Melissa Prieto (COM '12) models a shirt designed by Amber Vittoria. Photo by Nicole Cousins

Amber Vittoria is a graphic design major in the College of Fine Arts (CFA’12) and owner of the company Pyrotechnic Display at Celebrations (P.D.A.C). Her company offers unique t-shirts that are the product of the creative process.

How did you get started?

Over the summer (2009) I started producing and the website just went up.

I started doing all the designs based off of photography. I took the first pictures right before I got to college. I’ve spoken to many graphic designers and they always seem to have a side project and I decided that this would be my side project. Originally, I thought to do posters but then I decided that clothing would be better because it moves just like people move and travel.

What other forms of design/art do you do?

I’m a graphic design major; so I do pretty much any type of art. I paint. I draw. Related to the t-shirts, I photograph light. I’ve always been interested in light. I’ve used light in magazine spreads I’ve done for internships. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I don’t love it anymore, even though I doubt that will happen. Light and travel is mainly the basis for majority of my work.

What inspires you?

One of my favorite graphic designers is Stefan Sagmeister. He is amazing. He’s very much interested in exploring different aspects of the little details. He had to do this brochure and the whole thing was based off of the rubber band that held it together. As for me, my art is all based off of light—it all comes back to light. Picasso once said, “you must pay attention to everything around you,” (paraphrased) and even though I admit sometimes I block out the world with my iPod, I always try to pull inspiration from everything that surrounds me.

How are the designs made?

"I try to articulate what I want from my designs in words, which helps immensely when I am coming up with designs."

I start off with a bunch of photographs and I do a few sketches of the specific point I want to focus on. Then I sit on it for a while. Then I go into Adobe Illustrator and edit it. I tack it to my dorm room wall and see which direction I like it best. When I alter the photos I kind of like the shape of them and that’s how I got the idea to make them into t-shirts. When I do color it’s pretty much I pick a different color shirt, white, black, gray, I really want to do blue. I like to do one color, I think many colors are too confusing. I like to pick a bold color, something that’s aesthetically pleasing. Really bold colors that kind of shout out the shapes themselves.

Right now I have a silk screener in Chicago do them and I want to learn how to silk screen myself. I feel like I’ll have a lot more freedom doing the colors myself. If I do the silk screening I feel like it fully becomes mine. That’s my goal this summer, to set up a silk screen studio in the basement, if my dad lets me.

What are the light sources?

As of now they are mainly fireworks, and flashlights. I would sit the camera on the tripod and leave the shutter open and run around with a flashlight. As of now I’m only doing man-made lights but hopefully for my senior thesis I will do natural light.

"I am drawn to the shapes they make more than anything."

What are your goals for P.D.A.C.?

Aside from monetary goals, I want it to be somewhere that I can fully create. Sometimes people are limited by superiors, whereas in this I can make my own decisions and fight with myself over what I want to change. That’s my goal–to be able to have a dialogue with myself instead of solely having other people telling me their opinions.

Who works with you?

It’s just me. My friends are a big help, they model for me, they help me bounce ideas off of them, and listen to me ramble for hours. I consider them a part of it, even if they don’t want to be, they are.

How many shirts have you made?

As of now I have one design printed but I want to print more soon. I have about 13 sketches for this batch, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to print them all at the same time.

How do you advertise?

As of now, I pretty much email a bunch of blogs and fashion magazines outside of BU world. Within the first week a lot of people responded. I printed off a bunch of flyers and my friends and I are going to post them around the dorms. As of now

Photo by Nicole Cousins

it’s really guerilla marketing.

How do you want people to feel when they wear your shirts?

The word that comes to mind is liberated–to have the confidence to do anything. When I first started this project I was afraid that people wouldn’t receive it well and wouldn’t understand it. I thought: “Are they going to get it? Are they not

going to get it?” A lot of people have received it well. I feel when people wear it, they should have the confidence to go and travel and move just how light bends and changes and travels. I guess because I went out there and I did it, I hope that people can also do the same thing in their own life.

Last thoughts?

I would just like to thank everyone that has helped me with this so far. I hope that its going to be expanding really soon. It’s been a lot of fun, to work for myself and to fully explore my own ideas.

