Vol. 40, No. 16 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012 nyunews.com
wASHiNgToN SqUARE NEwSNYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
Professor’s solo act highlights diversity
Little Italy hopes to extend its territory
British TV shows duplicated in America
The proposed growth of Little Italy has garnered much support from local residents. The expansion would increase foot traffic. AArushi ChoprA/WsN
By Michelle liM
Gallatin professor, performer, oral historian and radio producer Judith Sloan will be starring in a one-per-son show called, “Yo Miss! Teach-ing Inside the Cultural Divide,” in which she uncovers the truths and inside stories of a teacher learning from her students.
As a project of an educational arts nonprofit organization called Ear-Say, “Yo Miss!” was written by Sloan and inspired by her personal expe-riences teaching in Queens, jails and various ethnic neighborhoods. The show, which combines theater and radio, artfully weaves disparate themes into the performance, in-cluding motifs like the misconcep-tion between cultures, Sloan’s own memories and clashes between gen-erations of students and teachers.
“I first thought of this in 2009, while I was writing different sto-ries about teaching,” Sloan said. “It started out as radio stories as I was
R YO continued on PG. 4
By KRistine itliOnG Little Italy is ready to spread
the red, white and green of the historic district even farther.
The Little Italy Merchants As-sociation — a local group that has organized the summer-long Mulberry Street Mall since 1995
— asked Community Board No. 2 earlier this month for permission to extend the popular street mall by one extra block this summer for a one year trial.
The street mall, which current-ly starts at Canal Street and ends at Broome Street, would stretch one block farther north between
Kenmare and Broome streets. The one-block extension would
be open only to existing vendors who already crowd Mulberry Street. It would to attract addi-tional foot traffic and business to the pedestrian mall.
“It’s a struggling block,” president of LIMA Ralph Tra-
montana said. “It becomes a desolate island. This expansion would counter that.”
Tramontana brought the is-sue to LIMA at the request of two business owners in the area. After surveying the business owners
R itAlY continued on PG. 3
Violets improve to 7-2By chRis sAccARO
A common trend — the adapta-tion of popular shows from England for American audiences — has re-cently plagued American television. Two successful returning shows this season, “Shameless” and “Being Hu-man,” are remakes of hit British se-ries. Whether these adaptations are necessary or if the originals can sur-vive on their own is questionable.
“Shameless” and “Being Hu-man” both follow the same premises as the original British versions. “Shameless” — a near carbon copy of stories, char-acters and dialogue — depicts the struggles of a dysfunctional Chicago family and has been critically acclaimed, receiving an early third season renewal. The original is equally success-ful overseas, having entered its ninth season this January.
But “Shameless” and “Being
Human” are not the first British hits remade for U.S. audiences. “The Office” stands as one of the most significant remakes but this trend has been occurring for decades as both “Three’s Compa-ny” and “All in the Family” were based on British shows.
This recent remake boom has seen a few failures. MTV’s version of “Skins” was a fiasco that did not take into consideration how many American teens were already fans of the original series.
Because of paid services like Netflix and Hulu, streaming for-
eign media is now becoming easier than ever. Americans have discovered new British shows like “Downton Abbey” and “Sher-lock,” which have gained cult followings and critical praise in America. The popularity of these and several other shows demon-strates American audiences’ abili-ty to enjoy a British show without the need to translate any cultural differences that arise.
And yet two more popular English dramas, “Sherlock” and
By sARA levY
NYU men’s volleyball trav-eled to Bard College in Annan-dale-on-Hudson, N.Y. on Tues-day night and extended their winning streak to six games.
The Violets swept the match, taking each set with scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-20. NYU’s victory over Bard is its first on the road and improves its re-cord to 7-2 overall.
Sophomore setter Connor Mortland and junior outside hitter Taylor Fauntleroy, who leads the Violets in kills per set average, recorded match-highs with 40 assists and 13 kills, respectively.
Seven of the 16 players on the roster did not travel with the team. Junior outside hitter and opposite George Koch filled in for sophomore middle blocker Nick Capriccio, and sophomore out-
side hitter Parker Kolodka substi-tuted for freshman opposite and setter Matthew MacDonald.
“The team did really well even though we were shorthanded a couple of players,” Fauntleroy said. “Everybody stepped up and played really well.”
Senior captain Pat Dodd agreed with his fellow opposite-hitter. “Due to class obligations and injuries, we were a little short-handed tonight,” Dodd said. “The guys stepped up and con-tributed to a solid win.”
NYU has won all five matches within the United Volleyball Conference while Bard has yet to win against any UVC teams this season.
The Violets are in the middle of a six-match winning streak as well. Dodd is impressed with the team’s unity.
R MvBAll continued on PG. 8R BRitish continued on PG. 5
“Being Human” follows a similar plotline as its British counterpart.viA syfy.Com
oN THE SiDE Compiled By the Wsn stAff
2 WAshiNgtoN squAre NeWs | thursdAy, feBruAry 16, 2012 | NyuNeWs.Com
Near NYU’s study abroad site in Paris, a store selling fruit remains lit in the deserted night.
