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Entertainment
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What the heck is "Pants Machine?"
M ary W ood
___________
Contributing Writer
W hen you hear the phrase
"Pants Machine," the first
thing that comes to mind
is probably not music. This
changed, though, those who
attended the Battle of the
Bands and witnessed Pants
M achine’s victory.
According to Alan Singley,
singer and songwriter, who
describes the band's music
as "James Brown riding bikes
with the Beach Boys," the
name Pants Machine is all
about humor. "Everything is
so serious when you get over
21. I'm 24, and I'm supposed
to be thinking about building
[an] equity and what not,
but... I just want to be silly
and be a kid!"
Singley has been making
music since he received a
guitar in fifth grade. Soon
after, he began recording
on his own and released
four solo albums. In 2003
he moved to Portland from
Photo courtesy of Haywire Booking
Sudoku puzzles present challenges
D amion G ray
Worried about how long it
Contributing Writer will take to complete a puzzle?
Don't fret. Choose an easier
Sudoku puzzles: the one
puzzle that won't take as long.
type of logic puzzle that many
The only 'special'
people around the country,
knowledge that might be
and the school, rflnd To be ar
needed would be deductive
challenge. All the puzzle asks
reasoning skills. No
for a person to do is to fill
every row, column and 3x3 box mathematical knowledge is
the digits 1 to
~ needed whatsoever. "You also
need to know that they are
d be so challenging about
for fun and as soon as you get
it?
frustrated, stop," Christy said.
Sudoku is also known as .
Number Place. The name 4™— t ™ — Many different types of
strategies can be used to
Sudoku literally translates to
solve a puzzle. For example, a
"single number!" When thej
strategy called 'tross-hatching'
puzzle was introduced in J
calls for the solver to look at
Japan, its name translated to
other numbers in the puzzle
"the numbers must occur only
and hatch across/up and
once." Only outside of Japan
down to solve for a number in
is the puzzle called Sudoku. It
a particular spot. If the solver
is commonly called Nanpure
is looking to place a five in the
inside of the country.
top fight-hand box of a puzzle,
The purpose of a Sudoku
they would ’cross hatch' by
puzzle is basically to test your
looking at other fives in the
logic skills by seeing how
puzzle and eliminate options
much you can do in a given
in the blank squares. From
time. To some people, Sudoku
there, whichever squares are
puzzles are fun. To others, it's
left are candidates to place the
challenging or too hard.
five into to continue to solve
The degree of challenge
the puzzle. Taking the puzzle
and difficulty depends upon if
in pieces also helps, as it will
the solver is really interested
leave the solver with having
in solving the puzzle. "When
to worry about solving only a
you begin a sudoku, make
particular region of the puzzle.
sure the level is appropriate to
There are many places to
your experience level," Rachael
find Sudoku puzzles since
Christy, freshman, said.
they are popular worldwide.
Deductive reasoning is also
"Just type in 'Sudoku' in a
key to solving the puzzle. I
search engine and you will
There are many varieties of
get thousands of examples,"
puzzles for a solver to attempt.
Crystal Weehunt, Algebra
Besides the ever popular 9x9
II and Integrated Math III
grid (the puzzle boxes), there
teacher, said. "They make you
are 12x12 grids} 16x16 grids,
use parts of your brain that
Sudoku in the form of jigsaw
you might not use everyday,"
puzzles, double puzzles (two
Christy said. J
9x9 puzzles that are usually
For those who are just
joined by one to four 3x3
beginning Sudoku, there are
boxes), Sudoku X (the usual
three volumes of Sudoku for
rules apply, b u f the main two
Dummies. There are also DVD
diagonals must have the digits
one through nine once as well), games, card games, travel
games, books, the internet
Samurai Sudoku (five puzzles
and so many more varieties of
^ a ^ d by one box each) and
locations to find a puzzle.
^ H y others.
«
(_ /
.>\SSWV.VA'X^WW.>.\NSN%\vX%W\\SS<WA%N%W.\\SW.XV.\V.V.V
j
Orlando, FI. Through the
city's music scene he met
those who would form
the rest of Pants Machine:
Benjamin Jaspers, drums;
Gus Elg, bass; and Leb
Borgerson, guitar.
The band has found
influence for their music
in many places; Jazz and
Disney musicals are some
of Singley’s favorites. Elg
enjoys underground hip hop.
"In high school I fell in love
with Elliott Smith, Belle and
Sebastian, and Pavem ent,"
Singley said.
This influence led to the
creation of what is Singley's
favorite Pants Machine song
"Highway of Our Minds,"
which he wrote during a
tough time in his life. "I was
stuck in a dead-end job,
and it was feeling like the
magic was gone." In his first
hour after quitting the job,
he wrote the song, but he
doesn't feel that he, or any
artist, should be given all
the credit for song writing. "I
don't think it's really me who
writes my songs, they are
gifts from somewhere else."
Pants M achine's eclectic
style has gotten them record
deals with Slow January
Records and Lucky Madison
Records, but being musicians
isn't always as easy as having
a record deal. "The hardest
part is having blind faith in
'making it' and being ready
to work and do it yourself,
rather than waiting around to
'get signed'. You must prove
yourself or no one will care."
The band is determined
to put itself out there. They
were the last band added to
the Battle of the Bands after
appearing in the Willamette
Weekly's Top Bands of 2006.
Though Singley felt they had
a good chance of winning, he
was grateful.
"Winning was surreal.
I've never won anything
in my life... It's nice to
think you might inspire
someone, like you might be
talking to someone after the
show and leave a positive
impression on [them]. We
feel validated," Singley said.
So what's next for the
band? After using their
Battle of the Bands winnings
to buy a van, the guys
are working on some new
material. "Right now we
are hibernating as we work
on a perfect record. It will
have orchestrations, and it's
going to be a perfect start to
finish album. It's [going to]
flow," Singley said. "With
Myspace giving way to so
many endless new bands,
you really have to be on the
mark to survive." Be on the
lookout for a Pants Machine
album with strings, flutes
and choirs.
Federline w ears du-rags, has four children
M argaret A dams
Staff Reporter
In the first week of sales,
Kevin Federline sold an
astonishing 6,500 copies
of his debut CD "Playing
with Fire." Just to put
things in perspective, his
ex-wife, Britney Spears sold
1.3 million albums in the
first week of sales with her
second album, "O ops... I
Did It A gain." "H e's a joke,
basically" Elliot Wilson, chief
editor of "XXL," America's
best selling hip-hop
magazine said.
His world premiere
performance of the single
"Lose Control" was at "The
Teen Choice Awards" last
August. "The Teen Choice
Awards:" the show that
gives surfboards as trophies.
Federline didn't even get one
of the sought after boards,
just a nomination for Male
Red Carpet Fashion Icon.
He followed up that
memorable, national TV
debut by making a guest
appearance on an episode of
"CSI" last October. He played
a hoodrat who tries to talk
smack on the crime scene and
gets punched in the stomach
by Nick (who specializes in
hair analysis).
A few days later,
Federline made an
appearance on World
Wrestling Entertainment
RAW. After John Cena
(World Wrestling
Entertainment's
Champion) called
Federline the
world's biggest
scumbag, Cena
pulled a fakie
handshake
turned body
slam on
K-Fed. For
Day. Maybe you missed it,
but thanks to Johnny Nitro
(known for his corkscrew
moonsault) and Umaga
(Samoan, 348 lbs.) Federline
came out on top.
He actually went on tour
to promote "Playing with
Fire." At New York's Webster
Hall, he was due to play at 7
p.m. but waited three hours
because he w asn't satisfied
with the fan turn out.
Finally, at 10 p.m. he began
a half an hour set to just 300
people. The Webster Hall
accommodates 1,500.
One spectator said that
Federline "seemed really
confused about how to act
on stage. He would pace
from one side of the stage to
the other, just saying things
like, 'Hey' 30 times in a row
or 'New York, thank you for
coming — buy my CD.' "
After something that bad,
you'd
.
think
things
couldn't possibly get worse.
A few weeks later, the House
of Blues in Chicago gave the
tickets to his show away.
He'll make a guest
appearance at your parties
too, but not quite for free. For
just 20 grand you and your
buddies could chop it up
with "America's Most Hated"
(his words, not mine).
H e's gonna need that extra
cash too. With the recent
divorce he's lost everything.
According to the 60-page
pre-nup, Federline has to
return any gift from Spears
worth more than $10,000 (the
Ferrari, their children). She's
also shelling out $300,000
a year for half the number
of years they were married.
That means $300,000 total.
That should be enough
for a dumpy place in the
Hollywood Hills with room
for the kids he can't have and
his wardrobe (wife beaters,
solid white air force Is).
Maybe if someone bought
his CD or tried getting
signed with his record label;
Federation Records, he could
actually buy something
with his own money. He
did co-write all the lyrics on
"Playing With Fire" and I've
got to admit, they're next
to epic. From Lose Control
(Track 0 5 )" My Ferrari cost
more than your lil S-
class/Look man I'm in
a whole 'nother
tax bracket."
Okay,
bottom
line, don't
play
with
fire.