Check out her website: http://shoppdac.com/

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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently released  2008′s year-end shipment statistics on music sales in the United States. Numbers show that digital sales have increased, CD sales have decreased, and vinyl sales have not only increased, but doubled. While many record stores across the nation have met their demise, music lovers can hope that this sales trend will continue, perhaps reigniting the vinyl movement that began over a generation ago. This article is meant to serve as an informative piece on record stores in the Boston/Cambridge area.

CHEAPO RECORDS- 538 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. This Central Square store has been a landmark in Boston since the 50s. Cheapo Records has a friendly staff ready to help new vinyl-shoppers find new and old treasures–they’ve got the classics, too! Only con: prices can be on the higher side. “Cheapo is just a fun place to visit. I go there before I go to shows at The Middle East because it’s just a walk away.” -BU student and radio deejay, Joey Gerber.

Inside the record store In Your Ear. Photo by The Phoenix.

IN YOUR EAR- 957 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston and 72 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge. Around since 1982, In Your Ear is the go-to store. Its Comm. Ave. location is the closest record store to Boston University; they house a wide array of records, CDs, and tapes, as well as sound equipment–all at a reasonable cost. The space is tight, so if you don’t know what to look for, you might get lost in the piles of vinyl.” We cater to everyone. I’d say we specialize in rock records from the 60s to the 90s, to some modern stuff–hip-hop and jazz–we’re always looking for records in every genre. We don’t stock as much new indie vinyl because the prices have gone up a lot, so we aren’t as comprehensive as Newbury Comics is.” -An employee at In Your Ear.

LOONEY TUNES INC- 1106 Boylston Street, Boston, and 1001 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. Here you can find almost every medium of music, including a large selection of used vinyl. Bill Jordan, a Looney Tunes employee of 21 years, says of record trends today, “Records never went away. A lot of younger kids are coming in. There are a lot of female collectors–something I haven’t noticed in a number of years. People want something tangible. They don’t just want to download. There’s the shopping experience too–you can find something new that you might never have heard of.”

NEWBURY COMICS- With two locations in Cambridge, two in Boston, and many more locations in Massachusetts and the New England area, Newbury Comics is quickly becoming a large and popular collectables/music/movies retailer in the Boston area. It has a great selection of new, mainstream, top-30 indie rock. It’s a good place to go for gift shopping, but keep in mind that you’re not really contributing to the notion of the “record store community”–the popular chain has been well off for many years and continues to add locations annually.

The shelves of Nuggets. Photo by Bianca Strzelczyk.

NUGGETS- 486 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. Also close to BU, Nuggets is the right place for new record enthusiasts. They don’t have as thorough of a selection as In Your Ear, but they have a solid assortment of rock and jazz. They also have an ever-evolving CD selection. The signs outside inform pedestrians of the store’s latest deals–every now and then they’re selling an affordable turntable or stereo system. “When considering the transition of eras and how Boston University has morphed its campus and surroundings, it’s nice to know the Nuggets still exists only a couple blocks away.” -Northeastern student, Ryan Rose.

TWISTED VILLAGE- 12 Elliot Street, Cambridge. This thirteen-year-old shop is tucked away in Harvard Square, waiting to be discovered by less-mainstream, more niche listeners. It has records that span many genres, but with titles that are often unfamiliar or obscure. Go to Twisted Village if you’d like to get out of the BU bubble and explore something new. “We carry a lot of experimental, avant-garde, out-of-the-way stuff. It’s kind of a gold mine. We have lots of very loyal customers. Specialty stores seem to be doing just fine in the last few years.” -Store owner, Wayne Rogers.

The storefront of Weirdo Records. Photo by Analog Apartment.

WEIRDO RECORDS- 844 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. Weirdo is the newest record store in the Boston/Cambridge area. The tiny shop is full of fascinating finds that most records stores do not possess. Like Twisted Village, Weirdo Records is a good place to shop for albums you wouldn’t normally gravitate toward. They’re hosting a series of live in-store performances that you can view here. “The store is about to have its one-year anniversary. I feel like everyone in town has helped out to make this place exist. I feel like Boston is a great city for records and it’s been that way for a long time. That’s part of the reason I love it here–because people are so interested in building their ears.”-Owner of Weirdo Records, Angela Sawyer.

