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6 Features Virginia Law Weekly Friday, January 29, 1999 Social Events in February by Jennifer Leong ’00 Returning to Law School after a much-needed four-week hiatus has surely been no easy task. While getting back into the academic swing of things may take a little time and effort, getting back into the social scene has been made quite easy for law students this semester. Two major upcoming events can help make the transition effortless by providing a chance for you to mingle with old friends, make new ones, and forget that last semester’s grades are almost in. Feb Club: Tomorrow marks the official beginning of the Law School’s traditional Month of Debauchery, affectionately known as Feb Club. Each year, the NGSL organizes Feb Club in an attempt to provide a social event for every night of the month. This year, third-years Michelle Sheridan and Andy Johnson are in charge of making sure Feb Club gets off to a roaring start. Their primary job is to gather the names of those who have volunteered to host parties and put together a calendar so everyone knows where to go, when to go, and what to wear. “We just set the calendar, and then it’s up to everyone else. I don’t have to do anything — except go,” said Sheridan. In planning the calendar, Sheridan says there is some strategy involved. “Of course first-years are encouraged to host parties. But if they live at Ivy Gardens, we try to give them dates earlier in the week, due to the size of the apartments,” said Sheridan. The weekend parties, which tend to be bigger, are reserved for those students who are able to accommodate a large number of guests. Traditionally, Feb Club kicks off by Andy Lippstone ’01 OK, you’re safely back in Charlottesville. You just navigated through Greene County’s infamous Rt. 29 speed traps, tele-wrangled with ISIS, deposited those loan checks, and put $400 worth of new textbooks on the Plastic FunCard. What to do now that you’re settled Leave. Hit the road. While purists and scholars may cringe at the thought, the simple truth is that the first weeks of the semester are the ideal time to rekindle your relationship with the open road. That’s right – there’s no better time than now than to indulge immaturity and take a road trip. True, the ink on the seating chart is barely dry. But consider this: the first weeks of the semester may be the only time this spring when law students have both the time and the money to explore. “There’s just not that much work to do right now,” said second-year Greg Vogel. “All the loan money is in, everyone has cash, and no one has sat down to think how they’ll make it last through the semester.” If that wasn’t enough, consider the simple matter of aesthetics. Central Virginia’s breathtaking fall scenery has long since given way to something pallid and cheerless — a perfect backdrop for a Sucrets commercial, if not for long days holed up in the library. So it’s clear — time to move for a change of venue. But where to go While Charlottesville isn’t as centrally located to major cities as those colleges in the mid-Atlantic, there are dozens of reachable destinations on January 31 with a New Year’s Eve Party. However, due to the scheduling of the Super Bowl, this year’s inaugural party will be held tomorrow, January 30. In all, there will be 26 parties, each with its own distinctive theme. Each host will post fliers with the address and an explanation of their theme. If the theme involves wearing certain attire, all attendants are encouraged to come in appropriate costume. Although beer has historically been the beverage of choice, hosts are encouraged to come up with creative concoctions as well. For example, one of the more popular parties last year was “Motown Margarita Madness.” Sheridan says she hopes Feb Club will bring the law school community together in a non-academic setting. “It’s a good way to meet people, especially for first-years who spent most of their first semester with their section,” Sheridan said. “It’s a chance to run into people you don’t normally see in class.” Barrister’s Ball: Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 6, because it’s time for the SBA’s annual Barrister’s Ball. Secondyear Hillary Cherry and third-year Carine Saddy, event co-chairs, have been planning Barrister’s Ball since September. They hope to build on the success of last year’s Ball, which had an attendance of more than 800 people. Because of the huge success of last year’s event, Cherry and Saddy decided not to make any drastic changes this year. The only major perfectly suited for a weekend road trip. The closest of these are two area ski resorts, Massanutten and Wintergreen. Both are in central Virginia, and less than an hour away. While “neither is very large as compared to out west,” conditions are excellent in the late winter