EXPRESSIONS
- Celebrating Ramadan Laurel Wright
- An open letter to Michael Myers: Why? Matt Coleman
- Students share tips on staying healthy Alissa LaGesse
- Professor revives old languages in new ways Robert Orndoff
- International students find home in large, loud, liberal U.S. Chris Anderson
- Caffeine labeling inadequate Julie Deardorff
- Oddball Antics Mike Pinree
Celebrating Ramadan
Muslims celebrate the most spiritual holiday on their calendar, Ramadan, once a year for about a month to commemorate the sacred time when the Quran, a Muslim holy book,
was revealed.
This year Ramadan begins Sept. 12 at sunset and lasts 30 days until Oct. 12, but the dates of Ramadan vary each year by about
15 days.
To honor the holy time Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. The fast involves not ingesting anything, even water or gum, during daylight hours, said Nora Ayubi, a member of the Muslim Student Association at the University of North Florida.
It's also important to abstain from things like smoking and sex during the daylight hours and throughout the entire month to avoid sins such as gossiping, road rage and cursing, said Nora, a senior majoring in
health science.
"The first day of fasting is tough, but then it becomes a routine," said Ameera Ayubi, president of MSA and Nora's sister. "It can be difficult, though, if taking night classes, because you have to find time to eat during or after them, but you don't have to worry about packing a lunch or
going out."
"Life changes a lot," Ameera said. "If you usually work out every day, you can't during Ramadan - and sometimes if there are events, I will skip out on them because I need to get home to eat a whole meal."
The five prayers a day that are part of Islam throughout the year are more heavily enforced during Ramadan, Nora said.
There is also a special night know as the "Night of Power" during the last 10 days of Ramadan, which celebrates the Quran being revealed to Muhammad.
Muslims believe that praying on this night is important so they say extra prayers, said Dr. Parvez Ahmed, MSA advisor and associate professor of finance.
Each night during Ramadan, mosques host a special prayer service called "Taraweeh" to go over the Quran, Ahmed said.
They will read a
portion of the book each night, so by the end of Ramadan
the entire Quran has been covered.
Mosques will also have dinners and activities during the month that provide an alternative to cooking at home, Ameera said.
"It's a really joyous time for everyone," Nora said. "It makes you appreciate food more, and physical pleasures. You become spiritually closer to the Lord during fasting."
After the last day of Ramadan, Muslims get together for "Eid-al-fidr," where they pray, celebrate, and exchange gifts,
Ahmed said.
The MSA may hold a fast-a-thon sometime this month on campus where charities donate $1 for each person who pledges to fast for the day, Ameera said.
"It's an opportunity to try it out and see if you can do it," Ameera said. "Last year, we had more than 100 non-Muslims pledge."
After the fast-a-thon, the group holds a dinner to celebrate the day and gives a presentation and discussion.
The Islamic Center of Northeast Florida is hosting an event, "Sharing Ramadan," Sept. 15 to promote understanding and dialogue. Those who wish to learn more can call 646-3462.
Contact Laurel Wright at features@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
An open letter to Michael Myers: Why?
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While he certainly fills out the mask, Zombie's incarnation of Michael Myers shares little else in common with his knife-wielding forefather. |
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Good: It's in color. |
What happened to you,
Michael Myers?
You used to be one of the scariest guys in Hollywood.
Your reign of terror was legendary, and your exploits inspired a whole slew of horror heavies, most notably Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees.
Despite wearing a William Shatner mask and wielding a kitchen utensil, your blank stare and steady gait were omnipresent in the nightmares of an
entire generation.
Your career hit a serious snag after a chain of sequels that got successively worse (the culmination being your fight scene with Busta Rhymes in "Halloween: Resurrection"), and you looked ready to ride into the
blood-tinged sunset.
But, like any good horror icon, you just wouldn't die.
In response to the counterintuitively successful trend of horror movie remakes flooding the market, the bean counters over at the Weinstein Company figured they would squeeze all the funds they could out of their former
cash cow.
They decided to rework your origin based on the vision of fledgling filmmaker Rob Zombie.
Instead of remaking the original "Halloween" shot-for-shot, Zombie decided to go a different route by adding depth to your early years, complete with his trademark dose of
trailer-trash iconography.
So your mom was a stripper, your stepfather was a foul-mouthed drunk and you got bullied in school? Is that really an excuse for becoming an unstoppable killing machine?
Your backstory sounds less like a blood-soaked rampage and more like a "Dr. Phil" rerun.
That's why a ridiculously coiffed Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) is brought in to help manage your teenage angst/psychopathic tendencies.
During a session in a psychiatric ward, the remake takes a serious hit in believability when Loomis turns his back on you for an extended period of time. Meanwhile, you are next to an oblivious nurse and a sharp piece of tableware. It wasn't hard to see that coming.