Where do you buy your records? Feel free to add your favorite store in the comments section.

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Image by Sarah Cox

Over this all-too-short holiday break, I reached a milestone in my current relationship: meeting the parents. This meeting was not only dinner; it was the whole nine yards of the awkward family intro experience and included travel time, a weekend stay, and meeting the WHOLE family all at one time. For many of us this situation can be a social nightmare. The train ride there consisted of a mild panic attack as my time was spent obsessing over the all-important first impression. Despite the anxiety and obsessive nail-biting, the meet and greet turned out OK and so, I have taken it upon myself to share some advice based on my experience and showcase some meeting-the-family stories heard around campus.

One big thing everyone should to do when meeting the Parents is to arrive early. This can be a great de-stress tactic in any situation. At a restaurant you can sit, calm down and get accustomed to your surroundings while you wait for the dreaded guests of honor. In my case, however, the meeting took place at the house and on Christmas day. Talk about pressure. Amtrak made the situation all the more awkward because the train schedule didn’t allow boyfriend and me to arrive until around 7pm. In an effort to be nice, his mother pushed back dinner for us. However, this also set the stage for an arrival into a house full of very hungry strangers (a.k.a. rabid wolves). The atmosphere of near starvation didn’t bode well for me as introductions were either rushed or skipped entirely in favor of attacking the dinner table like Regina George in the cafeteria scene in “Mean Girls.” Moral of the story: being introduced as the “reason for your hunger,” does not typically bode well. Take note.

During the anxiety-filled introductions, one move that turned out well was the idea of bringing gifts. Bringing something to the gathering (holiday or not), whether it be a small gift or something for dessert, shows generosity and effort. It sends the message that you care about what your significant other’s family thinks of you. HOWEVER, the act of bringing something to the meet and greet is not without its risks. Choose wisely, Grasshoppers. Although it may seem like an obvious choice, NEVER BRING BOOZE. Come to think of it, when meeting the parents, try to avoid alcohol all together.  You may say or do something that you will regret. Christine Turkington (SMG ’10) experienced this very problem when meeting the flesh and blood of a former flame. As with many social occasions, booze was involved in this meet and greet, and let’s just say that the mother of the flame got a little sauced. Christine explains, “His mom got drunk and dropped the remote into the piano. She then decided that I should fish it out as I had the littlest hands.” Take this as a lesson ladies and gents. Don’t bring/indulge in the booze during a first meeting; you may just wind up elbow deep in a baby grand.

For those of you who are planning on introducing your significant other to your own parents, I offer this uncomplicated yet mind-blowingly significant piece of advice: PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE. Seriously, any and all weird things your parents might do to scare off the person you are with needs to be thought of and planned for. For example, anyone who is meeting my parents for the first time needs to be warned about the dogs. My mother, as wonderful as she may be, has a soft spot for her two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that is comparable to the size of Kim Kardashian’s hindquarters. This results in the dogs being allowed on the furniture, including (at times) the dining room table. Sometimes they sit quietly and other times they make a beeline for your dumplings. Even those coming over for any amount of time that will involve so much as a potato chip needs to be warned. Non-animal lovers should simply stay away.

When boys go over to meet the parents of Jeanz Holt (CAS ’11) they may not want to comment on the interior decoration. When asked if she had any meeting-the-parents stories, Jeanz told the tale of an ex who, in an effort to keep the conversation flowing, asked about a, “decorative thing” on the mantle. This friendly effort to be social turned into something that could be ripped from the pages of a Ben Stiller script, minus the cat pee. Jeanz explains, “Turns out the decorative thing is my Dad’s old opium pipe from his wild youth, and my Dad spent the next 20 minutes giving us a tutorial on how to smoke opium. My boyfriend was stunned.” Many people would find this situation entertaining and Sherlock Holmes would be proud, but one can easily understand how it that could be startling during a first meeting with the parents, as it makes the boundaries of conversation less than elementary. One might go into a situation like this reminding his or herself not to mention that-crazy-thing-I-did-last-night and by the end of the night be questioning if this would be entertaining dessert conversation.

