Buzz Magazine: Jan. 8, 2004

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WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION? BROKEN IT YET? | JANUARY 8-14, 2004 buzz

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I LOVE GOING INTO TOWN, EVEN IF IT’S ONLY FOR AN HOUR | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

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BY MARISSA MONSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF

The Story

4 Beauty at a cost - a personal struggle

As listed in “The Hurly-Burly” on Page 11, nearly three months after Elliot Smith’s death, Mr. Misery’s case remains open. Initially labeled “suicide” by the Los Angeles County coroner, Smith’s fan base accepted the news with sighs, recollections of past predications and the gripping comparison with Nick Drake–the weight of the world on slim shoulders.

Smith battled drug addiction, and at the end of his tenure, speculations of Smith falling off the proverbial horse left even Smith’s fair-weather fans worried, and alas, a self-inflicted death seemed to be the depressing last chapter to one heartwrenching artist’s story. And a stab wound to his heart, equally as heartbreaking.

Initial reports stated that Smith was found by his live-in girlfriend with one stab wound to the chest. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office speculated the death was a suicide. Now the case remains open; maybe a suicide, maybe not.

But, as the official coroner’s report surfaced, a gleam of hope of saving the wistful singer’s reputation surfaced, Elliot Smith kicked his demons and the only drugs in his system were medication for attention deficit disorder and anti-depressants. The coroner reported that these drugs had not been

I am black. My complexion shows my ethnicity and my hair confirms it. My dark brown locks do not float freely on the wind like women in shampoo commercials...

Arts 6 Literature’s black sheep Graphic novels are a relatively new form of literature; indeed, many people by and large are unfamiliar with the term.

Music 9 American Minor, a major success American Minor gave me a new appreciation for boxes of snack crackers. The design is so simple...

Calendar 12 Eddie Money at The Virginia Turn on any Oldies radio station and you will hear Eddie Money’s foot-tapping hits sooner or later.

Film

19 21 Grams weighs well 21 Grams is not a movie about shiny, happy people; and it won’t have audiences rolling in the aisles.

PHOTO | STEVE KLINE

Rob McCutcheon, vocalist for American Minor, sings at the mic at one of the band’s many practices. See full story about the West Virginian transplants in the Music section on Page 9.

BUZZ STAFF Volume 2, Number 1 COVER DESIGN | Mason Kessinger

Editor in chief Marissa Monson Art Directors Meaghan Dee & Carol Mudra Copy Chief Chris Ryan Music Jacob Dittmer Art Katie Richardson Film Paul Wagner Community Emily Wahlheim Calendar Maggie Dunphy Photography Editor Christine Litas Calendar Coordinators Lauren Smith, Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography Christine Litas, Steve Kline Copy Editors Chris Ryan Designers Amy Hanlon, Jason Cantone, Jacob Dittmer Production Manager Theon Smith Editorial Adviser Elliot Kolkovich Sales Manager Lindsey Benton Marketing/Distribution Melissa Schleicher, Maria Erickson Publisher Mary Cory

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Copyright Illini Media Company 2004

abused. And with that, another side to Elliot Smith surfaced, contradictory from his sad discourses through song, one of a fighter, and a recovery.

Elliot Smith’s suicide seemed obvious, at least to me it did. Melancholy lyrics about drug addiction and depression and performances by a man that appeared obviously battered and defeated. Elliot Smith, suicide, absolutely.

I read Smith’s songs as autobiographical, and rarely spun his works in the CD player unless I was on some sort of emotional bender. I forgot the cardinal rule of artistry: Creating music is cathartic. Through his songs, he continued trying to conquer his addictions, but media continued to coin him as Misery Man. The sore arm Smith complained about at shows led to speculations of hard drug usage. Early signs of his album in the works, From a Basement on a Hill, seemed to confirm what fans were already guessing.

Regardless of whether Smith died from his own hand, or an outside party, we can put him to rest knowing it was not drugs that defeated him.

Instead, he was a man who felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, and was affected maybe a little bit more than the rest of us.

-M.M.

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buzz JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | ME, TOO Q&A with Byler, Idemoto and Kim hosted by Ebert at his 2003 Overlooked Film Festival at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign. Byler is impressive and articulate as he elucidates a few of the film’s vagaries, while Idemoto is endearingly inarticulate about his portrayal of Mike’s endearing inarticulateness.

The obligatory behind-the-scenes clips and “bloopers” are less amusing for the rest of us, but they do nicely reflect the closeknit atmosphere of this production. The actors and director share an obvious affection for one another and for their project. It’s sort of fun to see them make each other laugh, since there’s so little laughter in the film. The two commentary tracks are occasionally illuminating and often trivial, but they show that this film was a thoroughly collaborative effort, with Byler encouraging his actors to improvise and even to rewrite pivotal moments in the story.

DVD release has become increasingly crucial for films like Charlotte Sometimes, which often get only a limited engagement in larger cities and at festivals. “Straight to video” carries less of a stigma than it once did, offering independent productions a chance to gain a much wider audience. Charlotte Sometimes is a strong start from a promising young filmmaker, and hopefully his next effort will spend more time in the theaters.

DAVE’S DREAM DIARY

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22odds & end ARIES (March 21-April 19): The astrological omens say it's a favorable time for you to seek greater exposure and get yourself noticed. But there are relatively bad ways and good ways to proceed. Do not, for example, distribute nude photos of yourself over the Internet, proclaim your mad love for an unavailable genius in a full-page newspaper ad, or bust up a meeting with a screaming tirade about how brilliant your ideas are and how stupid everyone else's are. Instead, try this: Spruce up your physical appearance, stoke your charisma, improve your packaging, and hire a marketing consultant.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Sixty-six-year-old Taurus actor Jack Nicholson is a paragon of receptivity. "I'm dying to have my mind changed," he told "Esquire" magazine. "I'm probably the only liberal who read *Treason,* by Ann Coulter. I like listening to everybody. This is the elixir of life." Nicholson's refreshing declaration should be your words to live by in the next couple of weeks, Taurus: It's your astrological season of expansion and experimentation. Don't just grudgingly agree to open your eyes and have your theories challenged.

Learn to love the uncanny stretching sensation.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I believe you should draw your inspiration this week from the British graffiti artist Bansky.He bought an unremarkable landscape painting at a flea market and glued a police "Do Not Cross" tape onto it.Then, disguised as a shuffling old man, he smuggled it into London's prestigious Tate Museum and managed to hang it on a wall, where for a while it was regarded as a legitimate work of art by visitors and staff alike. Is there some place in your life that needs a comparable touch of prankish levity, Gemini? Any overly dignified or formal environment that could use the healing touch of a gentle lampoon?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The oldest woman to have a number one pop song was Deborah Harry, born under the sign of Cancer. She conquered the UK charts with "Maria" when she was 53 years old.The world's oldest astronaut was another Crab, JohnGlenn, who flew on the space shuttle when he was 77. Now you, too, have a chance to make history through success in an activity that most people might regard as impossible or inappropriate for someone your age. Don't let anyone shame you into shrinking from the challenge, whether you're 25 and thinking of entering a bubble-gum blowing contest or 65 and considering the possibility of windsurfing down the Amazon River.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I really like a lot about "Suga Suga," a song by hip-hop artist Baby Bash. The rhythm is crafty, the lead guitar line tasty, and the chorus melody infectious. I love Baby Bash's sinuous rap cadences and Franky J's gorgeous singing. The lyrics of "Suga Suga," on the other hand,

I’M STILL RECOVERING FROM NEW YEAR’S | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY are vapid and vulgar. And the video of the song is morally idiotic, depicting men leering at a succession of surgically sculpted women who dress and preen like android porn stars. Is there anything in your life that you both love and hate, as I do "Suga Suga," Leo? I'm betting the answer's an intense "yes!" What should you do about it? Try to ignore the part you're allergic to, or else abandon the entire enterprise altogether? Don't make a decision until at least February 1.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Pope Jean Paul II has canonized 477 new saints, exceeding the total of the last 86 popes combined. His secret? Previously, candidates had to have performed three miracles, whereas now it's two at most.

Other saint-makers have been inspired by the Pope's example. The Church of the Subgenius is creating an average of 2,100 new saints per year (non-Catholic variety), while the Discordians are close behind with 1,875. I'm embarrassed to say that my own faith, the Temple of Sacred Uproar and Rowdy Blessings, has been lagging far behind -- until now, that is. In honor of the miraculous feats of beauty, truth, and love that "Free Will Astrology"-reading Virgos have been pulling off lately, I hereby bestow sainthood on every one of you. You may hereafter put a "St." in front of your name.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Accountants are experts about money that doesn't belong to them. A scholar may read the texts of mystical spiritual traditions but not be able to enter into the sublime states of consciousness described therein.

Please refrain from getting into a relationship like this with the resources you need, Libra. Don't just study them; own them. Seek up-close experiential immersion, not conceptual understanding from a distance.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Creativity comes in a wide variety of forms, from the unruly originality of an avant-garde music composer to the brilliant tactics of a four-year-old manipulating his parents into buying him more toys. The creativity you will specialize in during the coming weeks, Scorpio, is a cross between that of an engineer building a bridge over a steep gorge and a gadfly who prods two ancient enemies into sitting down to talk. It will fit the description articulated by writer William Plomer: "Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected."

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian Pudge Rodriguez is one of the best catchers in professional baseball. Last October, he played a major role in helping the Florida Marlins win the World Series. His contract expired at the end of the season, however, and he was insulted when the Marlins proposed a future salary of only $8 million per year, a 20 percent reduction from the $10 million he earned in 2003. He rejected the Marlins' offer, and made his services available to other teams. Though I admire his fierce pride, I

urge the rest of you Sagittarians to be less demanding. If you're offered 8 million of anything -- hugs, gold stars, M&Ms, dollars -- instead of the 10 million you wanted, definitely take the 8 million.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Following Castro's revolution in 1959, 11-year-old Carlos Eire was exiled forever from his beloved homeland of Cuba. Raised in America, he became a Yale professor, but never lost his yearning for paradise lost. His recent memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana, recounts his cherished memories. "In the past 38 years," he wrote, "I've seen 8,917 clouds in the shape of the island of Cuba." What's your equivalent, Capricorn? A missing treasure you're reminded of whenever you gaze upon the ripples in a lake? A fugitive dream that floats across your mind's eye as you're falling asleep? I predict you will be united with it in 2004. A crucial pointer will arrive soon. Watch the clouds.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In a recent speech, "Boondocks" comic strip creator Aaron McGruder said that if liberals want to regain power in America, they'll have to learn to be meaner. Leftist singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco echoed the theme in an interview in "Indie Culture" magazine. "It's our job to help and inspire each other," she mused, "but I don't think that all my songs have to be about nature and children and love and hugging. There are ways of helping people by expressing anger." I advise you to err on the side of compassion and kindness, Aquarius. But this is a perfect moment to take McGruder's and DiFranco's words to heart. You should find ways to creatively and constructively channel your sacred rage at what's wrong in your world.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I urge you to sing or chant the following rant ten times a day for the next two weeks. "All I ever wanted in life was to make a difference, be worshipped like a god, conquer the universe, travel the world, meet interesting people, find the missing link, fight the good fight, live for the moment, seize each day, make a fortune, know what really matters, end world hunger, vanquish the dragon, be super popular but too cool to care, be master of my own fate, embrace my destiny, feel as much as I can feel, give too much, and love everything." (Thanks to Tatsuya Ishida at www.sinfest.com for dreaming up this set of affirmations.)

✍ HOMEWORK:

What part of you is over-civilized, super-domesticated, or way too tame? What are going to do about it? Tell all at www.freewillastrology.com.

Rob Brezsny's Free Will ☎ Astrology beautyandtruth @ f r e e w i l l a s t r o l o g y. c o m 415.459.7209(v)• 415.457.3769 http://www.freewillastrology. com P.O. Box 798 San Anselmo, CA 94979

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 They come in fits 5 Insurer’s file: Abbr.

9 Firmly add on 14 Take ___ (rest) 15 Ethnic cuisine 16 Kitchen gadget 17 Writer Earl ___ Biggers 18 Basketball Hall-ofFamer Harshman 19 Skirt 20 Big job for a teller 21 Prefix with industry 22 Turns over 23 ___-deucey (game) 24 Games that go into overtime 26 Squalled 28 Actress Hyams of 1920’s-30’s film 29 Common female middle name 30 Popular toys since 1961

32 1969 N.B.A. M.V.P. who played for the Bullets 34 Hot 36 Work the room 39 D– 43 Old war zone: Abbr.

44 Antiquarian’s stock 46 Escalator feature 47 Turned state’s evidence 50 Wagner soprano 51 Representative 52 “___ ask you!”

53 Baglets 54 ___ once 55 Edge 56 Port near Mascara 57 “Don’t You Know” hitmaker, 1959 58 Bad spots 59 Make a decision 60 Triglyceride, e.g.

61 Mothers and daughters

62 RimskyKorsakov’s “The Tale of ___ Saltan” DOWN 1 Bumbler 2 Quite a lot 3 Show no respect for privacy 4 Like some pesticides 5 Hindu soul 6 Two murals at the Met 7 Is in love vainly 8 Danish tourist attraction 9 Some vase decorations 10 Pin 11 It’s far removed from the real world 12 Furniture style of the early 1800’s 13 In braids 25 Further down 27 Warning sign

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31 British party 33 Vacation destination 35 Certain Zinfandel 36 Big tract 37 Peter and others

38 Small tract 40 The Dnieper flows through it 41 House of Milan

42 Star of “The Bronx Zoo” 45 Rays 48 Food in a nursery rhyme 49 Small change

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Charlotte Sometimes (DVD) MATT MITCHELL STAFF WRITER

★★★ Eric Byler borrowed the title to his 2002 feature film debut from a 1981 Cure single about a girl beset by ambiguous emotional turmoil. It’s a fitting choice: this film is all about emotional ambiguity. At its strongest points, this ambiguity is rendered with compelling nuance by a talented cast and a confident and able director, while at its weakest, it becomes merely vague.

Mike (Michael Idemoto) is an emotionally reserved auto mechanic who reads a lot and spends a lot of time alone. Lori (Eugenia Yuan) and her boyfriend Justin (Matt Westmore) live downstairs. When their athletic sex gets too noisy, Mike goes out for a drive. Mike and Lori are friends–they enjoy all the heartache, jealousy and ambivalence that comes with a bonafide romantic relationship, only without the sex. It’s clear that she’d rather hang out with him–she routinely joins him upstairs for some anime after screwing Justin to sleep. And Mike may or may not be in love with Lori. Their interaction is halting and at times tantalizingly tense. When Mike meets Darcy (Jacqueline Kim), they embark on a tentative relationship of their own, and Lori feels neglected in ways she can neither justify nor explain.

The film is remarkably self-assured for a first-time director. Byler takes his time telling the story: scenes are generally brief, with vague conversations full of pregnant pauses. The dialogue is often awkward and halting, but this suits these emotionally guarded relationships. We cringe through many awkward moments with these characters. Little is said explicitly, and their speech somehow conceals more than it reveals.

Charlotte Sometimes was produced independently on a $20,000 budget, although it doesn’t look it. The film is beautifully photographed, surprisingly warm for digital video, with a lot of uncomfortable, voyeuristic angles and contrasts of light and shadow to emphasize the distance between characters. It often feels as if we’re watching them when they don’t expect it, peeking around corners, through windows and over shoulders.

The film flickers between interesting ambiguity and frustrating vagueness throughout, and eventually vagueness prevails. These characters somehow become less scrutable as the story progresses.

Although she seems harmless at first, there’s something vaguely insidious about Darcy, though it never rises to the surface. She remains enigmatic–in a kind of interesting, kind of annoying way–through the end of the film.

Charlotte Sometimes gained an influential advocate in Roger Ebert, who raised its profile with a glowing review. The DVD features an hour-long

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JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | WAYNE COHEN FOR PRESIDENT!

FIRST THING’S FIRST...

Kill it and grill it, but beware of stumbling, disoriented animals

BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER My friend Matt is a vegetarian.

He has his reasons and I totally understand and actually agree with them, even though I eat meat like a bastard. Still, he has said he isn't opposed to eating meat necessarily, if he were the one to actually kill and clean the animal.

That makes sense to me. There's a nobility to that. It's easy to sit back and be all fat and happy and make fun of vegetarians while you're sucking on a piece of beef jerky, but it's completely different to be the one actually getting your hands dirty. Now, I'm assuming when Matt says he would kill his own meat he doesn't mean sneaking out to South Farms after midnight and gutting a dairy cow. He means actual hunting, the way we used to get meat. My father used to hunt all of the time and I went with him a few times, but I never really took to it.

I've shot a few birds and killed a deer once and that's about it. The deer was a result of a car accident, but I'm counting it just the same. I feel it's significantly harder to kill something with a car than with a gun, but that's another topic.

It's always struck me as fairly easy to kill something and kind of hard to deal with the remains. Birds are easier to clean. You pull the heads off, skin the breast back, break off the legs, and that's about it. I've helped butcher deer though and that's not the easiest thing in the world. Guts are falling out, blood is everywhere, bone is snapping,and the smell would make a rat turn away. You have to really enjoy meat to get through something like that.

I doubt I'd eat nearly as many chicken wings if I had to snap each one off the bird myself. That roast I cook every Saturday afternoon wouldn't be quite as alluring if I had shaved it off the cow's ass on Saturday morning. My point is, no matter how you look at it, meat is pretty much an ugly business.

It gets even uglier the more you learn about it. When the United States had its first outbreak of mad cow disease, I found out more about the way meat is raised than I ever really cared to. I'm not worried about dying or anything really; it just makes me look twice at that burger. Yeah, I'll still eat it, but I won't enjoy it nearly as much as I might have.

Take a look at some of the new regulations the U.S. Department of Agriculture put out to enhance the safety of our beef supply. They put a ban on using "downer" cows. Apparently, these are cows unable to walk or stand like the infected mad cow that caused all the problems. People, people, shouldn't that sort fall under the category of common sense, if not simply good taste?

With the exception of a few hillbillies I grew up with, I can't imagine anyone seeing a stumbling, disoriented animal and thinking it would make a fine entree.

The USDA estimates that 130,000 downed cows are slaughtered each year, so that's a small percentage, but it's also like saying only a few thousand people have pissed in our water supply. Let's be honest, even one is really too many.

The USDA is also banning the use of small intestines and head and spinal tissue in older cattle. Just older cattle? C'mon, let' get crazy and ban that from any sort of cattle. What do you say? Yeah, we'll probably have to change the ingredients on the hot dog labels, but it's a small price to pay for an intestine/spinal cord-free treat.

While we're cleaning things up, let's take a look at what we feed these cows to begin with, what is essentially the cause of mad cow disease. Part of their diet consists of "animal protein" which is basically whatever is swept up from slaughterhouse floors and repackaged. The practice of feeding ground up animals to other animals is supposed to be banned, but apparently isn't since there are still mad cows out there. If something isn't a cannibal, it might be best not to turn them into one. I might turn a little nutty myself if I was ingesting ground up pieces of my peers with every meal.

The beef industry can bitch all it wants and talk about the money it stands to lose, but the industry brought it all on itself. It's fine to run it like a business but I'm not sure it's something you can run like a factory.

My guess is that an individual pair of underwear is inspected more carefully than an individual cow. Hell, you know there are more cases of mad cow disease out there, but it'll be a hard case to prove in court until someone dies. We keep eating all the evidence.

Michael Coulter is a videographer at Parkland College. He writes a weekly e-mail column, “This Sporting Life” and has hosted several local comedy shows.

News of the weird Alternate Universe

Bright Ideas

In December, Vice President Cheney led a "hunting" party to the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier, Pa., to shoot pheasants, which had been specially bred to be killed by the club's members and guests. Cheney reportedly bagged 70 ringneck pheasants plus some captive mallard ducks, and his party killed 417 of the approximately 500 pheasants released.

To fight two speeding tickets emanating from the same police camera in a 60km/hour zone, Carlos DeMarco, 39, went to the trouble of commandeering a 70km/hour sign and affixing it to the pole underneath that very speed camera, then photographing it to show that he was not speeding. In November, the judge in Parramatta, Australia, detected the clumsy nature of DeMarco's work and fined him another A$1,000 on top of the A$246 in tickets (about US$880).

