Whether you’re an avid fan of Japanese cuisine or rarely eat it at all, Ume Onigiri House provides a salty, satisfying and relatively inexpensive meal. The food stand opened in December 2015 and is located on the corner of 24^th and Hilyard Street, near Sundance Natural Foods.

It looks a little small compared to the next-door buildings, but it’s actually fairly large for a food stand. The menu offers a variety of options, including plates with a protein, rice, vegetables, potatoes, an egg and fruit. The stand also offers snacks, including onigiri (rice balls), potstickers, miso soup, and teriyaki chicken.

Prices range from about $1-$9, though specials may be a little more expensive.

Sometimes only one person is working at the stand, so they are fairly quick at taking orders and preparing food. Once an order is placed, an employee prepares it on site and it takes roughly five minutes.

The food is pretty standard Japanese cuisine, but its freshness makes it special. On the stand’s Facebook page, it claims to purchase only organic vegetables from local Eugene farms. Its teriyaki chicken is marinated in house-made sauce and cooked on a cast-iron grill.

The actual plates are salty and comforting, covered in savory sauces. The chicken gets a little dry, perhaps due to its marination method, but the flavorful potatoes and rice make up for it. One plate is an ample serving, with just enough for a leftover snack for later.

It would make more sense if the stand were closer to campus, since it’s appealing for college students. It’s inexpensive, fast, and tastes good. And the employees are quite sweet.

However, it might not always be worth the trip. It’s far away, and once you purchase the food, there’s really no place to eat it – a common problem among food stands. And by the time you get home, it will probably be a little cold and lose some of its flavor.

Overall, though, the food is good. It wasn’t remarkable or amazing, but it’s filling, priced fairly, and pretty fresh for how quickly it was prepared. It’s not a place to go for a slow, relaxed meal, but it’s perfect if you want a Japanese meal fast.

University of Oregon students and community members are invited to share personal stories this Friday, as part of the “People’s State of the Union,” a grassroots, informal response to the annual presidential address.

The People’s State of the Union is a nationwide conversation that aims to tap into the personal American experience through public storytelling. This event focuses on a citizen’s personal insight and experience in relation to the country’s state. The event will take place at 2:30-4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29 at the Many Nations Longhouse (1630 Columbia St.)

Participants will choose one of the following prompts: a story the president should hear, an experience that led to insight regarding the current state of the union or a story about when one felt a sense of belonging (or lack thereof) in one’s community.

“It’s a weaving of a collective narrative and culture and community, belonging or not belonging,” said John Fenn, professor in the UO Arts and Administration program, who was recently appointed as a cultural agent for the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture (USDAC). Fenn, who is coordinating the event, anticipates that community members will share stories at the event, each two to three minutes in length.

The USDAC, a non-governmental organization, aims to encourage and augment cultural living on a community scale throughout the United States. Its website states: “Democracy is a conversation, not a monologue. Understanding the state of our union takes we the people reflecting in our own communities on our challenges and opportunities locally, nationally and globally.”

Across the country, others will be sharing similar stories in groups of varying sizes.

“I think it’s important to get people and communities together to kind of share perspectives in a variety of ways,” Fenn said. “What’s neat about this one is it’s focused on equity and inclusion and participation through arts and culture.”

The content from the People’s State of the Union events across the country will be sent to a council of poets for review, rearrangement and reformatting.

“[The poets] will sift through all this stuff and see what kinds of conversations, concerns, celebrations and themes are going on around the country based on these stories,” Fenn said. “They draw direct quotes, take poetic license and use their craft to speak of and for communities around the country that have contributed.”

The final poem will later be broadcasted on Free Speech TV online.

Last year, he said the poem included references to the Black Lives Matter movement, the death of Eric Garner and immigration issues.

“It can be political, but it’s also about how it’s experienced and talked about by people on the ground,” he said.

More information about the event can be found at www.usdac.us/psotu.

Watch the USDAC’s 2015 People’s State of the Union, published last March, below.

With two Starbucks on campus and Espresso Roma right next to one of them, coffee is easily accessible almost everywhere near campus. But for those days when you want something a little different and have some time to spare, here are a few other, less-traveled coffee shops around Eugene.