My golden rule for meeting the parents is this: keep it PG. If the night takes a PG-13 turn then go with it; it could be fun. Just be careful not to venture into R rated territory. Nobody wants to witness that.

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For those who have sided with Jay Leno, congratulations: you are alone. And here’s why:

Conan O'Brien

O’Brien is a classy gentleman. When Leno’s 10pm spot failed miserably (Zucker mistake number one), NBC offered to give him the 11:35pm spot after the news, therefore pushing “The Tonight Show” with Conan O’Brien back to 12:05am, which would also push back the late night shows following it. O’Brien declined the offer with a polite, well-worded statement. He explained that he did not want to be a part of ruining the history of “The Tonight Show,” a legacy started by Johnny Carson.; the time slot changes would technically make it “The Tomorrow Show.” O’Brien also did not want to obstruct the time slots of the late night shows that follow him (we’ll call it “pulling a Jay Leno”). His entire statement can be read here.

What really makes O’Brien a stand-up guy is that he actually cares about his staff: a group of about 200 people uprooted their lives to move from New York to Los Angeles for this man. O’Brien, proving once again to be a genuinely good person, refused to settle on an agreement until he was absolutely sure his staff would be compensated.

Leno is greedy. A fan rallying outside the Universal lot in Los Angeles, Calif. on behalf of “Team CoCo” said it best with a sign that read, “Jay Leno is a Chin-Dian Giver.” After taking a moment to appreciate the hilarity of that pun, let us look at the facts: in 2004, Leno gave a statement that he would leave “The Tonight Show” in 5 years (2009) and hand it over to Conan O’Brien. He went on to say that he was happy with the decision and would take a page out of his friend Jerry Seinfeld’s book and go out on top while his show was still number one. Here’s the proof.

Leno went on to joke that it would give him more time to spend with his cars, which is exactly the point. Jimmy Kimmel recently made an appearance via satellite on “The Jay Leno Show” and, pardon my French, ripped him a new one. Kimmel made the point that while O’Brien loves his talk show, he also does it because the hefty check is what allows him to care for his family. Kimmel stated, “Conan and I have children – all you have to take care of is cars.” So Leno basically gets slammed on his own show and has essentially no comebacks. Why? Because everything Kimmel said was funny because it was true.

So what’s next in the world of late night? David Letterman will be back on top in the ratings once “The Tonight Show” with Conan O’Brien ends this Friday, as O’Brien’s ratings went up 50% this week sending it to number one (Team CoCo: 1, NBC: 0). But do not cry for Conan O’Brien: he can sign with another network come September.

In the meantime, I suggest watching “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” Fallon tends to get a bad rap for whatever reason, but he is proving that he’s definitely got what it takes and is good at what he does. Even Howard Stern suggested that NBC just give “The Tonight Show” to Fallon after watching his Neil Young rendition of “Pants on the Ground.” Fallon’s spoof of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” series, called “The Real Housewives of Late Night,” features Fallon himself and fellow “Late Night” staffers dressed in drag as housewives as they are followed around the “Late Night” set wrecking havoc. There are seven episodes. Watch all of them.

All of the highlights from the show are featured on the always-up-to-date “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” blog. The blog itself is almost as entertaining as the show as it’s updated by a crack team of comedic writers, including bestweekever.tv blogger alum Sara Schaefer.

So there you have it. Zucker is an idiot, Leno should probably retire, O’Brien will move on to bigger and better things, and we get to look forward to all the 10pm prime time spots NBC now has to fill with quality programming.

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Google.cn

In a controversial move on Tuesday, January 12, Google threatened to pull its services out of China, citing a cyber attack aimed at the Gmail accounts of human rights activists. Then, in an announcement just eight days later, malware computer specialist Joseph Stewart of SecureWorks, an Atlanta based computer security firm, found obvious patterns in the code that may point to the Chinese government.

While experts are cautious to directly point an e-finger of accusation at the Chinese government, it is hard to turn a blind eye to a past riddled with tight regulation and censorship when determining the ultimate perpetrator.

Yu-Ting Saw, a junior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, never trusted Google when she attended an international school in China.