Recent Names in the News Delegates of French "villages of lyric or burlesque names" formed an association in October as sort of a promotional and support group made necessary because so many visitors laugh at the towns' names. Among them are villages whose names, translated into English, are beautiful mad, filthy pig, my bottom, eat onions, very stupid and doubleass.

Oops!

Pro football punter Chris Hanson played only one-third of the season this year because of a self-inflicted leg injury. His Jacksonville Jaguars coach had put a log and an ax in the locker room as a motivational symbol that the team needed to work hard in order to succeed. Hanson took a swing at the log, missed, and banged his leg so badly that he needed emergency surgery.

Also, in the Last Month To ease pressure on the judicial system, the Netherlands government announced it would no longer prosecute airport drug smugglers with less than three kilos of cocaine. A 4-foot-high, half-ton snowball fell on an 11-year-old boy on a school playground, pinning him until several teachers lifted it off (St. Catharines, Ontario). A man implicated in the 1992 crime that moved activists to push for California's nation's-first “three strikes” law was arrested for theft, which would be his third strike (Fresno).

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JANUARY 8-14, 2004

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I

am black. My complexion shows my ethnicity and my hair confirms it. My dark brown locks do not float freely on the wind like women in shampoo commercials, but are heavy with oil so my hair doesn’t become dry and fall out. People unfamiliar with the elements of black hair and black culture ask so many questions.

“Why don’t you shampoo your hair every day?”

“How do you get your hair so straight?”

Every other month I make the pilgrimage to Penny’s Hair Design to escape the questions and alleviate my frustration. In that little shop on the South Side of Chicago, I can reconnect with other black people living in a white world. It’s a place where I belong, a place where I am not constantly on display. I go to this place because I feel at home.

Pauline Morrison owns the shop, but everyone calls her Penny. She is my beautician and the shop’s namesake. She is also my confidant, adviser and friend. I have trusted her with my hair since I was 16 years old. I have known her since the age of seven when she became my mother’s beautician.

Walking in the door, the jingling bell briefly draws the eyes of the barbers and beauticians to me. Greeted by nods and smiles, I sit in one of the 14 black wooden chairs that separate the salon from the barber shop. As I glance through articles from a six-month-old Jet magazine, the mix of coconut shampoo and acrid chemical relaxer invades my nostrils. Barbers shave customers’ heads. Fresh patches of nappy hair fall and settle on the tiled floor around the black barber chairs. The Isley Brothers sing an old R&B song. Their voices flow through the speakers in the corner of the shop. I sing along.

“Drifting on a memory, Ain’t no place I’d rather be than with you. I wanna be living for the love of you, All that I'm giving is for the love of you.”

One of the older barbers, John, looks at me with what I could only determine was surprise. He smiles and asks, “What do you know about this here music?” I tell him I know plenty about “that there music” and keep singing while he continues to delicately cut hair. John soon joins me and sings along, the buzz of his clippers providing the additional background music.

Music brings everyone together in this shop. Any song that comes on the radio has someone reminiscing about a high school dance, a wedding, a family barbecue or maybe a time in their lives they can only fully remember through the lyrics of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder or Diana Ross.

Waiting for my appointment, I began talking to Sandra, a woman who has worked in a downtown corporate office for 15 years. After a few minutes of superficial conversation, Sandra begins talking about being a black woman in an office where she and two other people are the only minorities. She recalls when a supervisor asked her not to wear a certain pair of earrings because “they were too ethnic.”

Her story brought back memories of Jennifer, a classmate, who asked me if half the students who attend the University are African-American. Surprised at the question, I told her, “No.” She looked shocked and said, “Wow! I thought it was because you guys always travel in packs.”

Penny calls my name and I cut short my

[

conversation with Sandra. I walk over to the tall, slender, middle-aged woman and sit in the old barber’s chair. The chair’s surface is peeling and foam on the seat peeks from between the cracks. Penny asks about school. I tell her about my classes and mention how one of them is giving me problems. As she begins applying the chemical relaxer she tells me not to worry, saying, “God won’t put more on you than you can bear.”

At this moment, it seems harder to bear the relaxer in my hair than the most difficult college class. My scalp begins to burn. The burn starts slowly, hardly noticeable for about five minutes and gradually builds until the muscles and nerves in my head cry out for cold water. Although this is a natural reaction when applying the relaxer, I still hate it after almost 12 years of getting my hair done.

But I have learned how to cheat the pain.

The night before every appointment, I stand in front of my mirror, scoop handfuls of oil and run it through my hair. This helps lower the fiery burn into a manageable sizzle.

I fidget in the chair and wait for the end of this process. Penny is almost finished. Her long, slender fingers work faster, though it is not fast enough for me. The burning is getting worse. Penny tells me not to grimace because it makes her look like she is hurting me. “Be patient. Beauty is pain,” she said.

As young as age eight, I was aware of how much black women go through to make themselves look less ethnic. I constantly witnessed the time and money black people invested in their hair. I would sit at the beauty shop for three hours waiting for my mother.

Waiting at the shop, I read a book or looked

As young as age eight, I was aware of how much black women go through to make themselves look less ethnic.

[

at the television propped up in the middle of the room while my mother’s coarse and unruly mane was slowly transformed into silky, fine tresses. My mother paid $50 every few weeks for this miracle.

As I grew older, I became infatuated with the prospect of having straight hair. I stood in front of the mirror staring at the nappy pigtails hanging about my face. I wrapped a towel around my head and pretended it was the long, soft hair that I didn’t have. Now I know that having the hair I so passionately desired comes at a price.

There is a part of myself that I have to sacrifice. I straighten my hair because it is practical.

But I also straighten my hair to fit in with a mostly white university and a mostly white society. I don’t have to wear that towel anymore. With my straightened hair, I’m in less danger of looking “too ethnic.”

Penny finishes working the relaxer through my hair. She reclines the chair into the sink.

Cold water cascades through my burning scalp and the relief is immediate. The drier is the next step. Shrieking, hot air bombards my head, warms my skin and drowns out any sound coming from the shop. No longer a participant in the conversations, I sit back and watch the silent movie of smiling faces. My hair no longer defines me as I’m surrounded

by French rolls, finger waves, braids, Uptown fades and afros.

Once the drier stops, I am back in the gifted hands of Penny who begins curling my hair.

The heat of the curling irons always scares me.

I tense up. Penny puts the curling iron on the stand among the instruments of her craft. She playfully shakes my shoulders and tells me to relax. So I relax. At least I try to relax. I look at the clock; I have been at the shop for almost three hours. My hair is finished. Penny hands me a big pink mirror. I run my fingers through my hair. Pleased, I give her $50, kiss her on the cheek and say, “Thank you.”

Drive-thru Reviews

Beauty at all costs – a personal struggle

BY CATHERINE ADEL WEST | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BAD SANTA ★★★ BILLY BOB THORNTON AND BERNIE MAC Any way you cut it, Bad Santa accomplishes something that has never been done before: It makes an absolute travesty of something as wholesome and serene as Christmas, and does it without falling completely on its face. Just don’t take the little ones to see it, or you’ll have a lot of explaining to do.

(Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITIS

Haircut.

Marcel irons are used to curl the hair.

STEVE HARVEY AND NICK CANNON All in all, Love Don’t Cost a Thing is a travesty. The story is so transparent that one could walk in 20 minutes late and not miss a beat. Instead of Milian, Cannon should stick to paying R. Kelly to make him look cool and keep releasing R&B tracks.

Milian is a good-looking young lady, but can be seen elsewhere. (Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

MONA LISA SMILE ★★★ JULIA ROBERTS AND KIRSTEN DUNST Julia Roberts plays a free-spirited professor who tries to convince women at a boarding school that life isn’t all about marrying men and becoming housewives. Expect many speeches about intellectual freedom and if that doesn’t sound exciting, I don’t know what does. (Jason Cantone) Now Playing at Beverly and Savoy

PAYCHECK ★★

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN ★★★

PETER PAN ★★★

STEVE MARTIN AND BONNIE HUNT Cheaper by the Dozen manages to use it all–humor, drama and action to captivate and entertain audiences of every demographic. If one is looking for a few hours of relaxation, smiles and a reminder of how fun and important being a part of a family is, Cheaper by the Dozen is the film to see.

(Jennifer Keast) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

COLD MOUNTAIN NICOLE KIDMAN AND JUDE LAW This Civil War epic has been nominated for more Golden Globes than any other film. A wounded soldier returns home to Cold Mountain hoping to find the love of his life waiting for him. This film is based upon the best-selling novel and also stars Renee Zellweger as a semi-comic sidekick. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

THE HAUNTED MANSION

EDDIE MURPHY AND JENNIFER TILLY Ever since he started making kid comedies, Eddie Murphy has become sweeter than candy. This continues the trend that Eddie Murphy only makes terrible, terrible, terrible movies that no one could possibly like if they are older than a gradeschooler. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

THE LAST SAMURAI ★★★★

The relaxer is rinsed from the hair.

LOVE DON’T COST A THING ★

BEN AFFLECK AND UMA THURMAN After three years, Ben Affleck awakens from his memoryerased daze to find that he is being hunted by his employers because of something he did, is engaged to Uma Thurman and has mailed himself 19 innocent-looking everyday items as clues to unravel his self-induced mystery and escape from everyone chasing after him. Although the plot is good, unbelievable scenes, bad chemistry and disorganized pace rip into Paycheck’s potential. (John Piatek) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

SARAH BOLGER AND SAMANTHA MORTON In America tells the story of an Irish couple trying to find their own America through the eyes of their 11-year-old daughter who is wise beyond her youth. To this family, America represents a new start. In America, the family finds what they are looking for and learn to love again. This tale of hope and overcoming adversity was directed by Jim Sheridan. (Paul Wagner) Now Playing at Beverly

The hair is smoothed out to help straighten it.

humor equally, mix well with heartwarming confessions from each of the characters. A holiday romantic classic for people of all generations. (Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

The women of the Rylstone Women’s Institute in North Yorkshire make a yearly calendar based on scenes of the Yorkshire dales. One of the ladies’ husbands is diagnosed with leukemia, and in order to raise money for leukemia research, the women decide to change the content of the calendar from the scenery of Yorkshire to the nude women of Yorkshire. To their suprise, the calendar becomes a worldwide success. (Paul Wagner) Now showing at Beverly

CALENDAR GIRLS

IN AMERICA

Hair relaxer is applied to the hair.

film

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | SPEED THROUGH THE DRIVE-THRU REVIEWS

TOM CRUISE AND KEN WATANABE The Last Samurai is an epic adventure with a great soul and a great message. With so many bad samurai movies in the vaults, it is refreshing to see a film finally relate the concept of the samurai to moviegoers in a way they can understand: a Tom Cruise flick. One of the year’s best films and one of Tom Cruise’s best performances. (John Piatek) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

LOVE ACTUALLY ★★★ HUGH GRANT AND EMMA THOMPSON The film’s delicate blend of outrageous comedic scenes, which also prove that Brits can perform slapstick and dry

JASON ISAACS AND JEREMY SUMPTER For those looking for a magical adventure into Never Never Land (no–not the Michael Jackson ranch), the Disney animated film is the surest bet. This live action version does not have the very racist song “What Makes the Red Man Red?” but it is also missing some of the magic that brought the story of Peter Pan into homes everywhere. Like its band of heroes, this film occasionally soars, but spends most of its time stuck on the ground. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

RETURN OF THE KING ★★★★ ELIJAH WOOD AND IAN MCKELLAN Even if The Return of the King doesn’t win the grand prize on Oscar night, anything short of Best Director victory for Peter Jackson would be an unforgivable injustice. He has raised the bar for fantasy and redefined themes of friendship, honor and courage on a grippingly grand and poignantly intimate scale at the same time. Beside its structural limitations, The Return of the King is more than a rousing ending to a celebrated legend; it’s a battle cry for epic filmmaking.

Now playing at Beverly and Savoy

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE ★★★★ JACK NICHOLSON AND DIANE KEATON This truly is Keaton’s film. While the always remarkable Nicholson has some revelatory and tender moments, and the rest of the cast stands tall, the film gets its unmistakable shine from Keaton and her ever-sharp comic timing, her winning personality and charm, and the beauty that she effortlessly radiates throughout each scene. (John Loos)

Boardman’s

Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

STUCK ON YOU ★★★ MATT DAMON AND GREG KINNEAR Though it is a bit longer than necessary–there are at least two places that would have made equally satisfying endings–Stuck on You remains an often hilarious, insightful comedy about finding love and happiness in the face of biological barriers. It’s a respectful mix of comedy and compassion, a formula the Farrellys will hopefully stick with. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

OPENING THIS WEEKEND 21 GRAMS ★★★★ SEAN PENN AND BENICIO DEL TORO For two of the most chilling, numbing hours of the year, 21 Grams creates a genuinely upsetting, poignant swan song to happiness. Without morbidity or melodrama, it shows, with compelling honesty and brutal truth, the fragility of life, the nearness of death, and the echo of tears shed.That might not make for a cheerful movie outing around the holidays, but it achieves something rare in the area of personal, cinematic catastrophe: 21 Grams truly makes a statement about redemption and regret, which, come Oscar time, weighs a heck of a lot more than fruitcake. (Matt Pais) Opening at Boardman’s Art Theatre

21

SAVOY 16 Route 45 & Burwash Ave. (217)

355-FILM

$5.50 Kids all shows $5.75 Seniors $6.50 Late Shows Fri & Sat $6.50 Students $6.00 DAILY Matinees til 6pm No passes ALL DIGITAL STEREO Unlimited Free Drink Refills & .25¢ Corn Refills

Stadium Seating Gives YOU An Unobstructed View All Rocking Chairs

SHOWTIMES 1/09 - 1/15

CHASING LIBERTY (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING (SAT/SUN 11:25) 1:55, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 12:00 BIG FISH (PG-13) 12:10, 2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 11:50 MY BABY'S DADDY (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 12:10, 2:00, 3:50, 5:40, 7:30, 9:20 FRI/SAT LS 11:10 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (R) 11:30, 2:05, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 LOST IN TRANSLATION (R) 5:25, 7:40, 9:55 FRI/SAT LS 12:05 CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (PG) 2 PRINTS / 2 SCREENS 11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:35 STADIUM SEATING (SAT/SUN 11:10) 1:40, 4:10, 6:40, 9:10 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 COLD MOUNTAIN (R) 12:35, 3:40, 6:45, 9:50 PAYCHECK (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:45, 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:45 FRI/SAT LS 12:15 PETER PAN (PG) 11:45, 2:10, 4:30, 7:00, 9:25 FRI/SAT LS 11:50 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

BIG FISH ★★★ EWAN MCGREGOR AND ALBERT FINNEY Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the masses will grow inpatient with it. However, it’s the films inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003’s most imaginary films, but it falls short of its potential to also be one of 2003’s best. (Jason Cantone) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

CHASING LIBERTY MANDY MOORE AND STARK SANDS Mandy Moore plays the 18-year-old daughter of the president desperately trying to live a normal life. While on a European vacation, she manages to escape from her Secret Service guards only to fall in love with a British stranger.

Unbeknownst to her, the stranger is working undercover for her father. (Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

(PG-13) 2 PRINTS / 2 SCREENS 12:00, 4:00, 8:00 STADIUM SEATING 3:35, 7:35 MONA LISA SMILE (PG-13) 12:50, 3:30, 6:10, 9:00 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:30, 2:05, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 STUCK ON YOU (PG-13) FRI/SAT LS 11:55 THE LAST SAMURAI (R) STADIUM SEATING 12:15, 3:15, 6:15, 9:15 MASTER AND COMMANDER (PG-13) 11:30, 4:20, 7:00 COUPON

THE HAUNTED MANSION

(PG) 11:30, 1:30, 3:30 BAD SANTA (R) 2:20, 9:40 FRI/SAT LS 11:45 ELF (PG) (SAT/SUN 11:15) 1:20

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HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG ★★★ JENNIFER CONNELLY AND BEN KINGSLEY Based upon the bestselling novel which was boosted by joining Oprah’s infamous book club, this film focuses on an Iranian couple forced out of the Middle East and a former junkie. When the junkie loses her house to the couple, a psychological battle ensues that provides brilliant performances but lacks some emotional depth. (Jason Cantone) Opening at Savoy

MY BABY’S DADDY EDDIE GRIFFIN AND ANTHONY ANDERSON Three friends are roughly brought into the real world when their girlfriends all become pregnant. Hilarity ensues as these young men are forced to deal with the situations that they forced upon themselves. (Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

Art Theatre

126 W. Church St. Champaign, IL

21 Grams R, runs 125, minutes, flat, presented in HPS-4000/DD.

Starring Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts Showtimes: Daily at 5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., & 10:00 p.m., matinees Sat/Sun at 2:30 p.m.

“Two thumbs up!”... Ebert and Roeper.

“Winner, one of the five best pictures of the year.”... National Board of Review “Winner, best actor for Sean Penn”...

National Board of Review and Venice FilmFestival.

At the Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston LOTR3!

eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

BOARDMAN’S THEATRES www.BoardmansTheatres.com 1-800-BEST PLACE (800-237-8752) 217/355-0068 eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

MONA LISA SMILE (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 12:30 4:30 7:10 9:40

BAD SANTA (R) Fri. & Sat. 5:30 10:00 11:50 MY BABY'S DADDY (NR) Fri. Sun. - Thu. 5:30 10:00 & Sat. 1:10 3:10 5:10 7:30 9:30 11:50 BIG FISH (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. Sun. - Thu. 1:10 3:10 5:10 7:30 9:30 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:50 PAYCHECK (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. CALENDAR GIRLS (PG–13) 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30 12:00 Fri. & Sat. 12:40 3:00 5:15 7:30 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30 9:40 12:00 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 3:00 5:15 7:30 9:40 PETER PAN (PG) Fri. - Thu. 12:50 4:15 CHASING LIBERTY (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 SOMETHING GOTTA GIVE (PG–13) 12:10 Fri. - Thu. 1:10 4:10 7:10 9:50 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 STUCK ON YOU (PG–13) Fri. Thu. 12:30 3:00 7:30 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) Fri.-Thu. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:20 7:30 9:30 HAUNTED MANSION (PG) Fri. 9:50 11:50 & Sat. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:20 9:20 11:20 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:20 9:20 COLD MOUNTAIN (R) Fri. Thu. 12:10 3:20 6:40 9:40 LAST SAMURAI (R) Fri. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 10:00 RETURN OF THE KING (PG–13) (3 SCREENS) Fri. - Thu. 11:45 1:00 3:00 4:15 5:00 7:00 8:30 9:00 IN AMERICA (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:40 3:00 6:50 9:20 11:40 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 3:00 6:50 9:20 LOVE ACTUALLY (R) Fri. Thu. 6:50 9:50

Showtimes for 1/9 thru 1/15

Page 1

BEN AFFLECK DOESN’T DESERVE ANOTHER PAYCHECK. | JANUARY 8-14, 2004 buzz

C

PAYCHECK ★★

BY JOHN PIATEK | STAFF WRITER

2

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Lines are monitored 24/7. Service comes with a real Internet router. Not some cheap “$5” piece of plastic.

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al

was unable to decide exactly how to spin this tension, and as a result, the audience is rendered as confused as Jennings.

The pace of this film is also quite disorganized; it blazes through action scenes and then sputters to a halt during dialogue scenes. This is a movie where the viewer could easily be on the edge of his seat for a thrilling chase scene and then fall asleep for the next 20 minutes, only to awaken to an explosion or gunshots.

Obvious product placements in this poorly done film add to the feel that the actors sold out for this movie. From Fiji water to trendy sunglasses to a chase into a BMW dealership, this film should have come out in time for people to make lists for their holiday shopping.

Let’s face it. Sure there are a lot of cheap alternatives for Internet access.

What is your favorite flower?

I don’t have a personal favorite, but I like the flowers of spring, like tulips and daffodils.

nu

003 was certainly not a good year for Ben Affleck. After beginning the year with the critically displeasing Daredevil (which never came close to matching the widespread success of fellow comic book adaptation Spider-man), he teamed up with girlfriend Jennifer Lopez to make the biggest box-office bust in recent memory: Gigli. Affleck’s latest work, Paycheck, continues his run of substandard films.

Despite casting stars such as Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman (Kill Bill), and Aaron Eckhart (Erin Brockovich), and being directed by John Woo (Face/Off), Paycheck really feels like it was made for its namesake, another paycheck for rich Hollywood actors.

