Querying Cuse

In honor of National Coming Out Day, held annually on Oct. 11^th, the LGBT Resource Center, along with the Division of Student Affairs, publishes an Out/Ally List in the Daily Orange.  The Out list features the names of those who openly identify with the LGBTQ community.  The Ally list is a separate record of LGBT allies, defined by a held belief that those in the LGBTQ community are “healthy and normal.” 

 

As a gay male, this need for distinction between LGBTQ’s and A’s is disheartening.  The need was confirmed when an informal survey was done by the LGBT Resource Center in 2006.  The center found that “two-thirds of the respondents preferred separate lists as opposed to one combined list.”  Apparently “some individuals would not feel comfortable or be willing to sign the list(s).”  

The “(s)” at the end of that sentence is superfluous.  I’m 110% positive that the only people who wouldn’t feel comfortable including their names on a combined list were our straight “allies”—and perhaps the .05% of the LGBT community who suffer from heterophobia—afraid of the sexual ambiguity that such a monolithic grouping would provoke. 

Welcome to the deliciously complicated world of identity politics that distinguishes the LGBT community from other stigmatized groups.  Unlike race and ethnicity, which gets worn tangibly on ones skin and facial features, sexuality operates beneath surfaces.  Contrary to popular belief, there is no quantifiable “look,” or scarlet letter if you will, that distinguishes someone’s sexuality.  For LGBT and straight people alike, this would make certain things easier, distilling constant debates about who’s in, and who’s out.  But it’d fail to recognize the amorphous underpinnings of sexuality and desire that shape the LGBT community, i.e., “straight” men who are only gay at night, women who are lesbians for only seven months out of every year, bisexual’s for the other five.  

In a society obsessed with labels and fixity, we deal with this quagmire of sexuality and gender through assertion.  It is in the way many straight men walk past women on Marshall St. with a, “Yoooo!  Check that shit out!” accompanied with the not-so-subtle head turn to let their boys know, “yeah, I’m straight.”  It’s in the way facebook provides an “Interested In” feature on profiles, so you can let the world wide web know: “I am a man and I LOVE PUSSY!” And it’s in the way parameters are set within a LGBTQA “community” between LGBTQ’s, and their allies.  

      I love my straight allies, but I question why the LGBT Resource Center is pandering to heterosexual’s “comfort” level in LGBT-related events.  Last time I checked, weren’t we the ones being oppressed?  Also, is it even possible to sign something that reads, “I affirm my commitment to confront all forms of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia and to interrupt gender norm conformity and heteronormativity,” and then request that your name be put on a separate list, without sorely contradicting yourself? 

~ M. Kuga

Lykke Li @ Café 1001 in Shoreditch, London

     After 8 hours of sitting in front of a computer screen at work, I was ready for a veggie burger, Corona, and some live music.  Thankfully, I had two neon-orange tickets in my purse to see Lykke Li at Café 1001, and Brick Lane happens to be home to some killer BBQ.   A few weeks back I’d been devastated to learn that Lykke’s big London gig was sold out and thought I might have to venture as far as Manchester to see my favorite Swede (members of Ace of Base, excluded).  Luckily, Miss Li was added to the line-up of East London’s first Concrete and Glass festival, right in the heart of my favorite weekend hangout.

     I met up with one of my girlfriends amid the typical throngs of young folk hanging out off Brick Lane where the laid-back, end-of-summer atmosphere was contagious.  Oh, and the burger? Perfect, thanks for asking.  After an hour or so of trying to blend in among the British, we gradually made our way to a small room closed off from the comfy couches and mood lighting  of the second-floor lounge.  The Scandinavian affair kicked off with Finnish musician Kimmo Pohjonen playing a style I’d call farmhand-noise-rock (?).  Actually, Mr. Pohjonen has his own name for this artistic project, as he’d aptly dubbed his May U.K. tour of the same ilk Earth Machine Music.  Back then, he recorded, sampled, and performed on British farms with local farmers and farm implements.  He reprised this sonic style for the Concrete and Glass show, albeit in a much smaller space.  Throughout his performance, he threw his whole body into playing his accordion over blaring samples while neon stage lights put me into a daze.  

     He then essentially brought the farm to the city when he invited two farmers on stage who started placing potatoes on a conveyor belt (below).

     This was soon eclipsed by a guy who entered the stage wielding a chainsaw — a sight I unfortunately missed while visiting the loo.  Upon my return, there was a guy making a beat by hammering against an anvil.  The whole set was like nothing I’d seen before and made for a pretty fascinating spectacle. Not sure I’d sign up to hear another half-hour of it just yet, but I certainly respected the guy for the process behind his show.