The Wandering Goat Coffee Co.
268 Madison St., Eugene, Oregon 97402

Wandering Goat Coffee Company’s main business practices center around sustainability, from its wind-generated electricity to its recycled consumer products. It sells mostly organic, homemade food and roasts its coffee on-site. Wandering Goat also frequently hosts concerts and open mics.

Vero Espresso House
205 E 14th Ave., Eugene, Oregon 97401

Vero Espresso House is a quaint coffee shop that serves Stumptown coffee along with teas and breakfast foods. Vero has a sweet charm to it, located in an elegant, house-like building. It also features an outdoor patio for customers to enjoy their drinks.

Full City Coffee Roasters
Pearl Street Café- 842 Pearl St., Eugene, Oregon 97401 and High Street Café- 275 E. 13th Ave., Eugene, Oregon 97401)

Full City Coffee Roasters has been active since 1979 and has been purchasing its coffee beans from a lady in Colombia and a co-op in Guatemala for about 15 years. Its coffee is sold within 24 hours of its roasting. Both locations of this coffee shop offer a comforting atmosphere, in which customers can comfortably read or chat while drinking fresh coffee or eating freshly baked goods.

Tailored Coffee Roasters
291 E. 5th Ave., Eugene, Oregon 97401

Tailored Coffee Roasters is a modern looking-quiet coffee shop featuring coffees, teas, and an assortment of light foods. Tailored Coffee Roasters concerns itself with simplicity, from its clean-cut atmosphere to its mission advertised on its website: “Making coffee taste like… coffee.”

Perk Coffee and Espresso
1351 Willamette St., Eugene, Oregon 97401

Perk Coffee and Espresso is a small coffee shop focused on selling local products. It features local ingredients, with its coffee coming from local roasters Pacori and Equiano. Creations from local artists, which rotate every month, hang on the walls. It’s a coffee shop with a lot of character.

Vector’s Espresso
2866 Crescent Ave., Eugene, Oregon 97408

Vector’s Espresso opens early and features intricately crafted, handmade espresso concoctions, sometimes with charming designs. The shop also hosts music performances, and musicians can apply to perform at Vector’s on its website.

How to celebrate Thanksgiving as a College Student:

Ingredients:

Stuffing

1. Spread a spoonful of butter over a pan.
2. Rip three pieces of white bread into pieces and pour into the pan.
3. Pour in one tablespoon of onion.
4. Pour in a generous pinch of vegetable seasoning.
5. Pour in three tablespoons of chicken broth and a sprinkle of salt.
6. Mix everything and put in oven while it’s preheating to 410 degrees.
7. Take out in about 15 minutes.

Turkey

1. Cut Turkey breast into very thin pieces and place on a buttered pan.
2. Put in oven and take out in about 35 minutes. Make sure the inside is cooked.

Peas

1. Boil ½ cup of water in a pot.
2. Pour the frozen peas in, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
3. Stir and let simmer for ten minutes.
4. Drain the water out.

Potatoes:

1. Bake two potatoes in the microwave (about four minutes, or press potato button.)
2. Place the potatoes in a bowl, and add two tablespoons of butter, 1/3 cup of milk, and a pinch of salt.
3. Blend with beater.

Pumpkin Pudding:

1. Pour 1/3 cup of instant vanilla pudding mix in a bowl.
2. Add 1/3 cup of pumpkin and 1 cup of milk.
3. Beat until well mixed, then add a tablespoon of brown sugar and beat some more.

The Hunger Games film saga ended with this month’s Mockingjay, Part 2, the second film based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name. Splitting things in two is all the rage in Hollywood these days, so we at the Emerald decided to give two of our writers the chance to air their thoughts on the end of the Hunger Games. Here are Anna Lieberman and Jordyn Brown’s opinions on Mockingjay, Part 2.

_____________

Sadness: the most fitting word to describe Mockingjay, Part 2. From the dark aesthetic to the somber score, the final Hunger Games film touched on every negative human emotion. It explored the concept of loss, of material, of character, of friendship, of life and of hope.