Paycheck is the story of Jennings’ (Affleck) life as an engineer who works on secret projects for large corporations for ridiculous amounts of money, but with a huge catch–they erase his memory after each project. This way, Jennings can only remember everything up until he began work on his project, effectively trading a few months of his life for money to enjoy the rest of it.

With fears mounting on the safety of the memory-erasing technology, Jennings decides to take on one last project that will cost him

three years of his life, but will reward him with enough cash to live in luxury forever.

After the three years, he awakens from his memory-erased daze to find that he is being hunted by his employers because of something he did, is engaged to Rachel (Thurman), and has mailed himself 19 innocent-looking everyday items as clues to unravel his self-induced mystery and escape from everyone who is chasing after him.

The best part of Paycheck is the thrilling manner in which Jennings slowly and surprisingly uses the 19 random objects to figure out what is happening to him and why he is on the run.

In a style reminiscent of Memento, the film is always one step ahead of the audience and teases them by throwing Jennings into situations where he must use these items like MacGyver to escape.

Sadly, many of the scenes appear far from believable. Of course, many films make few attempts to be true to life, but as long as they are done in a manner that fits with the story, they become believable to the audience.

Unfortunately, Paycheck delivers many scenes that are distractingly unbelievable.

For instance, Jennings beats up everyone he bumps into–from police to corporate goons–a feat that diminishes the “being chased” feeling to the story. Besides, how many engineers can really fight like James Bond, anyway?

Also, Jennings’ romance with Rachel is extremely uncomfortable. Since Jennings cannot remember Rachel–although she obviously remembers him–they have a weird on-screen chemistry. It appears that director John Woo

How would you describe Rick Orr’s Florists?

It is more (of) an upscale, unique flower shop for flowers and gift items.

What is the best part of your job?

Every day is unique. We use flowers to celebrate an event from birth to death and all those special occasions in between. Certain days are predictable, like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. But, on an everyday basis, the need for flowers is varied and unique.

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moviereview

Rick Orr, owner of the upscale flower shop on Walnut St., Rick Orr Florists enjoys the uniqueness of his job. His background in theatre helped him in starting up the Station Theatre, Buzz C-U’s Finest Best Theatre Troupe of 2003.

an

heaper by the Dozen, a remake of a 1950s film, aims to please viewers of all ages. Under the direction of Schawn Levy, this film’s aim is dead on. The film stars Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt as Tom and Kate Baker. When they both hit it big in their careers, they move their large family to the city, where viewers experience the adaptations, trials and tribulations as the family adjusts to their bleak new reality of city life.

This film was pitched as Martin’s latest comedy, but by doing so, the other talented and bright actors involved in this film were ignored. Martin was actually the most unconvincing of them all. Yes, the typical Martin humor is there, but as for being a father of 12 and a football coach, audiences need something a bit more from the acclaimed actor.

More believable is Hunt as a mother of 12 and soon-to-be published author. She beautifully pulls off the caring, always organized mother as well as the stereotypical “career” woman that her Bonnie dreamed of becoming.

The dozen kids are all also collectively more convincing than Martin, delivering what they do best–acting their age. While the writers tried to use the popularity of the older children to draw viewers–Piper Perabo, Tom Welling and Hilary Duff–they all give weaker performances. These weak performances do, however, allow Ashton Kutcher, as Nora’s aspiring-actor boyfriend Hank, to shine on the big screen. This is no surprise since he is all the rage in this MTV-driven pop culture in which we all live.

The members of the cast that should be given the most credit, however, are all the younger kids. They are cute, charming and funny. Their wisecracks, stunts and emotional moments pull at the audience’s hearts, no matter what their age.

Cheaper by the Dozen manages to use it all–humor, drama and action–to captivate and entertain audiences of every demographic. If one is looking for a few hours of relaxation, smiles and a reminder of how fun and important being a part of a family is, Cheaper by the Dozen is the film to see.

What is your most unique flower?

The King Protea from Maui. It looks like one of those from Little Shop of Horrors, the maneating ones. It is very unique and unusual.

E

BY JENNIFER KEAST | STAFF WRITER

time comes for everyone around the world to believe in fairies. Of course, the animated Tinkerbell annoyed audiences, but she was cute enough to invoke pity anyway.

For those looking for a magical adventure into Never Never Land (no–not the Michael Jackson ranch), the 1950s Disney animated film is the surest bet.

This live action version does not have the very racist song “What Makes the Red Man Red?” but it is also missing some of the magic that brought the story of Peter Pan into homes everywhere. Like its band of heroes, this film occasionally soars, but spends most of its time stuck on the ground.

How did you first get interested in the floral business?

I saw an ad for the job in the paper and applied for it as a summer job. I went in and the guy asked me to arrange a dozen roses, which I did. It was a natural talent. I had been in design so it paralleled that.

What are some of your other interests?

I founded the Station Theatre in Urbana during my time at U of I. I am still the artistic director there and direct about two plays a year. My house is in Monticello Gardens in Campustown and I am very interested in gardening as it relates to floral design. I am also a guest curator at the Krannert Art Museum for a show they have on Mom’s Weekend called “Petals and Paintings.”

L

★★★

PETER PAN | JEREMY SUMPTER, JASON ISAACS

What is your most popular floral arrangement?

I would say it is Gerber Daisies. They have very bright, pure colors. We carry them yearround. Roses in many different colors are also popular.

There is nothing better than unpacking a box at the end of January when there is (a) snowstorm outside. The fragrance hits you first and then you find fresh spring flowers from Holland inside.

A

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN

mericans need another Peter Pan movie as much as they need hooks for hands.

Regardless, P.J. Hogan’s delves into the world of the boyhood icon with this new version of an old story.

Long before pirates got their name from stealing music on the Internet, J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan provided generations of children with a swashbuckling tale of a boy who refused to grow up. Young boys everywhere recognize the pirate who lost his hand to a crocodile that ticks like an old clock, but this film presupposes: What if Captain Hook was just a lonely, old man; and what if Peter Pan’s major downfall involved his failed attempt at love?

Interesting suggestions, to be sure, but this rendition is pale in comparison to Disney’s animated masterpiece.

This film is especially pale with its drab cinematography. Each scene (particularly an actionpacked sword fight between Peter Pan and Hook) is bathed in monotonous, singular colors. Whereas this years monstrous success Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl used color to push the spirit of adventure

What sets Rick Orr’s apart from other florists?

We do a lot of research. We don’t carry ordinary flowers like carnations and baby’s breath, though they can be ordered. We import flowers from all over: Maui, New Zealand, France. We have a lot of out-of-town clients that call us to do events and weddings.

Our reputation over the years has spread.

S

moviereview

A

What is the history behind Rick Orr Florists?

I started working at a floral shop while I was working my way through school at the U of I. I went to school for many years studying speech communication and theater but I did not have any formal training in floral design, but it is a lot like theater directing. I thought I would move to Chicago or New York after college but I found that my vocation had arrived into a profession and I had (a) large customer base. I decided to involve my partner Geraldine and it has now been 19 years since that happened.

A

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN | STEVE MARTIN

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

RickOrr

G

20TH CENTURY FOX

★★★

5

Q Q& &A A

E

PETER PAN

into every scene, Peter Pan seems content with a blue-gray camera tint that transforms the magical tale into something decidedly British; and decidedly boring. When sword jabs and flying antics seem more dull than daring, the color choice turns this film into a wash of gray.

But that isn’t to say Peter Pan is a bad film. It weaves an enchanting tale that shows kids of all ages that Harry Potter is not the only kid who can demonstrate the magic of storytelling.

Then again, maybe magical live action films need only Jason Isaacs, who stars as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and as both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook in Peter Pan. The film also succeeds at giving this children’s tale a more adult psychological complex, with some of Barrie’s subtler subtexts such as Captain Hook’s middle-age crisis and Mr. Darling’s social ineptitude.

More than anything else, however, this Peter Pan succeeds triumphantly in returning the precocious boy role to an actual male: Jeremy Sumpter, who played young Matthew McConaughey in the under-appreciated Frailty.

Outside of a high school production or two, having an actual boy play this boyhood icon seems a complete rarity. Sumpter plays the role more as a macho and stubborn adventurer than as the frolicking nymph portrayed by female Peter Pans.

Golden Globe nominee Ludivine Sagnier, from this summer’s deliciously sexy Swimming Pool, does her best as Tinkerbell, but with constant pouting faces and an annoying disposition, she hardly seems worth saving when the

community

JANUARY 8-14, 2004

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moviereview

buzz

2 GREAT STORES–1 GREAT LOCATION • 204 N. NEIL ST., DOWNTOWN CHAMPAIGN

film

PHOTO | STEVE KLINE

12:37 PM

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

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DREAMWORKS FILMS

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6 arts

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buzz JANUARY8-14, 2004

Graphic novels emerge as literary underdog

moviereview

SUPER MAN| JANUARY 8-14, 2004

BY BRIAN WARMOTH I STAFF WRITER

G

raphic novels are a relatively new form of literature; indeed, many people by and large are unfamiliar with the term. The evolutions of the syndicated comic strip to the serial comic book, which manifested in 1933’s Funnies on Parade; and that of the comic book to the first graphic novel, have been processes akin to the development of the modern literary novel—rooted in historical political and economic events.

Section D of English 106 at the University of Illinois next semester will examine the development of the graphic novel—a maturing and distinctly American literary medium combining text and illustration. In fact, what many might contest to be a study of nothing but large comic books is a very serious look at an extremely diverse and rapidly evolving branch of literature.

Will Eisner is typically credited with coining the term “graphic novel,” which he used to refer to his work A Contract With God, released in 1978. Some argue, though, that the title of “first graphic novel” may actually belong to Jim Steranko’s visual detective thriller Red Tide, which was released two years earlier. The graphic novel, like the comic book, is a hybrid work of writing and illustration. The graphic novel breaks away from the designation of “comic book,” however, in that it is much longer than the average comic book and contains an entire story, unlike comic books, which will most often give only segments of ongoing storylines. Additionally, graphic novels are marketed as trade books, suitable for general readership, as opposed to comic books, which are sold almost exclusively in specialty stores and to narrower markets.

As a form, the graphic novel would not exist today without its historical roots in comic strips, comic books or pulp magazines of the early 20th century. Just as early American literature began with limited varieties of fiction being written to please a consumer market, writers and artists in all three of these areas found their trades to be a source of sorely needed income during the Great Depression of 1930s America.

The popularity of the superhero exhibited in

Action Comics’ Superman led to the mass production of variations by comic book companies, who saw incredible markets to be tapped. Comics have subsequently functioned as barometers of popular culture. World War II brought new heroes and enemies alike to the pages of comic books, where heroes began fighting Nazis years before Pearl Harbor and the United States’ official entrance into battle.

For years, comics remained the playground of superheroes and cartoon characters such as Archie and Disney’s Donald Duck. The second half of the 20th century, though, saw comics gradually appealing to a more adult market with series such as Tales From the Crypt, which tapped into the genres of pulp and noir fiction.

A gradual expanse of readership led to expanded realms of content, plot and subject matter.

With half a century under its belt, a wealthy heritage of graphic art and narrative content to draw from, and a host of experienced writers

with the problematic nature of tackling a hybrid work, which lends itself both to the studies of literature and graphic arts. The only available college degree directly related to the a n d medium comes from the Savannah (Ga.) a r t i s t s College of Art and Design and is designated as who had being a degree in sequential art. As an emerghoned their ing area of study, its place in academia remains crafts, the on the fence at best.

As Nina Baym, professor of English at the industry was poised to produce University of Illinois points out, “You cannot a new level of work talk about graphic novels without talking when Eisner published about graphic art.” The same is true in respect A Contract With God. The to the text that accompanies it: narrative tradisubsequent decades saw tion rooted in literature. “The two disciplines comic book writing become need to interact,” Baym says. Figuring out how self-aware with Alan Moore to treat a subject that falls equally into two disand his 12-comic book minis- tinct areas of study (and colleges at the University) provides a signifieries The Watchmen—still in print cant conundrum. in graphic novel form— When asked and Art Spiegelman, an whether or not the independent comic graphic novel has book artist and writer The graphic novel would a place for study who produced Maus, a not exist today without its in the English Pulitzer Prize-winhistorical roots in comic department’s ning graphic novel curriculum, Baym about his father’s strips, comic books or pulp says she is certainexperiences as a Jew magazines of the early ly open to its incluin the Holocaust. sion as a nonNeither of these 20th century. required course, but would have been possays there should be a broad sible without the legacies of enough sampling of works to be diswriting and graphic art that precussed. “I would ask, ‘Do we have a big ceded them, but both have become tesenough selection for teachers to pick and taments to the power of their medium. choose from?’ ” she says. This is an issue Daniel Yezbick, a Ph.D. candidate in film that must be dealt with whenever a new art studies at the University—and the graduate student who will be teaching the course for the form is judged for relevance in academia.

Yezbick’s course will delve into the wide second time in as many years it has been offered—proposed the course as an English array of styles that now inhabit graphic novels 106 topic. Titles of 106 sections vary from with a required reading list ranging from semester to semester, as they are set aside to be Spiegelman’s Maus and Joe Sacco’s chilling taught by graduate students such as Yezbick book Palestine, to perspectives in the civil who must submit academic rationales to the rights movement from Howard Cruse’s Stuck English department for topics they wish to Rubber Baby and Chicano culture works by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. cover.

Literary merit must be distilled from popu“My academic rationale was to allow students to experience a number of diverse views lar culture. The question of where the latter on art, culture and race in a medium that ends and the first begins is by no means clearmixes so many forms of storytelling and cut. Since comic books and graphic novels design,” Yezbick says. The last time he pro- have only recently come out of the woodwork posed the topic—listed for spring 2004 as “The as readings widely aimed at adults as well as Wild World of the American Graphic Novel”— children and teenagers, the case has only was spring 2001. He characterizes the feedback begun to be made for them as serious areas of he received from university students and fac- literary study. As with any discussion of artwork, their value cannot lie outside of the ulty alike as very positive and receptive.

Other universities around the United States value their audience places on them. The and Canada have offered similar courses, expanding length and variety of narratives the including Indiana University, the University of graphic novel has generated is at least half of Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania College of its case. The other is evolution of the artwork Technology, and the University of Alberta, within, as cold as the black and white in Maus, Calgary. In all cases, the schools’ programs are and as cutting edge as Dave McKean, who utivery new, as the medium has only begun to lizes a mixed-media approach of photography, receive serious academic notice in the last collage and computer effects, as well as tradidecade. Furthermore, departments are faced tional ink and paint in his illustrations.

21 GRAMS ★★★★

BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER

2

1 Grams is not a movie about shiny, happy people; and it won’t have audiences rolling in the aisles. Instead, this dark, disturbing drama is a powerful, deeply affecting puzzle about fate, karma and unspeakable tragedy.

Sean Penn plays Paul Rivers, a college mathematics professor awaiting a heart transplant; Naomi Watts plays Cristina Peck, a former junkie and beautiful mother of two with a passion for swimming; Benicio Del Toro plays Jack Jordan, an ex-con reformed by an all-encompassing religious faith.

Each of these characters’ lives is intertwined with the others, but even as the film gradually discloses what has transpired between these tormented victims of circumstance, it withholds explaining in a competent, meaningful way how and why they come together. 21 Grams does not generate mystery for the sake of plot twists but rather to pose questions about how life can steer us in unpredictable direc-

moviereview

BIG FISH ★★★

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

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| IS THIS BIG FISH HEAVIER THAN 21 GRAMS?

im Burton creates visual masterpieces.

Whether creating the infectiously dreary mist of Sleepy Hollow or the pastel-coated tongue-in-cheek parody of suburban life in Edward Scissorhands, he aims to astound and mesmerize with potent visuals that last long after seeing the film.

With Big Fish, Burton eases audiences into an amazing looking film, but looks aren't all that counts and unfortunately, this cinematographer's dream occasionally flounders.

At age 45, it seems Burton has finally grown up, and Big Fish serves as his opus to maturity.

After 2001's lackluster remake of Planet of the Apes, Burton needed to take his career in a different direction.

Up until now, Burton focused more on unleashing bizarre characters into a lopsided, M.C. Escher-like world for the sake of craziness: a man lives with garden shears as hands; a man transcends a fantasy world and brings ghosts into the real world when his name is called three times; a man who never knew his father cries over his deathbed as he begins to learn the power of storytelling. For a director whose greatest works can be termed "different," Big Fish is different than anything Tim

tions.

Penn is a stellar choice for Paul. He brings an essential, misguided maturity to the role of a man whose medical troubles complicate his body no more than they impact the collision course of his life. Penn bagging groceries on camera for two hours could be Oscar-worthy.

Del Toro lends a similar density to Jack, who must confront the notion that Jesus might be better at guiding him toward solutions rather than preventing problems. The true surprise here is Watts, though, who has at least three scenes that would stand independently as the dramatic apex in a lesser film. In Christina, Watts finds the best performance of her career.

Courtesy of the team behind Amores Perros, 21 Grams unravels with an engrossingly different form of non-chronological storytelling.

Rather than simply inverting the order of sequences or essential plot points, director Alejandro González Iñárritu chops and scrambles scenes with a chaotic impatience that achieves a surprisingly articulate effect. Every brief exchange is like one letter of a word jumble, but Iñárritu doesn’t just disguise what he’s spelling; every letter is a bitter pretzel of grave sadness and grim misfortune.

He slowly exposes every sorrowful moment inside his characters’ limited timeframe of individual pain to an almost crushing extent. 21 Grams is bold in its gloominess, starkly harrowing in its portrayal of complex, naked desires and defeats. The actors more than uphold the film’s bleak sense of raw human drama.

Burton has done before. The unexpected maturity displayed in Big Fish has also been interpreted as Burton's chance to reach out to his deceased father.

Big Fish tells the story of a son (Billy Crudup) hoping to learn the truth of the life of this dying father (Albert Finney in the film’s best performance) who always told stories.

Stories of a city where people didn't wear shoes because the ground was so soft or about an old witch with a glass eye that showed you how you were going to die. Like any normal human being, the son questioned the truth behind his father’s outlandish tales.

This is where the film diverges: while the son seeks out the truth in a rather haphazardly manner, the father's life is retold through stories with Ewan McGregor portraying the younger version of Finney. Burton has always had an easier time with scenery than sentiment, but this film tries to fill each scene with emotional subtexts about family, love and what it's like to be a big fish in a small pond.

When the son begins his quest to separate fact from fiction, the sentimental story wears thin. Whereas one would expect the film to trace the son experiencing his father's journey for himself (and flashbacks coming at each new scene), the film instead comes off as disjointed.

A film filled with so much magic should never be dull or easily forgettable. Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito bring a little fun to this love odyssey but even their outlandish characters are from from memorable.

Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the

Movie News Compiled by Jason Cantone

21 GRAMS | BENICIO DEL TORO

FOCUS FEATURES

1/7/04

Unfortunately, there are several points throughout this troubling insight into unthinkable loss and compromised morality where Guillermo Arriaga’s script simply fails to deliver. Even with a supreme ensemble in top form, the words occasionally sell short the people saying them.

But for two of the most chilling, numbing hours of the year, 21 Grams creates a genuinely upsetting, poignant swan song to happiness.

Without morbidity or melodrama, it shows, with compelling honesty and brutal truth, the fragility of life, the nearness of death, and the echo of tears shed.

That might not make for a cheerful movie outing around the holidays, but it achieves something rare in the area of personal, cinematic catastrophe: 21 Grams truly makes a statement about redemption and regret.

BIG FISH | ALISON LOHMAN, EWAN MCGREGOR masses will grow inpatient with it. However, it's the films inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome.

Whereas Homer's The Odyssey served as a very literary work that followed the same man on a journey plotline, it remained entertaining and inspiring in its vivid imagination. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003’s most imaginary films, but it falls from its potential to also be one of 2003’s best.

SCREEN REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unwatchable

This week marks the debut of a new weekly column. From the craziest celebrity antics to insider information about the newest movies in production, this column aims to keep the community informed about the latest in entertainment. C-U Views Photo Poll will return next week.

Ben Affleck is not only trying to recover from a possibly fatal career crash, he’s now biting the hand that feeds him–no, not J.Lo’s. Affleck used his interview in Entertainment Weekly to accuse Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein of “whoring” out his friendship with Matt Damon to sell movie tickets. With Affleck’s career relying on Miramax-made Jersey Girl and current box office disappointment Paycheck, he might have made yet another poor choice.

