Arts

Melissa MacEwen | The Roaming Fork

Theater Review | Escapism shines poignantly throughout 'The Glass Menagerie'

TV Review | 'Once Upon a Time' brings new twist to old tales

Rebecca Santiago | Is So Vain

I've been trying to start this column for a while now, but every time I try to type, I find myself gazing at my keyboard in quizzical fascination instead. Interesting things are happening on my nails right now - things such as microbeads and polishes and postmodern nightmares - and it's just not conducive to writing, man.

Restaurant Review | 'Neighborhood' prepares food for great value

In the mood for a breakfast or brunch that will cost under $10 but will keep you full for the rest of the day? The Neighborhood Restaurant and Bakery in Somerville's Union Square has been serving up heaping plates of Portuguese lunches as breakfast foods since the early 1980's. Although the original manager, Mario Borges, died in 2001, the rest of the Borges clan, under his sister Sheila's management, has kept the restaurant going.

TV Review | New season of 'Community' already seems promising

Concert Review | Vaccines headline great concert in Boston

The Vaccines are the UK's best?kept secret. Hitting fourth on album charts across the pond in 2011 with their debut studio album, confidently titled, "What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?," they made their indie rock sound an incontrovertible part of Britain's club scene.

DeLong debut album 'Just Movement' catchy, unoriginal

With colossal names such as MTV and Billboard pegging up?and?coming musician Robert DeLong as an "artist to watch," his debut album "Just Movement" had high expectations to live up to. The album, released on Jan. 22, brings together 12 beat?heavy tracks including his earlier released single "Global Concepts," which has been playing on radio stations around the country since last summer. While the songs themselves are catchy and stimulating, the hype around him was definitely misplaced.

Insurgent '80s highlight ICA show

What will have been? This! "This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s" is an exhibit currently on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. The exhibit's duplicitous aim - to give a historical purview of the 1980's and then to contextualize this within contemporary politics - may be ambitious, but it is made particularly salient by a couple works.

ICA exhibition highlights insurgent '80s

What will have been? "This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s" is an exhibit currently on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. The exhibit's duplicitous aim - to give a historical purview of the 1980's and then to contextualize this within contemporary politics - may be ambitious, but it is made particularly salient by a couple of works.

Soderbergh's 'Side Effects' a prescription better left unfilled

Warning, the film "Side Effects" may result in delusional thoughts, paranoia concerning pharmacology, disorientation from too many plot twists and general disappointment in an otherwise promising film.

Joe Stile | Amo

Silver Linings Playbook" (2012) is a problematic film. Its ending implies that love can cure mental illness and simplifies an often?complex situation to the point of marginalizing it. This is even more disappointing because of how effective the film is in its first two?thirds at treating the relationship between its main characters and the struggles they go through. It's a cop?out for a happy and crowd?pleasing ending that undercuts a lot of what the film does bravely.

Flux Pavilion falls short of hype on 'Blow the Roof'

The album format is a bit of an anomaly in the world of dubstep. With so much of the genre's fame and success based on singles and remixes, full?length offerings get minimal attention. This is consistent with the aesthetic of the genre, which is based more on shock factor, temporal excitement and emphasis than longevity and subtlety. Popular dubstep is the exclamation point of the electronic music scene, and most of the time it thrives in that role.

Invisible Man' brings classic to stage at Huntington

Above the Huntington Theatre Company's stage, an intricate placard reads "Go hold as 'twere the mirror up to Nature." Apart from referencing the literary classic "Hamlet," this quote gives the packed audience a preview of what is to come from behind the curtain as they venture into the stage adaptation of Ralph Ellison's classic "Invisible Man."