The first half of the film was slow, showing there was no need for the Mockingjay novel to be split into two films. Part 1 had gratifying and moving moments where audiences saw the reality of a revolution in a positive light for the main characters of the film. The second movie was devoid of such pleasures. From start to finish, audiences watched the death, destruction and hopelessness of war. It was just as upsetting as the book, to which it stayed faithful.

Although the whole movie was hard to watch, this speaks to the quality of the visual effects, music and acting throughout the film. The acting of Donald Sutherland (President Snow) and Julianne Moore (President Coin) were particularly commendable. They each portrayed antagonists in the film, the confidence of their characters contrasting with their cruel intentions.

Mockingjay, Part 2 did its book counterpart justice, successfully expressing each somber theme present in Suzanne Collins’ novel. That said, it would have been more successful if the final two films were merged into one.

__Anna Lieberman

As an epic dystopian story that captured cinematic and literary fans alike finally closes, it’s hard not to be gripped by the empty feeling that comes with the knowledge that it truly is the end of the Hunger Games legacy.

The final film in the series, Mockingjay, Part 2, did not disappoint. While the producers jumping on the split-part finale bandwagon was off-putting, the film was well-executed in the end.

The stunning performances by Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson bring the movie to life. We continue to see the strain the Capitol has put on the relationship between Katniss and Peeta, as Peeta does his best to recover and discern what is reality and what is a Capitol fabrication.

The beginning felt disjointed, as if a commercial break had cut off a previous scene, leaving us wondering what we had missed. The real action doesn’t start until well into the movie, when our beloved characters make their way into the city to finally put an end to the war.

Even though the film was filled with realizations of loss for our characters – their sanity, their way of life and for some, their lives – it was a chilling and satisfying way to tie the final knot in a story of life and death, wealth and poverty and the destruction people can bring on themselves.

___Jordyn Brown

Staying healthy can be hard in the dorms, especially when Cheesy Grillers, hamburgers, and giant burritos are so readily available. But take a closer look and you’ll see plenty of healthier options that are inexpensive and easy to access. Here’s a guide on how to stay healthy while living amongst so many temptations.

1. Don’t skip breakfast. Even when you need to rush to class, don’t forget the most important meal of the day. Grab a few apples and bananas and store them in your dorm room for breakfast. If you have a refrigerator, berries are good too.

2. Find the healthy options at Barnhart and Carson. You can find menus for every meal on a weekly basis from the dining halls at https://housing.uoregon.edu/menu. Plan when you want to eat at those locations based on what they’re serving. Meats or tofu, potatoes, fish, brown rice, lentils, and vegetables are usually wholesome options.

3. Take advantage of salad bars. These can be found at Barnhart, Carson, Grab ‘n’ Go, and Dux Bistro. Fill your bowl with darker lettuce or spinach, and don’t go overboard with the dressing.

4. Order custom bowls (pasta, noodles, rice). At the Global Scholars pasta bar, order gluten free pasta if you don’t mind the taste. Steamed broccoli is always a good topping. Try to avoid getting cheese, but if you really want it, make sure you specify that you want a small amount. Global Scholars Hall and Fire ‘n’ Spice offer custom bowls, which usually have a protein, a starch, and a vegetable. Order brown rice and a protein and fill your bowl with as many vegetables as you can.

5. Be aware of large serving sizes and excess condiments. It’s okay to not be able to finish your food if it’s too much (you can also take it to go!). Also, when ordering foods such as sandwiches or burritos and asking for condiments, ask for a small amount.

6. Always keep snacks on you. Fruits are good options, but don’t forget to eat raw vegetables frequently. In the grocery areas of Grab ‘n’ Go and Global Scholars Hall, there’s usually bags of carrots. You can also ask for spinach from salad bars.

7. Stay hydrated. Have water on you always: in your backpack and in your room. Drink a glass with every meal, and also drink it throughout the day. Try to minimize your intake of sugary drinks and sodas.

8. Avoid unhealthy snacks. Try not to overeat breads, fried or cheesy foods, and very creamy or heavy meals. Resist the temptation to buy things such as chips, goldfish, or ice cream from the grocery areas.