Charlize Theron gives an Oscar-caliber performance in Monster as prostitute/ serial killer Aileen Wuornos but the cameras were turned off when she and crew members reacted to ghost stories of the killer. Theron said locals told her ghosts would turn off lights and throw knives against the wall. That’s almost as scary as looking at Theron, who went from supermodel to super ugly for this film.

COLUMBIA PICTURES

0108buzz0619

Britney Spears seems on the verge of a breakdown with her recent antics. From an annulled shotgun marriage to sexual poses gracing the cover of Rolling Stone and Internet desktops everywhere, this formerly innocent girl (as if anyone ever believed that) will do anything.

Michael Jackson might be one of today’s most controversial figures, facing child molestation charges for the second time, but the journalists behind the story have become the story themselves.

Fox News questioned a prominent reporter about her claim that CBS paid Jackson $1 million for the widely watched 60 Minutes interview came from an angry former manager and may not have been true.

Cuba Gooding Jr. recently complained that all good black roles go to Will Smith.

Does this mean Smith turned down roles in Boat Trip and Snow Dogs before the Oscar-winner Gooding Jr. picked them ?

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Additional justification lies in the graphic novel’s increasing influences on other genres, including film, journalism and even literary novels at large. After the box office successes of X-Men and Spider-Man–now the highest grossing film of all time–Hollywood studios have snatched up comic book and graphic novel properties as prime screenplay material.

Graphic novels have produced numerous successful stories on screen, including Road to Perdition and Shrek. Yezbick plans to delve into this trend of adaptation, looking at works such as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s From Hell.

Though journalism is not an area immediately associated with graphic literature, syndicated political cartoonist Ted Rall’s graphic novel To Afghanistan and Back is actually a graphic novel that deals with just that—journalism of his observances in the war-torn country. The book belongs to a small but growing sect of graphic novels dealing with war journalism, which also includes accounts of the Palestinian and Bosnian conflicts by Joe Sacco.

Michael Chabon’s 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay, Comics.

Yezbick says that when he offered the course a novel without pictures, actually lays out its three years ago, Borders did not have a own case for the graphic shelf entirely devoted to graphic novnovel’s place as an els. “It’s slowly starting to shed the American art form.

It’s slowly starting stigma of being kids’ stuff,” he The novel, which says. Most major book retailers tells the story of to shed the stigma of now have large shelf spaces set two cousins aside for graphic novels and brought togethbeing kids’ stuff. include most of what comprises the er in the shad-Daniel Yezbick course’s syllabus. Moreover, they’re ows of World gaining critical attention in major magWar II, parallels azines such as Spin and Entertainment the beginnings of Weekly. Both publications now review graphic Action Comics and a novels at least semi-regularly. timeline of the comic book industry.

Meanwhile, graphic novels have They set out to create a comic book featuring a character called “The Escapist,” who in not escaped the attention of America’s library December 2003 received his own comic book system. The American Library Association’s series outside of the novel from Dark Horse 2002 annual conference included a seminar

called “Getting Graphic,” a discussion about the graphic novel’s place on library shelves. Major authors in the industry, including Spiegelman and Neil Gaiman, were brought in to speak. According to David Ward, assistant undergraduate librarian at the University’s undergraduate library, “…This is definitely an area that the undergrad (library) is looking to grow in.” The library currently has only a small shelf space devoted to graphic literature.

“I am currently working with one of our graduate assistants on collecting more graphic novels, starting with materials related to the new UIUC course, and expanding from there.

We have only collected a smattering of them previously, so our current efforts, to my

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A glimpse at several graphic novels.

7#

knowledge, reflect the first major attempt to purchase a wide variety of materials in this area, as opposed to only a few specific titles,” Ward says.

At the very least, Yezbick hopes that his course will better acquaint students with what the graphic novel encompasses as a genre. Its range of materials is geared toward students from all academic backgrounds, whether they are familiar with the works or not.

“One girl who came in when I taught the course before thought it was porn,” Yezbick says. His course will give students a chance to better understand the historical development of a rapidly maturing and distinctly American field of literature—the graphic novel. buzz

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WHAT CORNER IS THE ARTIST ON? | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

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ARTIST CORNER

BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR

back window.

M

Why do you choose to pair images of man-made objects with images of natural objects?

att Cohn is a recent graduate of the University, receiving a double degree in rhetoric and psychology. Currently, you can find him serving up fine vegetarian fare at Strawberry Fields.

Though he is by all accounts a friendly young man, he prefers quiet, introspective moments to loud parties.

Don’t be fooled by his serious demeanor, though. He is quite capable of having a good laugh.

Why did you switch from taking pictures with an automatic camera to a manual camera this past summer?

I went to Europe last summer with a tiny CIA-looking automatic camera. I could carry it everywhere without fear of being construed as a tourist, but I don’t think most tourists take pictures of the fluorescent lights at subway stations. The automatic camera helped me look at the world one little rectangle at a time. I like a lot of my Europe pictures, but they lack depth. Now I’m unashamed of feeling like a tourist in Urbana, walking around with a camera hanging from my neck.

Well, if you look at the ‘fall’ pictures, you can see that the artificial light emulates almost EXACTLY the color of the dying leaves. This is textbook hubris, my friend...the stuff of sad art.

What are your future goals as a photographer?

I should make it a goal to take more than one photograph of the same thing. Also, I heard that some people like to take pictures with people in them, so I should overcome the fear that I will steal the soul of anyone I photograph.

How do you feel your photography complements/ influences your writing?

I take pictures of objects that my narrators might be staring at when they’re talking, or places that my narrators would really slip into storytelling mode.

Why did you choose the piece you’re featuring?

The (Chevrolet) Celebrity is a good mascot for my art. I went in to Paradiso to check on the show and most of the pictures had fallen.

I framed the pictures on cardboard, so I had to be creative with the hanging. Well, my technique didn’t work and I ended up using duct tape. Art should be more like this person’s

bookreview The Life Eaters ★★★

David Brin

BY BRIAN WARMOTH I STAFF WRITER

B

estselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author David Brin adapts one of his early novelettes to graphic novel form in The Life Eaters, an alternate history storyline occupying the genres of science fiction and fantasy.

Brin, a scientist and author, has written numerous short stories novels, including The Postman, which was adapted into a film by Kevin Costner. The plot is set in a world where the Allied invasion on D-Day failed, the gimmick being that the Norse gods of Viking mythology entered into the war on the side of the Nazis. Though this premise might be enough to deter one’s interest who is not typically a fan of science fiction or graphic novels, the heart of the book is the author’s belief in the human spirit’s ability to triumph over

impossible odds, particularly when faced with a foe driven by fanatic religion. All said, Brin classifies The Life Eaters in a sub-genre of science fiction pioneered by Phillip K. Dick’s novel The Man in the High Castle, which explores how Hitler might have won World War II. There is also a strong presence of inspiration from such comic book characters as Iron Man, Captain America and Thor.

The graphic novel itself, standing at 144 pages, is divided into three chapters. The first sets the tone for the story, establishing in dark brutality the setting and introducing key characters. The author definitely succeeds in outlining a complicated alternate reality, giving a basic overview of the current condition of the world; Odin, the king of the gods, and his son Thor, the god of thunder, reign over most of the earth alongside the Nazis. Loki, the Norse god of mischief (and also Odin’s son) has defected to the side of the struggling Allies.

The shocker of the book comes with the second chapter and the exploration of how the Viking gods came into being seemingly out of nowhere. Herein lies the book’s discussion of religion’s power in the world and Brin’s case for the potential of humanity. As he states in the afterword, normal everyday people were the ones “who pounded Adolf Hitler’s mon-

sters back into mythology, where monsters belong.”

If the book has a weakness, it’s in the limp ending, which fails to deliver after an amazingly conceived build in conflict throughout chapters one and two. His manipulation of characters and other elements of Norse mythology is well-executed, though the central character is ultimately poorly developed.

This is somewhat excused by the focus on humanity’s triumph as a whole, but blemishes the finale of the narrative itself.

The artwork in the book is done by renowned comic artist Scott Hampton, who employs very realistic images and usually great attention to detail and lighting. Though the illustration is nothing groundbreaking, it serves its purpose to convey several very cinematic sequences and plays with the reader’s awareness of the spaces being depicted.

The Life Eaters is a fascinating read for any history buff, fan of science fiction or anyone with general interest in mythologies. It succeeds on the level that most science fiction stories set out to achieve–to explore humanistic themes in unrealistic scenarios. It is also a commentary on the role of the Nazis’ dabbling in the occult and contrivance of mythology to define themselves in relation to the tragic

scope of what they accomplished in the Holocaust. Brin’s discussion is epic, but in the end admirably tackled.

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• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

• Specification in employment classifications are made only where such factors are bonafide occupational qualifications necessary for employment.

• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

• This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal oppportunity basis.

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Employment 000

Services CLEANING

HELP WANTED | Full Time Express Personnel Services 217.355.8500 101 Devonshire Dr., Champaign

Exact Extraction. Carpet & upholstery cleaning. Free estimates. 6883101.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES $250-$500/week. Will train to work at home helping the US Govt. file HUD/FHA mortgage refunds. No experience necessary. Call toll-free 1800-778-0353.

Services

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LAWN CARE FREE ESTIMATES: Tree trimming, Topping, Removal, Stump Grinding.

384-5010.

Apartments

400

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished | Unfurnished

BUSINESS SERVICES

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$

EACH WAY*

Hinsdale Oasis Advance Reservations Required

Leave HUFF HALL 4th & Gregory 4:45am 7:45am 9:45am 12:45pm 3:45pm

Leave IL Terminal 45 E. University 5:00am 8:00am 10:00am 1:00pm 4:00pm Dependable Service since 1998

Bluebird 800-400-5500 www.bluebirdec.com

105 E. CLARK & 105 E. WHITE, C.

Photo Sellers 30 words or less + photo: $5 per issue Garage Sales 30 words in both Thursday’s buzz and Friday’s Daily Illini!! $10. If it rains, your next date is free.

Action Ads • 20 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $14 • 10 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $7 • add a photo to an action ad, $10

400

1 bedroom lofts $497 2 bedrooms $585 3 bedrooms $750 4 bedrooms $950 Campus, parking.

Fall 04, 367-6626

808 S. LINCOLN, U Renting Aug 2004. Classic older building with Unfurnished 1 BR+ sun room, 1 BR + den, Furnished 2 BR apts and efficiency across from Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Ave. Near Krannert, Law School, Music, etc.

Features hardwood floors in upper units, laundry on site. Parking $45/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

1 BR+ SunRoom- from $605/mo(UF) 1 BR+ Den - from $605/mo (UF) 2 BR - from $495 to $540/mo (F) Efficiency - from $370/mo (F) BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com Available Now. 2 bedroom on campus for January. $550 per month.

367-6626.

Boutique style apartments and lofts.

Ones, twos, threes, and houses. On or near campus. Available now, December 15, 2003 and for August 2004. Rent starting at $349/mo. for 2 bedroom apartment. 841-4549

Avail Aug 2004. Attractive modern loft apts. Dishwasher disposal, window a/c, ceiling fans, patio/ balconies, carpet, laundry, parking, 2nd floor skylights. Rents from $350/mo. $50/month to furnish. Apts. shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

Renting August 2004. Quiet building in nice Urbana neighborhood. 2 bedroom townhouses, furnished $590/mo., unfurnished $570/mo. 2 bedroom apartments, furnished $525/mo. Parking optional, central A/C, carpet, laundry facilities, gas heat. Daily showings, 7 days a week BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1108 S. LINCOLN, U

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

Aug 2004 rental. Older classic building close to Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Avenue. Upper apts. have hardwood floors. Laundry in building. Efficiencies have carpet and are furnished with rents from $325 to $360/mo.

Unfurnished 1 bedrooms from $560/mo. Unfurnished 2 bedrooms from $695/mo. 7 days a week showings.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. WALNUT, U Renting for August 2004. Quiet neighborhood. 1 bedroom apts. from $465/mo. 2 bedroom from $505/mo.

Gas heat, central a/c, laundry facilities. Parking included. To furnish $50/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

*Rates expire 1/25/04

Available Jan 1st One Bedrooms

Billed rate: 34¢/word Paid-in-Advance: 25¢/word

Apartments

T-1/UIUC/Ethernet $395-$540 Engineering Campus 1004-906-911 W. Springfield, Urb.

Bailey Apt., 344-3008 www.BaileyApartments.com

205 N. Busey, one bedroom, pay own electric $490.00. Doyle Properties 398-3695 2 BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE Available January 15. Campus Bus, CA, DW. $685. 328-1998 www.lincolnshireprop.com

1005 S. SIXTH, C. Aug 2004. A+ location! Next to UI Library. Great older building. 1 bedrooms from $405/mo. Laundry facilities, Window A/C, Carpet. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1006 W. STOUGHTON, U. Very close to Engineering campus.

Avail for Aug 2004. Masonry construction.

2 bedrooms from $620/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Parking $25/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1007 S. FIRST, C. Aug 2004. Good location near First and Gregory. Quiet building. Attractive well-maintained. 2 bedroom apts from $625/mo. 1 bedroom from $425/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Laundry facilities. Parking included.

Apts shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

101 N. BUSEY & 102 N. LINCOLN, U. August 2004. Excellent location near Green & Lincoln. 2 bedroom apts from $500/mo. Window A/C, Laundry. Parking avail at $30/mo. Apartments shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

102 N. GREGORY, U. August 2004. Close to Illini Union. 2 bedrooms at $500/mo. 1 bedroom $390/mo. Efficiencies $350/mo. Carpet, Gas Heat, Laundry. Parking available at $30/mo. 7 days a week showings.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

103 E. DANIEL, C Showing for Aug 2004. Beautiful building. Great location close to Frat park. Efficiencies from $370/mo.

Central A/C, Storage units, Laundry.

Parking avail at $50/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

105 E. DANIEL, C Avail. Aug. 2004. 4 bedroom apt near Frat park. 1,000 sq. ft., spacious living room, dining area, 2 baths. Balcony, laundry facilities, dishwasher/ disposals. Parking $50/ mo. Rent starts at $1,350/ mo.

Shown Daily.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

105 E. GREEN, C Studio apts avail Aug 2004. Carpet, electric heat, wall a/c units, off street parking avail, laundry on site. Rents from $320/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1107 S. EUCLID, C Aug 2004 rental. First rate location near Armory, IMPE, and Snack Bar. 1 bedroom apts. Window A/C, Gas Heat, laundry. Parking $35/mo.

Rents start at $395/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com 111 S. Busey 3 bedroom townhouse, elegant, DW, AC, 2 bath, 1 block engineering. $1150/mo. 398-1998 www.lincolnshire.com

201 N. LINCOLN, U August 2004 rental. 1 and 2 bedroom apts close to campus with parking, ceiling fans in some units, laundry, carpet/tile floors. Shown 7 days a week. 1 bdrm $390/mo, 2 bdrms from $500/mo.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

311 E. WHITE, C. Avail for Aug 2004. Large furnished efficiencies close to Beckman Center. Rent starts at $325/mo. Parking avail at $30/mo. Window A/C, carpet. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

404 W. HIGH, U Renting for Aug 2004. Huge 2 bedroom apts. Completely remodeled.

Washer/Dryer in each unit. Parking available. Quiet Urbana neighborhood. Rents start at $695/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com 502 E. University, C.

Security Building 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, large rooms, AC, furnished, parking, quiet building. Aug. 04 369-0237. www.zhengrentals.com

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

509 W. MAIN, U. Quiet Urbana location very close to campus avail for Aug 2004. 1 BR apts. Rents start at $390/mo. Carpet, laundry facilities, window A/C, storage, parking avail at $25/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

611 W. Green, U New 2 bedroom luxury apts avail. for Aug 2004. Georgian style architecture with brick exterior in historic Urbana neighborhood. Balcony/ patio, washer/dryer, dishwasher, microwave, garbage disposal, internet access, assigned parking $40/ mo.

Rent $950/ mo. Call for details.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873

702 W. WESTERN, U. Aug 2004. 1 bedrooms with window a/c, carpet/tile floors, boiler heat, laundry on site. Parking avail. Rents start from $380 to $495/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

705 S. 1st St. Apts.

First & Green

Luxury 2, 3 & 4 BRM apts Balconies, Central A/C, 2 Baths 1 SPRING LEASE AVAILABLE

367-2009 705 W. STOUGHTON, U. Aug 2004 rental. 3 bedroom apts.

Near Lincoln Ave. and Engineering Campus. Fenced-in yard. Balconies/ patios. Microwaves, carpet, central A/C, disposal, dishwasher, parking $25/mo. Rents start at $615/mo.

Shown daily 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. FIRST, C Excellent Value for Aug 2004. Half block south of Green on First Street.

Large apts in security building. 2 bedrooms from $480/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Hot water heat. Parking at $30/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. LOCUST, C. Aug 2004 rentals. One block west of First Street, close to campus in quiet neighborhood. Window A/C, Gas heat, Carpet, Covered Parking available, Laundry facilities. Efficiency $300/mo, 1 bedrooms $395/mo and 2 bedrooms $610/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

802 W. GREEN, U. Aug 2004 rental. One block from Lincoln Ave. Great architecture and design - not a box apt. Large units with central A/C, carpet, patios/balconies, laundry. Off-street parking at $45/mo. 2 bedrooms from $595/mo.

Efficiency $355/mo. Showings 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

903 W. NEVADA, U Quality rooming house. Near Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Ave. Rooms avail for Aug. 2004. Rents from $260/mo to $330/mo. Laundry facilities, Common kitchen. Showing 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

17

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

905 S. Locust, 2 Br. • Furnished, Balcony • Dishwasher, Central A/C • Microwave, Disposal • Onsite Laundry Room • Vaulted Ceiling-3rd Floor • Parking • Ethernet available • Starts at $645 • Call Mon-Sat.

766-2245 www.905locust.com

Locust III Apts 906-908 S. Locust St.

Spacious efficiencies and 1,3 & 4 bedroom apts.

Some units paid heat/water 1 SPRING LEASE AVAILABLE

367-2009 907 W. STOUGHTON, U.

Excellent location. Aug. 2004 rental.

Attractive apts with Central A/C, Carpet, Microwaves, Large rooms, laundry facilities. 2 bedroom from $625/mo. Parking at $30/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

BUSEY & ILLINOIS, U. Large apts in quiet Urbana location one block South of Green and one block East of Lincoln. Off street parking. 2 bedrooms start at $665/mo. Avail Aug 2004. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

ARBOR APARTMENTS, C. Avail August 2004. Located at Third and Gregory across from the Snack Bar. A block from IMPE. Large one bedroom apts. Well-maintained. One of the best bargains on campus.

Gas Heat, Carpet, Window A/C, Assigned Parking available. Laundry facilities available. Rents start at $360/mo. Apts shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com Available fall 2004 Large 2 bd on Chalmers. Furnished, C/A, DW, parking and Ethernet available. $740/mo. PPM, Inc. 3511800. www.ppmrent.com Available Now 706 S. Locust 2 bdrm $550/mo John Randolph Atrium Roommate Program Avail starting @ $330/mo BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 Furnished 1 bedroom apartment available on Engineering Campus for $440/mo. Call University Properties at 344-8510.

Furnished one bedrooms and efficiencies for Fall semester from $325 near John and Second or Healey and Third. 356-1407.

QUIET ENGR TOWNHOUSES $800- 900 2 bedroom 2 storks 3981998

3:55 PM

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calendar

decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St, Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546.

Gallery Virtu Cooperative – Original works by the nine artist-owners: jewelry, pottery, paintings, collages, hats, handbags and other textiles, sculptures and journals. The gallery also offers workshops.

220 W. Washington St, Monticello. 762-7790. Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. www.galleryvirtu.org Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand-painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill, Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.

Larry Kanfer Gallery – "Prairie Catharsis" - dramatic new Central Illinois prairie images on display by Larry Kanfer, award-winning photographer. 2503 S Neil, Champaign. Free and open to the public.

Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm Sun 11am-3pm. 398-2000. www.kanfer.com LaPayne Photography – Specializes in panoramic photography up to six feet long of different subjects including sporting events, city skylines, national parks and University of Illinois scenes. 816 Dennison Dr, Champaign. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm and by appointment. 356-8994.