Another problem with your new film is the random sampling of B-movie relics filling out the cast.
All of Zombie's usual suspects (Bill Moseley, William Forsythe, Udo Kier and Danny Trejo, to name a few) are here.
He even hired his wife, Sherri Moon Zombie, to play your mother. These decisions make the film less about telling your tale and more about massaging
Zombie's ego.
The blame can't be placed solely on your shoulders, Mikey.
Based on your gigantic stature and newly ripped physique, it's
obvious you hit the gym hard in preparation for your latest chance at cinema relevance.
In your previous films, you
were a menacing but moderately built homicidal maniac.
Your latest incarnation makes you look like you enrolled in the Barry Bonds school of supplementation. How many dead bodies did you have to bench to get those pythons?
The main problem with the reinterpretation of your early life is that it explains too much. What made you so disturbing in the original was how little we knew about you.
Instead of a child with a history of familial abuse, you were just a deliberately paced maniac with wanton bloodlust and a penchant for killing underage drinkers and fornicators.
You were like the knife-wielding enforcer of the "Just Say No" abstinence campaign.
It's obvious Rob Zombie's vision for you was all wrong. He gave you a detailed background, a twisted family life and a new workout routine.
He surrounded you with notable horror actors and a steeper budget, but all he managed to do was destroy the persona you created in the original film.
Next time, Michael, you need to choose your friends a little more carefully.
Another misstep like this and you might suffer a permanent on-screen death with no sequel in sight.
Contact Matt Coleman at editor@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Students share tips on staying healthy
Students are faced with a hefty load when it comes to balancing schoolwork with outside work, whether it be a part-time job or an internship. Add a healthy diet and an exercise regimen and the load can easily become a burden.
Students know that it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, yet it is not always a
main priority.
It is much easier to throw macaroni and cheese in the microwave than it is to steam a medley of vegetables.
Yet, there are much healthier options than hamburgers and french fries. Healthy eating is a main component in cultivating a healthy lifestyle.
"I stay away from fried foods," said freshman C.J. Plyler. "I try to get a lot of sleep, I play rugby, and I eat rice instead of pasta. That usually keeps
me healthy."
Going to the gym for a one-hour workout a few times a week can be beneficial in reducing stress and working off a week of cafeteria food.
The University of North Florida's Dottie Dorion Fitness Center offers many types of work-out equipment, from elliptical machines to free weights.
Freshman Madeline Edwards frequently works out at the fitness center.
"I like to run and lift weights, and I love going to the Aquatic Center," Edwards said.
Surfing is a big part of many University of North Florida students' lives. Actively participating in the sport of surfing is a fun, beneficial way many students use to stay in shape and work off stress.
"I have a pretty easy schedule and my brother lives in Jax Beach, so it is easy for me to balance school with surfing," Edwards said.
Many students are consumed with school and extra-curricular obligations and can't make time for exercise or healthful eating.
"I don't really have time to exercise during the week," said freshman Katie Boyle. "My schedule is extremely time consuming."
There are others, like senior Cayce Mona, who are against exercising altogether.
"I don't like to exercise at all; exercising has no benefits for me," Mona said.
Contact Alissa LaGesse at features@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Professor revives old languages in new ways
Spinnaker speaks with Dr. Tiffany Beechy
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Robert Orndoff
Dr. Tiffany Beechy comes to the University of North Florida with a passion for medieval English literature. She is a first time professor and one of the newest faculty members to the University of North Florida's English department teaching literature classes this fall.
The Spinnaker sat down with Dr. Beechy to find out her thoughts on English, the campus, and magic spells.
What classes are you teaching this semester?
I am teaching Introduction to Literature and Periods of Early British Literature, which is a survey of medieval literature from Old English to Middle English. Professors usually teach this class using Shakespeare or Chaucer but I use the really early literature.
What are some examples of early literature you use in your class?
We will be reading "Beowulf," "The Dream of the Rood," "The Battle of Maldon," but I also teach something called "Fabliaux Fair and Foul," and it is basically dirty French stories that were told at the courts of rich people. We will also be learning ancient charms and riddles and rune lore.
What is a charm exactly?
It is a spell. For instance, you might use a charm to make crops grow because if they didn't, your family starved. It was always said in a very specific way and the cool thing is that the power of the charm rested in the words being said right. So it's pure poetry when you think about it because poetry is all about the language mattering most. You can't change any word or else it will be something different, but for people who believe in magic and the magic of language, it's not just poetry, it's vital to the entire world.
Why teach English literature?
