THE TARTAN Nov.

2, 2011

THE SCENE

Captain America garners mixed reception

JUSTIN WOOD
jwood9@radford.edu

VE FI INGS TH
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Music:
DJ Sharpnel:

you need to know about

RYAN ARIAS

rarias@radford.edu

Theres something about alternate history that fascinates us. Those who considers themselves lovers of un-improved history can appreciate the drama and awe inspiring scope of the journey man has experienced, but more often than not the glamorized romance of the impressions we have of ages past give way to dark bitter realities. How comforting it is to sink into fantasy, to believe that our past was indeed as magical as we imagine, colorful and neatly partitioned into good and evil. This may seem a bit pretentious of an opening to a review of one of the least deep or thoughtful moneymakers of the year, but Captain America: The First Avenger doesnt succeed because of memorable action sequences (it has none), menacing villains (ditto), or even that big of a peek into next years super-blockbuster, The Avengers. Captain America is a pre-Iraq preVietnam fantasy, when American values were unquestioned, American industry was unchallenged and American heroes were as morally complex as a glass of cold milk. Steve Rogers, a scrawny bony wimp whose Jimmy Stewart-inspired moral code drives him to fustily try to enlist during World War II. Turned down repeatedly for his pathetic physicality, Rogers is discovered by a kindly scientist (always the bridesmaid; never the bride actor, Stanley Tucci) who selects him as a candidate for an experimental procedure that will reshape his body into the perfect soldier. Meanwhile an overly ambitious Nazi scientist (played by a surprisingly bland Hugo Weaving) creates a schism in the Nazi world, forming his own goose-stepping gang of storm troopers armed with props borrowed from this years Thor. It may sound a bit condescending to talk about Captain America, but the lm turned out much more positively than most expected. Chris Evans is Steve Rogers. Who would have thought that four years ago that statement wasnt laughable? Evans, most memorable for playing snarky but likable sidekicks, a lady-killer with a self satised smirk, is unrecognizable as the bastion of patience and goodness that Rogers embodies. Playing wholesome without feeling ironic, Evans as Captain America is a hero you can believe in fully, using a natural charisma and surprising subtlety to make up for the cardboard script characterizations. In fact, if it werent for Evans, the lm wouldnt have a leg to stand on. Director Joe Johnston wrangles the bright lights and Colgate smiles of pre-Vietnam patriotism respectably, but the only connection to the story comes from Evans performance. A stful of secondary characters play their meager almost disposable parts admirably, but the lm is so thin that even veteran villain Hugo Weaving can do nothing more than ll the mustache-twirling seat, completely bland and avorless. From Haley Atwells entrancing but personality-less love interest, to Tommy Lee Jones grumpy catchphrase vending-machine, the other characters keep you entertained but painfully aware that nothing they do or say really matters. Then again Captain America seems designed to be popcorn, eschewing any of the weight or drama that the real WWII naturally inspires. Nazis are no longer the villains, their faceless replacements wielding action-gure friendly energy blasters. While 1940s sexism is hinted at, Atwells character still ridiculously charges into battle alongside male soldiers, and anti-Japanese sentiment is deected by the inclusion of a Japanese/American character. The responsibility of the period piece is stripped away, as inoffensive and unrepresentative of the actual time as the script will allow, leaving only the trappings we remember from black-and-white pictures and propaganda posters that werent horribly racist behind. Captain America cant be accused of being blatant jingoism or criminally rewriting history because it takes itself and its subject matter with such a lack of seriousness and depth that the lm really does have to be taken at face value. And what is left? An amusing hour and a half, some clever one-liners and a fetishist fascination with vintage imagery. People were initially worried that Captain America would have a hard time playing overseas due to the cartoonish patriotism and possibly insulting parallels to modern American foreign policy, but the fears ended up being unfounded. Simply put, Captain America is very aware and perfectly content with the reality that the America that exists in the lm never really existed to begin with.

Jea and Lemmy are a pair of Japanese electronic artists that mix music from various Japanese sources such as last.fm video games and movies, and create mixes which consist of trance, gabber, speedcore and happy hardcore mix. The group started in 1996 when Jea assisted in a joint album known as Sharpnel vs Project Gabbangelion. Over the years, DJ Sharpnel has used many aliases that changed with each track style or album. Often times Jea and Lemmy work together, but there are other times where they work on songs apart in which they are called DJ Jea or Killingscum. Their most recent album was released in August 13th, 2011, called Baseline Crisis. Their ofcial website can be found at sharpnel.com and is called Sharpnel Sound. The website is in both Japanese and English and dates for Events and information on their releases can be seen. Music crosses all languages and there is no exception for this groups work.

on until the hamster dance web site came into being, which perpetuated a sub culture of its own. Many sub pages were created, offering various merchandise that were hamster-dance related. Soon, the single serving sites reached into academia and a student from Berkley University wrote a paper entitled IsThisYourPaperOnSingleServingSites.com. Single serving sites are amusing and entertaining, and take a level of cleverness to keep people visiting. Join a single serving site, and enjoy on those boring waits on line, or between homework.