months, said Donna Havens, a sales manager at Freestyle, a local ski shop. “One is about as good as the other,” says Havens. “They’re very similar as far as terrain goes.” If you’re seeking a more challenging skiing experience, she suggests West Virginia’s Snowshoe Mountain, a three-hour drive. “There’s much more mountain, and a longer season,” she says. If cold, soaked, and injured isn’t you’re cup of cocoa, perhaps an urban expedition might be the right escape. To the south, Raleigh is a four-hour drive; to the north, Philly and New York can be reached in five and six-and-a-half hours, respectively. For a slightly more surreal experience, Atlantic City — New Jersey’s garish monument to corporate change was in booking the band. Last year’s band, Liquid Pleasure, was a big hit but unfortunately were already booked. Cherry promises this year’s band, Time for Change, will be just as entertaining. Rest assured they will belt out some of your favorite tunes, including Motown classics and top 40 hits. The Ball will again be held at the Omni Hotel, located near the downtown mall, from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.. There will be an open bar available from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Hospitality Suites will also be set up this year by different organizations in hotel rooms. “They’re for after the ball is over, and you can get more drinks and snack food,” Cherry said. Those hospitality suites are open to everyone. All law students are encouraged to attend, and Saddy and Cherry emphasize that you don’t need a date to attend the event and have a good time. “Every year a ton of people go with a group of friends. There’s no reason just because you get dressed up that you need a date,” Cherry said. SBA will be selling tickets to Barrister’s Ball today, Monday, February 1 and Tuesday, February 2, for $27 each. If you wait to buy tickets at the door, they will cost $30 per person. On the Road Again: Taking a Trip Far Away photo by Marc Cohn Roads Where we’re going, we don’t need roads. photo by J. Todd White Mary Quagliano ’98 and Joy Taylor ’98 enjoy last year’s Barrister’s Ball greed, urban inequality, and the most enjoyable wages of sin – is a mere five-and-a-half hours away. Rooms aren’t as cheap as Vegas, but thank God the drinks are still free. If you go now, you’ll be less tempted to walk on the boardwalk, which is a good thing, because muggings are considerably more rare in the lobby of Trump’s Castle. If you want a change of climate as well as scenery, you’d better be willing to really travel. The more exotic environs of Miami and New Orleans can indeed be reached on a long weekend; on the downside, they’re each more than 15 hours away. On the upside, they have much recommending them – not the least of which are spring break and Mardi Gras, both within the next two months. “New Orleans is definitely doable,” says firstyear Tyson Gorrie, who’s expecting to receive his new Saturn this week. “Three guys, six-hour shifts, we could make it.” If he doesn’t take a trip to New Orleans, Gorrie, a native of Manitoba, Canada, would like to go to the beach. “There are beaches around here, right” he asks. Vogel drove non-stop to Mardi Gras last year with three other friends from home, and lived to tell about it. “I would definitely do it again,” he says. “It’s tough to do, but the memory [of the drive] has faded.” But is anyone up to the challenge of an 18-hour car ride “Since it’s the beginning of the semester, I wouldn’t feel that guilty,” says firstyear Julie Harter. “It’s definitely more likely now than later.” Feb Club: Go the Distance February approaches. Will anyone make it to all the Feb Club parties this year Adrienne Johnson, a second-year law student, is a Law Weekly columnist. I’m not sure why I decided to go to all the Feb Club parties last year; I know I assumed that I’d be one of many who would give it a shot. I recall reading in one of those Guide to Picking the Right Law School tomes: “At U.Va. the law students celebrate the shortest month of the year with a party for every single night of the month of February,” and I was intrigued. Later I learned that NGSL Commissioners orchestrate Feb Club, and everyone from the most reclusive 1L to the rowdiest 3L is invited and encouraged to attend every party. Feb Club is a U.Va. Law institution; it’s been around for decades. Legend says that in years past, during crazy economic booms when the job search was easy as pie, many students would attend all the parties — some even going the distance and attending all the parties all three years. Such inspiring revelry faded with the recession and students’ corresponding angst about grades and jobs. I asked around last year, and to my dismay I found that no one had made it to all the parties in several years — and nobody even remembered the last time someone