by Josh Davidson

This past weekend, I got the opportunity to check out Jack’s Mannequin at the House of Blues in New Orleans with special guests Matt Nathanson and Erin McCarley. The show rocked! Erin started things off and was surprisingly good. (Did I mention she was hot? Well she was.) Erin and her band played a 35-minute set, highlighted by the piano player’s beat boxing.

Matt Nathanson was cooler than expected as well. You might recognize him from his current single, “Come On, Get Higher,� that is played on most pop radio stations. I was disappointed that he didn’t do his rendition of Better Than Ezra’s “Laid,� which he recorded for the American Pie 2 Soundtrack, but he made up for it when he played humorous versions of “Sweet Child of Mine� and “Don’t Stop Believing.�

Jack’s Mannequin was amazing! I got the chance to see them at the River Center a few months ago and loved it, and this show was even better than that. Before the show I got the opportunity to meet lead singer Andrew McMahon and hung out with him in the tour bus, which was badass! Jack’s played a good mixture of songs from their debut album as well as their latest record The Glass Passenger.

Andrew’s energy is amazing during his performances—banging the hell out of his piano and rocking two microphones. The highlight of the performance had to be when he played one of his older tracks, entitled “Cavanaugh Park,� from when he was in the band Something Corporate. The sold out House of Blues was jumping around the entire show with never a dull moment.

Next up for Jack’s Mannequin is a nationwide tour with fellow rockers The Fray. Unfortunately, the closest this tour comes to Baton Rouge is Houston, but that five-hour drive is well worth it if The Fray performs even half as well as Jack’s live. Also, be sure to check out Andrew McMahon’s former drummer from Something Corporate, Brian Ireland, in the band Streamline, which has several tour dates in the area this summer.

by Rafaella Cuff

After spending three years at LSU, I have experienced so many breaches of privacy and respect in the bathroom. I am not one to tell another person how he or she should behave, but I get slightly annoyed when I feel violated while trying to take a piss. Here are some of my pet peeves in the bathroom:

1. Cell phone speakers in the cubicle.
You cannot feel too highly of a person when you are willing to talk to them while you relieve myself. When I hear someone talking in another bathroom stall, I freeze. I cannot pee- I cannot even flush the loo. It is so rude to both the person you are speaking to and the other people in the bathroom at the time. I don’t care how busy you are- it is simply revolting.

2. Stall best friends.
Somewhat related to the talking on the phone, but yet so far. Two friends who enter deep in conversation, sit in stalls next to one another, and continue chatting away. Really? Taking a pee is personal, and I cannot imagine being deep in conversation while doing so. It is both gross and inexcusable. The one exception: when you are out of toilet paper in your stall and must beg someone in another stall for help.

3. Social aggregation in the restroom.
This is revolting, yet girls do it frequently. Staying in a public bathroom for half-an-hour to gossip and fix hair and make-up with a group of friends is quite silly. For one, you are violating the privacy of those who are using the bathroom for the purpose in which it was intended. Secondly, why can’t they find a better smelling location to socialize? People are relieving themselves of bodily waste, and they hang out there for an extended period of time breathing in those lovely fumes.

4. Toilet paper throwers.
It is not complicated: you use toilet paper, you throw it away. If you blow your nose, and there is no bin for waste, then put it in the toilet. Toilet paper is what it was intended for anyway. Throwing it on the floor is inexcusable and rude to the cleaners and others who will later use the stall. If it is feminine waste, then for sanitation’s sake, don’t throw it on the floor. Chuck it in the bin on your way out.

5. Toilet concoction.
It is not difficult to flush a toilet, yet at least once a week I run into a toilet that remained unflushed. This is revolting-absolutely revolting. No one wants to look at another person’s waste. I cringe and gag every time I see this.

6. Cubicle friends.
Simple rule: if you enter the restroom, and only one person is using it, don’t choose to relieve yourself right next to them. This is especially true for guys. I have problems peeing when someone is sitting right next to me, and it is 10x worse for men. In addition, if the person who was in the bathroom when you entered, and they still haven’t flushed the toilet by the time you are done, then LEAVE. All he/she wants is privacy. Perhaps, he/she cannot pee when someone else is around, perhaps he/she needs to do something more substantial- it doesn’t matter. Leave them ALONE.

There are so many more, but it would take ages for me to list all of them. Here is a simple taste. If you are a violator of one or more of my pet peeves, then PLEASE try to be more respectful.

by Rafaella Cuff

While I was in London this January, billboards advertised Slumdog Millionaire as “the feel good film of the decade.” Frankly, Wall-E did a better job. I am not saying that Slumdog Millionaire was a bad movie- far from it, but it was also not the spectacular film that everyone so hyped it up to be. There is a big difference between a good and great film, and, in my opinion, Slumdog only partially hit the target.

First of all, could you at least get an Indian actor for the main part? It is ridiculous to make such a statement about how hard life is in the slums of Mumbai when you do not even bother to find someone from the country to play the role. How hard would it be? It was not like Dev Patel won an Oscar for his part as Jamal. His acting is not what made the film good. It may actually be what prevented the film from being great. It is a shame someone from India did not get the acting job and salary of the main part.

Second of all, could you at least make the protagonist more believable? So benevolent and innocent, it was almost irritating. Life in slums and poverty is about survival. To actually gamble the last question on the game show instead of walking away with the money was daft. I know, I know… it symbolized how his whole appearance on the game show was solely to find his childhood love Latika again. However, he knew he had her, so why risk throwing away a wonderful life with her to a poor one in the slums where they would be unprotected from the gang members who would probably come after them. It’s ridiculous.

