Page 2
The Blue Banner
November 7,2002
Features
Law expert speaks
onglobalism
Corbie Hill
Features Reportei
An international law expert and
lawyer gave a lecture entitled
“Globalism and Its Discontents”
Oct. 28. Sigrun Skogly spoke in the
crowded Laurel Forum before an
swering questions about globalism
and international law.
“We tend to have a very polarized
view of globalization. It’s either very
good or it’s evil,” said Skogly. “It
depends on what you mean by the
term. It depends on your view
point. If you mean corporate greed,
global dominance of economic
forces with personal profit as the
only goal, or global institutions that
pursue the benefit of the view to the
detriment of the many, well that’s
the evil understanding of it. If you
mean greater interaction among
people, exchange of views and cul
tures and access to knowledge and
information, it may not be such a
bad term.”
Skogly spoke for about 30 ihin-
utes before she opened the floor for
questions. Her speech focused on
definitions of globalization and ex
planations of how the international
community functions. She specifi
cally addressed world poverty and
the growing gap between the rich
and poor.
Globalization can mean better
communication between different
parts of the world, but can also
mean the dominance of poor coun
tries by richer ones. She said the
I nternet is a medium that promotes
better global communication.
China easily censored information
and blocked foreign phone calls,
but has not been able to ban Web
sites that it disapproves of, according
to Skogly.
“I hate to sound fatalistic, but glo
balization, in some form, is here to
stay,” said Skogly. “To wish it away is
almost like wishing that there was
never a man on the moon.”
The first portion of Skogly’s talk
involved descriptions of international
law. She said international law imple
ments the same as the riJes of con
duct established between unsuper
vised children on a playground. Sev
eral audience members questioned
the role the United States, a powerful
country, might play in this play
ground. She answered with vague
references to bullies, but wouldn’t
clarify whether or not the U.S. plays
the role of that bully.
Globalization ties into interna
tional law as a variable that exists
outside of the “playground.”
Globalization’s effects are not fixed
or inevitable, according to Skogly,
but rely on the attitudes of the
international community.
“International law operates in the
world playground,” said Skogly.
“The world, in terms of legal regu
lation, is just about the same as the
rules governing the conduct be
tween and among kids in a play
ground. Globalization is this sort of
vague thing that flies above the
playground that the kids, or the
states, in this playground can actu
ally do whatever they want with.
The forces of globalization are not
inevitable. They are manageable if
the actors want to deal with them.”
Mark Gibney, a political science
professor, said Skogly shows in her
introduction that she understands
the abuses of social, economic and
cultural human rights that exist
worldwide. She recently published
a book entitled, “The Human
Rights Obligations of the World
Bank and the International Mon
etary Fund,” and will publish an
other book next summer.
“Most of us think of human rights
in terms of torture and killings,”
said Gibney. “What gets ignored is
what I call sort of the stepchild of
human rights, which is social, >
nomic and cultural rights.”
“The Sitcom Experience” showcases student talent
KINGSLEY FAIRBRIDGE/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Burgess stars in his creation “The Sitcom Experience - Manor Daze.”
Margaret Lauzon
Features Reporter
The drama department will spon
sor the Festival of Student Creativ
ity featuring a series of student-
organized plays, theater perfor
mances and improvisational com
edy throughout November.
One event, “The Sitcom Experi
ence - Manor Daze,” began perfor
mances before an au
dience Oct. 24 and
will present a
show each week.
The sitcom, pre
sented like an actual
TV sitcom minus the
cameras, “airs” before a live audi-
“The idea for the sitcom occurred
to me a couple years ago when I
used to work at a movie theater,”
said writer and director Jeremy
Burgess, a senior drama major. “I
wrote the ideas down, and when
the festival came along, I saw it as an
opportunity to do a live situation
Students involved in the festival
produce, direct, stage and perform
the theater projects.
It’s a hands-on experience, and
students may experiment with plays,
comedy, and in the instance of the
sitcom, even commercials.
“Manor Daze” showcases the ev
eryday lives of a group of movie
theater employees. A bored and
disgruntled boss, Mr. Rob (Danny
Tauber), ventures to manage the
staff amid suicide attempts and
work-place drama.
Sara (Janette DeVan), a studious
good-girl, and Sunshine (Nina
Ruffini), a sarcastic flake, dismiss
their supervisor while discussing the
date-ability of the eccentric projec
tionist, Jeremy (Jeremy Burgess).
“The sitcom is a really good op
portunity to work independently,
while putting something on for stu
dents and for fun,” said Janette
DeVan, a junior drama major.
The cast kept the audience at the
previous two shows attentive and
amused. The first performance was
a sellout, so Burgess and the players
added a second show.
The most amusing part of the
performance
the sponsors.
Like television, shows can’t air
without sponsorship. So, the cast
take turns improvising commer
cials based on an array of clever
“A friend suggested I
do commercials in be
tween scenes,” said
Burgess. “It was a
chance to do improvi
sation and get the au
dience involved, so even if they hate
the show, at least the commercials
will be funny.”
In one advertisement, Tauber, a
senior drama major, made a wry
plug for Canada Dry, “because
Canada Wet just sounds stupid.”
The cast encourages the audience
to participate by mandating two
audience spon
sors per break.
The results are
witty, hysterical
and create an easy
diversion from
the
shoi
reveal a dog-like hand puppet
named Jack.
If it sounds to demented to be
funny, recall the success of “AlP
and “Harry and the Hendersons.”
Jack mocks such family-friendly
pals, and gives the show a touch of
the hands of black comedy.
“Jack is a presentational device
that acts as Jeremy’s conscience -
Jeremy’s twisted conscience,” said
Burgess.
Jeremy accepts the cocky relation
ship expertise of gigolo Jack to
motivate himself to ask out either
Sunshine or Sara.
