6 72 weeks
Technical Training: Keesler AFB, Biloxi,
Mississippi. April - November 2005
Special Training: Combat Communications,
specializing in networking
~ SrA Kaskela joined the Pennsylvania Air
National Guard in 2004 after graduating from Shippensburg University with a degree in
Computer Science. He now resides in Alexandria, Virginia working as a software developer.
He attends training with his unit one weekend a month near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Do you know a hometown hero? If vou want your service member featured in The Lions Eye,
email Erin Kaskela at eck137@psu.edu.