did. Four of us, all 1Ls at the time, went to all the Feb Club parties last year. Starting out as a rag-tag band of social people, we unified into a Party- Team, and celebrated the spirit of Feb Club thirty days in a row, from the January 31st “New Year’s Eve” party, through the 28 parties in February, before indulging in a final party on March 1st in celebration of our triumph. Doing Feb Club wasn’t always easy, but it was definitely worth it. I encourage everyone to give it a shot and strive for that sense of accomplishment when it’s all over. For me, the secret to doing Feb Club was support and organization. Unless you are one of the heartiest of partiers, you’ll need support to be successful in going the distance with Feb Club. If you can get a friend to pledge to do Feb Club with you, then you can drag each other out if you feel like giving up. On the other end of the “support” spectrum – you may need a friend to carry you down the stairs from a lofty law student apartment after an unexpected losing spree at drinking games. So get your friends/housemates together (1Ls, get your sections together) and make Feb Club a group effort. I personally was unable to completely blow off school for a month. I wasn’t prepared to give Feb Club a shot unless I kept up with my schoolwork. Although some of the hard core partiers may question my priorities, I think a lot of potential Feb- Clubbers feel the same way. There really are enough hours in the day to go to all the parties and do what you need to do: attending class, studying, working out, eating, sleeping, etc. You have to be disciplined to get work done in the morning and during breaks between classes. If you stay an hour at every party, then it’s only really taking an hour and a half out of each day (one hour for partying and half an hour for getting ready to go out and travel time). You are actually doing yourself a favor by learning to balance social responsibilities with hard work. This is your chance to learn in a structured environment how to balance work time with play time, to minimize any potential “Where did my social life go” effects that come after law school when working long hours for a firm. The more proficient we become at balancing work and play, the happier and more productive we’ll be. May I remind you that second semester rocks Take this opportunity to go the distance with Feb Club and show your classmates what you are made of. Third-years – it’s your last chance. Second-years – the job search is over and it’s time to find out what happened to your friends. First-years – you made it through first semester, so relax and come out. February is so early in the semester, even if you fall behind you’ll have time to catch up by May.
Good Southern Food, Slow Southern Service Dixie has a reputation throughout the rest of the United States for having a slower pace of life. Spanish moss hangs from stately old oaks, which sit imposingly over C’ville Dining in a Nutshell by Billy Palmer elegantly dressed men and women sipping iced tea and mint juleps on the porch of a white walled mansion. Meanwhile, in the adjacent trailer park, Bubba and Lucille suck back Miller High Life, smoke Vantage Lights and debate the age old question of Ricki vs. Sally Jesse. The South is a land of many contrasts and, quite appropriately, so is Charlottesville’s own Southern Culture. Walking in the front door at Southern Culture is like walking into someone’s house. Screen door banging behind us, we bypassed the rather crowded bar area for a seat in the downstairs dining room. The décor is upscale, but unmistakably Southern— pink painted walls, white trim. The tables are small but stylish, all with candles; one seating area downstairs is actually four sofas around a coffee table. The interior has a very comfortable feel. We began our meal with an order of Gator Bits (breaded fried pieces of gator meat with ranch-style dipping sauce- $6.95) and a Crawfish Quesadilla (crawfish and cheese inside, fresh salsa and guacamole outside – $5.95). The gator was interesting — of course it tasted like chicken, but was considerably chewier. The sauce was nothing special; in fact, it detracted from the dish. The quesadilla was very good — fresh and both the salsa and guacamole were excellent. Both are highly recommended. For entrees, we had the Louisi- “I didn’t mean to kill anybody. I just shot him in the head. Him dyin’ was between him and God.” — R.L. Burnside These lyrics make it clear that R.L. Burnside is not the sort of blues musician that has typically been successful in the crossover markets. Burnside is to B.B. King what gasoline is to buttermilk. His blues are born of anger, not despair. He plays with an intensity and edge that call to mind the fables of dark bargains struck at midnight where some county road crosses Highway 61. Most of us have never heard