Old Vic Art Gallery – Fine and original art, handsigned limited edition prints, works by local artists, art restoration, custom framing and periodic shows by local artists. 11 E University, Champaign.

Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am-4:30pm. 3558338.

Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques, framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St, Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-2924. www.steeplegallery.com Ziemer Gallery – Original paintings and limited edition prints by Larry Ziemer. Pottery, weavings, wood turning and glass works by other artists.

Gallery visitors are welcome to sit, relax, listen to the music and just enjoy being surrounded by art.

210 W Washington, Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-9786. www.ziemergallery.com Parkland Art Gallery – Pastel drawings by Springfield artist George Atkinson. Drawings focus on the Midwestern landscape and its dairy farming community. Exhibit opens Jan 12. Mon-Fri 10am-3pm, Mon-Thur 6pm-8pm, Sat 12pm-2pm.

ART-ON VIEW NOW “Texture of a Place, Plein-Air Paintings” – Original paintings by Beth Darling and ceramics by Michael Schewegmann on display through Jan 10 at Verde Gallery. Showing in main gallery: Sculptures In Wood by Joe Gower. In cafe and halls: paintings by Jess Byler. In the newsroom: New works by Toni Putnam and sculptures by Jim Zimmerman. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

“Verde Retrospective: New Works by Old Friends” – New show featuring new work from featured gallery artists of the past year on display at Verde Gallery Jan 13 - Feb 7. No Reception. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson and Shoshanna Bauer, along with art by family and friends of the studio on display at Creation Art Studio. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 3446955. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana.

“Digital Dabblings” – An eclectic selection of digitally processed photographs by John Sfondilias on display at Aroma Café through Jan 31. Subjects include the University’s South Farm and Quad as well as locations as far away as Greece and Turkey.

118 N Neil, Champaign. Open 7 days a week, 7amMidnight. For information contact Amanda Bickle.

356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com “Ethereal Organics” – Photographs from Jim Hultquist on display at Café Aroma through Jan.

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

Hultquist:“A project in the study of light interacting with natural forms.” 118 N Neil, Champaign.

Open 7 days a week, 7am-Midnight. For information contact Amanda Bickle. 356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com “One Place After Another” – The Illini Union Art Gallery presents this non-traditional 3-D show through Feb 4. 1401 W Green, Urbana. Open every day 7am-10pm.

“Whistler and Japonisme: Selections from the Permanent Collection” – Marking the 100th anniversary of James McNeill Whistler’s death, this exhibition highlights his works on paper and examines the influence that Japanese woodcuts had on his artistic technique. On display at the Krannert Art Museum through Mar 28. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested donation: $3

MIND BODY SPIRIT Sunday Zen Meditation Meeting – Prairie Zen Center, 515 S Prospect, Champaign, NW corner Prospect & Green, enter through door from parking area. Introduction to Zen sitting, 10am; full schedule: Service at 9 followed by sitting, Dharma Talk at 11 followed by tea until about noon. Can arrive at any of above times, open to all, no experience needed, no cost. For information call 3558835 or www.prairiezen.org.

Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:30-9pm and monthly retreats on Sunday. Theravadan (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vjrayana & Dzogchen) meditation practice. Meets in Urbana. More information call or email Tom at 356-7413 or shayir@soltec.net. www.prairiesangha.org.

Watson at 353-4934.

FILM LISTING Top Gun – This 1986 film stars Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards and Kelly McGillis. Cruise plays Maverick, a hot-headed pilot who attends the Top Gun Naval Flying School with his wingman, Goose, played by Edwards. The film revolves around Maverick’s antics, attitude and struggles to deal with his father’s death and his inferiority complex. Virginia Art Theatre. Jan 9-10. Fri 7pm, Sat 2:30 & 7pm, $5.

THEATRE LISTINGS “Meet My Husbands” – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her "new" husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. A multiple surprise ending caps this hilarious romp. Show dates are Jan 16,17,18,23,24,25,30 and 31. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8pm. Matinee performances on Sundays (the 18th and 25th) begin at 2pm. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” – The Zoo Theatre Company presents this performance at the Virginia Theatre on Jan 22, 23 and 24. Shows begin at 7:30pm with an additional 1pm show on the 24th. Tickets on sale now at the Virginia, call 356-9063.

WORKSHOPS

Clear Sky Zen Group – Meets on Thursday evenings in the Geneva Room of the McKinley Foundation.

Newcomers to meditation and people of all traditions and faiths are welcome – McKinley Foundation, 809 S Fifth St, 6:25-9pm.

Career Planning Seminar – Participants will learn about the career development process, explore interests, abilities, goals and discover available resources. A tour of the center is provided, followed by an opportunity to schedule an individual appointment with a career counselor. Parkland College, room A208. Jan 20 6pm-8pm. For more information, call 351-2536.

Simplicity Discussion Group – This month, the group will discuss the book Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply by Linda Breen Pierce. The author encourages readers to define a life of simplicity unique to them and their family.

Whether or not you have read the book, you are welcome to join the group. Hosted by Jo Pauly.

Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd, Champaign, 351-9011. Thu 7pm. For more information, contact Pauly at 337-7823, jopauly@prairienet.org.

A Political and Geographical History of Champaign – Explore area history with one of Champaign County's historians, former Champaign Mayor Dannel McCollum, assisted by Champaign County Historical Museum Director Paul Idleman. The class will cover county history from the distant past through the 20th century.

Champaign County Historical Museum. Feb 5-26 7pm-8:30pm. Registration deadline is Jan 29. The course fee is $33. For more information, call 4034590.

‘Science of Mind’ Study Group – This group’s purpose is the sharing and discussion of spiritual topics as we each improve our own lives and live from our own spiritual center. Anyone interested in attending is welcome. The group will use the monthly “Science of Mind” magazine for discussion, meditation and study topics. The Jan 14 meeting topic is "Going North to Go South." Wed 9:45am-11am. For more information, go to www.scienceofmind.com or contact Jo Heiser at joheiser@juno.com, 384-0437.

Interior Design: Doing a Lot with What You've Got – Participants are encouraged to bring their design problems along to this explanation of "What is interior design?" and "How can I do a lot with what I've got?" Innovative ideas about ways to make a simple improvement or a complete makeover will be discussed; questions and problems will guide the discussions in class. Parkland College, room D146. Feb 5-26 7pm-9pm.

Registration deadline is Jan 29. Registration fee is $37. For more information, call 403-4590.

Life Makeover Group – This last meeting of the group will focus on the topic “Build a Soulful Community.”The group will discuss where to go to find support in the changes you want to make in your life, and where you can find like-minded people after the group ends. If you are interested in being a part of the new group that will be forming, contact Diana Sarabi at 352-4251. Champaign Park District Hays Center. Thur 7pm-8pm.

Conversational Spanish I – This class is for those who have travel plans or just want to learn beginning Spanish. Topics will include greetings, food, clothing, weather and more. The class will cover basic grammar and sentence construction as well.

Parkland College, room X116. Jan 26- Mar 8 7pm9pm. Registration deadline is Jan 19. Registration fee is $69. For more information, call 403-4590.

Introduction to Film Study – Participants will view films by classic directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford and will learn to view a film not only for its entertainment value but also to assess them as a medium of information about society and ourselves, the viewers. Parkland College, room M130. Feb 3-24 6:30pm-9pm. Registration deadline is Jan 27. The course fee is $38. For more information, call 403-4590.

Overeaters Anonymous – This group meets Tuesdays and Fridays, 5:30pm, Fellowship Circle in Champaign. For more information, contact Lin, 359-4449. Monday meetings are at First Presbyterian Church, Urbana, 7:30pm. Contact Lin or Marcey, 356-8748, for more information. The group also meets Thursdays at 5:30pm and Saturdays at 9:30am at Channing-Murray Foundation, Urbana. For more information about the Thursday meetings, contact Torie, 369-6218.

For more information about the Saturday meetings, contact Marcey.

Formerly-Fat Persons’ Support Group – Free social meeting every Sat at 2pm at Aroma Cafe, Champaign. For more information contact Jessica

Fiction Writers Workshop – Learn the elements of good fiction, such as characterization techniques, character development, dialogue, setting the scene, plot development and point of view.

Students will read aloud and critique each other's work in class. By the end of the course, students will write one complete short story or novel chap-

buzz

buzz

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | WATCH THE SHOWER DRAINS WITH THOSE FLOWING LOCKS, BOYS.

Rock’s journey from West Virginia

ter. Parkland College Bauman Center. Feb 4- April 14 5:30pm-7:30pm. Registration deadline is Jan 28.

The course fee is $91. For more information, call 403-4590.

Beginner, Beginner Computers – Designed for those who have never touched a computer, this hands-on class will start with the very basics–how to turn on a computer, what it is and what it does.

There will also be a discussion of what to look for when buying a computer. Illinois Employment and Training Center. Feb 2-16, 6pm-8pm. Registration deadline is Jan 26. The course fee is $41. Call 4034590 for more information.

American Minor come from Appalachia to cornfields and rock the whole way

BY STEVE KLINE | STAFF WRITER

Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn important steps in the home buying process including pre-qualification, inspection and closing. Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 5 and 12, 7pm-9:30pm.

The course fee is $20 for individuals or same household couples and includes a workbook. Call 351-2235 to register.

A

merican Minor gave me a new appreciation for boxes of snack crackers. The design is so simple: a rectangular bit of cardboard just wide enough to let Keebler’s Wheatables serve as an anchor, just tall enough to properly get those last crumbs without elbow discomfort and yet thin enough to store nicely in a cabinet.

They’re just ready for when you get a hankering to enjoy and digest. You don’t really appreciate the beauty of a Wheatables box until you buy bulk, which is a pain in the ass on all fronts–staleness is inevitable.

This particular box shakes spastically on a three-foot JBL amplifier as American Minor fleshes out a new song–this box had no idea what it was in for. “We practice as loud as we play shows, just so it translates,” said guitarist Josh Gragg.

Gragg and lead guitarist Bud Carroll trade guitar licks, tweaking to get the most Rock without overdoing it. The snack crackers shake, but never fall.

“Try not to hold back with the chords, keep moving,” Carroll said.

“I think the last part was awesome, I just don’t want the next to be half-assed,” Gragg said.

“You wanna hammer it out?”

There’s a reason why 17-member ska bands stay in vogue for a few days, a month at most.

Emo had a quick sprint before becoming a

Basic Principles of Real Estate Appraisal – Learn principles of market and valuation analysis, appraisal theory, concepts and techniques.

Parkland Business Development Center. Jan 27Feb 26, Tue and Thu 6pm-9pm. The course fee is $380. Call 351-2235 to register.

DiSC Customer Service Personal Profile – Participants will be able to increase customer satisfaction and service, build productive teams and ease frustration and conflict within their organizations by identifying customers' primary dimensions of behavior and their preferred approach to communication and problem-solving. Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 4, 8:30am12:30pm. The course fee is $110. Call 351-2235 to register.

What Managers Do – Learn how to use planning techniques that ensure smooth operations, organize a department for maximum productivity, staff in a way that matches jobs with talent and motivate employees to perform to their maximum potential. Parkland Business Development Center.

Jan 28, 8am-5pm. The course fee is $195 and includes the textbook. Call 351-2235 to register.

The Basic Principles for a Collaborative Workplace – This course presents guidelines for day-to-day interactions. The basic principles discussed create a climate where everyone is able to cooperate, share ideas and work together for a common purpose. Learn how collaboration positively affects productivity, quality, customer expectations and overall organizational performance.

Parkland Business Development Center. The class meets either Jan 22 or Jan 29 from 8:30am12:30pm. The course fee is $99. Call 351-2235 to register.

word worse than “sellout.” Hair bands stick around until the novelty wears off. Have you ever seen Pete Townshend on VH1’s Where are They Now? whining, “Beavis and Butt-Head killed us?” Hell no. Good, old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll tends to stick around. It’s there, alongside the angry suburbanites and novelties. As a fad becomes a stale embarrassment, real rock stays crunchy–fun for straight-edgers and stoners alike. It’s safe to risk blatant editorializing to say, American Minor has the Rock.

Two years ago, American Minor was going to be a last hurrah. In rural W.Va., bassist Bruno (“Just Bruno”), rhythm guitarist Josh Gragg, drummer Josh Knox, and vocalist and lead guitarist Rob McCutcheon who later broke ranks with the band, wanted to start something before they moved their separate ways.

American Minor saw this as a last chance.

They hired an agent for booking outside of their W.Va. hometown, recorded a demo in a friend’s basement and practiced consistently.

“We took it pretty seriously; we knew this might be the last time we could be in a band,” Bruno said.

The four-song demo passed through many record label hands. Eventually, an entertainment lawyer in New York got a hold of it and flew to see American Minor play in Nashville, Tenn.

And thus, the West Virginian rock band obtained representation. What started as a small step became a journey.

“We started shopping a shitty basement demo and started privately showcasing with

The Leader in Each of Us – Learn what defines leadership behaviors common to each individual in an organization and five strategies to increase job effectiveness. Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 5, 8:30am-12:30pm. The course fee is $99. To register, call 351-2235.

End of Life Decision-Making: Organ Donation; Advanced Directives – Learn about organ and tissue donation, as well as the legal issues associated with advanced directives. Tony Noel Agricultural Technology Building, Parkland College. Jan 20, 1:30pm-3pm. For more information, call (217) 4031429.

ANSWERS FOR PUZZLE ON PG 22 S A D S A C K

O N E A C R E

H E C T A R E

O T O O L E S

B A R G E I N

S P R A Y E D O B N O O P K E L A E S T E

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C H A G A D L O L L N A S O B T O M E R A N N T T E A R S

C A R R I E S T H E T O R C H

T G I R V E O C L B I I L A U N R E A O R R S T E D W I I M N E E S

R I V E T

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Drummer Josh Knox lays down the beat with bassist Bruno (in the background) joining in.

record companies,” Bruno said. A private showcase involves playing a set in front of two record “suits” sitting and watching from the couch.

“We had to fire our lead guitar player, it just wasn’t working out,” Knox said. “Let’s just keep it at that.”

Bud Carroll, another musician from W.Va., stepped up to the plate.

“Bud was still in school, we thought for sure he’d say no,” Bruno said.

“He said ‘yes’ and pretty much had it down after a four-hour rehearsal.”

In less than a year, the band went from a basement recording session on an eight-track to private showcases, professional representation and a major line-up change. Changes came rapidly for the young band–the environment went from Atari’s Pitfall to Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

Time to get while the gettin’ is good, get the hell out of Dodge, go west, young man; insert your own escape cliché here.

Rob McCutcheon’s wife got accepted into the graduate dance program at the Guitarist Bud Carroll lets the locks go as he jams.

University of Illinois and American Minor made the decision to move. “It really they let us be musicians since that’s what they was time to get out. Once you’re taken out of invested in.” There has to be a little bit of faith your hometown you can really concentrate,” to the band can do on its own, “to give money to five yahoos like us,” he said.

Gragg said.

With a major publisher in its corner, the The music scene in Champaign-Urbana surprised them. “It’s not competitive out here. members of American Minor practiced at least There are lots of bands with different sounds four hours a day. They took a break from tourand everyone’s helping each other out,” ing to write new material in a farmhouse in Bruno said. “That’s not typical–usually bands Champaign’s cornfields. “There are still so many places this could go wrong,” Bruno said. are catty.”

When American Minor boarded the stage at “A lot of chance.”

Out in the boonies, there’s a small bubble of Chicago’s Double Door, they had no idea a guy from the Chrysalis Music Publishing sound surrounding the farmhouse, peeling green paint falls to the ground. High school Company was in the audience.

The representative was interested so the kids who decided to inebriate themselves in band gave him a demo. Chrysalis CEO Kenny the cornfields to avoid cops might freak out a McPherson flew out to Champaign from Los little. “I hear somethin’, man, there’s something out there.” A little closer, they’ll realize Angeles to see a show at Cowboy Monkey.

“The crowd was great, they were really it’s Rock. Not emo, not experimental, but pure pumped and it was a free show and everyone old-fashioned rock–not influenced by Red Red played really well,” Bruno said. A large, Meat or Weezer or Echo–but the Stones, man, drunken crowd gave the band more energy, the fuckin’ Stones.

Inside, the five members fight to keep hair more home-team advantage than having to out of their eyes while talking time signatures, play in a studio for two “suits.”

Now they had a publisher. A publishing bridges, progressions and cowbells. “I love the deal is not a record deal by any means. cowbell, I think people underestimate…the Publishers work with musicians to help get cowbell,” Knox says with a smile. Discussion their music heard. They pay artists a financial over, they strap on their instruments to pound advance to write and record quality music the hell out of their amps.

Sound waves from the speakers and ampliwhile they look for good music outlets, such fiers pummel our ear drums. Tipper Gore, as soundtracks.

“It wasn’t really what you’d think. They’re somewhere, keeps getting chills and doesn’t good guys who make sure to work with the know why. The Wheatables, man, that box band, not controlling,” Bruno said. “I mean, goes all over the place but it never falls. buzz

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TOM BRONSON WAS ALMOST ON MY TOP 10. | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

Too much music to be had MENDOZA MUSIC LINE

BY LIZ MOZZOCCO | STAFF WRITER

I

’m feeling lucky this week. I know that you’ll read just about anything, because it’s damn cold out and doing anything else could result in frostbite. I know you’ll indulge me by reading the following long-winded, irrelevant personal story, because—-let’s face it—-your only other option is to gorge on holiday leftovers and other foods that aren’t found in nature, and you’ve already had your FDA-recommended allowance of Doritos for all of 2004.

The setting of my story is in the endlessly tedious yet simultaneously freakish land that many of us have the misfortune of calling home: the Chicago suburbs. Those of you who have witnessed the phenomenon of suburbia know that it doesn’t matter which town I’m talking about, since they’re all basically the same.

In fact, it would be absolutely shocking if anything remotely unique managed to come out of a monoculture that tends to nurture Wal-Mart and white people with ridiculously big cars more than it does creative ideas.

But alas, art happens in the strangest places, even the rooms of houses built in subdivisions, where the lawns are abnormally green and all the trees have trunks about as thick around as big candy canes.

Through the magic of the Internet, my younger brother managed to stumble upon a rare artifact, a sample of suburban art in MP3 format, created by none other than Tom Bronson.

Tom Bronson lives across the street from my family, but you know who he is too. He’s the guy who buys a 1988 Mercedes-Benz on the off chance that it might impress someone. He bores everyone at the neighborhood block party with endless details about how he’s remodeling his kitchen. He once horrified your 13-year-old psyche by informing you, condescendingly, that high school was “the best time of my life.” He rocks out to REO Speedwagon on the weekends. And now, Tom Bronson is putting songs on the Internet.

This poor guy’s generic lyrics and computer-generated beats were the ice-breaker for all those awkward generation-gap moments at Thanksgiving dinner. We never had to resort to complimenting the stuffing, as long as we had my brother’s impersonation of Tom Bronson’s suburban David Bowie vocals to fill the silence.

But in the midst of the hilarity of imagining someone composing epic orchestrations about his experience retiling the bathroom, my father said something that intrigued me: “When Tom Bronson’s writing songs, you know that there’s too much music.”

His words resonate in my head when I’m leaning over the stacks of seven-inch records

in a music store that isn’t Best Buy. The endless rows of records are exciting and scary at the same time. The album artwork is diverse and interesting; you could thumb through it for hours and never see the same theme twice.

But who the hell are all these bands? Ernie Experiment? The Googlisms? Rod Roddy and the Microwaveable Pop Tarts??? I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried (all right, I admit it, those names are about as real as Bronson and except for that last one, they totally rock).

My dad and I don’t agree on my major in school, my decision to house a cat, or the hole in my left nostril, but he was right about music: there’s just too much of it. No one can know all the secrets of the wooden shelves in the record store.

Right now I’m staring at a pile of new and quickly aging albums on my desk. Their variety and obscurity swells my indie rock ego, but I haven’t listened to them. Maybe I don’t have the attention span, or maybe it’s just more fun to pull out an old record that belonged to my mother, and hear new things in the songs that I’ve listened to a hundred times before.

Buzz recently printed their top 10 lists of 2003, but I just couldn’t think of 10 records released last year that I loved. It takes too long to weed through the masses of music and find an album that you’ll listen to enough to really hear.

