My reasons for sharing this with you are ultimately selfish, for it’s my ass if I pick up that first drink, which in turn leads to a thousand; even then, that’s not enough for me. Just writing it and putting my guns on the table is an act of being painfully self-aware, and ultimately surrendering to that which I have struggled and fought with for so long.

Today I have made it through the day without the booze, and I feel pretty good and have money in my pocket to spend on other things, like crappy campus cuisine. Joking aside, it is a deadly serious matter for me. There is no way that I can do a total recall on the moment when I crossed over into the disease and disaster that was to follow. All I can tell you is that when I reached the destination of desperation and the jumping off point, I got help.

According to medical opinion and the vast numbers of men and women who have recovered, it is perceived as an “allergy” coupled by a mental obsession. The “allergy” itself is manifested after that line in the sand is crossed, and the illusion of being able to drink like normal people has to be smashed – no pun intended. The mental obsession for me was that someday under some formula of willpower, intellect and reason, I would be able to drink one or two and walk away like normal folk. I tried this without great success. In fact, over a period of time, it nearly killed me and almost took away all that I had worked for in school, friendships and in life. I do look back and remember what it was like to be your age, and the hangovers were manageable. It was fun, and if it wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t drink.

I am not a preacher. I am not perfect. I have a thousand and one excuses to drink. I told myself all the lies and eventually the day arrived when I was spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically bankrupt. Not a pretty sight. I am by no means out of the woods, either. If I don’t stay the course and seek help on a daily basis, I could have all of that misery refunded in spades.

My final spiel on this ordeal is the whole God thing. There is no doubt that many of you will bristle with antagonism at the mere mention of the Almighty. That’s OK, I can understand where you are coming from – believe me, I tried every avenue of mind over matter before I was beaten down. I thought I was tough, but that mysterious, magical liquid swirling ever-so-seductively in the glass turned on me like a snake and knocked me to the mat quicker than Apollo Creed.

I had known that God existed my whole life, but always ran from Him. It seemed that He had bigger fish to fry than me. I wanted to make it on my own – plain and simple. In a strange twist of irony, my drinking brought me to God, and it has been by no means in the religious sense. He is my friend; most of the times my silent partner who gives me strength to make decisions based on courage. I am trying to divorce myself from self-pity, dishonesty, and self-seeking motives. I will always have a streak of selfishness, and as long as I live inside my mortal frame, I will have to contend with that very fact of human nature. It’s all good – I have a new freedom and a new happiness today that is second to none.

Many folks in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous will tell you that they have a new lease on life. And it doesn’t cost a cent. They give it freely away to those suffering in order to keep it themselves. If you are not certain that you are an alcoholic or a drug addict, try some controlled using, and I suggest this tentatively. Try just having one and walking away. It might be worth a rough spell of the screaming heebie-jeebies in order to get a firm grasp on your condition. For people in the advanced stages of addiction, there are three eventual outcomes of the disease, if left unchecked: jails, institutions, and death. It is not my intention to throw around scare tactics, but face it – people die from this disease everyday.

In conclusion, this article is a testimony to my love for this university and for those that might be out there suffering. It is a goad and a spur for me to keep on keeping on. Ultimately there is a program of recovery that must first be met by action. It is the Twelve Steps. It is a simple program for complicated people. It is organized and run by people from all walks of life and experience, and it helps them to help others. There are no strings attached, no hidden agendas, no religion forced down anyone’s throat and is open to anyone who wants to recover. Just for today, I will stay the course and hold fast.

Adrian Wingard is a senior English major.

And since I’ll be away from the University of Maine for a bit, I won’t have to worry about any midterms, quizzes or other class projects to sap my attention from relaxing. However, unlike some of the more fortunate college students I know, I don’t exactly have any wild and crazy plans. I’ve got a friend going to the warm and snowless Bahamas, a few others who are going home – somewhere out of state – and the rest are like me, heading on home somewhere in snowy Maine.

A few friends of mine in the same spot as myself decided ago that we should try to get out and away on our Spring Break as well. One thing I’ve just learned is that Spring Break takes a hell of a lot of planning; especially if you’re going to do something major.

At first, we were looking at making a week out of a trip to across the border to Canada. There was a lot of talk of hitting up clubs, stores and the usual attractions. Of course, that looks to get pretty expensive, and since a handful of us aren’t willing to sleep in the same car, we’d have to look at a hotel reservation, and that’s would be another arm and a leg.