     Next up was Wildbirds & Peacedrums, a Swedish male-female duo (kind of like a flip-flopped Mat and Kim set-up with more soul and less synth) who brought hair-rasing vocals and thundering drums. Singer Miriam Wallentin even used her towering high-heels as a percussive instrument.  Resourceful and effective, I’d say.  My only criticism was that I couldn’t make out any distinct lyrics within her crooning.  

     After one of the longest sound-checks I’ve ever endured, Lykke Li finally hit the stage.  Dressed in all black with knee-high boots and her signature scarf wrapped around a high bun, this girl was ready to “Dance, Dance, Dance.”  And dance she did.  Perhaps it was her captivating stage presence that really solidified why I like her so much.  You see, it’s been a while since I’ve connected this much with a female artist.  Not to knock my Cat Powers and Feists, but Lykke Li has an energy I haven’t experienced yet with another “indie” female soloist.  Certainly a far cry from the generic lyricism of Colbie Caillat or Sara Bareilles or the sexpot sensationalism of Katy Perry, she’s somewhere in between the hip-hop singer you’d expect to shake it under the spotlight and the folkie singer-songwriter who strums her way through an intimate acoustic set.  With Lykke Li, you get witty and relatable lyrics from a young female perspective, a blend of organic and electronic beats from a commanding band, a little dose of foreign charm, and of course — those killer moves.

       During her set, she hit up most of the big ones from her debut, Youth Novels, giving tracks like “Little Bit” and “I’m Good, I’m Gone” the four-star treatment they deserve.  About three-quarters through the set, her guitarist kept audience members on their toes when he started playing one of this year’s most memorable riffs, that of “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.”  Lykke dove into about half of the Vampire Weekend hit with ease, and my mind began to wander at the thought of an amazing collaboration (Ezra Koenig, take note.  Peter Gabriel, too.)  Now, if I had been manning the set list, I would have selected the raw intensity of “Tonight” any day over the boring drone of “Complaint Department,” but I’ll let that one slide.  To end the show, Lykke brought out her badass cover of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?”  

If I you’re asking me, I say….yes you can.

 

~Julia Askenase

P.S. Check out this video of Lykke Li and Bon Iver singing “Dance, Dance, Dance” in L.A.  Jerk editor-in-chief Katie Allyn may very well faint.

Moosewood Restaurant – Restaurant Review

Like many of you, I moved to Central New York with very little knowledge of the area. You can imagine my excitement upon discovering that Ithaca, home of the Moosewood Restaurant, was less than an hour away. I was excited to visit a place that had released as many pounds of cookbooks as they had vats of granola.

 

To all vegetarians, this place is worth a pilgrimage. Since the 1970’s it has served almost as a beacon for healthy, sustainable cuisine. In fact, Bon Appetit magazine has named it one of the 13 most influential restaurants of the 20th century.

 

 

As a collective, the Moosewood runs the restaurant, manufactures convenience foods, and publishes cookbooks. I just wish they could do their sit-down dinners half as well.

 

I’ve been underwhelmed two too many times to be itching to crawl back, no matter how pretty the leaves are this time of year. Don’t get me wrong: on both visits I had hearty food dished up by cheerful servers. I was impressed with the ever-changing daily menu, the creativity and seasonality of each item, and the local wines and beers. On both of my visits the full dining room has told me that they must be doing something right. I’m just not convinced the food is it.

 

The definitively kitchen-esque atmosphere is welcoming and woodsy, with pieces by local artists adorning the walls. But with dinner entrees starting in the high teens, I wanted a few more reasons to dress up. Let me put it this way: Going out to eat is rare and special for a lot of us; if I’m going to wear jeans and an SU t-shirt out to dinner, I want to spend $7.00, not $17.00.

 

And I’m sorry Moosewood, but your portion sizes just don’t fill a hungry grad student on a budget. On my last visit, I paid $14.00 for vegetarian lasagna that came on a plate, just like that. With no salad, soup course, or bread basket in sight, it looked hopelessly bare there in the middle of its plate. My partner had halibut in phyllo wrapping, and it was tasty, but lacking that special something that makes it really stand out. I’ve found a lot of the dinners to be, as one of my more discerning friends says, “Just OK.”

 

I’m fine with gourmet establishments charging upwards of $30.00 for exquisitely prepared entrees, even if the portions are small. I’m not fine with places charging over half this for dinners I could make at home, backed only by their heightened reputation.

 

Maybe the Moosewood has upped the ante since my last visit, as diners are seeking better deals and more reasons to stay in and spend less. Maybe Ithaca locals know that lunch is the time to frequent this veggie palace, leaving the evenings to gullible Syracusean tourists. All this foodie knows is that someone in the Moosewood kitchen is going to have to branch beyond even their best-selling cookbook to get her to return. 

 

If you’ve had a different experience, let me know. I’d love to stand corrected.

 

Moosewood Restaurant

215 N. Cayuga Street

Ithaca, NY

14850

607-273-9610

 

~ Jennifer Ward