anything like it. Burnside, in short, is the real deal — a whiskey swilling, juke-joint thrashing practitioner of the rawest form of Mississippi Delta Blues. Now in his mid-sixties, he is ana Short Stack (crabcake-style patties with shrimp, crawfish and fish — $11.95), served with ratatouille and black-eyed peas, and Jerk Pork Tenderloin (slices of pork tenderloin marinated in jerk seasonings and oven roasted – $9.95), also served with ratatouille and greens. The short stack was delicious — fried up but not greasy or oily. Each bite was outstanding; the table next to us didn’t eat all of theirs and we were tempted to take it for ourselves. But cooler heads prevailed. The accompanying side items were also excellent. The ratatouille was very fresh and the black-eyed peas were clearly not canned. The pork was good, but not great. It tasted a little undercooked, but there was no apparent pinkness in the meat. Also, the jerk seasoning was underapplied. The meat, although not bad, needed a little pick-me up. The accompanying greens were tasty and not oversalted — an often-made mistake. Dessert was a piece of Southern Culture’s pride and joy — Sweet Potato Pie topped with homemade vanilla ice cream. No complaints here – sweet, not too rich and very flavorful. The ice cream was a fine accompaniment. Southern Culture also boasts a modest wine selection and is one of the few restaurants in town where you can get Dixie Beer, straight from Louisiana. The bar area is very popular — similar to Continental Divide — for grabbing a beer or mint julep and meeting friends. Yet, gentle reader, recall the Virginia Law Weekly Friday, January 29, 1999 Reviews 7 photo by Marc Cohn one of the last of a dying breed; a living link to the roots of American music. In past years, Burnside has garnered significant notoriety, releasing two albums, “Ass Pocket of Whiskey” and “Mr. Wizard”, which have cracked the top ten on the college music charts. The success of these records, along with the signing of other blues greats such as Junior Kimbrough, The Jelly Roll Kings, and Elmo Williams, has made Burnside’s label, Fat Possum Records, the most influential player in the modern blues scene. And now, with Burnside’s latest album, Come On In, both Burnside and Fat Possum have Christmas Singles You Get What You Give: The New Radicals sound vaguely like the old band World Party. Their paean to young rock dreamers (and all dreamers) might inspire you to quit law school and pick up a guitar. What It’s Like: For those who don’t know, Everlast is the old lead singer (or rapper) from House of Pain (of “Jump Around” fame). The song is pretty interesting, but Everlast’s performance on Saturday Night Live was disappointing. One () Hit Wonders Every Morning : Sugar Ray proves they are more than one hit wonders with their followup to “Fly.” Of course, Men Without Hats had two hits as well. opening paragraph – a restaurant of contrasts. Despite the general fine quality of our food, it was marred by horrible service. We waited almost 15 minutes between when we finished eating dinner and asked for dessert, and another 20 minutes between when we finished dessert and received the bill (after asking our waitress for it twice). She was also slow in our drink orders and forgot one of them. Granted, our server did have several other tables to take care of, but her efforts took “Slow Southern Style” to an entirely new level. But yes, of course, she still received her 15%. Overall, a mixed meal. If the food had been bad, it would have been a disastrous two hours. If the service had been good, it could have been a wonderful two hours. Before making your decision to get a taste of Southern Culture, figure out which is more important to you. Y’all come back now, y’here- I’ll think about it. Southern Culture is located at 633 West Main Street, cattycornered from the train station parking lot. taken blues in a new direction. Alec Empire, the techno-whiz behind Empire Records, and his cronies step in on several tracks and transform Burnside’s traditional music into a sinister mixture of guitar riffs, sampling and I went to a see “Shakespeare in Love” Saturday night with a woman who knows all the lines to “Dirty Dancing” by heart and sometimes watches the movie while mouthing the lines along Movie Review by David Stuckey with the actors. Suggesting that this might not simply be another sign of the apocalypse, in this movie depicting the “true story” behind “Romeo and Juliet,” Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) sneaks into royal audiences of 16 th century drama, and does the same thing as my date. Desperate to be an actor herself, and frustrated by the prohibition against women on the Elizabethan stage, Viola disguises herself as a man, Sir Thomas Kent, and manages to gain an audition. Little does she know that the Bard of Avon is