Also, cars aren’t exactly that abundant in my circle of friends, so transportation would end up being just another issue to tack onto the list of obstacles. So, in the end, ‘Canada or Bust”‘ ended up looking less like a week, and then less like a weekend, to more of a “maybe next year” type of thing than the cool vacation it had seemed in the first place. And if we couldn’t even make it driving north across the border, I doubted we could find something as warm as a trip to the Caribbean or Florida within our grasps. Luckily, we figured out something that’s a bit more within our reach – something still good but not as ambitious.

While a weekend in Portland isn’t exactly the same as a trip across the border, it still counts as something. The same elements of a vacation are in there: Change of scenery, different places to visit and good company. And it’s still a relaxing trip with friends, and isn’t that the point of Spring Break in general? Either way, it’s a plan for having some fun. I hope that the rest of you can manage to pull of your own Spring Break vacation, even if it’s just something little. We can’t all go the Bahamas, but it doesn’t mean we can’t take it easy.

Paul Goodman is a freshman new media major.

With the controversy surrounding the current Residents on Campus election mirroring those of this past fall’s Student Government elections, many students have become disenfranchised with campus politics altogether. All stride should be taken to follow both the letter and spirit of the law when resolving this latest dispute.

However, with many regulations and rules opposing each other, common sense should be on the forefront of everyone’s mind.

All efforts should be made for honesty and commraderie to prevail in the final outcome of this latest debacle. The General Student Senate, and Student Government as a whole, should see its role as advisory and take care not to be seen as intrusive in what is ultimately an internal ROC matter. The ROC General Assembly, however, should recognize the vast experience GSS has in election matters. Both sides should meet in the middle for the benefit of the candidates.

Learning to deal with IT

Every successful business knows how to balance staffing issues with demand for service. Customer satisfaction is the most important aspect of establishing a prosperous clientele and creating repeat customers.

As of late, Information Technologies has been bogged down with a burdensome workload and only minimal help to answer inquiries, assist customers and perform the labor necessary to fix and return damaged computers.

It is not our place or intention to tell IT how to run business, but as the only technical support facility on campus, perhaps it’s time to hire a few more associates to handle phone calls, consult customers and repair computers in a more timely fashion than the current waiting period.

Students can do their part to alleviate some of the burden on the IT staff. General computer troubleshooting questions can be directed to a tech-savvy friend. If technical support is required, please remember that patience is a virtue, because if IT has more time to work on malfunctioning units, then the time issue can be remedied and the overall quality of service will be improved.

John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is one chain-smoking, brooding, demon-killing son of a bitch. This guy has a death sentence in the form of lung cancer and he still flips off death as he lights up another cancer stick. Constantine has a gift for fighting demons. It is not a gift for which he asked but it’s a gift with which he has come to terms. He has committed an unpardonable sin, according to Catholic doctrine, so has spent the past twenty years trying to earn his way past the pearly gates. When the twin of a beautiful detective, Angela (Rachel Weisz), winds up dead and the legendary Spear of Destiny isn’t a missing World War II relic, the shit hits the spiritual fan. John Constantine has his work cut out for him. Let’s just hope he doesn’t run out of holy water – or cigs.

I kept hearing from fans of the comic that they were going to mess it all up. So, I feel lucky not to already be chained down to a preconcieved notion of the film. I know that some turned out to be false – mainly that Constantine wasn’t going to be a smoker with brain cancer but that he would have lung cancer. The only rumor that seemed to hold up was that Constantine was no longer British. However, I fail to see how this hinders the story.

Part “Exorcist,” part “X-Files,” “Constantine” is a dark spiritual adventure flick that I definitely got into. It has a few glaring flaws, namely a plot that fails to help out the audience find what direction the film in which is going, and may leave you scratching your head too often. There is just too much ground covered in a movie that clocks in at two hours and covers about four hours worth of information. The irony is in how many times the movie slugs along at a excruciatingly lethargic pace. The action and adventure are there, but the pacing is all over the place in terms of its arcs. Also, with a movie such as this, it is inevitable to sport a few plot holes. “Constantine” is not exempt.

Those are just about the only negative things I could possibly say about this slickly dark movie. The humor doesn’t come at the expense of the film’s darker tones. Instead the great one-liners keep the mood from becoming too despairing. Reeves pulls off the role perfectly; I was with him every step of the way. Weisz is good, but didn’t knock my unwashed socks off. The one to steal the entire film though is the incredible Shia LeBeouf as Constantine’s witty sidekick. This kid has more charisma than half the actors twice his age. Expect this cat to go places. Mark my words. The waif-ish Tilda Swinson’s half-angel and half-human, Gabriel, is the most androgynous performance since David Bowie in “Labyrinth”.