PHOTO BY PriYanka kaTumuluwa
oN THE wiRE
Brooklyn BabyccinosToddlers in Brooklyn have been sipping “babyccinos” at cafes all over the
borough recently. The name has different meanings at various stores — usu-ally either a shot of decaf espresso with foam or simply a cup of steamed
milk with cinnamon. Most coffee shops have not officially put the item on their menus. But parents continue to order the drinks for their very young
children, and many baristas comply with these requests.— The huffingTon PosT
GeorGeTowN UNiversiTYTuition set to rise 3.5 percent— The hoya
UNiversiTY of CaliforNia, BerkeleYnew uC Berkeley energy engineering major first of its kind in nation— The Daily Californian
wEEklY AgENDA
SNAPSHoT
wASHiNgToN SqUARE NEwSEditor-in-Chief AMANDA RANDONE
Managing EditorJAEWON KANG
Deputy Managing Editor
AMY zHANG
Assistant Managing Editor
JAMES LANNING
Creative DirectorSELENA CHEN
SENioR STAFFuniversity JULIE DEVITOcity/state EMILY YANGinvestigative HANQING CHENarts JONATHON DORNBUSHfeatures JESSICA LITTMANsports DANIEL HINTONmultimedia DAVID LINcopy MAxIMILíANO DURóNsenior editor JACK BROOKS, BRIDGETTE DORAN
DEPUTY STAFFuniversity ERIC BENSON, ELIzA-BETH MAGUIREcity/state TONY CHAU, KRISTINE ITLIONG, JESSICA SCHULTzinvestigative FEIYE WANGmusic JOSH JOHNSONfilm STEFAN MELNYKentertainment JEREMY GROSSMANbooks/theater CLIO MCCONNELLdining HANNAH BORENSTEINbeauty & style SHANNON LOUGHRANsports JOHN AxELROD, COLE RILEYspecial issues KRISTINA BOGOSmultimedia JAMES KELLEHERcopy JORDAN MELENDREzsocial media agent NICOLE GARTSIDE
oPiNioN PAgEopinion editor OLIVIA GONzALEzdeputy opinion editor ATTICUS BRIGHAM, SANCHAY JAIN
ADVERTiSiNgBUSINESS MANAGERREBECCA RIBEIRO
CIRCULATION MANAGERCHLOE COFFMAN
UNIVERSITY SALES COORDINATOREMILIA MIRONOVICI
SALES REPRESENTATIVES KAITLYN O’BRIEN, MICHAEL RYAN, MELISSA YNEGAS
ADViSiNg
EDITORIAL ADVISER
KEITH LEIGHTY
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JAYWON CHOEKELSEY DESIDERIORUSSELL STEINBERGKIRSTEN CHANGFRANCIS POONTERKA CICELOVA
About WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student news-paper of New York University. WSN is published Monday through Thursday during NYU’s academic year, except for university holidays, vacations and exam periods.
Corrections: WSN is committed to ac-curate reporting. When we make errors, we do our best to correct them as quickly as possible. If you believe we have erred, contact managing editor Jaewon Kang at [email protected] or at 212.998.4302.
NYUNEwS.comgoT AN EVENT? EmAil US AT [email protected] oR TwEET US @NYUNEwS goT SomETHiNg To SHARE? EmAil US AT [email protected]
ToDAY
Thursday | 7 p.m. | Housing works Bookstore | 126 Crosby st.
launCH ParTY fOr “agOrafaBulOus!
DisPaTCHes frOm mY BeDrOOm”
This comedy and book party event will feature readings from author sara Benincasa
as well as free food and drinks.
friday | 11 a.m. | Clic Bookstore & Gallery | 255 Centre st.
BYe BYe CBgB
This free exhibit displays the work of Bruno Hadjadj that depicts the fans
who came to say goodbye to the Coun-try, BlueGrass and Blues music club
on the Bowery when it closed in 2006 with sketches, photography and videos.
saturday | 7 to 9 p.m. | storefront for art and architecture | 97 kenmare st.
ClOsing PerfOrmanCe: 007_urBan_sOngline
This exhibition consists of large moveable panels and strings that allow visitors to
make music. The closing performance will include professional musicians and dancers
who will use the exhibit in their act.
sunday | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 100 varick street
VariCks OuTDOOr fair
This market started a few weeks ago and now takes place every weekend with a wide variety of vendors and
shopping opportunities.
1 2 3 4
SoHo
All photos viA fliCKr
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on Mulberry, Tramon-tana found 11 of the 12 businesses on the block approved of the expansion. He also received 71 let-ters from residents of the area supporting the proposal.
“Expansion would mean more restau-rants, more fun and a great area,” local David Berke, 66, said. “Little Italy, for the people of New York City, tourists and in the area, would be an even better des-tination point.”
The extension would also alleviate car traffic by increasing pedestri-an flow on Broome and Kenmare, according to Tramontana.
“I am all for the expansion of Little Italy because, as an Italian, it makes me sad that it’s disap-pearing,” said Mad-eleine Bearzi, Tisch junior and a resident at the Broome Street
residence hall. “I don’t think having more Ital-ian restaurants nearby is a problem.”
While the proposal has generally received wide support, some local residents still feel the expansion of the popular tour-ist attraction would bring noise, trash and traffic disturbances to the community.
“Little Italy already has character of its own,” local Christiane Lee, 26, said. “Expand-ing it would make it an even bigger tour-ist attraction that New Yorkers don’t need.”
Community Board No. 2 will determine the final decision at its full board meet-ing on Feb. 23 at St. An-thony of Padua Church.
Kristine Itliongis a deputy city/state editor. Email her at [email protected].
Community Board No. 2 to vote on growth
itAlY continued from PG. 1 NYU-Poly professor creates new online dating website
By AnA luisA cRivOROt
There is now a more unique option for those who believe in finding their perfect match.
NYU-Poly professor Luke Dubois cre-ated a new website called Missed Connections, which scans Craigslist personal advertisements and matches compatible individuals.
“I thought it would be interesting if everyone’s computers could help oth-ers find the people they’re looking for,” DuBois said.
DuBois said he got his idea for Missed Connections from SETI@Home, a pro-gram from the late 1990s and early 2000s that allows computers to search for extraterrestrial life.