If you want a great slum movie, watch City of God. It overshadows Slumdog Millionaire greatly. Truth is, in real life, slumdogs do not become millionaires. In reality, slumdogs are lucky if they live a life like Salim. I definitely agree that a film should have been made about the difficulty of life in India, the world’s largest democracy. I definitely think that film should have been centered around India’s poverty, but by focusing on an unrealistic ending, Slumdog Millionaire takes away a lot of the awareness that could have been created had it been a more realistic movie. I am sick and tired of Hollywood endings, especially when they are touching a subject so sensitive and sad as poverty in slums. Allowing cinema goers to leave the film so sickeningly cheerful keeps the west in mentality that everything will be “alright.”

Now, the parents are trying to “sell” the child actors of Slumdog Millionaire. Now, the parents are beating the child actors for avoiding photographers. Now, those children will continue to live in the slums until they are 18 and earn their money, which only happens if they manage to stay in school. Staying in school is a hard thing to do when your family hardly has enough to eat or may lose their home. It’s a shame that everyone in the West left that film happy, but those children were allowed to visit America for the Oscars, went to Disney, and were sent straight back to those slums

The modern day slum is not the time or place to make into a Cinderella story.

-Rafaella Cuff

World-wide economic recession, drug wars, and now the swine flu- when will Mexico get a break? A month ago, vacationers were panicking about the safety of traveling to Mexico due to cartel violence. Now, the media hypes a dangerous strand of influenza, and world leaders like Sarkozy are discussing the stopping of planes traveling to Mexico.

Drastic measures will not only further harm Mexico’s economy but could be detrimental to the world economy. Now is not the time to make rash statements to the press, especially when you are in a political office. Pandemics can happen. Epidemics happen frequently. We are not facing the Black Death. Sure, people with weaker immune systems needs to be careful, but wash your hands regularly and go on with your life. The last thing we need right now is fear.

This explains a lot.

In the last couple of years, Dengue Fever was infecting huge numbers in Brazil. Other strands of flu kills an average of 20,000 people in the world yearly-check WHO site for more info. AIDS is a global pandemic that is hardly talked about anymore. Malaria is still big, especially in poorer countries. Disease is part of life-think of it in a harsh way- as population control. There are going to be deaths in the world, if not from swine flu, then from something else. People need to be careful, but cutting ties with Mexico is nothing more than cutting of your nose to spite your face.

You know a company is shitty if they want to hire me to do sales.

If you put your resume on Monster.com, it seems you have a 99% chance of being contacted by an obscure “company” who wants to hire you in sales/marketing. They seem to target new grads who are eager to jump on the 9-5 big kid job bandwagon, especially English majors or some other major without a definitive career goal. I’m not talking about the legitimate sales jobs, where you’re actually working directly for the company selling that company’s products, which have a legitimate purpose (e.g. radio/print/TV/web ads, vehicles, even insurance). I’m not sure if I’d even put Avon or Mary Kay on the list of legit sales jobs (sorry ladies and creepy guy trying to meet women).

From the stories I’ve heard, the hring process seems to be some variation of this:  They contact you and tell you they liked your resume. They schedule an interview at an office complex you’ve never heard of on a street you’ve never been on in a part of town you’re afraid of. You show up, and instead of an interview, it’s practically your first day at work. The manager will tell you how much money you COULD make, as well as lie about his own salary. You show up the next day and begin peddling a product of no real value. Then you pretend you have to go to the bathroom and sneak out, never to return to that job again.

Some of the well-known sales scam jobs include selling knives, vacuum cleaners, magazines, timeshares, steaks, and makeup.  Every now then there comes a pyramid scheme for vitamins, nutrition drinks, weight loss patches, and gas additives to improve mpg (seems like those people spend more time recruiting other people than they do selling the actual product.)  The products are obscure, and the tactics are hilarious. 

Have you ever been asked to take a survey and then called back because you “won” something and all you have to do is watch a product demonstration? (rainbow vacs)

Or have you ever been outside a store and approached by someone selling a product that isn’t even remotely related to what said store sells? (knife salesman outside a gas station)

Someone ever knock on your door and tell you they’re selling magazines subscriptions to raise money for a trip? (about five times while I was living in an apartment by LSU)

Or maybe you entered a drawing for a free cruise, but instead you “won” a free four-night stay in Orlando, and all you have to do is watch a timeshare seminar. (Boat show at the river center)

I’m sure someone’s called you to say your car warranty is about to expire.

What do you think the turnover rate is for those companies?

 When I was in college, some guy called me based on my resume on Monster.com (a resume I hadn’t updated since high school) and wanted to interview me for a job working for a “contract sales firm who represents a fortune 500 company.” The job was with a company that sold landlines, DirecTV, and DSL for Bellsouth. We set up in Cingular stores and approached people who were browsing or waiting. Pure commission. I stupidly took the job and quit after 3 months. I just can’t sell a product that doesn’t already speak for itself, or a product I don’t believe in.

And even if a company happens to have a revolutionary product that works, why would they try to sell it in such a way that has always been associated with scams? Rainbow Vacuums are a prime example. I’ve seen them in action and know they’re a good product, but their salespeople (a)  get hundreds of dollars in commission for each vacuum sold, (b) based on what I’ve read, are actually allowed to set their own price for the vacuum, and (c) use dishonest tactics to get you to agree to a demonstration. 

I’ve heard that some people have the skills to make bank doing this stuff, but I think it takes a real snake to succeed.