“Constantine” will entertain anyone who’s down with supernatural thrillers, especially with religious undertones. It never becomes too “comic booky” but certainly has its moments, particularly when Constantine fights a bug demon and totes a holy shotgun. Luckily, those moments are few and never really took me too much out of the momentum. Keanu owns the role despite what fans may have envisioned and gives his most entertaining performances since “The Gift.” “Constantine” is headed for the highway to hell and it’s one trip for which you’re going to want a ticket.

Talking to NME.com, the guitarist revealed how he was relieved now that the long-delayed record is finally ready.

Describing the past year as “difficult,” Gallagher said, “Not difficult in that everyone’s been feeling down about things, just frustrating that we thought we got to the finishing line, but when it came to it, it just wasn’t worthy of putting out.”

He added, “The longer that we took to do the album, the better it had to be because of the time from the last one. When it was two years, we asked was it good enough after two years of f*cking about and now we have to ask if it’s good enough after three years.”

The follow-up to 2002′s “Heathen Chemistry” has been beset with problems. Early sessions with Death In Vegas as producers were scrapped, and then the album was thought to be ready for release last summer, until that too was scrapped after the band’s much-criticized Glastonbury performance.

“It’s done now. We master it tomorrow and it’s out on May 26,” confirmed Gallagher, suggesting that a possible title for the record could be “The Ear Has No Memory.”

*

Blink-182 are to go on an “indefinite hiatus.”

Although the new-school punk mega stars have stopped short of declaring a split, a statement on their official website Wednesday says that for Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus are taking time out to dedicate to their families.

It reads, “For over a decade, Blink 182 has toured, recorded and done non-stop promotion all while trying to balance relationships with family and friends.”

“To that end, the band has decided to go on an indefinite hiatus to spend some time enjoying the fruits of their labors with their loved ones. While there is no set plan for the band to begin working together again, no one knows what tomorrow may bring.”

Blink 182 have released six albums since 1994, and enjoyed hits like “All The Small Things,” “What’s My Age Again” and “The Rock Show.” Their last album, 2003′s “Blink-182″ displayed a more mature direction and featured a guest appearance from The Cure’s Robert Smith.

*

The White Stripes are set to start recording their new album this week. The duo are planning to head back into the studio to record the follow-up to 2003′s “Elephant” in Detroit.

It is expected that the band will follow the same process as “Elephant” – featuring the singles “Seven Nation Army” and “The Hardest Button To Button” – which was recorded in ten days.

White has also just completed work on a collaborative LP with pal Brendan Benson.

Talking about his intensive work schedule, White said, “I’ve done it [this way] for a long time, in my attic and out of my house, making 45s for bands. When bands would come to town, they’d stay at my house and we’d cut an album. [We'd do the same thing with] local Detroit bands.”

He told MTV News, “I’ve been doing it for as long as I’ve been writing, and for as long as I’ve had bands, I’ve been recording. I never knew too much about the technical side, I just wanted to get things on tape that were soulful. And that’s the same thing with [Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose"]. It was on 8-track, and we did it in12 days.”

Lynn is also hoping to work with The White Stripes’ main man again, saying, “We haven’t talked too much lately. He’s been working, and I have too. We will try to do some songs together pretty soon. I would like to get with him and write some stuff for my new album.”

*

Carl Barat is embarking on a solo career and has signed a deal.

Rumors have been rife that the remaining half of The Libertines’ songwriting team would soon to strike out alone.

Now, it has emerged that Barat has signed a solo contract with Vertigo, the imprint of Mercury Records that brought Razorlight and The Rapture to prominence.

Vertigo MD Greg Castell said: “Carl is one of the greatest talents in modern music. His contribution to Libertines was fundamental to the band’s success and we’re delighted to have the opportunity of working closely with him.”

Barat will be under the A&R eye of sometime The Libertines manager Alan McGee, the founder of Creation Records. An album is expected by the end of the year.

Barat has also teasingly confirmed that his new band will contain members of The Libertines.

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.” The first line of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” echoes in my mind, and I remember my first introduction to the self-proclaimed gonzo journalist through the film. Whether the drug-induced haze of a genius or a madman, “Fear and Loathing” brought about a whole new perspective to American life.

I remember my father telling me once, “Jesse, you’re allowed to be the kid from ‘Almost Famous,’ you’re not allowed to be Hunter Thompson!” when he found that I was pursuing journalism as a career. How sadistically funny it is that he has become one of my heroes.

Thompson lived his life like an atom bomb, profoundly affecting everyone he came in contact with, whether by a wrong phone number or a stirring round of shotgun golf. A true American, he took every freedom he was given and some he wasn’t, questioning both the basis of our modern society and the government at large. Nothing was outside the scope of his writing.