The way I see it, you can read an article about someone’s songs and think that you already know what they sound like, or you can play the songs and find out what they sound like. You can listen to an album twice and make a general statement about it, or you can play it over and over until you begin to understand what it’s about. You can run around listening to as much music as possible, so that you’ll be knowledgeable when someone asks you about the top 10 records of the year, or you can just be honest and admit that you were too drunk to have paid attention when some random hipster was trying to shove Ernie Experiment down your ears.

I’m not saying that there’s something wrong with really loving 10 albums a year, or that we shouldn’t try to be open-minded, interested, eclectic listeners. But everybody’s got to make choices about what they like and what they think is awesome enough to listen to 30 years from now, because there ‘s so much music that the guy across the street has songs on the Internet.

Maybe I don’t know as much as everyone else around me seems to, but there are records that I know so well that I can remember what they smell like when I open the CD case.

Obsessive? Of course. I mean, I’m crazy enough to have written this column out of my own free will. But then again, you’re the one who ate so many Doritos that you read it. buzz

Liz Mozzocco is a senior at the University of Illinois. She is also an on-air personality at WPGU, 107.1 The Planet.

TopFive

buzz

Parental Advisory Albums

1. As Nasty as They Wanna Be The 2 Live Crew

The 2 Live Crew had already pissed off censors plenty with their first couple of albums, but in 1989 they released this album that would become the first to contain a parental advisory label. Songs with sexualized content were slowly gaining ground in the ‘80s and this album went all the way. The group even released an alternate version of this album called As Clean as They Wanna Be. Needless to say, it did not have “Me So Horny” on it and was significantly shorter than the original album.

2. Purple Rain Prince

Not technically a parental advisory album, but deserves a spot on the list for being the album which first garnered Tipper Gore’s wrath and inspired the Parents’ Music Resource Center (PMRC).

That’s right, if it weren’t for “Darling Nikki,”we’d have never heard of Tipper Gore.

Thanks a lot, Prince.

3. Marshall Mathers LP Eminem

Eminem’s reputation for outlandish and outrageous content in his songs made him the center of media attention. By the time he released his second album, Eminem was all over the news and that

helped propel the Marshall Mathers LP to become the most successful hip-hop and parental advisory album of all time.

4. Jazz From Hell Frank Zappa

You had to have pissed someone important off in order to get an “explicit lyrical content” sticker on an entirely instrumental album. Frank Zappa was one of the musicians on the front lines of the PMRC censorship hearings, making his voice heard in what he thought was an abuse of people’s First Amendment rights. This album has no reason to have a parental advisory and what parent is going to buy Zappa for their 8-year-old?

5.Ritual de lo Habitual Jane’s Addiction

An album notable for having a parental advisory due to its cover art. The PMRC apparently objected to the nude figurines used.

Jane’s Addiction were forced to change the cover and chose to replace it with the text of the First Amendment. This version is still sold in many major music retailers.

Proving once again that Conservatives don’t like genitalia, even if they’re made of clay.

Next week: Top five ‘80s love songs What’s yours? e-mail us at music@readbuzz.com

The Hurly-Burly Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

Stereolab has announced plans for a U.K. tour followed by a U.S. tour on the heels of their new album Margerine Eclipse. They’ll kick it off in Glasgow, Scotland March 1 and should hit North America by March 27. Margerine Eclipse is Stereolab’s first album since 2001’s Sound-Dust and will be released Feb. 4.

Ray Davies, lead singer of rock legends The Kinks, was shot in the leg Sunday evening as he chased after two muggers. Davies, who was walking with his girlfriend in New Orleans’ French Quarter, was forced at gunpoint to hand over his money. Police have apprehended one suspect.

What the hell?

Moment of the week Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson was arrested after a scuffle with police in Naples, Fla. in which he allegedly spat blood in one officer’s face and pushed another down a stairwell. The altercation erupted over Lifeson’s son’s apparent refusal to exit the stage at a concert in the Naples Ritz-Carlton hotel on New Year’s Eve. Officers reportedly used a stun gun to apprehend him.

calendar

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

1/16 Bonnie Koloc @ FitzGerald’s 1/16 Alan Parsons @ Oasis 160 1/16 Stripping the Pistol @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Samples @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/17 Old 97's @ Metro, 18+ 1/17 Evan Dando @ Double Door 1/17 Del Ray, Unicorns @ Empty Bottle 1/17 Demolition Dollrods @ Bottom Lounge 1/17 Wrens @ Schubas 1/17 Ani DiFranco @ Chicago Theatre 1/17 Dillinger Escape Plan @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Lexxus @ Cubby Bear 1/18 Unicorns @ Fireside Bowl 1/18 Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson @ House of Blues, all ages 1/18 Joan of Arc @ Empty Bottle 1/19 Jamie Cullom @ Schubas 1/19 Jimmy Gnecco @ Schubas 1/21 Sevendust @ House of Blues, all ages 1/23 Archer Prewitt @ Schubas 1/23 DJ Luv Bug Starski @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/23 Neko Case @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/23 Matthias Heilbronn @ Smart Bar 1/23-24 Marcia Ball Band @ FitzGerald’s 1/23-24 SuperDiamond @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/24 Adam Green @ Schubas, 18+ 1/24 Appleseed Cast @ Metro, 18+ 1/24 Steve Forbert @ Schubas 1/24 Frogs @ Bottom Lounge 1/25 Reigning Sound @ Subterranean 1/25 Ordinary People’s @ Schubas 1/25 April March @ Schubas 1/25 Michael Glabicki @ Durty Nellie’s 1/26 Swell @ Schubas 1/26 Rilo Kiley @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 1/27 Twista @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/27-31 Train @ Schubas 1/28 StarSailor @ Metro, all ages 1/29 Linkin Park @ Allstate Arena 1/29 Gomez @ Vic, all ages 1/30 Lee Rocker @ Subterranean 1/30 Jonny Lang @ Star Plaza 1/30 Huun Huur Tu @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/30 DJ Hollywood @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/30 KC & the Sunshine Band @ House of Blues 1/30 Mahjongg @ Empty Bottle 1/30 Alan Jackson, Martina McBride @ Allstate Arena 1/30 Simple Plan, MXPX @ Riviera, all ages 1/31 Natalie MacMaster @ Harris Theater for Music & Dance 1/31 Webb Wilder @ FitzGerald's 1/31 Joan Jett @ Paramount Arts Center 1/31 Neil Aline @ Smart Bar

FEBRUARY

The heartbreaking death of Elliot Smith has taken a tragic turn as the Los Angeles County coroner’s office has officially stated the cause of death to be “undetermined.”

The coroner’s findings indicated a second stab wound and determined there were no drugs in Smith’s system at the time of his death, casting doubt as to whether it was suicide or foul play. The case remains open.

Willie Nelson has composed an explicit anti-war song, which he will debut at a fund-raising concert for presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. The song, entitled “What Ever Happened To Peace On Earth?” includes lyrics such as “How much oil is one human life worth?” and “How much is a liar’s word worth?” Expect outraged right-wing country fans.

buzz

2/3 Crash Test Dummies @ Schubas 2/3 Super Furry Animals @ Metro, 18+ 2/4 Mae @ Metro, all ages 2/5 Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane @ FitzGerald's 2/5 Monolake @ Empty Bottle 2/5 Life of Agony @ House of Blues, all ages 2/6 DJ Red Alert @ Funky Buddha Lounge 2/6 Buckwheat Zydeco @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/7 Hank Williams III @ Martyrs' 2/7 Immortal Technique @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/7 American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Ann-Margaret @ Star Plaza 2/7 Amy Rigby @ Schubas 2/8 Cyril Pahinui, Cindy Combs, Dennis Kamakahi @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/10 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ Metro, 18+ 2/12 Josh Groban @ Rosemont Theatre 2/13 Cyndi Lauper @ Cadillac Palace 2/13 Kate & Anna McGarrigle @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/13 Mindy Smith @ Schubas 2/14 Pam Tillis & Juice Newton @ the Hemmens 2/14 Him @ Empty Bottle 2/14 Numbers @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/14 John Ondrasik @ Schubas 2/14 Colin Hay @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/17 Nebula @ Subterranean 2/18 Sarah Brightman @ Allstate Arena 2/19 Enrique Iglesias @ Arie Crown Theatre 2/20 Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys @ FitzGerald’s 2/20 Habib Koite @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/20 Delbert McClinton @ House of Blues 2/21 Carrie Newcomer @ Schubas 2/21 David Wilcox @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/21 Sergio Mendes @ the Hemmens

2/22 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/24 Deep Purple @ Chicago Theatre 2/25 Mary Timony @ Schubas 2/26 Alaska @ Bottom Lounge, 18+ 2/26-27 Gossip @ Bottom Lounge, 2/26 all ages 2/27 Junior Brown @ Subterranean 2/27 Boris Grebenshikov & Aquarium @ Martyr’s 2/27 John Hammond, Jr. @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/27 Sting @ Rosemont Theatre 2/28 Erykah Badu @ Auditorium Theatre 2/28 Flying Luttenbachers @ Fireside Bowl 2/29 Cannibal Corpse @ House of Blues, all ages 2/29 Ellis Marsalis Trio @ Old Town School of Folk Music

CHICAGOVENUES House of Blues 329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 The Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, (312) 923-2000 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449 Metro 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-1322 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine at Lawrence, Chicago Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 635-6601 Arie Crown Theatre 2300 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 791-6000 UIC Pavilion 1150 W Harrison, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 Martyrs 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 288-4545 Aragon 1106 W Lawerence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Fireside Bowl 2646 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 Schubert Theatre 22 W Monroe, Chicago, (312) 977-1700

KIDS & FAMILIES Preschool Museum – Children can learn from museum educators and library staff about animals, history, art and more. This week’s presentation will be led by the Early American Museum.

Main Library, Multipurpose Room. Tue 10am10:45am. 403-2030.

Thursday Funfares – A multimedia story time where books, songs and more are featured. Phillips Recreation Center, 505 W Stoughton, Urbana. Thu. Group Funfares – for preschool groups. 9:45am10:15am. Registration of group required.

Family Funfares – for children of all ages with an adult. 10:30am-11am.

Read to the Dogs – An afternoon of reading aloud to animals at the Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana. The afternoon is open to children from kindergarten to third grade. 2210 E Ford Harris Rd, Urbana. Sat 2pm-2:45pm.

Write On! – A creative writing session at the Urbana Free Library with librarian Elaine Bearden. Open to children third grade and up. The Urbana Free Library. Sat 4pm-5pm.

Storyshop – A story and activity concert held twice each Wednesday. Parents with their children, daycare groups and elementary school classes are welcome. Main Library, auditiorium. Wed 9:30am10am (Storyshop 1), 10:30am-11am (Storyshop 2).

Douglass Branch Library. Wed 10:30am-11am.

Character Counts! – Club Fred 4-H program will teach six characteristics of good character–trustworthiness, respect, caring, fairness, citizenship and responsibility. Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Mon 4pm-5pm.

Winter Read – Kindergartners through sixth graders can come to the library and read a book, a poem and a riddle to earn a “Polar Bear Buck.”

Main Library, Children’s Services department. All week, during regular library hours.

Family Reading Night – Families can come to the library to read and share with others. The library will offer refreshments and give away prizes.

Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Mon 6:30pm-7:45pm.

KnowZone – Students can get help with their homework at the library throughout the month of January. Douglass Branch LIbrary, Conference Room. Tue 4pm-5pm.

T.A.C.K. – The library’s Thursday Arts and Crafts for Kids program welcomes children to come make a craft. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room.

Thur 4pm-5pm.

O Baby! – Come to the library for 20 minutes of lap bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities, easy listening and play time for your infants. Main Library, Multipurpose Room. Mon 9:30am-9:50am, 10:30am-10:50am.

Baby Time – Come to the library for half an hour of lap bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities and play time for your infants. Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Thur 10:30am-11am.

Computer Basics – A beginners class to help people get familiar with the mouse and keyboard. The class will create a letter and other simple documents to help participants get comfortable with computers. Main Library, Auditorium. Thur 1:30pm3:30pm.

Cover-to-Cover Book Discussion Club – Join this club that gathers monthly to discuss popular literary works.This month’s discussion will be on Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. To join, call 4032070. Main Library, Multipurpose Room. Thur 2pm3pm.

Cover-to-Cover Club at the Branch – Come discuss books by contemporary African-American writers.

This month’s discussion will be on Passing by Samaria by Sharon Ewell Foster. To join, call 4032090. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room.

Tue 6:30pm-7:30pm.

Talkin’ About Your Health – Shelley Hunt of the Alzheimer’s Association willspeak at the January meeting. Douglass Annex, 804 N Fifth. Wed 10am11:30am.

ART NOTICES Portraits – Award-winning portrait artist Sandra Ahten is currently accepting commissions for portraits for holiday giving. Portraits are priced at an affordable range and professional exchange or barter may be accepted. For examples of work and a quote, contact Sandra Ahten at (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com.

Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes offer technical instruction and the exploration of materials through the expressive and spontaneous art process. Independent studies of personal interests and ideas, dreams, etc. are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. Call for times and schedule. For more information, contact Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955. CPDU's offered. 1102 E Washington, Urbana. www.creationartstudios.com Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – Gallery Virtu, an artist-owned cooperative, now invite applications from area artists. The Gallery also offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. Gallery Virtu offers original works by the members including: jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. For more information please call 762-7790, visit our website at www.galleryvirtu.org, e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org or visit the gallery.

Regular hours: Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-

15

6pm. 220 W Washington Street, Monticello.

Art Classes at High Cross Studio – All classes are held at High Cross Studio in Urbana. 1101 N High Cross Road. E-mail or call for reservations and details. (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com “Portrait Paintings with Oils”– This course will provide instruction in painting portraits from photographs. Paint a portrait of your loved one or yourself. Mon-Fri daytime class and weekend workshop offered.

"Collage for the Soul" – Students will learn a variety of collage techniques, including photo and photocopy transfer, papermaking and manipulation, and frontage, while exploring a particular subject, such as a place, a memory, an experience or a relationship. No art-making experience necessary.

"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" – For adults who have always wanted to learn to draw, but felt as if they lacked talent or confidence.

Other Classes:“Making Monoprints,”“Art With Intention” – Open Studio. For information on these visit www.spiritofsandra.com and click on "classes," then e-mail or call for reservations.

Art Classes At Verde Gallery – Verde Gallery presents art classes for adults and children beginning in Jan. Sign-up and payment required by Jan 12, sign up by Jan 5 and receive a 10% discount.

Drawing Fundamentals l For Adults: Meets for 8 sessions, Mon 7-9PM, starting Jan 19. Cost: $120.

Includes materials. Children’s Art Class: Meets for 5 sessions, Sat 10-11:30am, starting Jan 17. Children ages 6-12 welcome. Cost: $90. Includes materials.

More class details are available at www.verdantsystems.com/education.htm

ART GALLERIES & EXHIBITS Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists.

Original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, woodturning and more. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd, White Heath. ThuSat 10am-4pm. 762-4907.

Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic Art by Michael Schwegmann and more. 403 Water St, Champaign.

Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610.

Cafe Kopi – Work from local artist Shannon Batman on display through Jan. Artist statement:“Collage technique layered with oil painting is the process that I have been attempting to master for several years. This medium allows tangible images to communicate while the color fields and symbolic imagery speaks to areas of intuition and emotion.”

109 N Walnut, Champaign. Mon-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. 359-4266.

Creation Art Studios – Current display features paintings and drawings by Shoshanna Bauer, Audrey Martin and Jennifer Martin, Jeannine Bestoso and an evolving display of recent student works in ceramics, paintings and drawings. For information, contact Jeannine Bestoso. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 14pm and scheduled studio sessions. 344-6955. www.creationartstudios.com Country in the City – Antiques, architectural, gardening, home accessories. Custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St, Urbana. Thu-Sat 10am5pm 367-2367.

Framer's Market – Frame designers since 1981.

Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave, Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020.

Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s-1980s, retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University, Champaign. 352-5150. Sun-Mon 12-4:30pm, WedSat 11am-5:30pm.

Glass FX – New and antique stained glass windows, lamps and unique glass gifts. Gallery is free and open to the public. Interested in learning the art of stained glass? Beginning, intermediate and advanced stained glass classes offered. 202 S First St, Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. 359-0048. www.glassfx.com.

Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

MondayJan12 LIVE MUSIC Jazz Jam with ParaDocs - The Iron Post, 7:30pm, TBA

DJ 2ON2OUT - indie rock - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker - indie rock - Mike n’ Molly's, 10pm, $1

TuesdayJan13 LIVE MUSIC Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Openingbands.com and Mike Armintrout Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 Adam Wolf and Jess Greenlee – acoustic – Tommy G’s, 10pm-2am, free Crystal River – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free Open Stage Night – Espresso Royale in Urbana, 8pm

DJ Local bands Broken Day (top) and Missing the Point (left) join forces Thursday night when they will perform side by side at Cowboy Monkey. The show starts at 10pm.

ThursdayJan08

SaturdayJan10

LIVE MUSIC

LIVE MUSIC

Weasel Dreams – The Iron Post, 7pm, TBA Broken Day, Missing the Point – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Crazy Johnny Band – classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA The Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free

The Infamous, Alchymist, Jaded Kayne, Eye Level Canopy Club, 10pm, $5 Mighty Groove Trio - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Boweband.com - Tommy G's, 10pm, cover

DJ DJ J-Philip – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Bozak, DJ Resonate – The Highdive, 10pm, $3

FridayJan09 LIVE MUSIC David Davenport – Tommy G's, 5pm, free Pocket Big Band – The Highdive, 5:30pm, $3 Gave Rosen – acoustic – Embassy Tavern, 8:30pm, free Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover Larry Gates, Sam Lowry, Lucky Mulholland – The Iron Post, 9pm, $3 Renegade – southern/classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA The Impalas – Hubers, 8pm, free Delta Kings – Phoenix, 9pm, free The Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, $1

DJ DJ Bozak – house/hip-hop/downbeat - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams - dance – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Impact – Nargile, TBA DJ Resonate – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

Silver Nickel Band – country/classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA Kilborn Alley – blues – Phoenix, 9pm, free The Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, Tears, The Resonators, XXXSmut – Mike n’ Molly’s

DJ DJ Sophisto - house - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams - dance - The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Mertz - Nargile, TBA

SPOKEN WORD Reese Roper, Mark Saloman, Pigeon John, Leanor Ortega (members of Five Iron Frenzy, Stavesacre, and L.A. Symphony) - ChannyingMurray Foundation, 8pm, $5

SundayJan11 LIVE MUSIC Eddie Money with guest Starship featuring Mickey Thomas – Virginia Theatre, 7:30pm, $35 – main floor, $29 mezzanine and balcony Crystal River – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free Live Irish Music Sessions – Mike n’ Molly’s, 5-8pm

DJ DJ Resonate - house - Barfly, 9pm, free Blends by Otter - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free Reel to Reel and the Wheels of Steel: Spicerack Movies with soundtrack provided DJ Spinnerty and DJ Bozak - Mike n’ Molly's, 10pm, $1

OTHER Cartoon lessons – Espresso Royale in Urbana, 5pm

DJ Resonate – hip-hop - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Brom – indie rock - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free DJ ZoZo – goth/industrial - The Highdive, 10pm, $2 DJ Preston & DJ Bill – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

WednesdayJan14 LIVE MUSIC Open Mic hosted by Brandon T. Washington and Mike Ingram - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $2 Kilborn Alley – blues – Tommy G’s, 10pm-2am, cover A Little of This & a Little of That – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free

DJ DJ Chef Ra - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Boardwalk - Mike n’ Molly's, 10pm, $1 DJ Punk Ass - indie rock - The Highdive, 10pm, free DJ Boardwalk – Mike n’ Molly’s, $1