Sharing my experience of the world of letters with students in a university setting is vital to me, it's life to me, it's fun and exhilarating. I use my knowledge as a poet to teach students to read poetry better. I also use that knowledge to understand the artfulness and vitality of old English texts. Seeing them ask their own questions and gain an understanding of these texts always gives me more energy. Just explaining things helps me to understand where my own blindsides have been. It helps me see what new avenues I need to explore in my thinking.
Since this is your first professorship, is teaching a completely new experience for you?
No, I taught my own classes for five years at the University of Oregon as a graduate teaching fellow but respect and a real salary are new experiences for me.
Why do you feel it is important to rely on these very early English texts?
What's so funny about medieval literature is that the notions we have after the Victorian era of what's acceptable and what's beautiful are very, very different from the medieval. You have images of God and the angels but then, like in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," you have people's bare buns and crazy fornication and beasts all brought together in the same scene, because it's just a delight in the grotesque and a view of the world that doesn't separate the two out.
But you have to have the tools to see that, and the unfortunate thing is that the people who have held the keys, the people who have had the privilege to study these ancient languages, have tended to be the kind of tweed wearing, humorless, unimaginative sort. Or they have lost sight of literature as a creative product and their translations tend to be dull. You cannot just read these stories for meaning. You have to read them for art, for form, that's what poetry is.
What have you seen so far that you like about the University of North Florida?
I really enjoy the openness and the energy of the students and the really warm supportiveness of my colleagues. I also appreciate the full suite of technology in every room. At the University of Oregon, they have X-Boxes in the locker of every football player but they don't have a full technology suite in every classroom.
What don't you like about UNF?
I don't like that the budget crises has stalled library acquisitions and that my office doesn't have a window.
Compiled by Robert Orndoff
Contact Robert Orndoff at features@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
International students find home in large, loud, liberal U.S.
Beginning college is a hectic and complicated time in
anyone's life.
Now add moving to a foreign country to that equation, and you find yourself sharing the experience of many international students at the University of
North Florida.
Reuel Sosa, a junior international relations major from Belize, transferred to UNF in January from Corozel Junior College. Having been to the United States to visit family in the past, the culture shock was not quite so severe
for him.
But having also been to college in his home country, Sosa can compare the experiences of college in both countries.
Sousa said the differences can be summed up in three words: culture, magnitude, and diversity.
He found the culture of the United States, particularly in the collegiate arena, interesting
and diverse.
Sosa said the collegiate culture in America is very much a combination of all the world in
one place.
"It's like a mini-United Nations.," he said. One of the biggest things that struck him was the sheer size of everything in the U.S. At his junior college, there were five buildings - a sharp contrast to
UNF's 53.
The more liberal nature of America also took him
by surprise.
"We have a bar on campus! How much more liberal can you get?" Sosa said.
He explained that at Corozel, students couldn't smoke a cigarette on campus, let alone drink
a beer.
Angelica Olguin, a sophomore economics major from Bolivia, said she noticed economic differences first.
Olguin said she found Americans are better off economically than people
in Bolivia.
Early on, Olguin said she noticed there were not nearly as many beggars in the United States as in Bolivia, where they occupy almost every street corner.
She also agreed with Sosa that the American public is
more liberal.
"People are just more liberal here," Olguin said, referring to friends who often sleep over at their significant others' houses, something she says her parents in Bolivia would have
never allowed.
Sitou Byll-Cataria, a sophomore information technology major from Togo, a nation in West Africa, said he was not as initially impressed with the United States as others.
Coming to the states two years ago to start at UNF, Byll-Cataria spoke little English and ran into problems shortly after his plane touched down in Atlanta.
The first woman he spoke to gave him directions to where he was supposed to go - directions that turned out to be incorrect.
Seeking further help, Byll-Cataria asked an airport employee who wouldn't help him at all. He thought that no one cared to help him.
"Maybe [it's] because I don't speak English - that"s what I was thinking," he said. But Byll-Cataria's impressions improved with time.
"[America is] the place for all the crazy people of the Earth,"
he said.
He also said that the educational systems in Togo and the United States represent one of the biggest differences he noticed.
He said here, students only learn what is absolutely needed; back home, they learn everything.
"Here you just learn how to drive." he said. "Back home you would learn how the engine works."
Contact Chris Anderson at features@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Caffeine labeling inadequate
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Caffeine is used worldwide as a stimulant, but unclear labels have many people asking whether too much can affect their health. |
If you're dragging in the morning, hang in there. Someday you'll be able to eat caffeinated doughnuts and bagels with your coffee, apply caffeinated lip balm, and snack on caffeinated sunflower seeds and potato chips.