“I used to think Google was the worst search engine because it would not work,” said Yu-Ting. “When I was a kid and Googling and something didn’t appear, we would just accept it, and not even think it was the government.”

Yu-Ting’s disillusionment with the American search engine disappeared with the realization of the cause behind the “Cannot Display” pages that plagued her eighth grade biology research project: “I realized it was the government censoring.”

Several years later, Google is taking a stand.

The Life of an American Business in China

To successfully operate a business in China, a company has to obey a certain set of rules that are particularly foreign to Americans, not because of the language in which they are communicated, but instead because of the constitutional rights that they might compromise. The First Amendment right to free speech, for example, does not necessarily apply to the multinational search engine that’s operating on the other side of the planet.

“As a condition to doing business in China, companies have to adhere to certain regulations,” which includes censoring certain information on the internet, according to Senior Lecturer in the School of Management David Randall.

Yet in 2006, this American firm, who preaches the motto of “don’t be evil,” found itself on the other side of the Great Firewall of China.

The Google building in China

“I was surprised that Google did this,” said Randall. “This didn’t seem like it was enough for Google to pull out.”

American companies, including direct competitors like Yahoo!, have adhered to censoring regulations in China primarily because doing so allows the company to reap great profits in this especially lucrative market. For a global business to position itself in the world market, it must generate profits in China’s economic stronghold.

It’s an economic hold that, according to Professor Randall, has close ties to the government.

“The Chinese government is very actively involved in economic and industrial policies,” stated Randall. “They have a very interesting relationship with the internet, and that is reflected in the economy.”

So why now? Why Google?

Maybe it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, or maybe Google realized it was losing a futile battle of advertising spending to its Chinese counterpart baidu.com.

A Strategic Business Move or a Strong Stance Against Censoring?

In the increasingly competitive world of internet search engines, companies generate their revenue through ad spending. In the United States, Google has been and will probably continue to be the leader in search engines due to its large market share, product quality and superior consumer-based awareness levels.

However, Google does not enjoy this same success in its international markets–particularly in China.

Baidu.com, known as the “Chinese Google” according to Yu-Ting, dominates the market in China and its share is only growing, according to a Wall Street Journal “Market Watch” report.

U.S. relations with China are complicated to say the least. However, maintaining a positive relationship with the country allows the United States to maintain both an ally and one of the largest investors in our economy.  The last thing you want to do in a recession is upset one of your biggest investors.

Ever since the tire debacle from early September 2009 when President Obama imposed a three-year tariff on Chinese tires, we’ve been treading lightly (pun intended) on economic relations with China.

Nevertheless, “this is not a big enough issue to sell off U.S. assets,” according to Randall, who continued to voice the importance of positive economic and foreign relations with this rising economy.

But if you want to play in the big leagues, you have to abide by their rules, which, like it or not, includes censoring online content.

“China’s role in the world economy is becoming more important,” stated Randall, “and it’s going to be harder for any company to ignore China.”

Yong Kai Saw, a recent 18-year-old member of the Singapore military and brother to Yu-Ting, cites “political and civil unrest in China” as the primary reasons for censorship in this country.

After living in China for over five years, Yong, who has considered living in China in the future, has experienced Chinese censoring first hand.

“The Chinese government does not want negative information to spread throughout China and to the rest of the world,” said Yong. “They want to curb internal tensions while maintaining a reputable exterior standing.”

If Google actually pulls out of China, are they taking a humanitarian stand against censoring, or are they covering up a failed business strategy in a market where the barrier to entry is blocked by government regulations?

My guess, a little of both.

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Sydney Opera house and Harbor Bridge

As a journalism major, I had a total of four options to choose from when considering a COM education abroad:

• Los Angeles
• Washington, DC
• London, England
• Sydney, Australia

Now, I decided to employ some Sherlock-style logic to weigh my options. I wanted to get the heck out of the good ol’ USA, so LA and DC were punted from the options list immediately. If you have the chance to really get out of the country and still benefit your ultimate career goals, why not go ahead and do it? So, that obviously left London and Syndey: two English-speaking countries with almost the same opportunities and both in a well-established BU program. But then, here’s the clincher:

It’s summertime in Sydney!