Craigslist currently has a feature that couples people based on their profiles but at times misses connections. DuBois’ computer algorithm links these missed connections. After it looks through the listings of women searching for men and men searching for women, it pairs them up based on common words they have on their profiles.
“Words like ‘the’ and ‘of’ don’t count for much,” DuBois said. “Words like ‘red’ and ‘train’ and proper names count for a lot.”
“[The website] then gives a guess as to the odds that the two listings are actu-ally looking for one another,” he added. “If the percentage is high enough, the two listings pop up in browser win-dows, and [the user on the computer]
can write to them both, connecting them and playing matchmaker.”
The site currently does not take into consideration same-sex couples, but DuBois plans to revisit his formula to include them in Missed Connections.
He added that though Missed Connec-tions mostly relies on simple words, he plans to make the program more com-prehensive in the future.
“The project won’t help you search for a partner,” he said. “It’s about a fun way to help people.”
Gallatin junior Yifey Kong said the use of online dating websites is an ac-ceptable practice.
“In today’s society it is only rational that [websites such as Missed Connec-tions] exist,” he said. “[Although] you can’t categorize attraction with num-bers, it makes sense in our modern so-ciety because now everything can be abstracted with numbers.”
NYU psychology professor Jim Ule-man said he has doubts about Missed Connections.
“A relationship has to start with making initial contact, and Missed Connections may aid in that,” he said. “[But] the dynam-ics of initial attraction are different from the dynamics of lasting relationships.”
Ana Luisa Crivorot is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
By sYdneY Wu
Hundreds of students poured into the Kimmel Center for University Life for a benefit concert hosted by the Chill Foundation and NYU’s Ski and Snowboard Club Tuesday night. The concert fea-tured musicians Ducky, Grouper and Explosions in the Sky.
Every year, the Chill Foundation partners with NYU’s Ski and Snowboard Club to host a Valentine’s Day fundraising concert. All pro-ceeds from the event go to help less fortunate inner-city kids hit the slopes, providing them with materials and lessons to learn how to snowboard.
“I love snowboarding,” said Michelle Davidesko, a CAS senior and Ski and Snowboard club presi-dent. “I think it’s too bad that a lot of people don’t get to because they can’t afford it.”
The concert opened with a performance by Tisch junior Morgan Neiman, who goes by the stage name Ducky.
Ducky kept the lights dim in the auditorium and invited the audience up to the stage to dance. LSP sophomore Matan Ofri said Ducky’s performance was intriguing.
As she gave her upbeat performance with a special tribute to all the single men and wom-
en on Valentine’s night, Ducky kept the audi-ence entertained. Several students joined her on the stage for her last song.
After her performance, Ducky said she was glad to have been a part of a great cause.
“The crowd was awesome and I had a good time,” she added.
Following Ducky’s performance, Grouper slowed things down with mysterious, soulful notes that were haunting and beautiful.
“I thought it was really good, but it’s very hard to keep ambient music good in a live setting,” Nick Pitman, a Steinhardt sophomore and an audience member, said.
The crowd cheered wildly as Explosions in the Sky, the final act of the night, took the stage.
“They’re a really mind-numbing band,” Stern junior Daniel Chern said. “They have passion-ate music that doesn’t need lyrics to have a deep meaning.”
Explosions in the Sky’s effect was reminiscent of the calm after a storm, filling the atmosphere with a sense of tranquility.
The concert raised approximately $3,200 for the Chill Foundation.
Sydney Wu is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
okCupid founder discusses his dating service
Chill Foundation’s benefit concert helps kids hit slopes
By eMilY sMith
Online dating is the modern method of meeting people.
Christian Rudder, one of the four founders of online dating website OkCupid, spoke about Matchmaking in the Digital Age at the New York Academy of Sci-ences last night.
Okcupid.com, which was founded by the same four people who created SparkNotes, launched in 2004. It sends over 1.3 million messages per day and is completely free, unlike other dating websites.
Rudder, a graduate of Harvard University in mathematics, explained the site’s matching pro-cess: A complex algo-rithm matches users with each other based on a compatibility percent-age derived from their responses.
“We try to find some-one that’s in your league,” Rudder said. “We don’t just want the guys messaging all of the hot girls.”
According to Rud-
der, the average age of OkCupid users is 28. It has a relatively low number of 18- to 21-year-olds because they can meet new people more easily. But with the increasing popular-ity of sites like Date My School, the spectrum of those who use In-ternet dating seems to be growing. Rudder at-tributed this rise to the digital age that domi-nates the world today.
He continued to speak about the dif-ferent services and trends OkCupid pro-vides in addition to dating opportunities.
For example, Rud-der displayed a graph of men’s ratings for women’s photos that represented a sym-metrical bell curve. Other data revealed the peak ratings wom-en gave men were around 1.5 out of 5, which drew an uproar of laughter from the audience.
The site founder said Internet dating on Ok-Cupid involves more than simply matching
people by their re-sponses to questions. It is a more thought-ful and complicated process, Rudder said.
“We are not trying to answer the ques-tion of what makes two people perfect for each other,” he said.
“People are sick of the people they see ev-ery day,” Rudder added. “They want to meet complete strangers. Our main priority is to help you prioritize who you want to get to know.”
CAS sophomore John Petinos said he be-lieves this form of dat-ing will become the norm.
“I’d rather meet peo-ple in real life, but I think it definitely has its purpose,” he said. “In general, people don’t socialize. Maybe it’s here, or maybe it’s this age, or maybe it’s how things will be from now on.”