sitting in the pews, and he, startled by her unusual and emotional reading of his lines, believes Kent to be just the actor he needs for his new play, “Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter.” Unfortunately, Shakespeare himself is at a low point in his career. The young writer is creatively blocked and struggling for money and inspiration. In addition, his theater is on the verge of being closed due to its outstanding debts, and his actors are made up of stutterers and amateurs. He needs something to jumpstart his life and his pen, and he needs to recapture his winning touch to recapture the public eye from his more popular rival, the earnest and humorless Christopher Marlowe. “Shakespeare in Love” being a romantic comedy of sorts, Shakespeare soon discovers Kent’s feminine side, and he and Viola fall in love. The couple spend their nights making “the beast with two backs” (Shakespeare wrote it, so I can use it) and their days turning his play from an uninspiring comedy into a powerful romantic tragedy. Soon the threat of an arranged marriage to an unpleasant and driving dance beats. Although these songs provide an interesting change of pace, the heart of Burnside’s work is still the ample amount of straightahead, one-man-anda-guitar blues. The album opens with “Been Mistreated,” an oldschool blues standard that has been sampled only for a short introductory minute here. A live version of the title track, recorded at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix opens the album in earnest, and makes it clear that despite his advancing age Burnside’s vocal and guitar virtuosity are still intact. “Let My Baby Ride,” perhaps one of the most famous Burnside tunes to date, follows, features R.L.’s son, Cedric, on drums. unsympathetic man is hovering over Viola, and the potential closing of Shakespeare’s theater is hanging over him. Their fates begin to close in on their happiness, and their struggle to remain together and produce the play raises the movie above the ordinary. It’s a fine movie, with romance, humor, passion, swordfights, sadness, and, as befits a film attempting to depict the world’s greatest poet, beauty and drama. It also does a wonderful job of conjuring up the London of 1593, with its filthy and over-crowded streets, its contrasting earthiness and luxury, and the expectations and obligations of the two genders in a culture where escaping the roles assigned to them is virtually impossible. At the same time, however, the film manages to capture the timeless nature of Shakespeare’s vision and language, and depicts the writer and actors as familiar figures, with similar insecurities and foibles as their counterparts today. Whether this is anachronistic or accurate is irrelevant; it’s fun. While the entire cast is to be commended, two actors stood out. Joseph Fiennes is a believable and intense Shakespeare, full of fire and passion. Judy Dench, in a smaller role as Queen Elizabeth, is sharper and more likable than the imposing matriarch first appears. In addition, Ben Affleck plays Ned Alleyn, the engaging and charsmatic star of the age who does the world the great favor of suggesting the alternate title to the play. Gwyneth Paltrow shows that she deserves some of the great P.R. she’s been getting lately as an interesting and independent Viola. Movies playing “what if” with historical figures and facts have to be really good to succeed, and “Shakespeare in Love” follows “Amadeus” in pulling off the trick. “Shakespeare in Love” is funnier, more poetic and heartfelt, and better written than I expected it to be. It’s hard to see how any movie could be a much better “date movie.” After all, would you rather watch “Dirty Dancing” once again Come On In and Hear Mississippi Delta Techno-Blues Music Review by Jami Wyatt and Lawrence Deas Better Than Dirty Dancing On the next three tracks, Empire and his techno junkies take the reins by sampling guitar and harmonica riffs, along with Burnside’s vocals, and mixing them over base and drum lines reminiscent of ’70s vintage Parliament-Funkadelic. The first song on the album to reach the national airwaves via alternative radio stations is a remix of “Rollin’ Tumblin’,” a classic Burnside tune which most effectively brings Burnside’s old and Empire’s new together. This track standing alone proves the blues-techno experiment successful. The result is a sound at the same time soulful and infectious, a musical treat alone worth the price of the disc. Fat Possum, based in Oxford, Miss., gambled that the forced coupling of these two divergent genres would produce an offspring people wanted to hear. They were right. Diehard fans of both the blues and techno music will find this album worth a listen. Let down your guard, check your expectations at the door, and Come On In.
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