Every week ends with a cliffhanger,
but other than that, the sitcom strays
from cliche.
The actors, who receive their
scripts weekly, relate well to each
other and to their respective char
acters despite minimal preparation.
Mr. Rob (Tauber) offers an amus
ing portrayal of Mr. Rob with open
loathing of life, customers and the
brats who work
The dynamics of the characters
and the response of the audience
make it evident ev
eryone involved is
having fun.
“Manor Daze”
offers a unique Fri
day night experi
ence, and witl> two
shows offered,
dents can conve
niently attend de
spite the always an
ticipated Friday
night pk
If the Festival of
Student Creativity
as a whpje proves
as diffefigAt., and
animated a^ “The
“The sitcom is a reall)/
good opportunity to
work independently,
while putting some
thing on for students
“The commer
cials help loosen
up the audience
and let everybody
show their stuff,”
said Tauber.
“They also fill out
the show, so it is
longer.”
The show
crosses vintage
situation comedies like “Alice” with Sitcom Experience,” November will
the spontaneity of “Whose Line is be a great month for entertainment
Anyway?” to create interesting
For example, all characters seem
relatable to any ordinary person
trapped in job hell until projection- days at 9:30 p.m. and lip.
ist Jeremy removes his one glove to lower lobby ofiCarmichael Hall.
the UNCA community. Con
tact the drama department "
information.
The Sitcom Experience’
■ the
Zen Sushi offers affordable Japanese cuisine
Sarah Grano
Features Reporter
Zen Sushi offers Japanese cooking
and fresh sushi at reasonable prices.
The restaurant, located on
Merrimon Avenue next to Urban
Burrito, has already established it
self as a popular place to eat.
“I loved Zen Sushi,” said Dave
Cole, a customer at the restaurant.
“I liked the food, and it just seemed
like a very inviting atmosphere.”
Zen Sushi provides food for both
vegetarians and meat lovers in a
small, relaxed setting.
“You get a whole lot of food, so
it’s worth it,” said Meg Hale, a
junior creative writing major. “But
it seems like a lot of money for
college kids with no money.”
The restaurant offers a large vari
ety of sushi, and is sure to pl«
those who want something exotic,
as well as those who are a little more
“It’s not as fishy as I thought it
would be,” said Hale, who tried
tuna and salmon in her sushi. “It
wasn’t like eating raw fish is sup
posed to be in your head.”
Cole, a longtime sushi lover, or
dered eel.
“The sushi guy told me you should
eat it as a dessert because it’s sweet, ”
said Cole. “It was good.”
The sushi comes with fresh ginger
and spicy wasabi. When I received
my dinner, I was a little over zeal
ous with the wasabi and ended up
with a bright red face, impaired
breathing and clear nasal passages.
For those who don’t like eating
raw fish wrapped in rice and sea-
CHERYL SKAGGS/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Sony Chan, owner of Zen Sushi, prepares affordable fresh sushi entrees at the restaurant’s sushi bar.
weed, there are many other op
tions. Noodle soups are the cheap
est at $6.50, but there are also veg
etarian and teriyaki entrees.
“They have a lot of good soups and
a lot of stuff that’s not sushi if that
wigs you out,” said Hale. “I got the
vegetable udon, which is a really big
soup bowl. It was good, and there
was a whole lot of it.”
Everyone I interviewed raved
about Zen Sushi’s food. I loved it as
well. Although it took a long time
to arrive, my meal was heavenly.
The one problem with Zen Sushi
on the night I visited was the ser-
“Blessherheart,”saidHale.“There waitress was very nice and apolo-
was one waitress in this fairly busy getic. I expect Zen Sushi will soon
place, and she was really slow. I solve this problem by hiring a larger
mean, it wasn’t her fault, but the staff Besides, the food is worth the
service kind of wait,
sucked.” Cole, who went at a
different time than
Hale and myself, had
no problem with the
service. He sat at the
sushi bar, rather than
a table.
“The service was really good, ” said
five on a Friday
restaurant
Review
the
Sunday nighi
By 6:30 p.
place was
The new restaurant did not:
be prepared for such early popular
ity. At one point in the evening, a Cole. “I
ta;ble of customers left because they before the dinner crowd c
hadn’t been served fast enough.
While the service was slow, ou
Everybody was nice there.”
Cole was especially impressed with
the man who made the sushi.
“The guy was cool,” said Cole.
“He’ll tell you if something’s not
good, if he has a fish that’s not fresh
and what’s good that day. He made
suggestions for people, too.”
Zen Sushi’s atmosphere is unpre
tentious and relaxed. You have the
choice of sitting either at one of the
tables or at the sushi bar. If you
at the sushi bar, you can watch yc
dinner being made.
“I really liked that it actu£tlly had
a sushi bar,” said Hale. “You can be
right up next to the guy making the
sushi.”
The restaurant looked clean. Yel
low and blue accented the prima
rily white walls. A lot of wood in the
ddcor gave the restaurant a homey
feel.
The mixed clientele included a
few people in their 20s, but on
Sunday night, the restaurant con
tained mostly people in their 30s,
many of whom brought their chil
dren.
“It’s a good family restaurant,”
said Hale. “I assume snotty people
would get their kids to eat sushi,
but the kids were digging it. They
were eating pea pods and fish.”
For being such a new restaurant,
Zen Sushi was really busy. Cole,
who came in at five on a Friday,
talked to the man at the sushi bar,
“He said he almost wishes it wasn’t
so busy sometimes, which is crazy
because he’s only been open for
week,” said Cole.
All those I spoke to loved Zen
Sushi, despite a few kinks the new
business needs to work out.
“It was a nice place,” said Hale.
“The food was fun, and I left with
a fiill tummy.”