Emily Smith is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
NyuNeWs.Com | thursdAy, feBruAry 16, 2012 | WAshiNgtoN squAre NeWs 3
NYU’s own Ducky opened this year’s Valentine’s Day CHILL show on Tuesday night. JAmes Kelleher/WsN
Mixed Connections uses computer algorithms to match potential couples.luKeduBois.Com/missed
4 WAshiNgtoN squAre NeWs | thursdAy, feBruAry 16, 2012 | NyuNeWs.Com
FEATURES
collaborating with musicians.”The show takes place in Queens, which ac-
cording to Sloan is “the most diverse place in the world.”
But Sloan said her goal is not to reveal the differences between the cultures.
“It’s about the different interactions be-tween different subcultures,” Sloan said. “And showing how we are all human together.”
Despite the serious overtone, the show is playfully humorous. Musicians Adam Hill and MiWi LaLupa chime in with live music, short dialogues and phrases directed toward Sloan that highlight the multicultural elements in the story. But the main message remains poi-gnant to celebrate the uncelebrated.
“The characters in the story are real,” Sloan said. “They may be composites of what hap-pened in the past, or reporting of what I have experienced teaching in prison. Some of the scenes are based on real events. That is why this story is so real.”
Fellow Gallatin professor Michael Dinwid-die has collaborated with Sloan as the direc-
tor of “Yo Miss!”“It’s really a human rights story, looking at
ways how students change teachers, and how we all figure out how we live together, de-spite our differences in this changing world,” Dinwiddie said.
The musicians were inspired by their own participation in the play.
“Each performance is unique,” said Hill, who plays the violin in the show. “We never know what emotion we will inflect or reflect. We never really know what will happen until that moment happens. This play does not ap-proach the standard. It has so many different angles. Judith is not just one character.”
A portion of the proceeds from the show will go to EarSay’s Youth Education Project for immigrant and teenage refuge.
“Yo Miss!” premieres on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Joe’s Pub at 425 Lafayette St. Tickets are being sold online at joespub.com.
Michelle Lim is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
YO continued from PG. 1
Gallatin show celebrates diversityBy sYdneY Wu
Singer-songwriter and Tisch senior Omnia He-gazy, who goes by Omnia professionally, describes her music as a combination of Middle Eastern sounds and American pop rock. She not only writes her own songs and composes the music for each piece, but she produces it as well. She does this on top of taking classes and working as both a commuter assistant and tutor for America Reads.
Although Omnia’s family is not especially musically inclined, Omnia began play-ing the violin at 10. She still uses the violin to compose music for each song. Two years after starting violin lessons, Omnia picked up what is now her preferred instrument, the guitar.
“It’s weird,” Omnia said of discovering her calling. “There’s a moment in your life when you figure out you can sing.”
Omnia described her mu-sic as a fusion of east and west. Her Egyptian back-
ground has been very influ-ential in her music, and she is interested in certain facets of Middle Eastern music.
“Instead of building with harmony, you build it with octaves,” she said.
Omnia is already building a following of fans.
“I think it’s a great mixture of pop music and Mediterra-nean music,” Tisch sopho-more Gus Constantellis said. “It’s also complicated in all aspects. It doesn’t take the easy way out.”
Last year, Omnia released her first EP, “Jailbird.”
“The EP is very much about freedom,” Omnia said. “It was a common theme that threaded all the songs together.”
Each of the six songs on the EP relates to freedom in some way — freedom from an oppressive government, from fear or even from fear of love.
In “Grace” Omnia coons, “I’m not an object, but a woman don’t you see / It would do you some good to learn the way to talk to me.”
In the near future, Om-
nia said she hopes to tour in cities such as Boston and Washington, D.C. Several years from now she wants to visit and perform in Eu-rope, especially cities with large Middle-Eastern popu-lations. She said she believes this will not only further her career but empower the people with the messages found in each of her songs.
“It’s unique,” CAS senior Paul Rezkalla said of Om-nia’s work. “She’s not afraid to express her opinions. [Her music] has a Middle-Eastern twist, but it’s still accessible to mainstream audiences.”
“She’s not just a sing-er,” Constantellis added. “She gives back to the world, which is a huge theme in her music.”
Currently, Omnia is busy at work planning the film-ing and release of her first music video, which is for “Grace.” She will use a pledge campaign online to raise funds for the video.
Sydney Wu is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
Tisch singer-songwriter bridges east and west
edited By jessicA [email protected]
Exhibition presents current relevance of AIDS epidemicBy KeeRthi hARishAnKAR
One of the windows of NYU’s 80WSE gallery displays a pho-tograph of a person in a T-shirt reading “Thank God for AIDS” with the superimposed word “no” in capital letters. Gran Fury: Read My Lips is an exhibit of similar art by the Gran Fury AIDS art collective that was ac-tive from 1987 to 1995. The col-lective is a comprehensive doc-umentation of the group’s work as well as prints of headlines produced by the AIDS crisis.
Upon entering the exhibit, viewers are confronted with a 1990 bus poster that says, “Kiss-ing Doesn’t Kill” above photos of biracial, lesbian and gay cou-ples kissing. Its grand scale im-mediately sets the tone for the rest of the collective.
Posters in other rooms at the gallery take over entire walls, effectively capturing the ur-gency, confusion and outrage of the time. Pieces are accom-panied by their backlash. For instance, “Kissing Doesn’t Kill” is shown defaced on one of the buses on which the poster was originally carried.
A powerful moment in the ex-hibit is seeing the installation of
the “Welcome to America” bill-board, which reads, “The only in-dustrial country besides South Af-rica without national healthcare.”
Strewn across the floor are dollar bills with words like “Think heterosexual men can’t get AIDS? Don’t bank on it.” These elements of the exhibit ef-fectively use juxtaposing graph-ics and media imagery.
