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m—|—^ -y- THEY SAID IT. a /l I "A good listener is not only* a / I I W popular everywhere, but after a Page 6 \l I I while he gets to know something.” Wednesday, September 1,2004 i .Xf ii-Z A. AMERICS°ENE= "‘uniiep* ^ ’ I By CAITLIN COKER THE GAMECOCK We are smack dab in the middle of hurricane season. The National Weather Service predicted a 45 percent chance of an above-normal hurricane season this year, calling for 12 to 15 tropical storms, with six to eight of those becoming hurricanes and two to four becoming major hurricanes. Officials haven’t predicted how many of these will make landfall in a populated area. Since weather forecasters cannot forecast the future, it is in residents’ best interests to be prepared. But, not right away. “You don’t need to do any strong preparations for a hurricane until you get word from the National Hurricane Center,” hurricane expert and USC geography professor Susan Cutter said. “The center makes an assessment of the tropical force winds in the area and makes an assessment for I warning of a potential hurricane approach.” Cutter recommends households keep a disaster supply kit with matches, CUTTER candles, first aid kit, battery-powered radio, can opener, canned food, duct tape, plastic, flashlight and gallon water jugs. “You have to be able to fend for yourself for 72 hours with no water, food, or electricity,” Cutter said. Hurricane Charley, after leaving many homeless in Florida, came through the coastal Carolinas about two weeks ago as a weakened storm. The South Carolina coast suffered flooding, broken tree limbs and power outages. “If Charley had made landfall on the coast at full strength, a lot of Charleston would be underwater,” Cutter said. The fear of a possible storm surge, basically a wall of water, led to the evacuation of many coastal cities. Columbia is 120 miles inland, and Cutter asserted the city would probably not have to be evacuated in the event of a hurricane because a storm’s strength weakens as it moves on land. While we don’t have to worry about storm surges, powerful gusts of wind and rain should still be a concern. “It doesn’t matter if you’re inland or not, you can still be affected by hurricane winds,” Cutter said. Torrential winds can tear off roofs, damage houses, break tree limbs and cut off power lines. Also, major storms can cause serious flooding, especially in poorly drained areas. Richard Chapman, a third-year engineering student and RA for Pinckney-Legare, was prepared move-in weekend for the possible damage of Hurricane Charley. “Our three main concerns were flooding in buildings, loss of power, and tornadoes,” Chapman said. “(Residence Hall Director) Shane Hart directed us on what to do in each event, and so we had a plan A, B, and C.” No major flooding happened in the horseshoe because of thunderstorms, although Maxcy reportedly experienced some water problems. Hurricane Hugo, a category five storm that hit in September 1989, caused nearly $7 billion in damage to South Carolina. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu GASTON HITS HOME THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Top: Kenny Shelton walks through a flooded parking lot Monday in Richmond, Va. Above: Tropical storm Gaston dropped a deluge on lowcountry South Carolina this month. A larger, stronger storm could spell disaster for coastal cities. CD REVIEW Head Automatica tries funky fusion of rock, hip-hop “DECADENCE” Head Automatica ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BySHANATILL THE GAMECOCK Fans of Glassjaw beware: this is not the angst-fueled torrent of screaming and ugliness devotees have been anticipating. Head Autom&tica, the latest project of front man Daryl Palumbo, is nothing of the sort. For the production of “Decadence,” Palumbo collaborated with beat master Dan “The Automator” Nakamura of Gorillaz and Handsome Boy Modeling School fame. In fact, zealous fans might already know that Palumbo is not a jack of merely one trade. This debut album, released on Warner Bros. Records, spins trashy rock-n roll over a hip-hop pulse. Impossible to pigeonhole, “Decadence,” is much more than today’s over-done rock/rap hybrids. Elements of ’80s dance party add enough spunk to get even your grandmother on the dance floor. In a separate vein from “Cosmopolitan Bloodloss,” Palumbo’s vocals are not only decipherable but also easy on the ear. In a modern rock world of self pity and whining, Head Automatica creates fun and contagious rhythms even with an underlying tone of hostility and love/lust lost. A realization occurs while listening to pretty much any song on the album. On track six, Palumbo laments, “I am the razor in the hand of your heart,” and people are dancing to it. Moreover, the concoction of dance, funk, rap and rock gives “Decadence” an edge few fusion acts can tout. The album’s first half displays its primary intention: fun and reckless, danceable rock-n-roll. “At the Speed of a Yellow Bullet” flaunts the animated Palumbo that few have seen before. His vocals ring clear, “I’m a soldier and a poet, but I’m a dancer at best.” The first single, “Beating Heart Baby,” supplies infectious hooks After 13 years with Glassjaw, Daryl Palumbo has had no problem performing in a style unfamiliar to his audience. while gently avoiding the brink of syrupy pop. A far cry from what listeners have come to expea, Palumbo sings, “In spite of you / even out of view / still I love all of you.” Tracks such as “Disco Hades H” contain keyboard instrumentation straight out of the best synth-pop bands’ playbooks. On the 10th cut, “Head Automatica Soundsystem,” it is clear the beats are master workings and adds to Palumbo’s credibility as a hip hop aficionado. Many say old habits are hard to break, and Palurtibo is an apparent exception. After 13 years with Glassjaw, the vocalist has had no problem performing in a style unfamiliar to his audience. On the bill for this year’s Curiosa Tour, Head Automatica fits perfectly among intangible bands such as The Rapture. “Decadence” is also an exception to the rule. It delivers the originality fusion bands seek — not the garbage hybrid bands have come to personify. