It’s All Pizza There

Lexi: (re: In ‘N Out) I miss this. We don’t have this at school, It’s all pizza there.  //  Jess: You’re the one who wanted to go to school on the east coast.

UCONN is in Storrs, CT, and though the cult of Connecticut Apizza (yeah, that’s right, apizza, which is pronounced “a-beetz” by the way) is based in New Haven, Lexi is still a stranger in a strange culinary land.

Some background on the CT Pizza Obsession via the blog Slice:

“Perhaps the most crucial hallmark of the style is its thinness and chewiness. Though crust thickness varies among different New Haven–area pizzerias, they’re often noticeably thinner in the center than New York–style pizzas. And much chewier. The closest thing I can compare it to for those who haven’t eaten it is a very thin slice of ciabatta bread; a New Haven–style crust is crisp-tough on the exterior with a sort of spongey-chewy interior. Other characteristics (or quirks, depending on your viewpoint) are that pies are served whole (no slices); that they are often (but not always) cooked in large coal-fired bakery ovens; and, maybe most crucial to out-of-staters, the fact that a “plain” New Haven apizza is crust, tomato sauce, oregano, and a little bit of grated Romano cheese. Mozzarella cheese is a topping; you have to order it, and it costs extra.”

The heart of the apizza debate centers of three institutions that all lay claim to being the original CT pizza joints: Frank Pepe’s, Sally’s, and Modern. The Slice blog  has a nice write-up of the differences in these three, and the NYT Dining Section has also engaged the question.

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UConn

Impressions from prospective students visiting UConn (where Lexi goes to school):

• “WOW…..best ice cream I’d had in a long time!! Made with milk from the UConn dairy cattle right there on campus. You can look in the back and see the equipment they use! The worst part was choosing which flavor to order; there were so many that sounded delicious! So if you like ice cream, you NEED to stop at their dairy bar.”

• “One other thing I like about UConn is that students can join their band more easily than at other large public colleges. I love band but don’t play at a state level. In fact, the instruments I play are not used in marching bands in college so I’ll need to learn another one for college. UConn will let me join the band as a beginning tuba player. To me, this is a huge plus. If you’re into band, your might be interested in this.”

• “I thought this would be in a city and was surprised by the small-town feel the campus has. It feels safe. If you want to go to a college in a large city with all that stuff, this isn’t for you.”

• “Typical new engand yankee atmosphere, friendly to each other but no eye contact or talking to anyone outside the clique of students, especially not campus tour participants.”

• “This would be a great state school for residents. You would get a great education value. For out of state, though, it is expensive, over 30K with room and board. For such a renowned athletic school, student facilities for sports activities were surprisingly small, although there is updating going on.”

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UC Davis

Some impressions from prospective students looking at UC Davis (where Jess goes to school):

• “I thought that Davis was absolutely beautiful  reminded me of yosemite. If they were as prestigious as ucla or berkeley, i’d go there for sure. But sadly, they’re not   Plus I don’t want to go to a school where people can get in with a 3.0 if I worked hard for my 3.8 haha. It just seems like a waste of all that time during my stay here at my cc.”

• “ I don’t like that either. My 4.0 required a lot of effort. Going to Davis decreases the value of that 4.0 slightly; most of the value will now come from the information/skills I’ve retained.”

• “Davis was sooo awesome! They make you feel like they really want you there. Went to the event, had the campus and housing tour, checked out apartments and had lunch in downtown davis! The place is reallllly green and trees everywhere. They had a fair in the quad too… It is just like Berkeley, but less ghetto. Went to Sacramento afterwards and that was nice too. I think I’m going to be an Aggie.”

• “The city of Davis is beautiful, especially the downtown, but the campus is pretty plain (not as ugly as UCSD, though). It’s also extremely difficult to get around without a bike. Suffice it to say, I was on foot the entire day and trekking between the ARC and east campus was tedioussssss.”