Gran Fury was an art activ-ist group that grew out of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Pow-er campaign, which formed in New York City in 1987. It cre-ated propaganda in the style of advertisements to spread the word about the AIDS crisis and its effect on society at the time.
The group was named after the model of automobiles that were then used by the New York Police Department. Gran Fury appropriated the name — also a powerful political statement — to express their frustration with the way the AIDS epidemic was being handled.
“It seems political to us, but for them it was personal,” Ed-ward Holland, registrar of the exhibit, said. “They were doing this because they had no choice. This was their community, they had friends who died of AIDS.”
“In America in late ’80s [and] early ’90s, you couldn’t go any-where or do anything without AIDS being an issue,” Holland added. “It was always on the news, it was the hot button is-sue in America. Fast forward 20 or so years later, it’s sort of a re-examination, asking, ‘Is this still an issue?’ And it is. Glob-
ally, it’s a huge issue, it’s just not spoken about with the same gravity as other issues.”
Some members of the gay community, however, do not agree with this statement.
“We’ve come so far with gay rights and AIDS protection that I’m not sure how relevant the exhibit is right now,” Stein-
hardt freshman Freddy Millan Jr. said.
Gran Fury: Read My Lips runs through March 17 at 80WSE Galleries.
Keerthi Harishankaris a contributing writer. Email her [email protected].
The cast and crew of “Yo Miss!” rehearse for upcoming performances.rAChel KAplAN/WsN
AIDS activist arts collective, which opened at the end of last month, is free and open to the public. Kelsey ledgerWood/WsN
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By cliO MccOnnell
“Thin Ice” has all the ingre-dients of a great dark comedy: superb acting, intriguing plot twists, sarcastic characters and deprecating jokes. The film, un-fortunately, lacks a vital sense of time management.
Greg Kinnear plays Mickey Prohaska, a two-faced, compul-sive liar who is unable to save his own skin. He has perfected this role after portraying it in other films such as “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Ghost Town.” An unsuccessful insurance agent who will do just about anything to make a quick buck, Mickey euphemistically insists there is “nothing wrong with a little in-formation management.”
Kinnear’s Mickey is perfectly piti-ful yet utterly contemptible. The au-dience never quite knows whether to believe him or not. It is this trait that makes Mickey so believable as a swindler.
Alongside Kinnear, the great Alan Arkin portrays Gorvey Hau-er, an endearing old Wisconsinite — with a Scandinavian accent — who has no idea what an insur-ance agent does, let alone how much such a service should cost. He more than makes up for what Kinnear’s character lacks in Mid-western hospitality.
Completing the trio of main actors is NYU alumnus Billy Crudup. He is fantastic as the psychopathic Randy. Much like Heath Ledger’s Joker, Crudup is
perfectly calm at times, which is what makes him all the more terrifying when he loses it.
And the story, though certain-ly quirky, is quite suspenseful. Gorvey is the owner of a famous violin, worth over $1 million. Mickey discovers the worth of the instrument before Gorvey does and plans to steal and sell it for his own gain. Things soon spiral out of control. Before we know it, Randy and Mickey are dumping body parts in a lake in the dead of Midwestern winter.
This plot works within the film’s narrative. The mysteri-ous puzzle pieces fall almost too neatly into the irritating jigsaw plot at the end of the film. The element of “Thin Ice” that is un-able to suspend our disbelief is the minuscule amount of time allotted to the flawless finale, with the coup de grâce delivered by a voiceover.
The film progresses very well, but then the protagonist’s dul-cet tones kick in and explaine everything that had barely been hinted before the story came to a disappointing close. Plot wise, the ending is brilliant and un-predictable, but writer-director Jill Sprecher’s inability to deliver her denouement as effectively as Kinnear, Arkin and Crudup de-liver their flawless performances will leave audiences frustrated.
Clio McConnell is books/theater editor. Email her at [email protected].
By AlexAndeR tseBelis
A novel belonging to the poorly named genre of chick lit typically features a classic, romantic plot line inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a career-driven heroine with narcissism and an addic-tion for shopping. This is Erin Duffy’s first novel, “Bond Girl” in a nutshell.
Duffy, however, has altered the formula. This isn’t “Sex and the City,” and the titular Bond girl is not the blond-haired eye candy that appears in every James Bond movie.
Instead, the novel introduces Alex Garrett, a young analyst working the government bonds desk at a large, semi-fictional Wall Street firm, which seems to be based around Duffy’s de-cade experience at Merrill Lynch before being laid off during the financial crisis.
At times, the book feels like Duffy is rewriting her life with a loose, fantasy-fulfilling take, em-powering her alter-ego to walk out of a job before being fired.
“Bond Girl” is a breezy, mostly enjoyable read. Duffy focuses on fictionalized accounts of fiction-alized debacles — fetching her
boss a $982 wheel of Parmesan as retribution for her late ar-rival at work or slipping in her Manolo Blahniks in the snow.
Duffy’s recreations of these accounts are enthusiastic and creative. But the tone of these fluffy escapades carries over to Alex as a victim of frequent sex-ual harassment, which ranges from inappropriate misunder-standings to a completely rep-rehensible dilemma between her job and her dignity.
Duffy covers these traumatic moments with the same frivo-lous tone she uses when writ-ing about Alex’s shoes and eating habits. As a result, Alex walks away from everything in an unsatisfying but relatively unscathed manner.
Austen would be disap-pointed at her 21st-century influence. With a trite subplot involving a boyfriend who vanishes on weekends until his secret but expected affair is revealed, readers can see it coming long before the twist occurs, and Alex’s blind eye during the narrative is both unrealistic and unfulfilling.