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu MOVIE REVIEW Green director’s ‘Garden’ blooms "GARDEN STATE” Directed by Zach Braff ★★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ By LESLIE DENNIS THE GAMECOCK Moving from the small screen to the silver screen, Zach Braff transitions from the daydreaming comedic J.D. on NBC’s sitcom “Scrubs” to the over-medicated introvert Andrew Largeman in “Garden State." Braff’s directorial and screenwriting debut, “Garden State” solidifies Braff as an under the-radar talent at a time when cinema desperately needs a new generation of gifted filmmakers. “Garden State,” one of the most talked about directorial/screenwriting debuts since Sophia Coppola’s adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’ “The Virgin Suicides,” has become referred to as “The Graduate” of our generation. This honor puts pressure upon Braff to deliver a film ingeniously funny and painfully real. He does. simplicity and quirkiness weave together in “Garden State” to create an understatedly elegant portrait of an emotionally stunted young man and the characters who surround him. Along with Braff, young talents Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard shine at their finest as Sam and Mark, respectively, two equally lost individuals who drift into Andrew’s life. Beginning with a dream, in which Andrew emotionlessly sits among hysterical passengers on a doomed airplane and then switching to Andrew lying in a completely white room, the opening scenes of the movie establish the impassive atmosphere of Andrew’s present lifestyle. Braff beautifully sets up the movie and defines Andrew as a character through the use of color and visuals, adeptly separating Andrew from the rest of his peers. When Andrew gets an unexpected phone call from his father about his paraplegic mother’s death by drowning in the bathtub, Andrew flies to his hometown for the funeral. There, Andrew sees his old buddy Mark is the gravedigger for his mother and is invited to a party that night with him. The party scene is another amazing example of Braff s genius in filmmaking. As the other partygoers are sped up to be frantically and hurriedly flip-flopping from one person to another, Andrew sits, almost comatose, on the couch just watching the action unfold. Once Andrew is forced into the game of “Spin the Bottle,” however, a close-up of him is followed by a span of the other people in the room. Braff’s shots show Andrew’s “otherness” at the party and afford the audience a voyeuristic view into Andrew’s life. As the movie progresses, Andrew meets Sam, a pathological liar and epileptic, at a neurologist’s office, and the two social oddballs form a friendship that inevitably leads to romance. To keep talking about the plot of “Garden State” would ruin the beauty of it. The film exacts a profound effect on the viewer that remains difficult to fully describe. “Garden State” quietly enters the subconscious and makes sense through its natural absurdity, leaving the viewer with a sense of neither happiness nor sadness, just simply a feeling of rightness and completeness. The end of the movie shows Andrew and Sam with a door of light opening behind them. And that explains it all. -? Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatres@gwm.sc. edit PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK ‘Garden State’ director, screenwriter and star Zach Braff makes the jump from TV to the big screen with this buzzworthy film. New Publix offers next convenient food stop By CARRIE GIVENS THE GAMECOCK Publix has opened on Gervais Street, giving USC students another option in walking distance for grocery shopping. While students can choose between super Wal-Marts and a Bi-Lo and Piggly Wiggly, the only store that’s within walking “We hire people who have an outgoing personality and a big smile.” JOHN EASTERBROOK STORE MANAGER distance of campus has been the Food Lion in Five Points. But when Publix opened on Aug. 25 in the old confederate Printing Pres on the corner of Gervais and Huger streets. Store manager John Easterbrook said Publix is dedicated to customer service. “We hire people who have an outgoing personality and a big smile,” he said. Some of these new employees happen to be USC students. If the Publix’s opening week is any indication of future success, the store will be a Vista staple within a month. The parking lot has been full and the aisles crowded. Grand * Opening deals attracted many USC students. Second-year business student Katie Hageman said Publix “had a very nice atmosphere and the people were really helpful.” “What really impressed me is that one of the workers ♦ Please see PUBLIX, page 7