9. You can still eat your favorite foods. Don’t get too hung up on trying to stay perfectly healthy. Save a couple meals a week for that macaroni and cheese you’ve been craving or indulge yourself in a Fried Fridays meal. What matters is that you’re not eating these every day. Think of the less healthy meals as something special, like a reward for eating healthy foods for most of the week, and enjoy them.

On Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 25 at 2 p.m., dancers from the Eugene Ballet Company will be performing The Sleeping Beauty, a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tickets for the performance, which will take place at the Hult Center for Performing Arts, range from $29 -59.

Toni Pimble, artistic director and co-founder of the Eugene Ballet Company, answered the following questions.

How much of your input and ideas go into the performance?

This one is very interesting because it was first produced in I think about 1890, and so a lot of the original choreography for certain parts of the ballet are still in. For example, the Grand Pas De Deux at the end of Act 3 is pretty much the way it’s done. You know, they’ll be little changes, but it’s basically the same.

And then there are bluebirds that appear in Act 3, which is the wedding ceremony, and that dance is also probably close to what it was originally. But then there are sections like the garland dance. We know there was a garland dance, but the choreography doesn’t exist anymore. And so at the beginning of Act 1, those (are) pieces I have choreographed.

There’s also the added fact the one dancer may look good doing one thing and another dancer is better at something else so we tweak choreography to individual principles to make them look their very best.

What happens throughout the day leading up to a performance?

Usually dancers are resting, then they come in around four and we will do a company class because we do company class every day. That is part of the classical ballet dancer’s training, which is usually about an hour and a half in which they do 45 minutes of exercises at the bar… And then for Sleeping Beauty we will do a half hour of rehearsals because we have some younger students performing with us. We have garland children, which they are about between 10 to 12-years-old. And they join in in the garland dance and it’s fairly complicated, so we like to rehearse them at the last minute before they go on stage.

How would you describe the feel of The Sleeping Beauty?

It is definitely a big, grand ballet in all senses of the word. There’s a lot of eye candy. It’s very lush. But at the same time, it’s a fairy tale, so in that respect, it is definitely family friendly. And what we have done is that as we go into scene changes and also the overture in the beginning, we have slide projections that actually tell the story in increments so that people know what they’re going to see in the next act.

I always find that really charming because a lot of times you’ll hear moms whispering to their little girls. They read the story on the slide that’s being projected. It’s just very sweet.

Today – Wednesday, October 21 – is National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day. What better way to celebrate than to actually make pumpkin cheesecakes? You’ll find the recipe below.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes (Makes up to 24 mini cheesecakes)

Ingredients:

Crust:
About 8 or 9 graham crackers
½ cup of butter

Cheesecake:
2 lbs. of cream cheese (let sit out while making crust)
½ cup of sugar
¼ cup of sour cream
About 1 ½ eggs
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 ¼ cup of pumpkin
a pinch of salt

Crust:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Smash the graham crackers into fine pieces in a mixing bowl using your fingers or a fork.

3. Melt the butter in a separate bowl in the microwave for one minute.

4. Pour the butter into the graham cracker crumbs and mix until well blended.

5. Place the cupcake liners in muffin pans.

6. Press about a spoonful of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner, flattening the mixture out.

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cheesecake:
1. Beat the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl for about one minute.

2. Add the sour cream, pumpkin, and cream cheese to the mixture.

3. Beat everything together for about three minutes or until everything’s combined.

4. Pour the mixture throughout each cupcake liner, filling each liner about ¾ of the way.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

6. Refrigerate for two hours.

Sometimes pizza just isn’t enough on Game Day. Here are three easy, delectable recipes to make before watching a game.

Macaroni and Cheese (3 servings)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of pasta shells
¾ cup of Alfredo sauce
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a tiny sprinkle of garlic powder

1. Fill a medium-sized pot about ¾ full with water. Add salt, cover, and let boil.

2. Add pasta in the pot and cook on medium heat for the time specified on the box, stirring occasionally. Complete steps 3 and 4 while pasta is cooking.