None of this is to say that “Bond Girl” isn’t a fun read. But by the end it’s difficult to
buy Alex’s hatred of her job when the whole ordeal is nothing more than an amus-ing catalog of shenanigans and double-crossings. If Duffy had handled the more serious sub-ject matter with more skill, she could have had an emotion-ally resonant and meaningful chronicle. As it is, “Bond Girl” fails to elevate chick lit beyond entertaining yet empty fare.
Alexander Tsebelis is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
NyuNeWs.Com | thursdAy, feBruAry 16, 2012 | WAshiNgtoN squAre NeWs 5
Book trades depth for clichésKinnear on ‘Thin Ice’
ARTSedited By jOnAthOn [email protected]
“Mistfits” are being adapted for American audiences. The Sherlock Holmes drama will have a U.S. counterpart called “Elementary” on CBS, despite the original “Sherlock” cre-ator’s threats to sue if the re-make is too similar to his ver-sion. “Misfits,” like “Sherlock,” is already adored by American viewers, yet a remake is being penned by “The O.C.” creator Josh Schwartz albeit with input from the show’s creator.
The success of programs like “Doctor Who” and “Downton Ab-bey” proves U.S. audiences are willing to watch original British
shows. The ease of streaming new content directly from Eng-land is proving that the remakes, though successful at times, are unnecessary. Shows like “Three’s Company” and “All in the Fam-ily” premiered at a time when access to foreign TV was difficult, if not impossible. Now that times have changed, producers should worry about creating original content rather than wasting time with remakes.
Chris Saccaro is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
BRitish continued from PG. 1
Remaking of British television shows redundant
Greg Kinnear and Billy Crudup play opposite one another.viA thiNiCe-movie.Com
Courtesy of WilliAm morroW
THE NEw YoRk TimES cRoSSwoRD & DAilY SUDokU
Across1 La ___
(Argentine city)6 Irksome10 Blacken14 Museum piece15 Name of
counties in threestates, allcrossed by I-90
16 Loosen (up)18 Amicable20 Abridge21 Windhoek-to-
Pretoria dir.22 “Beloved,” in
operas23 Begin
energetically24 Player of Mark
Antony in 1953’s“Julius Caesar”
27 Sing30 Epithet for
France’s LouisVI, with “the”
31 Singer Alan orAnita
32 Weather line34 Abbr. in
classifieds
35 AndriesPretorius, e.g.,who gave hisname to anational capital
39 What each ofthe 10abbreviations inthis puzzle’sanswer standsfor
43 Bloom support44 Jimmy45 Electorate46 Gas brand north
of the border48 Pet rat in a 1972
#1 song49 Medium bra
specification50 Old name of the
San JoseSharks’ arena
55 Kind of push-up56 Muckraker
Jacob58 Clinton’s veep
and his father61 Gain knowledge62 Skateboarding
ramp
65 AmericanShakers founder
66 Language that’swritten from rightto left
67 Popular Italianscooter
68 Not natural69 Map
magnification70 Kindle file
Down1 Like many a
sniper2 Runners3 Veld flower4 Uncle José, e.g.5 Hybrid, in a way6 Inspect7 Wrongdoing8 Less than 1%9 “Assuredly”10 Author Beverly11 “Broom-___”12 Much-advertised
sleep aid13 Fixed up17 Where Harrah’s
started19 Sushi bar sauce23 The L.A. Sparks
play in it25 Not all there26 Frankfurt an der
___27 They’re flicked28 Exam for future
attys.29 Have ___ to pick30 It’ll pass33 “Pow!”34 Subject of the
2005 book“Conspiracy ofFools”
35 Drill part36 Year in the reign
of the emperorAugustus
37 Napkin shade,maybe
38 Party in a legalproceeding:Abbr.
40 Part of St. Paul’s41 No longer
bothered bysomething
42 Baron ___Richthofen
46 Like some runs
47 Small areameas.
48 City oncedivided by theGreen Line
50 Mixer choice51 Seemingly
ceaselessly52 With cruelty53 Gay ___54 Plumbing, e.g.
57 Golf’sBallesteros
58 Lhasa ___59 Quick weight
loss method, forshort
60 Commandeliciting barking
62 On the ___ vive63 Mantelpiece
pieces64 Johnny ___
Puzzle by Gareth Bain
For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a creditcard, 1-800-814-5554.Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sundaycrosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS.AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visitnytimes.com/mobilexword for more information.Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 pastpuzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.
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46 47 48 49
50 51 52 53 54
55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64
65 66 67
68 69 70
A P S E O R I O N D A B SN A P A C A M P Y O R A LS W A T C H T E A M N O R I
M A O A R P T M A NP A T C H O N T H E B A C K
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L U C G N U Y U R IO P E D S N F C L E GB A T C H O U T O F H E L LO R C A P T A I V SI T E S A L L E Y C A T C HS I T E L E O N E D O U RT I C S S Y N C S E P E E
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oPiNioNedited By OliviA [email protected]
Little Italy marscultural authenticity
stAff editORiAl
Lin redefines ethnic lines in NBABy lOuis lOftus
What is so special about Jeremy Lin? What has made his jersey the NBA’s top seller and “Lin-sanity” New York’s favorite pun in a scant five days?
Well, for one thing, Lin has a great story that even the most cynical among us finds irresistible — a loosing team’s biggest and most highly paid super-stars (Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire) go down, giving an un-drafted rookie bench warmer a chance to prove himself. He did this in spectac-ular fashion by passing the ball, scoring 25 points a game and leading his team out of the cellar.