So, after filling out all the necessary paperwork, packing, and trekking 30 hours and 14,138 miles, I arrived in beautiful, sunny Sydney. From here, I will be documenting the ins and outs of living, working, and learning in Sydney through my education at the BU Sydney Center (affectionately known as BUSC).

Thus far, everything is going really well! The great thing about Australian culture is that it’s very open and laid back. Of course, Aussies also love to “take the piss out of people,” which is slang for giving newcomers a hard time. I’ve been told by many that those who want to take the piss out of me actually like me, so I’m going to try to take that as a good thing.

The food here is also surprising. I have never really understood or even thought about Australian cuisine, and assumed it was probably some weird cousin of English food. However, I’ve found that Australian food is more about where the ingredients come from than the style, and I have yet to be at a restaurant that doesn’t have fresh, often local ingredients in every dish.

If I were to describe Sydney succinctly, it would be that the city looks as if San Francisco and San Diego had a beautiful, metropolitan baby. Urban sprawl makes everything conveniently within walking distance, but it doesn’t have the hectic feel of a large city. The laid back Aussie attitude is something I’ve never seen outside my family vacations to Hawaii, and it’s refreshing to see people in a big city who aren’t always rushing around. Many Sydneysiders have been helpful, too, in helping a poor, directionally-challenged American girl, like me, find her way to the bank. I even started a conversation with a random girl walking down the street, who asked if I was Canadian and then proceeded to whip out her iPhone and help me find my way to a bar/art installation in a sketchy back alleyway (I’ll discuss that adventure at a future date!).

The only downside to my life abroad: Lack of internet. I didn’t know that Australia’s broadband service is so stagnant! I was told by some people at BUSC that Australia is ranked a measly 26th in nationwide internet access, and everybody still pays for internet in blocks of data. So, I’ve been forced to reserve my internet times only when at school, and have gotten on living like it’s 2002 on the weekends.

Below is my first video, of many, that shows you the whirlwind first week of my orientation with the rest of the Sydney Internship Program students, sight-seeing, and adjusting to life in the Land Down Under.

This next week, classes begin! With an opportunity to enjoy the Australian Wine Industry (in the classroom and out in the real world), I think I’m going to like my education here. Summer in Sydney? It’s a no-brainer choice.

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Photo by Nicole D'Alessandro

Welcome back to school, everybody. It’s cold and wet outside, and you’re probably hankering for a warm, stick-to-your-guts, filling dinner. Well, look no further. For last night’s dinner, I had a couple of New York Strip steaks.

Many people are intimidated by cooking a steak. Steaks tend to be a little pricey and, if you don’t know what you’re doing, hard to cook properly. But really, there’s just one secret to cooking a good steak. Are you ready?

Don’t overcook it.

Overcooking is steak death. Too much time on the heat makes a steak dry and tough, which is not tasty.

You need

• One pan. Preferably not non-stick (so, stick?) but it really doesn’t matter much.
• One steak. Cuts that are good for cooking at high heat for a short amount of time or grilling: New York Strip, Porterhouse, T-bone, sirloin, top round, or even tenderloin (which is considered the granddaddy of all steaks but because it is very lean can have less flavor). Avoid brisket, chuck, bottom round, shoulder and flank steak, as these are best for cooking long and at low heat. You want to pick one that’s fairly thick, and not brown but also not too red. You may be concerned that red meat is unhealthy. It can be, but if you keep it proportional and lean (meaning minimal fat), then it’s a good source of protein (which, for all you dieters out there who shun red meat, keeps you fuller longer. So you won’t eat more later). The proper proportion for an average female is roughly the size of a deck of cards. The average male can eat a bit more (the bastards) but 32oz slabs aren’t the way to go.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Optional but really recommended: Red Wine (3 buck chuck!), beef stock/broth or even water. This is for deglazing the pan after you cook the steak to make a sauce. Deglazing is when you use a liquid on a hot pan to pick up the brown bits stuck to the bottom (which are tasty).

