Week In Review

WIR

By Dana Goldstein, Scott Kolp and Cristi Laquer

Pirates Of The Royal Caribbean

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Illustration by Alyssa Xu
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An Australian cruise ship bound for Kenya was attacked by, of all things, pirates this Saturday, according to the Associated Press. The Seabourn Spirit changed courses and shifted to higher speeds to avoid the pirates, who fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns from their small sea-craft.

While many Americans might be glad to know that pirates still exist, the encounter was very frightening for those on board. The Seabourn Spirit suffered many direct hits, which destroyed some cabins and sent bullets through passengers' rooms. One member of the good ship's crew was injured by shrapnel.

The pirates' intentions are still unknown, as they never came close enough to swash-buckle their way on to the ship. Crewmembers were equipped with a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), which emits a high-frequency noise specifically designed to keep small, open-air boats away from larger ships. LRADs were designed for military use following the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000.

Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, speculated that the attackers may have in fact been terrorists, rather than pirates as originally suspected. Whoever they were, many passengers reported that the men who fired a rocket-propelled grenade launcher at the ship were smiling as they did so. Such attacks have not been uncommon off the Somalian coast in recent years, Downer said, since Somalia has no strong central government and no navy.

-CL

Do Universities Dehumanize Humanities?

At a time when people like Thomas Friedman and Paul Wolfowitz pass for public intellectuals, intelligent design is the science du jour, and less than 10% of Americans understand a language other than their native tongue, have American universities failed to engage the public?

That was the question posed to a panel of experts Saturday, November 5 at the John Hay Library, including Brown President Ruth Simmons and Bard College President Leon Botstein, a public intellectual who also serves as musical director of the American Symphony Orchestra. The discussion was part of Fall Humanities Weekend, the kickoff event of Brown's new Cogut Humanities Center.

As Botstein scowled, smiled and compulsively switched one pair of eyeglasses with another, he dominated the debate with the argument that humanities scholars should emphasize teaching and make their research more relevant to those outside academia. The primary counter-argument was put forth by Brown Professor of Theater, Speech, and Dance, Rebecca Schneider. Echoing gender theory pioneer Judith Butler, Schneider defended the rigor and complexity of deconstructionist theory, in spite of its complete incomprehensibility to 99.9 % of the population.

For undergraduates listening to the discussion, the rhetoric of disenfranchisement might have felt particularly on point. Botstein was right to emphasize the reason why students are attracted to particular fields: our generation studies computer science because those skills are useful in the job market, and we flock to film classes because we're fascinated by the media that shapes our experience of the world. But it was panelist Biddy Martin, Cornell University's provost, who best expressed what is really missing from theory-laden humanities classes: a sense that after all that deconstruction, there's something meaningful left to grasp. "In conversations with scientists, I've been struck again and again about how excited they are about their work," she said. "In the humanities, we've given up the language of awe, wonder, and beauty."

-DG

Ten Beers A Day...

A drink to your health might not be as oxymoronic as you have been led to believe. Researchers at Oregon State University report that beer contains a micronutrient shown to block enzymes that encourage tumor growth, reports United Press International. The nutrient, xanthohumol, is found in hops plants, which gives beer its delicious, life-giving flavor.

Most Beirut-quality beers are low on hops, according to Oregon State's assistant professor of medical chemistry Fred Stevens, so the cancer-conscious should favor stouts and ales, which contain more xanthohumol. Studies using mice show that the nutrient is metabolized very quickly, making it difficult to maintain a large amount in the body.

But all that aside, beer is better for you than it was last week. Oregon State researchers first isolated xanthohumol in their labs 10 years ago, prompting many copycat laboratory investigations. Scientists may pretend to be working on a Latin-sounding chemical, but college students everywhere know the truth. "[Xanthohumol] has some interesting chemo-preventative properties," said Stevens, "and the only way people are getting any of it right now is through beer consumption."

Leave it to the Germans to capitalize on a scientific advance in beer. Reuters Health reports that German scientists have developed a beer that is particularly high in xanthohumol. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich, provoked by the German Cancer Research Institute in Heidelberg, have used a secret process to enrich concentrations of xanthohumol to 10 times normal levels. Their amazing über-beer is expected to hit store shelves early next year.

In addition to potentially fighting cancer, research has also shown that large quantities of beer will make you very drunk.

-CL

Unrequited Week

Midnight Cowboys

Critics say Brokeback Mountain, the story of an ill-starred love shared by two cowboys, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, may have "Oscar," if not "equality," written all over it. The film, slated for release in America this December, depicts more on-screen homosexual sex than any mainstream film to date, reports Variety magazine.

Brokeback Mountain has already been compared to every Oscar-winning movie with a gay character that critics can think of. It has been touted as more "noble" than Midnight Cowboy, more visually explicit than Philadelphia, and less subtextual than previous queer westerns like Red River. J. Hoberman, a reviewer from the Village Voice, declared it a "landmark," and "a shift in scope and tenor so profound as to signal a new era." The film's director, Ang Lee, and press agents stress that it is not a gay-themed story, but rather a true American story of unrequited love that anyone can relate to.

Some are more skeptical about the ability of such a film to win over the homophobic. B. Ruby Rich, a critic and author interviewed by Variety stated, "I don't believe they would have ever allowed an openly queer director to make this movie... In a long line of ironic outcomes, it took these guys with impeccable heterosexual credentials to make this kind of breakthrough."

The queer community's hopes for the film aside, industry commentators are generally confident that, given the success of other gay-themed movies at the Oscars, the content of Brokeback Mountain will not hurt its chances to get the hardware it deserves.

-CL

Chesney Doin' Just Fine

When down home Kenny Chesney and Hollywood Renee Zellweger were married on May 10 of this year, it seemed as though love could even transcend the red and blue state divide. The two, who met at a tsunami relief event just this January, had a whirlwind romance that saw them married in four months and divorced only four months later.

In the coup of publicity surrounding his new album "The Road and The Radio" and the public divorce, Chesney has been making the talk show rounds. Speaking openly about the divorce, the country crooner said, "[My heart] is up and down, but it's good." Undoubtedly, Ford F-250 drivers everywhere are hoping that the split will load another song into the country divorce-song canon. It may be hard to come by though, given Chesney's lemonade-making attitude: "She and I fell in love like a couple of school kids. I'm glad to know that happens, that that exists."

-SK

If The Love Bus A Rockin', Don't Come A Knockin'

There's no love lost between Fernando Ferrer and the people of New York City, who have been resistant to support him in his bid to unseat incumbent Mayor Bloomberg. At least campaigners on Ferrer's "Love Bus" say their mood has not suffered. The "Love Bus" is marauding through the city on these final days before the election looking for votes.

They say love is blind, and apparently the "Love Bus" is blind to Quinnipiac University's new poll, released Monday, which painted Ferrer as the prohibitive underdog, with Bloomberg possessing a 38 point lead over the democratic challenger. The plucky politician has well thought-out plans for the days following the election: "I've given it a great deal of consideration. We'll move to Gracie Mansion. Aramina [Ferrer's wife] will be the first lady of the city."

By press time, the fate of the "Love Bus" will be known. All smart money here at Week in Review is on heartbreak for the "Love Bus," which will still be crying desperate tears of gasoline and antifreeze as you read this.

-SK

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