Add in a love story and a team of jerks to play in the championship game and there’s a Disney movie somewhere in there. And then, of course, he is one of only two ethnically Chinese players currently playing in the NBA. What makes Lin different from Yi Jianlian — and what I believe really makes him so compelling not only to Knicks fans but Americans everywhere — is that he is not Chinese but Chinese-American.
Think back to 2002. From the mo-ment Yao Ming went first in that year’s draft he represented a change in bas-
ketball. The game became global and now Ming, not Shaquille O’Neal, was its biggest star — both literally and fig-uratively. Ming’s significance could not have been more perfectly symbolized than by the NBA when in 2003 it print-ed its All-Star Game ballots in Mandarin for the first time.
Ming, however, was Chinese, not American. Playing for the Chinese Na-tional Team in the Olympics was actu-ally a requirement of his playing in the NBA. His career said more about the progress of China in the world than of the Chinese in America — more Ivan Drago than Jackie Robinson. This is not so with Lin. He was born in California and went to church, the YMCA and Harvard University. If he played in the Olympics this summer, he would play for Team USA.
It is sad, but probably true, that such a Chinese person on the U.S. basketball team may seem so novel to so many people. It is a simple result, however, that many Americans, pro-gressives and cosmopolitans among them, still do not view anyone of Chi-nese descent as American. Often, they are seen — if only unconsciously — as something foreign and equal but sepa-
rate and are lumped into a homog-enous global group. Think about it. When Ming first started playing you might have asked one of your Chinese friends what he thought of him, but would you have thought to ask one of your German friends what he thought of Dirk Nowitzki?
Of course all ethnic minorities in this country — blacks, Irish, Italians, Latinos — have had to endure such a period of alienation from the standard model of an American. It is a difficult path from exclusion to inclusion, which one could argue that many of the aforementioned groups are still walking it. But this path is one often led by people like Lin, who do so unwittingly and indirectly. Small steps in the right direction make the bigger steps possible. Clearly Lin is exciting for many reasons, but chief among them is that he represents one such small step. He is a reminder — un-fortunate as it is that many still need reminding — that Chinese-Americans are every bit as American as anyone else. They speak English, go to school, pay taxes and now play in the NBA.
Louis Loftus is a staff columnist. Email him at [email protected].
equAlitY
NyuNeWs.Com | thursdAy, feBruAry 16, 2012 | WAshiNgtoN squAre NeWs 7
Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].
editorial Board: olivia gonzalez (Chair), Atticus Brigham (Co-Chair), sanchay Jain (Co-Chair), Chris diNardo,
emily franklin, matt Kao, Ben miller and peter murphy.
Newt character flaws are his finest assetsBy Atticus BRiGhAM
Though Newt Gingrich’s victory
in South Carolina has not proved to be the bellwether that Rick San-torum’s Tebow-esque evangelical surge in Colorado was hailed as, over the long haul Gingrich has the best chance to beat Mitt Romney at the convention in Tampa. This is be-cause of the personality differences between Gingrich and Romney.
Former Speaker of the House Gingrich accurately predicted the battle for the Republican presiden-tial nomination would last “until June or July,” laughably adding, “unless Romney drops out soon-er.” Romney has irreversibly and unintentionally created a public perception as a phony who will say anything to get elected. Though Gingrich’s loquacious habits tend to vacillate between acerbic dia-tribes and pouting, Gingrich re-mains more electable than disin-genuous and off-putting Romney.
Romney’s claim to be severely con-servative at the Conservative Political Action Conference further erodes his credibility when compared to “Obam-neycare.” The $10,000 wager Romney made during a debate coupled with the 13.9 percent tax rate Romney received on his $21.6 million 2010 income reveals him to be more out of touch with the average voter than originally estimated. Republicans, who face a popular incumbent, can-not afford a candidate who courts working-class voters with false ebul-lience and very real elitism. Gingrich presents a viable alternative.
Gingrich’s severe financial dis-advantage was most visible when Romney spent $16 million on negative advertisements in Flori-da alone, outspending Newt five to one. As Gringrich pointed out, Romney’s biggest supporters are the banks that profited from Wall Street bailouts. Gingrich applies the transitive property to taxpayer money in saying, “Those ads are your money recycled to attack me.” Meanwhile, Gingrich has incurred $1.2 million in debt — partially be-cause of spending sprees at Tiffany & Co. — and is on the verge of los-ing his main campaign contribu-tors. Yet Gingrich’s decades of po-litical experience, highlighted by the first 1994 Republican majority in Congress in 50 years, make up for his monetary disadvantage to Romney. In fact, the bigger this campaign funding gap grows, the more believable Gingrich’s self-as-cribed populist label becomes.
Gingrich’s intemperate attitude and bellicose tenor are also assets lacking in Romney. Gingrich un-repentantly dishes out withering ridicule and viciously shouts down hecklers. Romney serenades those at death’s door and follows everything with a tight-forced smile. Gingrich has launched a personal attack on President Barack Obama when pro-posing a series of three-hour mod-erated debates, in the spirit of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
“How does the finest orator in the Democratic Party look in a mirror and say he’s afraid to debate [me]?” Gingrich asked. Romney has been
respectful of Obama at worst.While Gingrich has had fidelity
issues with his wives, Romney has had them with policies. Romney stutters and backtracks transpar-ently convey a malleability remi-niscent of the kid who will fol-low any fad to sit at the cool kids’ lunch table. In contrast, Gingrich’s assertive confidence comes off as steadfastness despite having a spotty voting record himself. As Gingrich’s stepmother said in 1994, “If he wants something, he wants it now. Newtie was always for Newtie.”