Concert Review | Purity Ring engages crowd at House of Blues

Electric. The rock star is as dead as a doornail, and we as listeners are left to sift through its ashes, hoping and praying to stumble across bands like Purity Ring. Wednesday night at the House of Blues, Purity Ring brought its own unique brand of nightmare indietronica to Boston with fantastic showmanship - indietronica being a new genre that combines indie, electronica, rock and pop to create a fantastical amalgamation. Touring to promote its first and only album, Purity Ring's set ran for one unbelievable hour. The Canadian duo epitomizes the possibilities of new age music in this technological era. While CorinRoddick mans a handmade rig of light-up drum pads and DJ equipment, singer Megan James authoritatively takes center stage. From the opening song "Amenamy," James made sure everyone knew that the night was going to be nothing but an electronic house party. Lucky for all of us, the "house" that was originally supposed to be the Middle East was switched to the House of Blues, a sign that this band is on its way up. And while the scene has changed over the years, it was hard not to see James as a modern opera singer as she stood in front of a colossal red curtain and belted out their only cover of the night, Soulja Boy's "Grammy." Hump day quickly became thump day as Roddick's synthesized bass rattled every brick in the building and every bone in the audience's collective body. Critics of the electronic genre may reduce it to button-pushing, but Roddick clearly has a strong musical background as he pushes those buttons like David Gilmour or Jimmy Page would play guitar. Credit must be given to Purity Ring for creating its own unique sound in today's musical age. With song titles like "Crawlersout" and "Obedear," the nightmare genre tag Purity Ring encompasses really begins to capture its listeners. Purity Ring's existence reflects a fundamental change in the structure of a traditional concert. From the '60s until the early 2000s, everyone was always fighting to get as close to the stage as humanly possible. This is not the case today. Standing too close to the stage now detracts from one's ability to fully absorb the act and the music. Touring, rather than album sales, is what puts bread on the table for today's performing artist - therefore the spectacle of the show must be worth seeing. In this regard, Purity Ring's show looks like something extracted from a David Lynch movie. Twenty to 30 mesmerizing orbs lit up in different colors above the stage enhanced the effect that the music had on its audience. These days, instead of guitar gods we get dramatic DJs, and Roddick definitely does not disappoint. The young crowd ranged from couples that are probably frequent visitors to Pitchfork.com, to hip-hop kids undoubtedly present to see the opener Young Magic. The differences in the audience quickly became null, however, as the music reverberated and the head banging and dancing began. For Purity Ring, the show clearly hinged on three songs: the aforementioned opener, "Lofticries" and the "Fineshrine." Not surprisingly, these songs are the most accessible to today's audience. The one negative aspect of the show would probably be the few moments in which the sound strongly resembled the chanting of the monks from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975). Regardless, Purity Ring has a devoted fan base that was capable of packing the House of Blues and that is growing larger and larger everyday. Either the planets were aligned or Al Gore is not as insane as everyone thinks because a sixty-degree warm night at the end of January in Boston was the first sign that this show was going to be success. Much like the unseasonably warm night, the performance was like nothing this city has ever seen. Take note, now, everyone, because this band is going to get bigger, and when it does we're all going to have one hell of a dance party.

Melissa MacEwen | The Roaming Fork

Hi. My name is Melissa, and this semester I will teach you how to eat bugs. That, however, is but the tip of the iceberg for the dietary adventure I hope to take you on. Aside from my personal dislike of the starch and cholesterol-heavy dishes that pervade American cuisine, I have no qualms with this country's cooking. Honest. However, I do feel that our food tends to be rather bland. Once you get past the foods and dishes that have sort of melded into American cuisine and culture - shout out to Golden Light, Amsterdam Falafel and Anna's Taqueria - you're left with the "classics," the staples that comprise the backbone of what people think of when they picture food in the United States. When I think American cuisine, I picture an amalgamation of Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. And there are a whole lot of dishes based in corn, potatoes and meat and cream going on here in 'Murica. However, one of the best aspects of living in the U.S. of A., especially in a semi-urban area, is that we are constantly surrounded by food from other nations. Want Tibetan momos for lunch, Pad Thai for dinner and chicken lo mein for a late-night snack? Consider it done. An unintended consequence of this ready availability, however, is that we are frequently left categorizing foods and ingredients based on their origins. For example, to many Americans, any food that involves a curry is automatically considered Indian, and any dish that involves a mole sauce is Latino. While there is some validity in these categorizations, they can lead to food that isn't from our mother culture feeling "foreign," or "different," and can make us hesitant to attempt to integrate these ingredients into our own cooking. This is a shame. With this column, I'd like to make foods that are lesser-known in America a little more familiar and a little bit more approachable. Every week, I'll focus on an ingredient that is significant to another culture: I'll do a bit of research about it, prepare it and tell you all about how it goes. I intend to cook foods that are staples of different cultures, along with foods that are regarded more as delicacies or treats. It will be an adventure, and I intend to eat plenty of insects. I might also clean out my savings account. (Oh, the things I do for love. And for you, dear reader.) My goal isn't to highlight the "weird" foods of other cultures - though that is tempting - so much as it is to expand the American palate. Apart from plenty of Internet research, I have no credentials and don't know what I'm doing. In fact, I'll go so far as to point out that I lived off of ramen for a few weeks in my sophomore year but, hey, I like a challenge as much as the next guy. By the end of the semester, maybe I'll have convinced you that ingredients need not be bound to particular cultures, but instead can (and should!) be enjoyed anywhere they can be purchased. Heck, by the time we get to mopane worms, maybe you'll be ordering some of your more exciting ingredients online as well. My only disclaimer is that I am a pescetarian and unfortunately won't be eating a number of the meat-based dishes that are so important internationally. Maybe this column will make you a little bolder, or maybe you'll just enjoy being grossed out. Either way, be sure to check out my accompanying photos at: http://blogs.tuftsdaily.com. Next week, we'll start off with a bang (or more of a gelatinous sizzle?) with sea cucumbers.