Directions

• Heat up the pan. You want it pretty hot, medium to medium-high depending on how hot your stove gets. I am using a fair but excitable Stuvi oven, so 6 or 7 (out of 10) is good for me.
• Season the steak. To do this, rub one or two teaspoons of olive oil on the steak. We’re putting it on the steak because it will just sputter around in the hot pan and splatter on your Old Navy Performance Fleece if you heat up the oil in the pan. Now, sprinkle about 2 big pinches of salt and 3 big pinches of pepper on the oiled steak. Its going to look like a lot, but it’s meant to season the whole steak. Don’t be afraid. You might want to take off your Old Navy Performance Fleece at this point. It’s about to get rather warm.
• Put the steak in the hot pan, seasoned side down. Important: DON’T MOVE IT. Let the heat do its thing. You want to get a nice browned crust on the surface, and this is achieved by just letting it be.
• Season the other side of the steak. Just like the first side.
• Let it cook for 3-4 minutes depending on the thickness of the steak.
• Flip it over. Optional but really recommended: I put a tablespoon of butter to melt on the browned side of the steak while the other side is cooking. I think it helps with the juiciness and flavor of the steak.
• Cook for another three minutes. Again, this is depending on the thickness of your steak and your done-ness preference. Remember that you can always cook it more if it’s underdone, but you can’t uncook it once it’s overdone.
• Transfer to a plate. Let it rest for a few minutes while you make the sauce to go on top. It’s important to let it rest so it can finish cooking and redistribute the juices before you cut it. Cutting too early makes all the juices run out= dry tough steak=steak death.
• Lower the heat on the pan to medium or medium low (about a 4 on my Stuvi oven). Pour in ½ cup of red wine, broth or water. Let it simmer for a bit, then use a spatula or a whisk to scrape up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan (incidentally, those brown bits are called fond. Impress people with your culinary knowledge by throwing that into casual conversation). Add salt and pepper (small pinches). Let this reduce for another couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and add one more tablespoon of butter (or cream if you want!).
• Spoon some sauce on top of the steak. Serve with some salad, or mashed potatoes, or steamed green beans. Tonight we had some baked potato wedges and spinach that I sauteed in the pan drippings for a few minutes.
• Drink the rest of the wine.

Recap

Photo by Nicole D'Alessandro

• Steak
• Pan
• Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, Butter
• Red Wine, Beef broth/stock, water

Accompaniments: Vegetable (please).
Dishes dirtied: one pan, one plate.
Time: What, like 15, 20 minutes tops? You have time for that.
Verdict: Tasty. Steak can be a great source of lean protein, which is important for gaining muscle, which in turn leads to weight loss. Lean beef is high in protein as well as Vitamin B12 and B6.

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The "intromittent organ" (aka penis) of the Bed Bug. | Photo credited to Andrew Syred, in Siva-Jothy 2006.

Despite mankind’s significant achievements in the field, there is little recognition for the fascinating discoveries made in animal reproduction. Humans are not the only creatures that engage in creative and bizarre sexual acts. In fact, even animal species considered “common” partake in some extraordinary sexual behavior, or are endowed with some surprising equipment. Here we will explore some of these unusual cases of reproduction from a few unassuming species, in hopes to illuminate the  incredible complexity of which all animals, vertebrates and invertebrates alike, are capable of.

Although we’re certain you have heard of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius), we can almost bet that you’ve never heard about their approach to reproduction, known as “traumatic insemination.”  Without any sort of courtship, a male bed bug will mount a slow-moving, blood-engorged female and probe her abdomen with his aedeagus (a bed bug’s penis) in search of the penetration site. Using his “needle-like” organ, the male then punctures the female’s abdomen to inject sperm. The female is subjected to an average of five successive mating rituals every time she feeds, usually with different males. Each copulatory act negatively affects the female’s health, even though the penetration area, or spermalege^1,2, has special immune responsiveness.  Also, males are capable of detecting non-virgins, and deliver 75% less sperm to these females since they are more likely to be already fertilized³.  Life seems good for male bed bugs, but in some species they too are “traumatically inseminated” if they are mistaken for the wrong sex. In these instances, males often die because they lack the protective equipment that females possess.