Gingrich’s hubris is further re-flected in handwritten notes from the period leading up to his big 1994 victory that were later se-questered by the Ethics Commit-tee. In them, Newt labels himself the “System Designer” in the mid-dle of concentric circles with ev-eryone else around him. Gingrich may be mentally unmoored, but his character flaws are his greatest political asset.
Gingrich is right in saying his vic-tory will shock the country.
“It will shock the world. And shock is what we need,” he said. The only question is whether Ging-rich would be defibrillating a dead body politic to life or electrocuting an alive one to death.
Atticus Brigham is a deputy opinion editor. Email him at [email protected]. This is part two of a series entitled “Gingrich’s personality: a political asset.”
electiOn 2012
The Little Italy Merchants Associa-tion has requested permission from Community Board No. 2 to extend their renowned street sec-tion and tourist site one additional block. The proposal asks
for the changes to be made this summer and last throughout a one-year trial. Once a bustling Italian neighborhood in the depths of SoHo, the Italian-American com-munity has largely dissipated with their remnants forming a few city blocks of restaurants and shops. As idealistic as the initiative sounds, it is a self-serving attack upon the culture of the neighborhood.
New York City is already a tourist trap because of landmarks such as the Stat-ue of Liberty, Central Park and Ground zero, among others. Little Italy is already one of these landmarks, particularly known for its Feast of San Gennaro, an 11-day street fair celebrating Italian cul-ture. But even such a fair cannot mask that Little Italy is no longer the heart of Italian-American life in New York City. Currently, Italian-Americans are more prominent in The Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Sure, the neighborhood serves as a symbol for the history of the neighbor-hood, but gone is the real essence of the culture. What once was a part of Little Italy is now Chinatown, representing the cyclical and wave-like nature of im-migration, which is such a crucial part of the American landscape. We should embrace these transitions instead of trying to force anachronistic traditions on a culture that no longer exists there. The felt necessities of the time, not the memories a location evokes, should dic-tate how the space is used.
Is creating new Italian restaurants run by people who are not from the area re-ally showing the cultural impact of Ital-ian-Americans in the neighborhood? Ab-solutely not. If anything, it is a scheme by the Little Italy Merchants Association to suck out more revenue from their namesake strip of land. The NYU area does not need any more tourist attrac-tions. After all, the city should primarily serve its residents.
8 WAshiNgtoN squAre NeWs | thursdAy, feBruAry 16, 2012 | NyuNeWs.Com
SPoRTS edited By dAniel hintOn [email protected]
“In the past few weeks, we have really come together well and we need to continue this progress,” Dodd added.
The Violets will compete against Ramapo College and Rutgers University in Newark in the NYU Tri-Meet at Coles
Sports Center on Saturday, Feb. 18. The first match of the day against Ramapo, another member of the UVC, will be-gin at 1 p.m.
Sara Levy is a staff writer. Email her at [email protected].
Volleyball grabs sixth straight win, fifth in conference
MvBall continued from PG. 1
By seBAstien vAn heYninGen
Every week, WSN lists the top three sporting events of the upcom-ing weekend. Here are the games that sports fans need to fit into their weekend schedule.
University of Michigan Wolver-ines vs. The Ohio State Universi-ty Buckeyes (Saturday, Feb. 18, 9 p.m., ESPN/ESPN3)
With March Madness just around the corner, the Wolverines will visit the Buckeyes on Saturday night. Al-though the football teams won’t be participating, these schools despise each other in every sport.
Michigan, currently ranked 19th nationally, will look to stay in the top 25 and add to a two-game win-ning streak that began when they held the University of Nebraska-Lin-coln to 46 points. No. 6 Ohio State will try to sweep its regular season series against the Wolverines and climb the rankings within the Big Ten Conference and the nation.
Duke University Blue Devils vs. the University of Maryland Terrapins (Sunday, Feb. 19, 3 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN3)
Speaking of rivalries, fifth-ranked Duke women’s basket-ball will travel to seventh-ranked Maryland to face forward Alyssa Thomas and the Terrapins.
Thomas is averaging 17 points and seven rebounds per game, but she is coming off a poor shooting per-formance against Miami in which she made only 33 percent of her at-tempts from the field. The last time these two teams met, Thomas put up a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but Duke edged out a 80-72 victory.
After defeating Viriginia Tech at home on Wednesday night, Duke remains undefeated with-in the Atlantic Coast Confer-ence. The Blue Devils now look toward Sunday when they will have a chance to beat one of
their biggest rivals on the road.Orlando Magic vs. Miami Heat
(Saturday, Feb. 18, 3:30 p.m., ABC)The battle of the Sunshine State
continues on Sunday as the Magic head south to Miami to take on the Heat.
The current situation of Orlan-do’s Dwight Howard brings back memories of former Magic center Shaquille O’Neal in 1996 and, more recently, Miami’s LeBron James in 2010. Despite disappointments as a team on the court and rumors off it, Howard has averaged 20 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and two blocks. Howard is also playing more minutes than ever as head coach Stan Van Gundy tries to maximize the center’s playing time in what could be his last year in Orlando.
On Feb. 8, the Magic won by 12, led by Ryan Anderson’s 27 points and Howard’s 24 rebounds. Besides Howard, Orlando’s roster is filled with perimeter shooters. The team’s success constantly depends on their performances. If James, Dwyane Wade and the rest of the Heat stifle the Magic shooters and continue to create plays in transition, Miami will avenge their most recent loss.
Sebastien Van Heyningen is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
ACC, NBA, Big Ten top Weekend Watch
Dwight Howard may be play-ing his final season in Orlando.
Courtesy of Keith AllisoN
Junior Taylor Fauntleroy has NYU on a six-match win streak.file photo By dAvid liN