If that doesn't wake you up, you can try one or more of the following: caffeinated alcoholic energy drinks that depress and stimulate your nervous system at the same time; Rocket Chocolate, which contains 150 milligrams of caffeine in a single piece of candy (equal to four cans of Coca-Cola); caffeinated soap that promises skin absorption; or Clif Shots, espresso-flavored energy gels
for athletes.
Fortunately, the American Beverage Association says caffeine is not addictive, in the same way that activities such as shopping, running and eating chocolate are not habit forming.
Still, it would be nice to know how much of the world's most widely used drug is in each product, so we don't
accidentally overdose.
The Food and Drug Administration currently requires beverage companies to list "caffeine" on product labels when it is added as an ingredient.
But consumers don't have to be told how much caffeine is present, even though pregnant women should limit caffeine consumption to about 300 milligrams a day, and children, who have seemingly boundless energy anyway, are more susceptible to the effects because of their low body weight.
For the last decade the Centers for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has unsuccessfully lobbied the FDA to require caffeine-content disclosures on food and beverages so consumers can make educated decisions.
"Caffeine is an addictive stimulant," said CSPI's director of legal affairs, Bruce Silverglide. "And it's the only drug added to a wide variety of foods."
One reason to label caffeine content is that the amount varies widely among products. Some energy drinks contain more than 200 milligrams for 16 ounces. And the caffeine content of coffee depends on the variety, the brewing technique, the place you bought it and even the day it was purchased.
Some argue that listing precise caffeine levels would provide meaningless information because there is no U.S. guideline on caffeine intake. Caffeine is not like protein or vitamin C; we don't know how much is healthful.
Still, Health Canada, the national health agency, advises consumers to limit caffeine intake to 400 to 450 milligrams per day, the
equivalent of about three 8-ounce cups of brewed coffee (less for pregnant women.) Preschoolers should get no more than 45 milligrams a day (like a 12-ounce can of soda or four 1.5-ounce milk
chocolate bars), according to Canadian guidelines.
And although caffeine has been shown to have some health benefits such as increased alertness in healthy adults, Northwestern University researcher Danielle McCarthy has found that caffeine abuse is an emerging problem among young people.
One of the dangers is combining caffeine with other substances, such as alcohol. Last week two dozen state attorneys general charged that alcoholic "energy" drinks constitute a serious health and safety risk for teenagers. The beverages are especially dangerous for young drivers because
"you feel alert from the caffeine, but you don't realize how impaired you are from drinking," said Lake County Coroner Richard Keller. "The alcohol effects are still present, with slowed reaction time and slowed thought processing."
Caffeine can lead to insomnia, anxiety and the shakes; stop drinking it and you're susceptible to headaches and fatigue. As more caffeine-enhanced products enter the food supply, consumers should be able to limit caffeine consumption if they want to.
The trend is clear. Instead of slowing down our lives, we're going to fuel ourselves to keep up with it. It would be good to know what - and how much - we're putting in our tanks.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Oddball Antics
But I wasn't actually driving, he was
Two men, one of them with no legs, were arrested for drunk driving in Abbotsford, Wis., after the cops, who pulled over their pickup truck, discovered that the legless man had been sitting on the other man's lap and steering the vehicle while the other man operated the gas pedal and brake.
Hey guys, boob alert!
Monkeys have been harassing the women in a village in Kenya, and mocking their efforts to guard the crops.
Since the monkeys are afraid of the men, the women tried dressing in their husbands' clothes to fool them, but it didn't work.
Gasp! Hello, Central. Oh, yessss! Calling in!
A police officer, who was working at Gatwick Airport near London, was brought up on charges for having sex while
at work.
He argued that, during his sex romps, he was wearing an earpiece tuned to the police radio frequency, and so would have been able to respond to any emergency situation. He was acquitted.
On second thought, let's try it dad's way
Police in Philadelphia arrested a man for handcuffing his son and chaining him to a bed to keep him out of trouble. The boy was freed, and the next day he was arrested for attempting to steal a car and for vandalizing several others.
Uh, Spike, may I come in? Hold on a minute [...] flush, flush
Senior government officials have urged wardens at a prison in Birmingham, England, to address the convicts by their preferred names and to knock on their cell doors before entering to show them respect. The wardens, who feel that the prisoners could be doing anything from escaping to taking drugs, aren't thrilled by the idea.
Revelation number one: You can't breathe under
water
A witch doctor in Tanzania told the people of his village that he was going to dive into the river and confer with the ancestral spirits beneath the water for three days, then resurface and tell of their revelations. He drowned.
Now honey, you know I love you [...]
After drinking heavily for hours, a woman in Mesa, Ariz., went to her neighbors' apartment and engaged in an argument with them.
Her common-law husband came over and told the neighbors to ignore her. The woman became enraged that her man did not take her side in the dispute, and, once outside, threw rocks at him. She was arrested.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE