Andanh.com

Dear Reader,

This issue of the Dig is brought to you by the word hot.

"Hot," as in the opposite of cold (e.g., it's really fucking hot out), is derived from the Old English hat and the same Proto-Indo-European root as that of "heat," qai. The association of the word with sexuality dates back to 1500; however, "heat," referencing sexual excitement in animals (e.g., you better wear a rubber in the heat of the moment or this retro porno has me all hot and bothered), didn't make its way to colloquial usage until 1768. Consequently, orgasm (the word, not the sensation) dates back to 1684, derived from the French orgasme and Greek orgasmos meaning excitement or swelling, and organ, to be in heat. It is related to orge, literally meaning impulse, excitement and anger, and draws its roots from Proto-Indo-European -wrog, to swell with strength (as in "Hulk, smash!"). "Hot water" referencing trouble (e.g., Pharmaceutical companies are in hot water over their misleading marketing information or the MBTA is feeling the heat), became popular idiom in 1537. "Refrigeration," from the Latin refrigerationem, defined as the mitigation of heat, dates back to 1471. Refrigerator, a cabinet for keeping food cool, was first recorded in 1824, originally in connection to the brewery trade, apropos, for before refrigeration became commonplace, Steam Beer, the first American beer style was born. "Hot" used as an adjective to describe something exciting, remarkable or very good, (e.g., we have a hot issue this week) made it into the vernacular around in 1895. (It's since suffered overuse by a not-so-hat heiress.)

Avid females!

Dear Mr. Wildman,

From your first sentence about "suffering numerous episodes of this uncompromisingly awful TV show to appease a previous girlfriend," we already knew you'd hate the Sex and the City (6.4.08) movie, so why were you sent to review it? Nothing good could come of that. Surely there is a sister in the Weekly Dig office who could've gone in your stead? And have more than just ONE opinion about it?

I'm not writing to defend the story (as you won't get it), but to say that, as an avid fan of the show (and a female ... no surprise), this movie was never meant for YOU, my brother! My female companion and I had a lovely time at the movie's opening ... after attending the Dig's monthly 242 event. I look forward to seeing the movie a SECOND time with a gaggle of girlz (known to you as its "limited audience") NEXT weekend. HA! (Psst: Regarding all that "phony" "greed" and "self-love" stuff ... It's a work of FICTION. Look it up!)

So, dear Mr. WildMAN, please leave the SatC seats open for the women ... and gay men ... who loved the series, and we promise not to rate/rape your machismotastic Indiana-Iron Jones-Man with predetermined bile in OUR mouths. Thanks, Sweetiekins.

With Cosmo Kisses,

LAURI-CARRIE BRADSHAW-MURPHY

VIA EMAIL

Not cool semantics.

Dear Dig,

I agree with Dan from Jamaica Plain in his definition of "graphic novel" as a comic printed in book format (as opposed to the "floppies," which we all grew up with, which still come out every Wednesday). To me graphic novels, trade paperbacks, manga, etcetera are all different formats of the same art form: comics. It's the quality of the work in these books, and not the paper or binding, which makes them disposable or indispensable.

But I take issue with Dan's use of the term "self conscious nerdy guys" who read Green Lantern Corps. In the words of Milhouse van Houten: "I'm not a nerd, nerds are smart." Dan, I know very little about math or science—I work in a comics shop—hence I'm not a nerd. I am a geek, a term I use with pride.

Viva la comics,

JESSE FARRELL,

MANAGER, HUB COMICS

Ryan White Throwback

Dearest Editor,

Are you aware that in David Wildman's review of "Sex and the City: The Movie," he used the phrase 'catch AIDS' (I think the exact phrasing was 'for Samantha to catch AIDS'). What is this, a 1989 rerun of "Life Goes On"? Will you please inform Mr. Wildman that AIDS is not a communicable disease?