Comics:
VG Cats:

Web:
iScribble:

iScribble is a public chat site that is far from ordinary. It is an open browser based drawing chat. It allows you to draw, chat and have fun. The chat is commonly separated into over 30 Public Chats iscrib ble.n et and even allows the option for private chatrooms where you and friends can come, chat and draw. People can be found from various parts of the world enjoying company and the common appetite to stave off boredom or nd new drawing styles, even show off their digital skills. It is completely free and all that is needed is the user to register if they wish to draw rather then just observe. The site is kept running via donations. You may also publish your nished works in the gallery provided by the site. iScribble is overall a fun site and worth checking out.

VG Cats is a web comic that has been running for several years. It is a webcomic about video games so much pertains to the gamer population and humor. VG Cats, or vgca ts.com Videogame Cats, circles around two gamers, video game parodies and many more random events. The comic updates every few days, or to the artists leisure, and features not only a comic but a daily blog introducing daily events and occurrences in gamer life on the internet. The creator of the site also does many t-shirt designs which he sells off the main site and are great for individual gamers who get the inside joke. He not only sells tees but hats, plushies and hoodies, everything necessary for gamer life. The artist also has a sub site that a secondary comic is posted called Super Effective which revolves around the Pokemon adventures of our Hero, Red. The site has an RSS feed and you can follow the artist on Twitter. Its worth checking out gamers.

Game:
Minecraft:

Single Serving Websites:

Single Serving websites are as they are named: built for one purpose. The earliest known single serving site is Purple.com and it had no links, or content of any kind. It just has a purple background. Purple.com e.com yourmem was rst online in 1994. In 1995, another know site called dotcom.com was made and was claimed to be the last page of the Internet. It continued

Minecraft is a new game that has swept the Internet and cured it of bordome. It is a downloadable client that players can .org minecraft play to be part of large worlds they build themselves. It is an immersive world where you can design, create and program small worlds to however you wish. Unlike most games nowadays which revolve around thousands of dollars and perfect graphics, or a monthly fee, you purchase the game for a small $21.95 fee, once. The game was developed by Markus Persson and had been under development since early 2009. It is growing in popularity, especially around the Radford University campus and is worth a look-see. The graphics are purposely blocky and have an old pixel-game feel from the times of Nintendo, but is a 3D world all the same. It is entertaining, endearing and amusing for many groups of people who just enjoy having fun.

SUSHI: New restaurant serves community in a friendly atmosphere

From page 4
Andrew Lu strolled through many local towns, including Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and said he chose Radford because he noticed that we dont have an all you can eat sushi buffet and saw an opportunity here. Lu was also inspired by the fact that his own father opened a Chinese buffet called the King Buffet, which is located in the Wal-Mart shopping center plaza in Fairlawn. The menu at the Sushi Village includes a multitude of sushi rolls and traditional Chinese options. Lu says that, most customers select a sushi roll and that his favorite is the Freshwater Eel Roll because its different and sweet. Other highlights of the menu include the Virginia Roll, the Las Vegas Roll, and the Mt. Fuji Roll, which sports baked scallops atop pieces of the standard California Roll. The dish is garnished with masago, a type of sh egg similar to caviar in consistency. The atmosphere inside of the restaurant is warm and inviting. The second you walk in, everyone smiles at you and says hello. The smell of sushi and fresh cooked food in the air makes your mouth water. The tables are set up nicely, with chopsticks, plates and napkins set and ready to go. While food is prepared, customers are treated to a variety of delicious appetizers. These include the traditional Miso soup, marinated cucumber with wasabi, cucumber and crabmeat, and edamame beans served right in the pod. Overall, the amount of variety in the food served opens up customers to a new culinary experience. Lus goal is that the customer enjoys the sushi served and it affects their lives in a positive way. The enthusiastic proprietor said that he wants the restaurant to be involved in the community and is willing to donate to different organizations in the area. Although the restaurant is family owned, the sushi village is hiring for part time jobs and is hoping to eventually have student discounts. All you can eat sushi is an all day affair and the Chinese buffet is added in during lunch time, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dine in and take out are also available.

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