Some students and professors on campus wonder if what he did really revolutionized or changed journalism at all, but I think they’re missing the point. It wasn’t what he changed about our world, but how he experienced and shared it. By showing us life from a seemingly ludicrous angle, he changed our perceptions and opened as many minds as he could wedge a crowbar into.

Though he may be gone, his writings will live on in the minds and hearts of those that he has inspired, and if each of us only give back in part what we have learned, maybe our combined efforts will be enough to pay back the vast debt we owe him. Until that day comes, I believe he will be watching and waiting, sitting somewhere far above us, a whiskey-soaked cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other, tipping his hat and reminding us: “Buy the ticket, take the ride. Mahalo.”

Many cult classics are twisted horror movies. No country produces more warped horror flicks than Italy. Three directors that represent the Italian horror genre are Lucio Fulci, Dario Argenton and Mario Bava. They each create brilliantly stylish and violent films. Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” is more or less the quintessential Italian horror film. It is a twisted fairy tale about a ballet student who gets mixed up with a coven of witches. The look of the movie is unique, and Argento uses colors about as well as any director alive. “Suspiria,” in typical Italian fashion, an absolutely vicious movie. Its violence is unmatched by most American horror pictures. “Suspiria” is just one many great Italian horror movies. A few others include Argento’s “Opera,” Fulci’s “The Beyond” and Bava’s “Black Sunday.”

A cult film that often gets overlooked because it is fairly new and has yet to be released on DVD is “Dellamorte Dellamore” also know as “Cemetery Man.” It is at its core, a zombie movie directed by Michel Soavi, who, oddly enough, was the protege of Dario Argento. The movie was overlooked when it was released theatrically in 1994, and still gets ignored today because it is hard to find. The lack of a DVD release hurts “Cemetery Man’s” chances of gaining the following that other cult movies have, but that doesn’t prevent it from being a great cult classic.

John Carpenter’s “They Live” is one of the most obscure cult movies that comes to mind. The cast is, one of the funniest ever assembled. The lead actor is professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and co-stars Keith David (“There’s Something About Mary,” “The Chronicles of Riddick”). The movie is about a jobless construction worker, who finds a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see evil. He discovers that the corporate world is being run by aliens, and tries to convince the rest of society. The highlight of the movie is when Piper tries to force David to put on the sunglasses, and David refuses. This leads them to a ridiculous fight scene that alone makes the movie worth watching. Piper also delivers some of the best one-liners in film history. The movie is supposed to have a message behind it but any sort of message seems to get lost. It is hard to accept “They Live” as a serious sci-fi film, but it is still one of the more entertaining of John Carpenter’s movies.

There are too many great cult classics to name. They are not for everyone. Some of them, are only, for people who have a slightly warped sense of humor, a love for horror movies or a partiality for movies with style.

Hopefully, you prefer a classier version of this two-week sabbatical from classes, but even if you don’t, chances are you have to fly somewhere before the fun can begin. That means boarding an airplane.

The joys of flying are few and far between, but there are things you can do to make the process as painless as possible.

Find a cheap airline. Independence Airline, which flies out of Portland, offers inexpensive ways to reach a warmer destination. Jet Blue in another thrifty alternative and Expedia.com offers economical flight and hotel packages even if you plan a trip at the last minute.

Bring a book. Reading it is great, but so is holding it in front of your face when the woman next to you won’t stop talking about her lower back pain or why her daughter’s husband is a loser.

Drink water. Bring your own or order it instead of soda when the flight attendant comes by with the beverage cart. Caffeinated beverages will dehydrate you, and when you combine them with pressurized, recirculated cabin air that sucks moisture out of your skin, the result is even worse. The more water the better.

Use earplugs. Sure, you’re on your way to sip tropical drinks on the beach in Key West, but the couple sitting behind you with their screaming children are on the way to visit grandma in Palm Springs. Earplugs will help drown out background noise when you need a cat nap, and they take up minimal room in your carry-on luggage.

Bring your own snack. Pre-packaged airline food is laden with sodium and preservatives. Eating it will make you feel lethargic before your vacation even begins, so bring fruit and a freshly made deli sandwich as an alternative. You won’t regret it when you have extra energy your first day off the plane.

Put necessities in your carry-on. That way if your luggage is lost, you have money, toiletries and a change of clothes with you until the airline can find it. That said, you might not want to pack a pink lacey thong in your carry-on, unless of course you want a teenage security guard to hold it up in front of everyone during a “random bag check.” I’ve seen it happen.