C-UVENUES Assembly Hall First & Florida, Champaign, 333-5000 American Legion Post 24 705 W Bloomington Rd, Champaign, 356-5144 American Legion Post 71 107 N Broadway, Urbana, 367-3121 Barfly 120 N Neil, Champaign,352-9756 Barnes and Noble 51 E Marketview, Champaign, 355-2045 Boltini Lounge 211 N Neil, Champaign, 378-8001 Borders Books & Music 802 W Town Ctr, Champaign, 351-9011 The Brass Rail 15 E University, Champaign, 352-7512 Canopy Club (The Garden Grill) 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, 367-3140 C.O. Daniels 608 E Daniel, Champaign, 337-7411 Cosmopolitan Club 307 E John, Champaign, 367-3079 Courtyard Cafe Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana, 333-4666 Cowboy Monkey 6 Taylor St, Champaign, 398-2688 Clybourne 706 S Sixth, Champaign, 383-1008 Curtis Orchard 3902 S Duncan Rd, Champaign, 359-5565 D.R. Diggers 604 S Country Fair Dr, Champaign, 356-0888 Elmer’s Club 45 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana, 344-3101 Embassy Tavern & Grill 114 S Race, Urbana, 384-9526 Esquire Lounge 106 N Walnut, Champaign, 398-5858 Fallon’s Ice House 703 N Prospect, Champaign, 398-5760 Fat City Saloon 505 S Chestnut, Champaign, 356-7100 The Great Impasta 114 W Church, Champaign, 359-7377 G.T.’s Western Bowl Francis Dr, Champaign, 359-1678 The Highdive 51 Main, Champaign, 359-4444

buzz

Huber’s 1312 W Church, Champaign, 352-0606 Illinois Disciples Foundation 610 E Springfield, Champaign, 352-8721 Independent Media Center 218 W Main St, Urbana, 344-8820 The Iron Post 120 S Race, Urbana, 337-7678 Joe’s Brewery 706 S Fifth, Champaign, 384-1790 Kam’s 618 E Daniel, Champaign, 328-1605 Krannert Art Museum 500 E Peabody, Champaign, 333-1861 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts 500 S Goodwin, Urbana, Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX La Casa Cultural Latina 1203 W Nevada, Urbana, 333-4950 Lava 1906 W Bradley, Champaign, 352-8714 Legends Bar & Grill 522 E Green, Champaign, 355-7674 Les’s Lounge 403 N Coler, Urbana, 328-4000 Lincoln Castle 209 S Broadway, Urbana, 344-7720 Malibu Bay Lounge North Route 45, Urbana, 328-7415 Mike & Molly’s 105 N Market, Champaign, 355-1236 Mulligan’s 604 N Cunningham, Urbana, 367-5888 Murphy’s 604 E Green, Champaign, 352-7275 Nargile 207 W. Clark St, Champaign Neil Street Pub 1505 N Neil, Champaign, 359-1601 Boardman’s Art Theater 126 W Church, Champaign, 351-0068 The Office 214 W Main, Urbana, 344-7608 Parkland College 2400 W Bradley, Champaign, 351-2528 Phoenix 215 S Neil, Champaign, 355-7866 Pia’s of Rantoul Route 136 E, Rantoul, 893-8244 Pink House Routes 49 & 150, Ogden, 582-9997 The Rainbow Coffeehouse 1203 W Green, Urbana, 766-9500 Red Herring/Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana, 344-1176 Rose Bowl Tavern 106 N Race, Urbana, 367-7031 Springer Cultural Center 301 N Randolph, Champaign, 355-1406 Spurlock Museum 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 The Station Theatre 223 N Broadway, Urbana, 384-4000 Strawberry Fields Cafe 306 W Springfield, Urbana, 328-1655 Ten Thousand Villages 105 N Walnut, Champaign, 352-8938 TK Wendl’s 1901 S Highcross Rd, Urbana, 255-5328 Tommy G’s 123 S Mattis Ave, Country Fair Shopping Center, 359-2177 Tonic 619 S Wright, Champaign, 356-6768 Two Main 2 Main, Champaign, 359-3148 University YMCA 1001 S Wright, Champaign, 344-0721 Verde/Verdant 17 E Taylor St, Champaign, 366-3204 Virginia Theatre 203 W Park Ave, Champaign, 356-9053 White Horse Inn 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign, 352-5945 Zorba’s 627 E Green, Champaign

CHICAGOSHOWS JANUARY 1/9 Apollo Sunshine @ Subterranean 1/9 Kenny Hawkes @ Smart Bar 1/9 Steve Poltz @ Schubas 1/9 Virgina Coalition @ House of Blues, all ages 1/9-10 C.J. Chenier & His Red Hot Louisiana Band @ FitzGerald’s 1/9-10 Wu-Tang with Cappadonna, Remedy, Gza, Killah Priest & Others @ Metro 1/10 Nina Nastasia @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/13-14 & 16 David Bowie, Macy Gray @ Rosemont Theatre 1/15 Greg Trooper @ FitzGerald's 1/16 Joie Calio @ Schubas 1/16 Kevn Kinney @ Schubas

buzz JANUARY 8-14, 2004

music

| DIRTY DIANA BY MICHAEL JACKSON IS SOMEONE’S FAVORITE.

CDReviews

0108buzz1114

THE SHINS Chutes Too Narrow Sub-Pop

★★★★

BY LOGAN MOORE The ever-elusive hook. It is the nucleus of the transcendent pop song atom, protons of melody and harmony colliding and fusing with neutrons of idea and emotion. Couples dance and fall in love to hooks, conceive children with them floating in the background. Music executives see dollar signs reflected in the hook, thousands of adolescents with arms in the air clutching fistfuls of cash and T-shirts with their favorite band’s name printed across the front. Music fans and record store clerks trade them like baseball cards. “Whose hook is better?”“What is the best hook of all time?” Hooks sit in our brains like fat toads on logs, immovable, dominating thoughts and conversations, following us around from when we rise to when we rest. Hooks can change opinions; they can incite riots. And they are very, very hard to write.

One good hook can make us sit up and take notice. Ten songs bursting with lovely, magnificent hooks should make us stand up and cheer.

The Shins have avoided the looming specter of the sophomore slump and come up with gold, an album that in almost every way improves on its predecessor and once again reminds us why the pop song is still a moving and creatively viable format. James Mercer and company have got the goods.

“Kissing the Lipless” starts off the proceedings with purposefully strummed acoustic guitar. A few electric guitar chords pierce the calm, a spare drum builds and the song explodes around James Mercer’s falsetto. Instrumentally,The Shins still remain rooted in ‘60s folk-pop. They’re certainly not delving into experimental territory on Chutes Too Narrow. Rather, they are subtly expanding their sound, ditching the keyboard atmospherics of Oh, Inverted World and embracing string quartets and the pedal steel. For songs rooted this firmly in the classic pop mold, though, it’s a perfect fit. Let us never praise innovation over skill and craft, lest we be overrun by crappy art bands.

“So Says I” is the first single off the album and will probably be most familiar to Shins fans. It’s a perfect bouncy poprocker, tailor-made for speeding in your car after a great first date, replete with a number of delicious “whoo-hoos” and a great descending guitar line. “Turning a Square” starts off like something Paul McCartney forgot to write for A Hard Day’s Night and has the guitar solo to prove it. “Gone For Good” might very well be the best country-rock song of 2003, the sonic equivalent of a happy goodbye with great steel guitar accents. When “Saint Simon” slowly transforms, on a bed of “la-da-da-dums,” from its opening refrain to James Mercer’s divine, lilting melody, the strings waft in and melt your heart.

Chutes Too Narrow is an album brimming with these moments and say what you will, but it’s pop music, man. And sometimes it can be the best thing in the world.Cue the strings.

NELLY FURTADO Folklore Dreamworks

★★★

BY KATIE RICHARDSON Nelly Furtado may not have the best voice in the world, or the best writing ability, for that matter, but she sure is trying. Who can forget the spunky singer’s 2000 debut, Whoa, Nelly! The single “I’m Like A Bird” became an 18-month radio staple and anthem for commitment-phobic young adults. The singer herself

was frequently seen jumping around on MTV wearing baggy, bright-colored pants and “bling-bling” money signs around her neck. During this period, her image as a free-spirited hip-hopper and terminally energetic singer was solidified, making her the anti-Britney before Avril immigrated from Canada.

Now Furtado is back and a lot has changed. She’s got a baby, a serious relationship, and consequently, “a new perspective on life.” Yes, that’s right, Furtado has assumed the signature “new perspective,’’ which commonly eradicates an artist’s premiere persona, in this sophomore album.

Remember when Alanis tried this in 1999? We were all left wondering what Buddhism had done to the lovable bitch from Jagged Little Pill. Unfortunately, Furtado might warrant the same reaction.

Though she attempts to show her political side in “Fresh off the Boat,” the lyrics reveal no more insight as to the social obstacles for first-generation immigrants than the title does.

The vocals are so muted by the music in“Powerless (say what you want)” that the message about the lack of minority visibility in mainstream media is virtually lost. And finally, “Saturdays” offers little more than a very uninteresting musical rendition of bad beat poetry.

Furtado may not offer us as much of the deep end of the ocean as she intends to on this album, but it isn’t all bad. The tunes are catchy and the vocals seem more controlled than on Whoa, Nelly! She appears to be at least attempting to find a more mature niche. The photos inside the cover illustrate a slightly more filled-out and womanly artist, whose clothing has transformed into garments that are more subdued and reminiscent of her Portuguese roots. Similarly, the album displays less of a hip-hop influence, falling back on balladlike and folk-inspired rhythms(there is even a banjo in several songs).

Though she may not have fully ripened with this album, Furtado stills shows promise as an artist. Her sophomore album isn’t worth your time if you really loved the hip-hop in Whoa, Nelly! but it is worth a once-over if you’d like to see where she’s going. Maybe someday she’ll be a senior who makes the honor roll.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium Epic

★★★

BY JACOB DITTMER Remember Rage? That thrashing foursome of angst-filled, politically-charged hard rockers made some awesome music in the ‘90s. But alas, many of the great ones fall. Those foolish shenanigans at the MTV Video Music Awards by bassist Tim Commerford led to the demise of one of hard rock’s saviors. Now we’re left with the uninspiring Audioslave and a big fat question mark for lead singer Zack de la Rocha’s post-Rage work.

But before the abrupt breakup, the band was touring and rocking hard. Their last live performances were held at Los Angeles’ Grand Olympic Auditorium on Sept. 12 and 13, 2000.These shows are the choice for the band’s first and only live album. Sure, you could probably pick up some bootleg live recordings or imports of live Rage at your indie record store, but none were authorized releases. Epic Records has jumped on the post-Rage emptiness and released an official live CD. Rage has long been known for its energetic live performances as documented in music videos like “Bulls on Parade.”

The infamous red star has stood as their backdrop and symbol for their messages of hypocrisy, corruption and betrayal from many governments and agencies. De la Rocha’s dreadlocks stood as another symbol for Rage with each live performance featuring de la Rocha’s dreads flailing about.

The CD kicks off with perhaps Rage’s most successful hit, “Bulls on Parade.”The familiar guitar work of Tom Morello will transport many back to 1996 and Evil Empire’s successive MTV penetration. Rage was never one for sedate music and their live performances illustrate this perfectly.

This live CD serves as more of a greatest hits than a capturing of one live show with its filtering of two nights’ performances on to one CD. For this reason it fails to inspire the same emotions fans might have felt had they been blessed to attend their electrifying show. It’s not the same to hear de la Rocha’s fast-paced rhymes without seeing his dreads flying in every direction. Even Morello’s masterful guitar work is something less than amazing without the visual accompaniment of his baseball-capped figure bent over his guitar.

But some will be pleased to hear a couple of live versions of songs found on the band’s last studio release, Renegades. Although it doesn’t have the much popular “Renegades of Funk,” it does have the MC5 cover, “Kick out the Jams” and EPMD’s “I’m Housin’.” Not necessarily as inspiring as original works by the band, but they do provide some variety.

CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS TOP 10 SELLERS 1. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (Gooom Records) 2. Will Owsley - The Hard Way (Lakeview Entertainment) 3. Rick Menck - The Ballad Of Ric Menck (Reaction Recordings) 4. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda Records) 5. The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark (Rough Trade Records) 6. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (Barsuk Records) 7. Wan Light - Let's Wake Up Somewhere Else (Labrador Records) 8. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (Sounds Familyre Records) 9. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (Alien8 Records) 10. The Rapture - Echoes (Universal Records)

RECORD SERVICE TOP 10 SELLERS FOR 2003 1. The White Stripes - Elephant (V2) 2. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face) 3. Ben Harper - Diamonds on the Inside (Virgin) 4. The Strokes - Room on Fire (RCA) 5. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (Capitol) 6. Pete Yorn - Day I Forgot (Columbia) 7. Lucky Boys Confusion - Commitment (Elektra) 8. John Mayer - Heavier Things (Columbia) 9. Ani Difranco - Evolve (Righteous Babe) 10. Fifty Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Aftermath)

NEW RELEASES The Crystal Method - Legion of Boom Jimmy Buffett - Live in Cincinnati, 8.26.03 and Live in Mansfield, MA, 8.30.03 The Aluminum Group - More Happyness Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force - Attack!!!

Peligro - Sum of Our Surroundings Michelle Williams - Do You Know Guapo - Five Suns Charlie Smith Circle - Ahead and Behind The Claudia Quintet I, Claudia

MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Un-listenable

Other radio and crowd-pleasing hits are thrown in the mix:“Bullet in the Head,”“Testify,”“People of the Sun,”“Know Your Enemy,” “Guerrilla Radio,” and perhaps Rage’s mostloved song “Killing in the Name” is included. Just as Rage chose to end their first album with the epic “Freedom,” they chose to do the same on this CD. It’s nice to think back to a time when Morello’s guitar wasn’t accompanied by Cornell’s voice and de la Rocha’s politically driven lyrics were reaching some youngsters. Rage is definitely a band that made its mark on the ‘90s but in today’s gloomy Bush years, we have no Rage and this live compilation doesn’t fill that void.

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calendar

12:34 PM

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buzzpicks Larry Gates goes solo

Eddie Money struts his stuff in C-U

Turn on any Oldies radio station and you will hear Eddie Money’s foot-tapping hits sooner or later. Money has been churning out rock ’n’ roll hits since the mid-70s, and it doesn’t look like he will be slowing down any time soon. Feel like dancing? Catch Money along with Starship and Mickey Thomas Sunday night at the Virginia Theatre at 7:30pm.

Money used MTV to become a well-known name in popular music, and launched music video after music video. How can anyone forget the catchy beats of “Think I’m in Love” or “Take Me Home Tonight”?

Money’s last big hit, “Peace in Our Time,” came in 1989, but despite his absence in the Top 10, he continues to make music and tour. He constantly tours and brings his songs to anyone who feels like dancing to his beats.

13

Lead singer of Lorenzo Goetz unplugs and hits the stage alone Friday at The Iron Post.

Gates splits his stage time between playing on his own and as part of local band Lorenzo Goetz, of which he is a founding member. Sam Lowry and Lucky Mulholland also will perform. Get there by 9pm if you don’t want to miss anything.

It’s Miller Time at Pia’s!

Otter offers funky, unique mixes Matthis Helmick is a regular on the local music circuit in Champaign-Urbana, but you probably know him better as Otter. Catch him Sunday nights at Cowboy Monkey, and he will not disappoint.

For extra photos, check out readbuzz.com

0108buzz1213

12

1/7/04

calendar

12:34 PM

Page 1

calendar

buzzpicks Larry Gates goes solo

Eddie Money struts his stuff in C-U

Turn on any Oldies radio station and you will hear Eddie Money’s foot-tapping hits sooner or later. Money has been churning out rock ’n’ roll hits since the mid-70s, and it doesn’t look like he will be slowing down any time soon. Feel like dancing? Catch Money along with Starship and Mickey Thomas Sunday night at the Virginia Theatre at 7:30pm.

Money used MTV to become a well-known name in popular music, and launched music video after music video. How can anyone forget the catchy beats of “Think I’m in Love” or “Take Me Home Tonight”?

Money’s last big hit, “Peace in Our Time,” came in 1989, but despite his absence in the Top 10, he continues to make music and tour. He constantly tours and brings his songs to anyone who feels like dancing to his beats.

13

Lead singer of Lorenzo Goetz unplugs and hits the stage alone Friday at The Iron Post.

Gates splits his stage time between playing on his own and as part of local band Lorenzo Goetz, of which he is a founding member. Sam Lowry and Lucky Mulholland also will perform. Get there by 9pm if you don’t want to miss anything.

It’s Miller Time at Pia’s!

Otter offers funky, unique mixes Matthis Helmick is a regular on the local music circuit in Champaign-Urbana, but you probably know him better as Otter. Catch him Sunday nights at Cowboy Monkey, and he will not disappoint.

For extra photos, check out readbuzz.com

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

MondayJan12 LIVE MUSIC Jazz Jam with ParaDocs - The Iron Post, 7:30pm, TBA

DJ 2ON2OUT - indie rock - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker - indie rock - Mike n’ Molly's, 10pm, $1

TuesdayJan13 LIVE MUSIC Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Openingbands.com and Mike Armintrout Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 Adam Wolf and Jess Greenlee – acoustic – Tommy G’s, 10pm-2am, free Crystal River – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free Open Stage Night – Espresso Royale in Urbana, 8pm

DJ Local bands Broken Day (top) and Missing the Point (left) join forces Thursday night when they will perform side by side at Cowboy Monkey. The show starts at 10pm.

ThursdayJan08

SaturdayJan10

LIVE MUSIC

LIVE MUSIC

Weasel Dreams – The Iron Post, 7pm, TBA Broken Day, Missing the Point – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Crazy Johnny Band – classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA The Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free

The Infamous, Alchymist, Jaded Kayne, Eye Level Canopy Club, 10pm, $5 Mighty Groove Trio - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Boweband.com - Tommy G's, 10pm, cover

DJ DJ J-Philip – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Bozak, DJ Resonate – The Highdive, 10pm, $3

FridayJan09 LIVE MUSIC David Davenport – Tommy G's, 5pm, free Pocket Big Band – The Highdive, 5:30pm, $3 Gave Rosen – acoustic – Embassy Tavern, 8:30pm, free Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover Larry Gates, Sam Lowry, Lucky Mulholland – The Iron Post, 9pm, $3 Renegade – southern/classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA The Impalas – Hubers, 8pm, free Delta Kings – Phoenix, 9pm, free The Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, $1

DJ DJ Bozak – house/hip-hop/downbeat - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams - dance – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Impact – Nargile, TBA DJ Resonate – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

Silver Nickel Band – country/classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA Kilborn Alley – blues – Phoenix, 9pm, free The Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, Tears, The Resonators, XXXSmut – Mike n’ Molly’s

DJ DJ Sophisto - house - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams - dance - The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Mertz - Nargile, TBA

SPOKEN WORD Reese Roper, Mark Saloman, Pigeon John, Leanor Ortega (members of Five Iron Frenzy, Stavesacre, and L.A. Symphony) - ChannyingMurray Foundation, 8pm, $5

SundayJan11 LIVE MUSIC Eddie Money with guest Starship featuring Mickey Thomas – Virginia Theatre, 7:30pm, $35 – main floor, $29 mezzanine and balcony Crystal River – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free Live Irish Music Sessions – Mike n’ Molly’s, 5-8pm

DJ DJ Resonate - house - Barfly, 9pm, free Blends by Otter - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free Reel to Reel and the Wheels of Steel: Spicerack Movies with soundtrack provided DJ Spinnerty and DJ Bozak - Mike n’ Molly's, 10pm, $1

OTHER Cartoon lessons – Espresso Royale in Urbana, 5pm

DJ Resonate – hip-hop - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Brom – indie rock - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free DJ ZoZo – goth/industrial - The Highdive, 10pm, $2 DJ Preston & DJ Bill – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

WednesdayJan14 LIVE MUSIC Open Mic hosted by Brandon T. Washington and Mike Ingram - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $2 Kilborn Alley – blues – Tommy G’s, 10pm-2am, cover A Little of This & a Little of That – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free

DJ DJ Chef Ra - Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Boardwalk - Mike n’ Molly's, 10pm, $1 DJ Punk Ass - indie rock - The Highdive, 10pm, free DJ Boardwalk – Mike n’ Molly’s, $1