Perhaps you’ve encountered this scenerio: You’re sitting idly near a pond, and you notice two waterfowl, male and female, in what appears to be a fairly harmonious pairing. What you do not realize is the struggle that took place for that male drake to acquire that female duck. The female’s oviduct has evolved to be incredibly complex, and functions as a sophisticated anti-rape mechanism. Her anatomy may include spirals and nooks, making entrance virtually impossible without her consent. Male drakes have coevolved to counter this morphology by having intricate, sometimes full-body length, corkscrew-like phalli⁴ that wind oppositely into the female’s anatomy. However, females also have the ability to stow away unwanted sperm from aggressive males and eject it later, so only the longest and most desirable males are permitted to fertilize them.

Another interesting case is snails, which are a bit more exciting than you’d guess. As hermaphrodites, they possess both male and female reproductive organs, yet they cannot self-fertilize. These organs are actually located by their eye stalks, which ogle each other during the 4-6 hour mating marathon. Males have an option to enhance sperm passage in the form of “love darts”– calcium-rich and mucus-covered spears that are shot at and received by the female. If the love dart hits its target (most miss completely), the mucous causes the female organ to contract, allowing more sperm to enter during actual intercourse⁵. The sperm packet is then moved to a storage area inside of the female, where it may wait up to several months before being used for fertilization. The female can selectively digest or use the sperm she catches in order to permit fertilization by the optimal male. Of course, this system has its cost: females often avoid the love darts because they pierce their bodies in a way similar to traumatic insemination. This tactic improves the reproductive success of the initial male shooter and gives his sperm a chance to compete⁶.

Two banana slugs dance in preparation for reproduction.

Consider also the banana slug (Ariolimax Dolichophallus), another hermaphrodite that participates in an unusual fertilization ceremony. First, two individuals fully extend their phalli to size up each other. This is a crucial step, because these slugs have enormous penises that can reach their full body length– that is, 6-8 inches or more, which is impressive even by our standards. In fact, their Latin name Dolichophallus translates to “giant penis”. The male parts must be roughly equivalent in size, or else the larger male will become stuck during mating. If the sizing is miscalculated, the solution is pretty morbid: the other slug will literally chew off the superfluous penis to separate the two and thereby truncate the larger male’s original size⁷. During reproduction, the two lay out a thick slime bed to ease the transaction, and even sample each other’s slime in order to gain some hormonal information and/or nutrients from one another.

Of course, all of these specialized features and the associated behaviors aren’t just occurring for the sake of sexual daring. Females typically invest more in the reproductive cycle, from the egg itself to gestation and eventual parental care. Consequently, females are highly selective when choosing a mate, and are interested in whoever exhibits the best fitness and thus the best genes to pass along to their offspring. These high standards often result in sexual resistance, which males accommodate in a number of ways– in these examples, their method is often forceful and strange. Ultimately, the female is still typically able to pick which donor will fertilize her. Considering that this is only a fraction of the instances of peculiar animal sex, maybe we can better appreciate how Mother Nature has granted deviation and ingenuity in the sack beyond our own species.

1. Stutt AD, Siva-Jothy MT. 2001. “Traumatic insemination and sexual conflict in the bed bug Cimex lectularius. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 98(10): 5683–87.

2. Reinhardt, K.; Naylor R.; Siva-Jothy, M. T. 2003. Reducing a cost of traumatic insemination: female bedbugs evolve a unique organ. Proc Biol Sci. 270(1531): 2371–2375

3. Siva-Jothy, MT. 2006. Trauma, disease and collateral damage: conflict in cimicids. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences. 361: 269-275.

4. Brennan, P.L.; Prum, R.O.; McCracken, K.G.; Sorenson, M.D.; Wilson, R.E.; Birkhead, T.R. 2007. Coevolution of male and female genital morphology in waterfoul. PLoS ONE. 2(5): e418.

5. Koene, JM; Chase R. 1998. Changes in the reproductive system of the snail Helix aspersa caused by mucus from the love dart. Journal of Experimental Biology. 201(15): 2313-2319

6. Chase, R; Blanchard, KC. 2006. The snail’s love-dart delivers mucus to increase paternity. Proc. R. Soc. B. 273:1471-1475.

7. Leonard, JL; Pearse, JS; Harper, AB. 2002. Comparative reproductive biology of Ariolimax californicus and A. dolichophallus (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora). Invertebrate reproduction & development. 41: 83-93.

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