3. Pour the Alfredo sauce, cheese, olive oil, and garlic powder in another medium-sized pot.

4. Set heat to medium and let ingredients melt together for about five minutes. Stir occasionally.

5. Drain pasta and pour into the pot with the melted ingredients.

6. Stir everything together and enjoy.

Banana Dessert Wrap (2 servings)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 oz. of milk chocolate
1 banana
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar
1 tortilla

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about a minute, then stir.

2. Heat the tortilla in the microwave for twenty seconds, then lay it on a cutting board or plate.

3. Spread the peanut butter over the tortilla, then spread the melted chocolate over the peanut butter.

4. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the ingredients, then use a knife to spread it into the chocolate and peanut butter.

5. Cut banana into thin slices, then spread over tortilla.

6. Roll tortilla until ingredients are wrapped.

7. Cut tortilla in half.

8. Enjoy!

Simple Hummus (5-10 servings, depending on how much you want)

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 can of garbanzo beans
Lemon juice from half a lemon (use sparingly)
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil

1. Drain most of the liquid out of the can of garbanzo beans.

2. Pour the beans into a blender or food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

3. Blend ingredients for 1 to 2 minutes. If using a blender, you may have to turn the blender off and stir the ingredients together a few times.

4. Add the rest of the olive oil and blend for another 2 minutes or until ingredients are smooth.

5. Add more lemon juice and garlic to taste and enjoy.

Russian musicologist Oleg Timofeyev has been studying Russian guitar for more than 20 years and will soon showcase his work at the University of Oregon.

After moving to the United States, the Moscow-born Timofeyev developed a growing desire to learn more about his cultural roots by picking up the Russian guitar – a seven-string variation of the acoustic instrument with which we’re familiar;. Timofeyev will provide a recital of the Russian guitar and lecture at 7 p.m., Oct. 8 at the Mills International Center in the Erb Memorial Union.

“The listeners will be transported into the early 19th century,” Timofeyev said, “like a private concert of some Russian aristocrat.”

Aside from performing at the UO, Timofeyev has lectured at Princeton University, Duke University, the Smithsonian and other institutions in the United States and Europe.

Timofeyev holds a Ph.D in performing practice from Duke. In the early 2000s, he discovered music written by Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev, a composer who spent a decade in labor camps. Timofeyev recorded an entire record of his pieces–2004’s Guitar in the GULag. Timofeyev’s other albums include The Wandering Lutenist (1997) and The Golden Age of the Russian Guitar (1999).

His Oct. 8 visit will feature some of the music from these albums, as well as music by other 18th and 19th century Russian composers such as Ignaz von Held and Andrei Sychra. He has accumulated old guitars and music for more than two decades; this aided him in restoring old Russian musical traditions that are not widely known in modern music culture.

“It’s an adventure,” Timofeyev said. “It’s sort of trying new things, discovering new music and having a new look at the music that you already know.”

Calling Russian guitar music “sophisticated” and “delightful,” Timofeyev aims to share the same reverence he holds for the genre with his audience.

For Julia Nemirovskaya, an assistant professor in the Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Department, music forms a connection between people and their heritage. She said that she was excited to learn about a different culture when she moved to the United States. After a few years, though, she grew homesick, and suspects that Timofeyev’s experience may be similar.

“All of a sudden, you realize that you’re still who you are,” Nemirovskaya said. “We all are from a very rich culture so we go back to it eventually.”

Nemirovskaya speculates that this is one reason why Timofeyev invariably connects his music to his Russian roots.

The Russian guitar makes an inimitable sound that’s distinct from a standard acoustic and characteristically all its own. Fahma Mohammed, a student working at the Mills International Center, could tell Timofeyev wasn’t playing an American instrument when she first heard him.

“It’s from a different part of the world, so it opens your mind and it allows you to understand that there are different aspects to a guitar and different versions of it,” Mohammed said. “It reminded me of music from the Renaissance time. It’s very soothing, very calming.”

Although Mohammed expects mostly international students, aspiring musicians and professors to be in attendance, anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.

The event is sponsored by the UO Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies program, Oregon Humanities Center, UO Libraries and Mills International Center.