Archer' keeps momentum in fourth season

the fourth season of creator Adam Reed's hilarious FX show "Archer." Well, he wasn't really back until fifteen minutes into the first episode of the new season, when he snapped out of his fugue state as Bob in a highly rewarding crossover between the two animated shows - "Archer" and "Bob's Burgers" - in which H. Jon Benjamin voice-acts. "Archer" is known for its references and nods to movies and shows, and the new season is shaping up to be no exception. When Archer - or at that moment, Bob - is attacked by KGB agents, he takes all of them out, with the class and efficiency Archer is known for. He then suddenly speaks in Russian, a slight nod to "A History of Violence" (2005). What keeps Archer distinct from from shows like "Family Guy," which relies simply on pop culture references for cheap laughs, is its emphasis on characters. The characters have all developed in their own interesting ways over the course of the past three seasons. The second episode of this season is a perfect example of a storyline driven by a character's flaw, which Adam Reed somehow manages to turn into comedy. This episode, entitled "The Wind Cries Mary," addresses Archer's homophobia when he meets an old ISIS friend - Lucas Troy, voiced by Timothy Olyphant - in Vermont of all places. Through flashbacks, we come to understand the unusually bromantic relationship between these two friends; from ignored females in a m?©nage? trois, to fights in the locker room, all while Archer remained hilariously oblivious. Once in Vermont, Archer must come to terms with his denial of obvious signs that his friend isn't really just a friend. The show also shines when it makes clear that it wasn't just homophobia that blinded Archer but also his loneliness, which has been a recurring idea throughout the series. Numerous flashbacks show Archer as a child, alone at a birthday party, alone in his bedroom and also alone in the current timeline of the show. The audience never sees Archer interacting with his friends. It is this sort of character depth that keeps this show grounded in reality and, more importantly, keeps the viewer empathetic to one of the most sarcastic, conceited and egoistic protagonists on a television series. The third episode of the season also includes a callback to a previous story arc, that of Archer's deceased lover Katya, who Krieger brought back from the dead as a cyborg only for her to run off with Barry, Archer's arch nemesis cyborg. Although the show isn't very serialized and has hardly any season long arcs, it still makes an effort to insert callbacks that reward longtime viewers. This time around, in the aptly named episode "Legs," Krieger is at it again, fixing Ray's paralyzed lower body. Archer's many repressed memories of Katya resurface as he attempts to thwart the operation. Beneath all the craziness of fugue states, rogue spies in Vermont and cyborgs, "Archer" ultimately follows a man crippled by loneliness and a ridiculously over-protective mother who scared away any chance of him having a friend. His systematically repressed homophobia and the memories of a deceased, then resurrected, then escaped love, are what has driven the most recent three episodes. This show does a remarkable job of combining the emotion of "Parks and Recreation," the ridiculous antics of "Workaholics," the rewarding pop culture references of "Community" and the wit of callbacks and obscure jokes of "Arrested Development" (2003-2013). It is an amalgam of all that is great about modern sitcoms. It has proven to be one of the smartest shows on television, and the fourth season is shaping up promisingly.

Alexa Petersen | Jeminist: A Jumbo Feminist

The U.S.government has gun control on the mind. Following the devastating massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, President Barack Obama has launched an effort to address gun control. The initiative, spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden, has also begun to address additional purported causes of Sandy Hook, including mental health issues and video game violence. The argument here states that video games are harmful to young people because of their promotion of indiscriminant violence. But there's another reason why video games can be really harmful to young people, bolstering an already strong argument against the games. And it shouldn't be ignored. They promote absolutely abominable images and stereotypes of women. When researching this topic, what I found disturbed me. Women wearing fewer clothes than an average bikini and trying to fight men in full armor who are three times their size. Women "warriors" who are really just tough-looking ballet dancers, only able to lightly and gracefully kick an opponent with a perfectly pointed foot and often lose to their more formidable opponents. Women who aren't even playable characters, simply there to walk around in the game and look sexually desirable. There are a couple of stereotypes that appear many times over. The first is the "damsel in distress" character: the woman who is meant to be saved by the large and ill-proportioned male hero. Princess Peach from the Mario franchise is one of these characters. She is described as soft-spoken, is often not a powerful fighter, and is generally being saved in some capacity. Princess Zelda, from the Legend of Zelda franchise, is quite similar. No descriptions of her leave out that she "almost always gets kidnapped" and "almost always needs to be saved." The second stereotype is a more physical one. Female characters with absurdly small costumes and absurdly strange body proportions that mirror no female that we've ever seen in real life. Lara Croft, of the Tomb Raider franchise, has blogs written about her breasts. Many blogs. Utterly pitiful commentators spend copious amounts of time referencing the growth of her breast size as a proportion of the growth in the popularity of the franchise. Ivy Valentine, a character from Soul Calibur, has such large breasts that each breast individually is larger than her head. Her head. This is no joke. Kaileena, a character from Prince of Persia, is a "warrior" who fights other men in no less than a piece of cloth and a large belt. The cloth leaves very little to the imagination and is simply a preposterous piece of clothing for someone who is doing any kind of physical activity. Countless female characters fall under this scantily clad category. For those that wear armor, it often does not cover or protect any vital organs, or anything else worth protecting. Armor is on their body to look sexually appealing, while the men with the real armor do the real killing - a statement that purposefully bleeds with more than a little irony. There are countless more concerning stereotypes to discuss. The bottom line is video games often (not always, but often) portray women as in need of male salvation, sexual objects that have mostly useless other skills and characters that must be in the shadow of their strong and burly male counterparts. It's not hard to see the damage this can have on the predominantly young boy viewership. If we are assuming in public discourse that images of video-game violence lead to real-life violence, it follows that images of sexual objectification cannot be too far off from instances of sexual misconduct or assault.

