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GOA TACT U S \l JANE WAGNER: “Reality is the Story ideas? Questions? Comments? V EalSiS^B % leading cause of stress amongst E-mail us at gamecockmixeditorCahotmail.com those in touch with it.” BY COREY GARRIOTT THE GAMECOCK Firefighters would breathe smoke, were it not for YKK. Windows wouldn’t open and pants wouldn’t close. Beer, it is possible, would cease to ferment. ^ Now, examine your fly zipper. Nine times out of 10, you’ll find etched three enigmatic letters: YKK. If it’s not on your own zipper, find a friend. What is this YKK? Is it an ancient Russian acronym? The secret wish of some mysterious brass smith? Or does it mean Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha? Roughly translated, Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha means Yoshida Company Ltd., who probably made the zipper on your pants and jacket. It opened in 1934, and two million kilometers of zip per later, YKK is the world’s largest zip per manufacturer. It’s easy to miss — but we do live on Planet YKK. Or, as the company says, “Whether you realize it or not, you prob ably start your day with YKK.” Behind the scenes, YKK fasteners ap pear in our jeans and backpacks. They come in zips, Velcro-style hoop and loop tape, and buckles. YKK architectural alu minum shores up the underbellies of 747s and binds the arches of the Georgia Dome — as well as the zips for its artificial turf. Its airtight, watertight zippers keep smoke out of firefighting suits and air out of fermentation vats. It’s one of those com panies tfiat doesn’t make the things you use, hut makes the things you use work. And it’s Japanese to boot. Those three letters found their origin in downtown 1930s Tokyo with Tadao Yoshida, a young businessman with an interest in the slide-fastener trade. Yoshida’s mission was not to be the world’s largest zip per manufactur er, but to be gin a “cycle of good ness,” a phrase that would become YKK’s vocal philoso phy. The company believes that no one prospers unless he benefits others, and thus tries not to “buy low and sell high,” but to provide a premium low-cost product that will benefit both the consumer and corporation in the long run. It executes its philosophy in a rather unusual move for a modern manufactur er. YKK exercises strict control over the quality of its product through vertical in tegration. It operates in every stage of pro duction, from the raw materials to the de livery. YKK forges its own brass and an odizes its own aluminum. A lot of economics textbooks question the viability of vertical inte gration, but YKK went ahead and opened the largest zip per operation in the world in Macon. Ga. H wonder hosts 9 14 faciiities X U covering r am each step m i9 leading to the r zipper on your IWjmMS jeans. The plant pro fJj^^F duces seven million Wt^^F zips every day in 1,500 different styles and 427 colors. The plant was the culmi nation of a long struggle with high U.S. tariffs in the late ’50s. Finally, the company secured a meet ing with Georgia’s then-Gov. Jimmy Carter to open a facility for domestic pro duction. It still donates to his philan thropic foundation t9day. Today, YKK has spread to 48 coun tries. The company’s high-tech, super zipper research facilities in the United PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK States and United Kingdom will be pio neers in the future of zipper manufac ture. What’s more, the company has ex panded into the architectural materials market. Its architectural products provide two thirds of its revenue. YKK even provides designs for its building products using ♦ YKK, SEE PAGE 11 Zipping Through the Years 1934: Tadao Yoshida opens Sans-S Shokai, a slide-fastener trader. 1960: YKK establishes New York distributer. 1964: YKK Plant opens in downtown Manhattan, N.Y. 1966: YKK relocates to Long Island, N.Y. 1968: Los Angeles and Chicago offices established. 1970: Atlanta office established. 1972: 54 acres purchased for plant in Macon, Ga. 1973:YKK incorporates. 1977: YKK South headquarters opens. 1982: YKK West headquarters opens. 1986: YKK Aluminum Products plant in Atlanta opens. 1990: YKK office in Puebla, Mexico, opens. CD REVIEW Cafe offers food from all over the globe BLUE CACTUS Owned by Lloyd Reese ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY MICHAEL LAFORGIA THE GAMECOCK The decor at the little Blue Cactus Cafe on Greene Street is as eclectic as the menu. The inte rior resembles a cross between a cantina and a Korean restaurant, complete with sombreros, gilded Asian prints, Mexican chili pep per lights and a bookcase full of exotic hot sauces from the world over. A map dotted with hun dreds of little colored pins covers one wall, proudly displaying the various homelands of regular customers, most of whom are in temational or graduate students and USC faculty and staff. Owner Lloyd Reese opened the cafe nine years ago on Cinco de Mayo after 22 years’ service in the Army. Reese’s G.I. persona often shines through in places; he has no problem sending im patient patrons elsewhere or just plain telling them to get out. Because the Blue Cactus makes its