Cheers,

EMMYLOU

BROOKLINE

GENRE | YE OLDE TRANCE MUSIC

VERDICT | BE KIND REWIND

RELEASE | 6.10.08

LABEL | BLACK HOLE

TIESTO.COM

Remember trance music in 1999? Do you want more of it, completely unchanged? Tiësto's got you covered, with over two hours of the blandest electronic music mixed together with surgeon's precision, now especially catered for the Armani Exchange crowd.

GENRE | OLD BITCH IN THE CLUB

VERDICT | BORING LITTLE PILL

RELEASE | 6.10.08

LABEL | WARNER BROS. RECORDS

ALANIS.COM

When I was eight, you were the sage and angry older sister I never had. These days, you just whine about Mother Earth ("Citizen Of The Planet"). I liked you better when you gave Uncle Joey hummers in movie theaters. No wonder Ryan Reynolds left you for Scarlett Johansson.

GENRE | NSFW

VERDICT | FINALLY

LABEL | RHINO ENCORE

RELEASE DATE | 6.10.08

RHINO.COM

It's pretty clear from listening to Warren Zevon's music that he never let anyone tell him what to do. It might have cost him fans—it almost certainly cost him the level of success he deserved, especially among people uncomfortable with irony. But what he achieved, as the overdue reissue of Mr. Bad Example proves, was a legacy as one of the most imaginative, hilarious and strange songwriters of the last century.

GENRE | NOISE OF THE SPHERES

VERDICT | FUTURE CLASSIC

RELEASE | 5.27.08

LABEL | CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND

MOGWAI.CO.UK

What does it mean when one of the best new albums is over a decade old? It must have been really fucking good to begin with. Mogwai originally put out Young Team in 1997, cementing their place amongst translucent instrumentalists like Goodspeed You! Black Emperor—futuristic music from the past, seamlessly weaving symphonic overtures with static noise. Ultimately, it sits aside OK Computer as one of the prophetic releases of the '90s.

GENRE | AMBIENT HOUSE

VERDICT | DEFINITIVELY ESSENTIAL

RELEASE | 6.10.08

LABEL | KOMPAKT GERMANY

KOMPAKT-NET.COM

We'll cool it with the ambient recommendations after this, because this, a box set of Wolfgang Voigt's masterful Gas project, is the end-all be-all. Voigt, admittedly one of my idols in life, takes a 4/4 pulse and buries it under a stratum of breathing, living classical samples with enough depth to get lost for days on end. Voigt's inspiration comes from Roxy Music's "Life's a Gas," but his immense musical knowledge is featured in spades—everything from Wagner to German folk tales are folded into one another. Ultimately, it's a sonic interpretation of the beautiful Kölner Dom, the church in the center of Voigt's hometown that was spared our bombs. When I ride the T now, most everyone is glazed over, earbud cords hanging languidly from their unmoving frame. If that's going to be the case until 2012, there is only one thing they should be listening to: Gas.

GENRE | M(C)-16

VERDICT | AN INTOXICATED DEMON ON THE MIC

RELEASE | 6.10.08

LABEL | CASH MONEY RECORDS

LILWAYNE-ONLINE.COM

The most popular rapper of the moment is not from this Earth. Lil Wayne is a Martian (as he claims in earnest on "Phone Home"), sent to "suck a pussy, fuck a pussy, leave it there," as he promises on his Jay-Z duet, "Mr. Carter." He also believes that sensitivity and compassion are the only thing that can save the human race, according to "Tie My Hands," featuring crooner buddy Robin Thicke. But which one is the real Weezy? Tha Carter III doesn't provide any conclusive results, but at this point we will stop trying to understand him and just roll with it. We know this much: The ex-Hot Boy delivers relentless performances, fearlessly attacking beats with different flows, wit and unmatched swagger. That could be a good thing (the sharp conceptual track "Dr. Carter") or bad (the mind-melting bleeps of "Lollipop") but whatever he's sipping out of the ubiquitous Styrofoam cup he carries around all the time, it's working.

Just like millions of Americans in flyover country gather to watch American Idol, families in India gather round the tube to watch Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (which is Indian the equivalent of "do-re-me"), where their amateurs compete for fame unthinkable. Amanat Ali, a Pakistani heartthrob, came out of nowhere to become something of a Clay Aiken phenom last year. But instead of wooing housewives with Elton John covers, he busted out some Ghazal—a mysterious, repetitive, secular style of traditional music far removed from the more cosmopolitan (read: Westernized) songs of Bollywood ... though he sings those, too. Ever better: He doesn't even have a record out yet.

Local promoter Anil Mehrotra understands the thriving TV- and Bollywood-fueled Indian pop scene: "There are some 200 channels in India, and they need product." He's bringing Summer Beats ''08, an upcoming Indian pop extravaganza that includes 20 and more musicians and three top stars, to Boston. Amanat Ali will be joined by fellow Pakistani Atif Aslam, who is more the Justin Timberlake of the scene, having split off from his popular group Jal ("water") and taking their biggest songs with him. "In the last couple of years it's more of a phenomenon for artists from Pakistan to make it in India," explains Mehrotra. Indian pop is now coming "from Canada, from England, from all over the world." Also performing is Indian diva Richa Sharma, a powerful singer with roots in Bhajan devotional music who can equally bust out the Bolly-pop.

I asked Mehrotra if this is a big deal for these stars, performing in America? "It's actually more of a sidebar for them," he says. And I kind of like that. '

SUMMER BEATS '08

W/ ATIF ASLAM, AMANAT ALI AND RICHA SHARMA

SUNDAY 6.15.08

BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER

136 MASS. AVE.

BOSTON

617.747.2261

6PM/ALL AGES/$39-$109

BERKLEEBPC.COM

Where'd you come from?

I came up from Providence with Morgan, Amy and iThug.

What'd you think of the night?

It was amazing.

Why?

Why? Because it was fantastic music. Fantastic.

What do you mean?

That's all I can say. Just fantastic.

Simple.

Fantastic. That's it. I think Alan Braxe killed it.

I have a hard time explaining this type of music to people.

It's the beauty of electronic music. It gets you going. It's linear.

Linear?

When Alan Braxe started spinning, he got it to the point where everyone was dancing and screaming. That's the beauty of electronic music. It's linear ... it bring everything to a point.

Organic, local, natural, trans-fat free, free-range, grass-fed ... the supermarket offers enough options to send even the savviest list-maker wandering for hours. But for many Bostonians, those choices are out of reach.

Some of Boston's neighborhoods are becoming "food deserts," where little to no healthy food can be found nearby. Even when nutritious food is available, prices and other limitations are forcing families to shop at convenience stores or choose between eating and other necessities.

Dr. John Cook, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine recently conducted research assessing the affordability of healthy food in Boston. "There are areas around Boston that can legitimately be called food deserts," he says, naming Mattapan and East Boston as candidates. "There are no major supermarkets in Mattapan's boundaries." Cook adds that there is one medium-sized market, but because public transportation is so minimal in the area, "gypsy taxis" often hover near the doors.

If residents don't have the time or resources to travel miles to a supermarket, they shop at convenience marts and corner stores that rely on tobacco and lottery sales for their revenue, and carry mostly canned or processed foods.

"The least expensive foods are the most calorie-dense and most nutrient-sparse," Cook says.

Hunger and food insecurity has risen dramatically in the state in recent years. A study by the Greater Boston Food Bank found that the number of people who sought food assistance increased by 14 percent between 2005 and 2001, while one-third of those with assistance reported their children weren't eating enough because they couldn't afford it.

In 2007, Project Bread's "Status Report on Hunger in Massachusetts" found a 22 percent increase in food insecurity since 2004. They also reported that low-income children receive more than half of their daily calories from public schools. Meanwhile, over 71 percent of Boston public school students qualified for the city's free or reduced price lunch program in 2006, which means their household incomes were below 130 percent of the poverty line, according to the Boston Foundation's Boston Indicators Project.

A healthy diet for low-income households, especially those receiving food stamps, has become nearly impossible. Boston Medical Center (BMC) tested the price of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), the dietary and monetary framework by which the USDA determines food stamp allotments, in Boston and Philadelphia. BMC found the monthly cost of TFP is $27 more than the maximum monthly food stamp allowance. The deficit is even more serious considering that the average food stamp benefit is far below the maximum.

"In Boston and Philadelphia you cannot buy the Thrifty Food Plan with the dollar amount that the government says you should be able to," Cook says.

BMC also priced out a healthier cheap diet than the outdated TFP, using whole grains and fresh produce, to comply with the American Heart Association's diet recommendations. That plan was even less affordable.

"There was a deficit of about $150 a month that the family would need over and above the maximum food stamp allotment," says Dr. Vivien Morris, Community Initiatives Director for BMC's Nutrition and Fitness for Life Program, who was involved in the study.

"It's not that they are not good shoppers," says Morris, who added that a family will often turn to the cheapest, most calorie-dense food when under budget pressure. "If they had an adequate food budget, they wouldn't be forced to make these unfortunate choices."

Morris places more of the blame on agricultural policy, the loss of New England farmland and the associated transportation costs that make food here so expensive.

"Produce costs have risen tremendously," Morris says. Although food costs vary nationally, "the federal government, when setting up food stamp rates, doesn't make a distinction."

Boston's food dilemma parallels a growing crisis across the nation and the globe. Staples like wheat, rice and dairy products are skyrocketing in cost. The price of peanut butter has jumped 19 percent, and spaghetti has increased 63 percent since last May. Milk now costs more than $4 a gallon.

"I think it's always been a public health problem," Morris said of food security in Boston. "I think what's new is recognizing its impact on obesity, and not only under-nutrition."

Morris, a long-time Mattapan resident, founded the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC), a grassroots organization aimed at improving the community's access to, and awareness of, healthy food and physical activity. The MFFC began a small farmers market in Mattapan last summer, accepting food stamps and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and seniors' coupons.

"What we're trying to do in Mattapan mirrors what we're trying to do citywide," Morris says, referring to the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness (BCFF), an organization that hopes to curb obesity and increase physical activity in the city. The BCFF aims to increase the amount of locally grown and consumed food in Boston from 2 to 10 percent.

In its second year, the BCFF is assessing Boston's least-advantaged communities, including Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury, and East Boston. Kate Howell, executive director of Red Tomato (a nonprofit that connects local farmers with markets), and a member of the BCFF's executive committee, says anecdotal evidence shows concern for Boston's food situation.

"I don't think there's any low-income neighborhood that isn't underserved," Howell says. She adds that inner cities should have a retail food source every mile. "We don't have that," she says. "And sometimes, we really don't have it."

Meanwhile, health issues are an increasing concern among low-income families. The Department of Public Health's DPH WIC program, which provides services to pregnant women and those with small children, now has their highest enrollment to date, at 134,795, according to Donna Rheaume, a DPH spokeswoman.

Deborah Frank is the founder and director of the Grow Clinic at BMC, which treats children who lack the nutrition necessary for normal gdevelopment. She says the clinic's referrals have jumped 17 percent since this time last year. Forty percent of new referrals seeking immediate treatment are infants less than a year old.

"It's pretty overwhelming," Frank says. With rising living costs, daily stress and increasing food prices, "everything is converging on the bodies of babies."

Obesity rates are also highest in the same communities that are being called food deserts. According to 2005 data by the Boston Public Health Commission, Mattapan has the highest level of people who are overweight or obese at 70 percent, with Dorchester in second place at 64 percent.

A University of Washington study found that the highest obesity rates tend to occur in the poorest communities, and that poverty is associated with low-quality diets that are high in fat and low in fruit and vegetable consumption.

But Howell says that in Boston, geography is the determining factor. "What they've found is people's eating habits have less to do with their income and more to do with accessibility," she says. "What they have around them is unhealthy food."

Cultural differences can also complicate access in underserved communities, which are accustomed to particular foods.

"Frequently if [certain foods] are not available, they will adapt in ways that are not as healthy," Cook says, adding that Mattapan has the largest Haitian-American community outside of New York City, and Latino East Boston residents often have to travel miles to Chelsea's Market Basket to find culturally traditional foods.

The Food Project, a farming organization with offices in Dorchester, Lincoln and Lynn, attempts to abate this pattern, says Jen James, its communications director.

"There are things that we grow in the city that are distinctly grown for the customers we have at the farmers market," James says, adding that products like hot peppers, collard greens and okra are grown specifically for Boston neighborhoods.

The Food Project grows over a quarter million pounds of food each year, donating to shelters and selling produce at their own farmers markets. James noted that many residents have to travel by bus out of their neighborhood to be able to find fresh, healthy produce.

While the Food Project's seven farmers markets all accept food stamps, many others do not because of the high cost of installing a wireless terminal (needed to process the electronic food stamps) coupled with low participation rates, according to Jeff Cole, executive director of the Massachusetts Federation of Farmers' Markets.

The typical demographic for farmers markets is older, college-educated women, with very little traffic in food stamp recipients. In stark contrast, before the switch to electronic stamps (EBT) in the '80s, Worcester's markets saw approximately $12,000 a year in food stamps, according to Cole.

"It's a new generation," Cole said of the drop-off. "After 20 years, people have developed completely different shopping habits. That's a very very difficult thing to overcome."

New Haven's CitySeed farmers markets began accepting EBT food stamps in 2005. Benjamin Gardner, a program coordinator for CitySeed, said their EBT sales of $1,551 last year is a very low proportion of their total sales.

"It has partly to do with awareness," Gardner said. Because EBT stamps have long been out of use in open-air markets, many people do not know when a market near them has the capability.

Alternatively, WIC participants and seniors can receive coupons from the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), which began in 1986, before becoming a federal program in 1992. However, recipients only get $10 per season per family member, according to David Webber, Boston coordination for FMNP.

"It was originally more of a nutrition education and promotional program," Webber says. "It wasn't meant to be a food subsidy."

Between hunger relief efforts at food pantries and selling community shares that often go to the higher-income residents, those in the middle can be left behind.

"There's kind of a gap in terms of who we're serving," says Meg Coward, executive director of Waltham Community Fields, a farm that developed as a hunger relief effort, donating produce they grew to local agencies. But Coward says they are putting together a food map of Waltham and have set up a pilot farmers market in the town.

"We'll offer our produce at subsidized rates to make our produce available to people who are in that gap," Coward says.

Maggie Cohn, executive director of the BFCC, says that when they finish their report on Boston's access to healthy food, they can begin to transform the landscape.

"We're going to try to change the system," she says. They expect to work closely with small businesses and public schools, and address topics like how much land is set aside for farming and the length of the farmers market season.

Dr. Hugh Joseph of the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University says that telling people to eat well isn't enough.

"If we really want people to eat more fruits and vegetables, we have to have a policy aimed at that," he says, adding that efforts in education, changes in food subsidies and shifting the national addiction to meat are avenues for initiating change.

"We tend to eat what's available," he says. "I would argue that if people ate a healthier, more sustainable diet, it wouldn't necessarily be more expensive. But it's a gradual process."

Last week, Mayor Thomas Menino proposed a revision of the ordinance for newsracks, handy dispensers like the one you opened to grab this very paper. The mayor's legislation for the City Council rekindles a long-time debate where free speech pushes up against street clutter.

The city's current ordinance calls for a "one time only Certificate of Compliance fee" of $150 for publishers to place newsboxes around the city. The mayor's revision would require a $300 annual application fee for the certificate, which would be updated every year. He's also tacked on an annual fee of $25 per newsrack. The application itself would be more rigorous (requiring pictures of each location, with specs on the distance from curbs and crosswalks). Currently, the certificate sanctions a distributor "notwithstanding the number of newsracks." The mayor's proposal would institute a 300-rack cap on distribution.

In a letter to the City Council, Menino explained the changes would ensure the safety of pedestrians. "The city will be able to make certain that newsracks do not interfere with street cleaning or otherwise contribute to the soiling of the city streets and sidewalks," he wrote, adding, "This content-neutral regulation does not impede any person or entity's right to free speech protected under the First Amendment."

Not everyone agrees on that point. Richard Karpel, executive director of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, says capping newsboxes at 300 raises concerns about free dissemination of information. "This really treads First Amendment grounds," he says. "Cleanliness and safety are legitimate issues the city government needs to respond to, but you can't just throw out the baby with the bathwater. The restrictions need to be carefully tailored to the issues."

Dot Joyce, Menino's spokeswoman, insists that no publication has reached the 300 mark. Employment News has 296 newsracks, the Boston Globe has 294 and the Weekly Dig has 284, according to city records. "This isn't something we picked up randomly. We consulted many different cities, and most have a limit," Joyce says, citing Cambridge and Minneapolis among the model metropolises. "There are only so many streets, and those streets are only so big. There has to be some regulation."

The New England Press Association (NEPA)'s executive director Brenda Reed says some papers are teetering close to the 300 cap. "Once you start limiting rather than addressing the root issue of cleanliness and public safety, you're on a slippery slope," she says. "Today those numbers may be fine. They may be fine forever, but limiting them won't address the root issue."

Karpel says he has witnessed a national trend of newsbox restrictions. "We've noticed it in the last five to 10 years. The response is different in each case," he says. "In San Francisco and New York City, there are certain neighborhoods where they require multi-unit boxes."

In fact, Menino tried to implement a similar policy. Beacon Hill banned newsboxes for historical reasons in 1996. The Back Bay followed suit in 2001, as City Hall floated the idea of "newscondos," six-unit boxes provided by Wall USA, the company that signed a 20-year contract with the city that same year. The Back Bay ban culminated in a federal case filed by the ACLU, NEPA, the Dig, Improper Bostonian and the now-defunct Editorial Humor, which the city won in 2004. Newscondos never went into effect, but the idea was floated again in 2006.

When asked if a newscondo proposal was in the works, Joyce replied, "I know they've looked at it in the past, but I don't know the answer to that."

The mayor's revised ordinance would also make the Department of Public Works (DPW) responsible for enforcement. The DPW is currently responsible for enforcement of violations, which are reported by Inspectional Services. Sgt. Mike Mackan, a code enforcement officer with Inspectional Services, says that of the 337 violations reported last year, some were noticed by officers, and others were called in. "Right now, if they're in violation, we document it and call DPW. DPW notifies the operator. If they fail to fix it within 10 days, we'll go there with DPW, and point out the violation."

Joyce says this joint responsibility confuses communication for the departments and box owners. "We have increased fees for the boxes, so that will go toward any training that's needed for Public Works," she says. "I don't know if all of it will, or if it will flow through the general fund, or straight to coffers."

These fees and the cap could hurt some papers more than others. "It's not just the alternative press, it's any paper with free circulation," says Karpel. "The Globe is delivered by subscription, the Metro pays people to hand out papers. The Phoenix and the Dig are both smaller and use a different business model of free distribution. But ultimately, it's going to affect any publication that uses newsboxes."

"It's too much of a coincidence. It's one of the reasons the City Council will be taking a hard look at all of those numbers and expecting answers."

--- City Councilor Steve Murphy, on the awfully suspicious illness that reportedly forced 122 Boston firefighters call in sick on Memorial Day. 6.4.08

"I don't know what you're talking about, bro. I don't know where this is coming from."

--- New England Patriots offensive lineman Nicholas Kaczur, to a Globe reporter who asked him if he'd gone undercover for the DEA after getting busted for OxyContin. 6.4.08