Dress nicely but comfortably. Flights are not a fashion show but they’re not an excuse to bust out the fleece pants and fuzzy slippers haul either. It’s just tacky. Remember that it’s going to be cold on the plane even if you’re headed to Mexico, so be sure to dress in layers.

Now you can have a painless flight on the way to your destination even if the ride home is spent sunburnt and hungover, wondering nervously if your parents will see those “Girls Gone Wild” commercials.

The artwork, entitled “Auf Dem Weg zu Arbeit (On the Way to Work),” was created by former UMaine student Milorad Medunic, who graduated in December, for Red Bull’s Art of the Can Contest. The contest challenged the Northeast’s artistic minds to create art using Red Bull cans. More than 400 artists submitted pieces, which were whittled down to the top 31 that will be exhibited at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in South Boston beginning Saturday.

“My work deals with the average Joe. The guy that goes to work every day and sits in the little box without much hope of change on a daily basis. I feel bad for him and I guess that was my main inspiration,” said Medunic. “We the people need to break boundaries and get away from some of the craziness we create for ourselves.”

Medunic, who majored in Studio Art, said it took everything he learned in his four years to put together and finalize his piece. It was put together using chicken wire to create the human shape, which was filled with insulation foam to give it a full figure. Medunic purchased a suit at Goodwill to dress the frame in. He used brown wax to create the hands and hand, which were casts of fellow UMaine student and friend of Medunic’s Eben Bell. The final step was in creating the wings, created out of Red Bull cans.

“The wings were created separately on a wire frame out of approximately 80 cans which I got out of my friends garbage,” he said.

The entire process of creating the artwork took Medunic a week and half, but the night before he had to submit it was the most chaotic and intense, he said.

“After a whole day in classes I spent the rest of the night till morning in the studio, finalizing the project, putting it all together, then taking it apart, loading it into my car and at 8 a.m. I was on my way to Boston to deliver it,” said Medunic.

Thursday night, Feb. 24, Medunic, as well as the other 30 artists in the running for the grand prize – a trip to the 51st International Arts Festival in Venice, Italy – will find out what piece is chosen as the top artwork at an invite-only gala. The decision will be made by a panel of four distinguished art judges, judging on the criteria of creative concept, conceptual execution and construction.

“Sure we all would love to win but at the end I just appreciate the opportunity to show my artwork and who knows maybe I will land a job or commission due to my work being exposed to the public,” said Medunic.

Medunic was introduced to the Art of the Can Contest while he was in Austria, where he studied abroad a few years ago. The contest has been taking place in Europe since 1997, and this is its first year in the United States. Medunic said he almost chose not to enter this contest, but his friend Brandon Cronin convinced him otherwise.

“I was excited but with the pressure of being a senior I simply could not produce one more project I told myself,” Medunic said, “I would say that if it wasn’t for Brandon I would not have done it. He literally pushed me and made me sign up for the competition.”

To check out Medunic’s and the other artists’ works and to find out more about the contest, visit www.redbullartofthecan.com

Gavin DeGraw

7 p.m.

Thursday, March 31

MCA

$10

Java Jive – The Project

8 p.m.

Tuesday, March 15

Memorial Union

Free

ART

“Sam Van Aken: Becoming Wally Warren: Chaos”

Through Friday, March 18

Carnegie Hall

Free

“Anya Lewis: Freezetag”

Through Saturday, April 2

Norumbega Hall

Free

“A Maritime Album: 100 Photographs and their Stories”

Through Saturday, April 2

Norumbega Hall

Free

“Persian Impressions”

Through Friday, June 10

Hudson Museum

Free

“Across the Sands of Time:

Art and Artifacts

from the Middle East”

Through Friday, June 10

Hudson Museum

Free

ENTERTAINMENT

Hubble Vision 2

7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 25

Wingate Hall

Peer ID Bingo

8 p.m.

Monday, March 14

Memorial Union

Free

The Maine Attraction -

The Lawn

9 p.m.

Friday, March 18

Memorial Union

Free

Climbing Night

3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Weekdays

MaineBound Outdoor Education Center

$1

MOVIES

“Team America: World Police”

7:30 p.m and 9:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 25

Bangor Room, Union

Free

Bars

College Night

9 p.m.

Thursdays

Bear Brew Pub

$1 Bear Brew beers

College Night

10 p.m.

Thursdays

Ushuaia

50-cent drinks

College Night

Thursdays

The Chocolate Grille

Half-price entrees

If you would like an event posted on the Style Calendar, contact Matt Kearney on FirstClass.