Quantity undercuts quality at Martsa On Elm

Though it may not be widely known, Somerville has a relatively large Tibetan population. With over 500 Tibetans calling the suburb home, it should come as no surprise that Somerville also features some of the best Tibetan food in the Boston Metro Area. With Yak and Yeti, House of Tibet Kitchen, Rangzen Tibetan Place and Martsa On Elm all within walking distance of Tufts University, there are plenty of Himalayan eateries to choose from. But, while Martsa On Elm is popular in the Somerville restaurant scene because of its proximity to the heart of Davis Square, it remains a bit of a mixed bag. On first impression, Martsa's best feature-its extensive menu-is also its worst. Even choosing an appetizer can be daunting, but simplicity is often a reliable choice, and the Spicy Potato Bread appetizer did not disappoint. Though not particularly exciting - the bread was sort of a fluffy, buttery pita pocket filled with peppered potato - the appetizer was deliciously fresh and seemed like it would pair well with a sauce-based entree. Picking an entree was also challenging and took much longer. Vegetarian and chicken specialties each get a page on Martsa's menu, with lamb and beef specialties' nearly full pages each not far behind. The Pan Fried Tofu with Peas in Coconut Curry turned out to be a tasty, but entirely unexciting dish. While Martsa deserves credit for keeping the tofu light and airy, the dish had none of the coconut-based sauciness of a typical Indian curry - which is what the entree seemed to be imitating. The coconut complemented the peas pleasantly, though the "curry" was flavorless and a tad greasy overall. Finally, the dish's absence of sauce made the spicy potato bread side dish/appetizer rather superfluous. Still, this entree stumble likely reflects a rule of thumb that seems to apply at Martsa - that, unsurprisingly, the more authentic Tibetan dishes are tastier. For example, Martsa'sDaysil, a dessert composed of sweet saffron rice, nuts and dried fruit is simple and delicious. As nice as it is to have such an expansive menu, it seems that Martsa's sheer quantity bogs down some of its quality. Perhaps Martsa's chefs spread their nets too wide in an attempt to offer customers dishes they might be a bit more familiar with - such as curries - but paring down the menu to Tibetan classics would make the restaurant more authentic while likely giving the cooks a smaller number of dishes to perfect. While it can be tempting to overlook the negative aspects of family-run eateries in the interest of giving non-corporate restaurants credit where it's due, Martsa does have a few other specific flaws that should be addressed. For one, the television. While a television makes sense in a location like a sports bar, it really has no place at a sit down restaurant. However subtly, the TV set draws the attention of all patrons facing in its direction, and it can be distracting. The muted television also clashes bizarrely with the more setting-appropriate music that the restaurant plays and the Tibetan decorations lining the walls. Secondly, and more importantly, Martsa's service is very hit or miss (as has become clear through this reviewer's three recent meals there). While the servers are universally friendly and accommodating when they interact with customers, the restaurant consistently seems to give better service to large groups. Either that, or the small kitchen is easily overwhelmed whenever a large group sits down to eat. It's perfectly acceptable to wait ten or fifteen minutes for an entree; it's really not okay to have to wait upwards of forty minutes for food just because a table of ten has taken over. It is commendable that Martsa does such an admirable job of accommodating large parties, but doing so should not come at the cost of other diners' experiences. Still, Martsa is an overall great place for students, families and couples looking for a night out in Davis, given its location and reasonably priced meals. The aforementioned appetizer, entree and dessert came to just over $18, not including tip. It's also open late - until 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. So while the food might not be top notch and service might be a bit iffy, the restaurant will likely remain a local mainstay. It speaks volumes that even on an arbitrary Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m., Martsa was more than half full.

Concert Review | Skride succeeds with Shostakovich