dishes from scratch, irascible patrons ofterf complain. Reese said a customer once used a cell phone to call the kitchen from a dining room booth and demanded his food be prepared quicker. Reese threw him out immediately. A sign on the wall near the entrance reads, “Good Food Takes Time And We’re Very Good.” Enough said. And as' it turns out, the food was very good. A family business, the Blue Cactus doesn’t offer typ ical college fare and instead draws on Reese’s Midwestern back ground and the culinary knowl edge of his Korean wife. In addi tion to homestyle Southwestern and Korean food, the cafe serves Cajun, Cuban, Puerto Rican and some fusion dishes. Reese does much of the cooking himself, and he knows his stuff. Korean dumplings, deep-fried wantons filled with a simple com bination of beef and vegetables and served with soy sauce, were a good appetizer. The seafood stir fry was very flavorful and spicy — not for the faint of palate (though only rated medium hot on the Blue Cactus’ heat spec trum). It was served with orien tal rice and a selection of vegeta bles. The kim chee was very fresh and clean tasting, and paired very nicely with the intensity of the stir fry. The stir fry was a bit hard to chew, but then that stems from the nature of a key ingredient, squid. Because of the heat and the exotic ingredients, the stir fry is not for everyone, but the open minded eater will love it. For the tamer customer, the Ropa Vieja was a fresh tasting dish, an admirably simple and straightforward combination of shredded beef and vegetables that paired well with black beans and rice. For dessert, the Blue Cactus ♦ BLUE CACTUS, SEE PAGE 11 CD REVIEW CKY brings back genuine rock ’n’roll “INFILTRATE DESTROY REBUILD” CKY (Camp Kill Yourself) ★★★★★ out of BY FORD DAVIS THE GAMECOCK Pennsylvania quartet Camp Kill Yourself puts on an intense rock ’n’ roll show distinguished from the tired, regurgitated music so prevalent in the industry today. The band stopped at Uncle Doctor’s in West Columbia this weekend during its “Out on the Noose Again ’03” national head lining tour, which includes venues in metropolitan areas such as San Diego, Detroit and Philadelphia. The club was filled to capacity with fans singing along to fa vorites such as “Escape From Hellview,” “Flesh Into Gear” and “Inhuman Creation Station.” Concert-goers hoping to see a live action episode of Jackass were sore ly disappointed; those who came for rock and roll the way it was meant to be played were nothing short of ecstatic. Fueled by the emotion of the searing melodic vocals and in tricate thrashing guitars of Deron Miller and Chad I. Ginsberg, the floor erupted as soon as the first chord was struck. The crowd re joiced as one to the realization that rock and roll truly is not dead. Backing up the band is the rhythm section, comprised of the thumping bass of Vern Zaborowski and the skillful pounding of Jess Marirera. Live, Miller’s lead vocals weffe simulta neously brooding, gruff and sweet ly melodic, while he and Ginsberg thrashed about on stage playing intricate, engaging music perfect for headbanging. As well as charging through tracks from its latest album, CKY played “96 Quite Bitter Beings,” a song off its debut—featured as the soundtrack to the infamous shop ping cart scene in the first episode of Jackass. Propelled by the success of the MTV series Jackass and the movie of the same name, as well as the pre-Jackass skate/stunt videos made with the help of drummer Jess Margera’s brother, profes sional skater Bam Margera, the band has developed a loyal fan base of skater-punks, metal heads and new age rock devotees. Although CKY has attained such success, judging by its fan base, it is by no means considered main stream. Ginsberg says of his fans that “they’re just so f***ing agitat ed. They watch MTV to get fuel to hate, so they’re ready to destroy.” CKY has become the bastard child of the recording industry. Refusing corporate pressure to conform to mainstream standards, CKY has sold over 100,000 copies of its self-released CD and promise to better that with its new self-produced album, “Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild.” On its new album, the band proves that it can hold its own and is not simply riding the wave of success provided by Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the Jackass crew. Overall, the songs are diverse and show the band’s musical maturity. The tunes range from the expected sound of “Flesh Into Gear,” to the pretty, prog-rock sound of “Plastic Plan,” to the ' sweet, melodic style of “Close Yet Far.” For a new outlook on the future of today’s music, give a listen to CKY’s new album, “Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild,” and check out its live show as it continues to tour the East Coast until mid-March. Comments on this story?E mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com : * •>* The Blue Cactus Cafe, on 2002 Greene St., near Five Points, offers an eclectic menu of Korean, Cajun, Cuban, Puerto Rican and some fusion dishes. The restaurant stresses that It Is slow In preparing Its food — but the result Is worth the wait.