• “The student body seems motivated. I’m excited to be involved in political clubs and the upper division classes look very enticing. Lots of babes, but also lots of in-shape males as well. We guys have our competition cut out for us.   Really great restaurants downtown. I went and got a pesto-chicken-tomato crepe at ‘Crepeville.’ One of the best things I’ve eaten in a while.  :P  Housing is a bit sketchy, especially Cuarto. Castillian Hall looks like a converted Motel 6. All that being said, I’m going to be attending, and hopefully the students at Davis will make up for some of the underwhelming aspects. Aggie pride!”

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Let’s watch some trailers!

For past blog posts on horror movies, choose “horror” from the tag cloud at the bottom of this page.

Greg & Ilana recommend:

SCREAM

• Scream • Scream 2 • Scream 3 • Scream 4

 

 

URBAN LEGEND

 

• Urban Legend (which awesomely features Robert Englund, best known as the actor who plays Freddy in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise) • Urban Legends: Final Cut • Urban Legends: Bloody Mary

 

 

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (Featuring a guy with a hook!)

• I Know What You Did Last Summer • I Still Know What You Did Last Summer • I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

 

 

Lauren recommends some scarier movies:

FINAL DESTINATION

• Final Destination 1 • Final Destination 2 • Final Destination 3 • Final Destination 4 • Final Destination 5

 

 

 

 

HALLOWEEN

• Halloween (1978 version) • Halloween II • Halloween III: Season of the Witch • Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers • Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers • Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers • Halloween H20: 20 Years Later • Halloween: Resurrection • Halloween (Rob Zombie’s 2007 version) • H2 (Rob Zombie’s 2009 sequel)

Girls Rescue People

“JESS: Why is it a guy who rescues her? Girls rescue people”

Thank you, Wikipedia, for a concise explanation of the FINAL GIRL horror film trope:

The final girl is a trope in thriller and horror films (particularly slasher films) that specifically refers to the last woman or girl alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been observed in dozens of films, including Halloween^[1], Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Final Destination, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its remake, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Hellraiser, Alien, The Strangers, The Ring, The Grudge, and Terror Train. The term was coined^[2] by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Clover suggests that in these films, the viewer begins by sharing the perspective of the killer, but experiences a shift in identification to the final girl partway through the film. …The final girl is the “investigating consciousness” of the film, moving the narrative forward and as such, she exhibits intelligence, curiosity, and vigilance.

Here’s a nice list of the Top 10 Final Girls from horror films.

Rules for Surviving a Horror Movie

Some uberfan has constructed a useful list of rules for surviving a horror movie (should you find yourself inside one). There’s several dozen, here are some of my favorites…

• If you’re searching for something that caused a mysterious noise and find out that it’s just the cat, leave the room immediately if you value your life.
• If you’re running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it’s still moving fast enough to catch up with you.
• When you’re searching a house because you think there’s something dangerous there, for God’s sake turn the lights on!
• Never back out of one room into another without looking. It’s always behind you.
• Never, ever, ever turn off the paved road onto a gravel or dirt road.
• Always make sure that your car has a fresh battery and a full tank of gas so it will start immediately in times of crisis.
• Never say that you’ll be right back, because you won’t.
• When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off or go it alone.
• Beware of strangers bearing tools such as chain saws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawn mowers, butane torches, band saws, or any device made from deceased companions.
• Always check the back seat of your car.
• Listen closely to the sound track and pay attention to the audience, since they are usually far more intelligent than you could ever hope to be.
• And the #1 rule for surviving a horror movie:
  • DON’T HAVE SEX!!!

Bone Up on Your Horror Movie Research

In a lot of ways, this play is both an earnest participant in the horror genre, as well as a self-conscious homage. The best iteration of this same kind of double-vision in Hollywood is the tongue-in-cheek SCREAM franchise. The original is still a classic. It’s scary, and funny, it winks at itself while it plays you for the fool you are. It’s worth a watch. You can stream it on Netflix, here.

 

 

Car Culture

California is, without question, a car culture. Cars are mandatory, and you spend a ton of time in them.

Check out this list of particularly Californian driving quirks.