C-UVENUES Assembly Hall First & Florida, Champaign, 333-5000 American Legion Post 24 705 W Bloomington Rd, Champaign, 356-5144 American Legion Post 71 107 N Broadway, Urbana, 367-3121 Barfly 120 N Neil, Champaign,352-9756 Barnes and Noble 51 E Marketview, Champaign, 355-2045 Boltini Lounge 211 N Neil, Champaign, 378-8001 Borders Books & Music 802 W Town Ctr, Champaign, 351-9011 The Brass Rail 15 E University, Champaign, 352-7512 Canopy Club (The Garden Grill) 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, 367-3140 C.O. Daniels 608 E Daniel, Champaign, 337-7411 Cosmopolitan Club 307 E John, Champaign, 367-3079 Courtyard Cafe Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana, 333-4666 Cowboy Monkey 6 Taylor St, Champaign, 398-2688 Clybourne 706 S Sixth, Champaign, 383-1008 Curtis Orchard 3902 S Duncan Rd, Champaign, 359-5565 D.R. Diggers 604 S Country Fair Dr, Champaign, 356-0888 Elmer’s Club 45 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana, 344-3101 Embassy Tavern & Grill 114 S Race, Urbana, 384-9526 Esquire Lounge 106 N Walnut, Champaign, 398-5858 Fallon’s Ice House 703 N Prospect, Champaign, 398-5760 Fat City Saloon 505 S Chestnut, Champaign, 356-7100 The Great Impasta 114 W Church, Champaign, 359-7377 G.T.’s Western Bowl Francis Dr, Champaign, 359-1678 The Highdive 51 Main, Champaign, 359-4444

buzz

Huber’s 1312 W Church, Champaign, 352-0606 Illinois Disciples Foundation 610 E Springfield, Champaign, 352-8721 Independent Media Center 218 W Main St, Urbana, 344-8820 The Iron Post 120 S Race, Urbana, 337-7678 Joe’s Brewery 706 S Fifth, Champaign, 384-1790 Kam’s 618 E Daniel, Champaign, 328-1605 Krannert Art Museum 500 E Peabody, Champaign, 333-1861 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts 500 S Goodwin, Urbana, Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX La Casa Cultural Latina 1203 W Nevada, Urbana, 333-4950 Lava 1906 W Bradley, Champaign, 352-8714 Legends Bar & Grill 522 E Green, Champaign, 355-7674 Les’s Lounge 403 N Coler, Urbana, 328-4000 Lincoln Castle 209 S Broadway, Urbana, 344-7720 Malibu Bay Lounge North Route 45, Urbana, 328-7415 Mike & Molly’s 105 N Market, Champaign, 355-1236 Mulligan’s 604 N Cunningham, Urbana, 367-5888 Murphy’s 604 E Green, Champaign, 352-7275 Nargile 207 W. Clark St, Champaign Neil Street Pub 1505 N Neil, Champaign, 359-1601 Boardman’s Art Theater 126 W Church, Champaign, 351-0068 The Office 214 W Main, Urbana, 344-7608 Parkland College 2400 W Bradley, Champaign, 351-2528 Phoenix 215 S Neil, Champaign, 355-7866 Pia’s of Rantoul Route 136 E, Rantoul, 893-8244 Pink House Routes 49 & 150, Ogden, 582-9997 The Rainbow Coffeehouse 1203 W Green, Urbana, 766-9500 Red Herring/Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana, 344-1176 Rose Bowl Tavern 106 N Race, Urbana, 367-7031 Springer Cultural Center 301 N Randolph, Champaign, 355-1406 Spurlock Museum 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 The Station Theatre 223 N Broadway, Urbana, 384-4000 Strawberry Fields Cafe 306 W Springfield, Urbana, 328-1655 Ten Thousand Villages 105 N Walnut, Champaign, 352-8938 TK Wendl’s 1901 S Highcross Rd, Urbana, 255-5328 Tommy G’s 123 S Mattis Ave, Country Fair Shopping Center, 359-2177 Tonic 619 S Wright, Champaign, 356-6768 Two Main 2 Main, Champaign, 359-3148 University YMCA 1001 S Wright, Champaign, 344-0721 Verde/Verdant 17 E Taylor St, Champaign, 366-3204 Virginia Theatre 203 W Park Ave, Champaign, 356-9053 White Horse Inn 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign, 352-5945 Zorba’s 627 E Green, Champaign

CHICAGOSHOWS JANUARY 1/9 Apollo Sunshine @ Subterranean 1/9 Kenny Hawkes @ Smart Bar 1/9 Steve Poltz @ Schubas 1/9 Virgina Coalition @ House of Blues, all ages 1/9-10 C.J. Chenier & His Red Hot Louisiana Band @ FitzGerald’s 1/9-10 Wu-Tang with Cappadonna, Remedy, Gza, Killah Priest & Others @ Metro 1/10 Nina Nastasia @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/13-14 & 16 David Bowie, Macy Gray @ Rosemont Theatre 1/15 Greg Trooper @ FitzGerald's 1/16 Joie Calio @ Schubas 1/16 Kevn Kinney @ Schubas

buzz JANUARY 8-14, 2004

music

| DIRTY DIANA BY MICHAEL JACKSON IS SOMEONE’S FAVORITE.

CDReviews

0108buzz1114

THE SHINS Chutes Too Narrow Sub-Pop

★★★★

BY LOGAN MOORE The ever-elusive hook. It is the nucleus of the transcendent pop song atom, protons of melody and harmony colliding and fusing with neutrons of idea and emotion. Couples dance and fall in love to hooks, conceive children with them floating in the background. Music executives see dollar signs reflected in the hook, thousands of adolescents with arms in the air clutching fistfuls of cash and T-shirts with their favorite band’s name printed across the front. Music fans and record store clerks trade them like baseball cards. “Whose hook is better?”“What is the best hook of all time?” Hooks sit in our brains like fat toads on logs, immovable, dominating thoughts and conversations, following us around from when we rise to when we rest. Hooks can change opinions; they can incite riots. And they are very, very hard to write.

One good hook can make us sit up and take notice. Ten songs bursting with lovely, magnificent hooks should make us stand up and cheer.

The Shins have avoided the looming specter of the sophomore slump and come up with gold, an album that in almost every way improves on its predecessor and once again reminds us why the pop song is still a moving and creatively viable format. James Mercer and company have got the goods.

“Kissing the Lipless” starts off the proceedings with purposefully strummed acoustic guitar. A few electric guitar chords pierce the calm, a spare drum builds and the song explodes around James Mercer’s falsetto. Instrumentally,The Shins still remain rooted in ‘60s folk-pop. They’re certainly not delving into experimental territory on Chutes Too Narrow. Rather, they are subtly expanding their sound, ditching the keyboard atmospherics of Oh, Inverted World and embracing string quartets and the pedal steel. For songs rooted this firmly in the classic pop mold, though, it’s a perfect fit. Let us never praise innovation over skill and craft, lest we be overrun by crappy art bands.

“So Says I” is the first single off the album and will probably be most familiar to Shins fans. It’s a perfect bouncy poprocker, tailor-made for speeding in your car after a great first date, replete with a number of delicious “whoo-hoos” and a great descending guitar line. “Turning a Square” starts off like something Paul McCartney forgot to write for A Hard Day’s Night and has the guitar solo to prove it. “Gone For Good” might very well be the best country-rock song of 2003, the sonic equivalent of a happy goodbye with great steel guitar accents. When “Saint Simon” slowly transforms, on a bed of “la-da-da-dums,” from its opening refrain to James Mercer’s divine, lilting melody, the strings waft in and melt your heart.

Chutes Too Narrow is an album brimming with these moments and say what you will, but it’s pop music, man. And sometimes it can be the best thing in the world.Cue the strings.

NELLY FURTADO Folklore Dreamworks

★★★

BY KATIE RICHARDSON Nelly Furtado may not have the best voice in the world, or the best writing ability, for that matter, but she sure is trying. Who can forget the spunky singer’s 2000 debut, Whoa, Nelly! The single “I’m Like A Bird” became an 18-month radio staple and anthem for commitment-phobic young adults. The singer herself

was frequently seen jumping around on MTV wearing baggy, bright-colored pants and “bling-bling” money signs around her neck. During this period, her image as a free-spirited hip-hopper and terminally energetic singer was solidified, making her the anti-Britney before Avril immigrated from Canada.

Now Furtado is back and a lot has changed. She’s got a baby, a serious relationship, and consequently, “a new perspective on life.” Yes, that’s right, Furtado has assumed the signature “new perspective,’’ which commonly eradicates an artist’s premiere persona, in this sophomore album.

Remember when Alanis tried this in 1999? We were all left wondering what Buddhism had done to the lovable bitch from Jagged Little Pill. Unfortunately, Furtado might warrant the same reaction.

Though she attempts to show her political side in “Fresh off the Boat,” the lyrics reveal no more insight as to the social obstacles for first-generation immigrants than the title does.

The vocals are so muted by the music in“Powerless (say what you want)” that the message about the lack of minority visibility in mainstream media is virtually lost. And finally, “Saturdays” offers little more than a very uninteresting musical rendition of bad beat poetry.

Furtado may not offer us as much of the deep end of the ocean as she intends to on this album, but it isn’t all bad. The tunes are catchy and the vocals seem more controlled than on Whoa, Nelly! She appears to be at least attempting to find a more mature niche. The photos inside the cover illustrate a slightly more filled-out and womanly artist, whose clothing has transformed into garments that are more subdued and reminiscent of her Portuguese roots. Similarly, the album displays less of a hip-hop influence, falling back on balladlike and folk-inspired rhythms(there is even a banjo in several songs).

Though she may not have fully ripened with this album, Furtado stills shows promise as an artist. Her sophomore album isn’t worth your time if you really loved the hip-hop in Whoa, Nelly! but it is worth a once-over if you’d like to see where she’s going. Maybe someday she’ll be a senior who makes the honor roll.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium Epic

★★★

BY JACOB DITTMER Remember Rage? That thrashing foursome of angst-filled, politically-charged hard rockers made some awesome music in the ‘90s. But alas, many of the great ones fall. Those foolish shenanigans at the MTV Video Music Awards by bassist Tim Commerford led to the demise of one of hard rock’s saviors. Now we’re left with the uninspiring Audioslave and a big fat question mark for lead singer Zack de la Rocha’s post-Rage work.

But before the abrupt breakup, the band was touring and rocking hard. Their last live performances were held at Los Angeles’ Grand Olympic Auditorium on Sept. 12 and 13, 2000.These shows are the choice for the band’s first and only live album. Sure, you could probably pick up some bootleg live recordings or imports of live Rage at your indie record store, but none were authorized releases. Epic Records has jumped on the post-Rage emptiness and released an official live CD. Rage has long been known for its energetic live performances as documented in music videos like “Bulls on Parade.”

The infamous red star has stood as their backdrop and symbol for their messages of hypocrisy, corruption and betrayal from many governments and agencies. De la Rocha’s dreadlocks stood as another symbol for Rage with each live performance featuring de la Rocha’s dreads flailing about.

The CD kicks off with perhaps Rage’s most successful hit, “Bulls on Parade.”The familiar guitar work of Tom Morello will transport many back to 1996 and Evil Empire’s successive MTV penetration. Rage was never one for sedate music and their live performances illustrate this perfectly.

This live CD serves as more of a greatest hits than a capturing of one live show with its filtering of two nights’ performances on to one CD. For this reason it fails to inspire the same emotions fans might have felt had they been blessed to attend their electrifying show. It’s not the same to hear de la Rocha’s fast-paced rhymes without seeing his dreads flying in every direction. Even Morello’s masterful guitar work is something less than amazing without the visual accompaniment of his baseball-capped figure bent over his guitar.

But some will be pleased to hear a couple of live versions of songs found on the band’s last studio release, Renegades. Although it doesn’t have the much popular “Renegades of Funk,” it does have the MC5 cover, “Kick out the Jams” and EPMD’s “I’m Housin’.” Not necessarily as inspiring as original works by the band, but they do provide some variety.

CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS TOP 10 SELLERS 1. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (Gooom Records) 2. Will Owsley - The Hard Way (Lakeview Entertainment) 3. Rick Menck - The Ballad Of Ric Menck (Reaction Recordings) 4. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda Records) 5. The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark (Rough Trade Records) 6. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (Barsuk Records) 7. Wan Light - Let's Wake Up Somewhere Else (Labrador Records) 8. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (Sounds Familyre Records) 9. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (Alien8 Records) 10. The Rapture - Echoes (Universal Records)

RECORD SERVICE TOP 10 SELLERS FOR 2003 1. The White Stripes - Elephant (V2) 2. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face) 3. Ben Harper - Diamonds on the Inside (Virgin) 4. The Strokes - Room on Fire (RCA) 5. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (Capitol) 6. Pete Yorn - Day I Forgot (Columbia) 7. Lucky Boys Confusion - Commitment (Elektra) 8. John Mayer - Heavier Things (Columbia) 9. Ani Difranco - Evolve (Righteous Babe) 10. Fifty Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Aftermath)

NEW RELEASES The Crystal Method - Legion of Boom Jimmy Buffett - Live in Cincinnati, 8.26.03 and Live in Mansfield, MA, 8.30.03 The Aluminum Group - More Happyness Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force - Attack!!!

Peligro - Sum of Our Surroundings Michelle Williams - Do You Know Guapo - Five Suns Charlie Smith Circle - Ahead and Behind The Claudia Quintet I, Claudia

MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Un-listenable

Other radio and crowd-pleasing hits are thrown in the mix:“Bullet in the Head,”“Testify,”“People of the Sun,”“Know Your Enemy,” “Guerrilla Radio,” and perhaps Rage’s mostloved song “Killing in the Name” is included. Just as Rage chose to end their first album with the epic “Freedom,” they chose to do the same on this CD. It’s nice to think back to a time when Morello’s guitar wasn’t accompanied by Cornell’s voice and de la Rocha’s politically driven lyrics were reaching some youngsters. Rage is definitely a band that made its mark on the ‘90s but in today’s gloomy Bush years, we have no Rage and this live compilation doesn’t fill that void.

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TOM BRONSON WAS ALMOST ON MY TOP 10. | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

Too much music to be had MENDOZA MUSIC LINE

BY LIZ MOZZOCCO | STAFF WRITER

I

’m feeling lucky this week. I know that you’ll read just about anything, because it’s damn cold out and doing anything else could result in frostbite. I know you’ll indulge me by reading the following long-winded, irrelevant personal story, because—-let’s face it—-your only other option is to gorge on holiday leftovers and other foods that aren’t found in nature, and you’ve already had your FDA-recommended allowance of Doritos for all of 2004.

The setting of my story is in the endlessly tedious yet simultaneously freakish land that many of us have the misfortune of calling home: the Chicago suburbs. Those of you who have witnessed the phenomenon of suburbia know that it doesn’t matter which town I’m talking about, since they’re all basically the same.

In fact, it would be absolutely shocking if anything remotely unique managed to come out of a monoculture that tends to nurture Wal-Mart and white people with ridiculously big cars more than it does creative ideas.

But alas, art happens in the strangest places, even the rooms of houses built in subdivisions, where the lawns are abnormally green and all the trees have trunks about as thick around as big candy canes.

Through the magic of the Internet, my younger brother managed to stumble upon a rare artifact, a sample of suburban art in MP3 format, created by none other than Tom Bronson.

Tom Bronson lives across the street from my family, but you know who he is too. He’s the guy who buys a 1988 Mercedes-Benz on the off chance that it might impress someone. He bores everyone at the neighborhood block party with endless details about how he’s remodeling his kitchen. He once horrified your 13-year-old psyche by informing you, condescendingly, that high school was “the best time of my life.” He rocks out to REO Speedwagon on the weekends. And now, Tom Bronson is putting songs on the Internet.

This poor guy’s generic lyrics and computer-generated beats were the ice-breaker for all those awkward generation-gap moments at Thanksgiving dinner. We never had to resort to complimenting the stuffing, as long as we had my brother’s impersonation of Tom Bronson’s suburban David Bowie vocals to fill the silence.

But in the midst of the hilarity of imagining someone composing epic orchestrations about his experience retiling the bathroom, my father said something that intrigued me: “When Tom Bronson’s writing songs, you know that there’s too much music.”

His words resonate in my head when I’m leaning over the stacks of seven-inch records

in a music store that isn’t Best Buy. The endless rows of records are exciting and scary at the same time. The album artwork is diverse and interesting; you could thumb through it for hours and never see the same theme twice.

But who the hell are all these bands? Ernie Experiment? The Googlisms? Rod Roddy and the Microwaveable Pop Tarts??? I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried (all right, I admit it, those names are about as real as Bronson and except for that last one, they totally rock).

My dad and I don’t agree on my major in school, my decision to house a cat, or the hole in my left nostril, but he was right about music: there’s just too much of it. No one can know all the secrets of the wooden shelves in the record store.

Right now I’m staring at a pile of new and quickly aging albums on my desk. Their variety and obscurity swells my indie rock ego, but I haven’t listened to them. Maybe I don’t have the attention span, or maybe it’s just more fun to pull out an old record that belonged to my mother, and hear new things in the songs that I’ve listened to a hundred times before.

Buzz recently printed their top 10 lists of 2003, but I just couldn’t think of 10 records released last year that I loved. It takes too long to weed through the masses of music and find an album that you’ll listen to enough to really hear.

The way I see it, you can read an article about someone’s songs and think that you already know what they sound like, or you can play the songs and find out what they sound like. You can listen to an album twice and make a general statement about it, or you can play it over and over until you begin to understand what it’s about. You can run around listening to as much music as possible, so that you’ll be knowledgeable when someone asks you about the top 10 records of the year, or you can just be honest and admit that you were too drunk to have paid attention when some random hipster was trying to shove Ernie Experiment down your ears.

I’m not saying that there’s something wrong with really loving 10 albums a year, or that we shouldn’t try to be open-minded, interested, eclectic listeners. But everybody’s got to make choices about what they like and what they think is awesome enough to listen to 30 years from now, because there ‘s so much music that the guy across the street has songs on the Internet.

Maybe I don’t know as much as everyone else around me seems to, but there are records that I know so well that I can remember what they smell like when I open the CD case.

Obsessive? Of course. I mean, I’m crazy enough to have written this column out of my own free will. But then again, you’re the one who ate so many Doritos that you read it. buzz

Liz Mozzocco is a senior at the University of Illinois. She is also an on-air personality at WPGU, 107.1 The Planet.

TopFive

buzz

Parental Advisory Albums

1. As Nasty as They Wanna Be The 2 Live Crew

The 2 Live Crew had already pissed off censors plenty with their first couple of albums, but in 1989 they released this album that would become the first to contain a parental advisory label. Songs with sexualized content were slowly gaining ground in the ‘80s and this album went all the way. The group even released an alternate version of this album called As Clean as They Wanna Be. Needless to say, it did not have “Me So Horny” on it and was significantly shorter than the original album.

2. Purple Rain Prince

Not technically a parental advisory album, but deserves a spot on the list for being the album which first garnered Tipper Gore’s wrath and inspired the Parents’ Music Resource Center (PMRC).

That’s right, if it weren’t for “Darling Nikki,”we’d have never heard of Tipper Gore.

Thanks a lot, Prince.

3. Marshall Mathers LP Eminem

Eminem’s reputation for outlandish and outrageous content in his songs made him the center of media attention. By the time he released his second album, Eminem was all over the news and that

helped propel the Marshall Mathers LP to become the most successful hip-hop and parental advisory album of all time.

4. Jazz From Hell Frank Zappa

You had to have pissed someone important off in order to get an “explicit lyrical content” sticker on an entirely instrumental album. Frank Zappa was one of the musicians on the front lines of the PMRC censorship hearings, making his voice heard in what he thought was an abuse of people’s First Amendment rights. This album has no reason to have a parental advisory and what parent is going to buy Zappa for their 8-year-old?

5.Ritual de lo Habitual Jane’s Addiction

An album notable for having a parental advisory due to its cover art. The PMRC apparently objected to the nude figurines used.

Jane’s Addiction were forced to change the cover and chose to replace it with the text of the First Amendment. This version is still sold in many major music retailers.

Proving once again that Conservatives don’t like genitalia, even if they’re made of clay.

Next week: Top five ‘80s love songs What’s yours? e-mail us at music@readbuzz.com

The Hurly-Burly Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

Stereolab has announced plans for a U.K. tour followed by a U.S. tour on the heels of their new album Margerine Eclipse. They’ll kick it off in Glasgow, Scotland March 1 and should hit North America by March 27. Margerine Eclipse is Stereolab’s first album since 2001’s Sound-Dust and will be released Feb. 4.

Ray Davies, lead singer of rock legends The Kinks, was shot in the leg Sunday evening as he chased after two muggers. Davies, who was walking with his girlfriend in New Orleans’ French Quarter, was forced at gunpoint to hand over his money. Police have apprehended one suspect.

What the hell?

Moment of the week Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson was arrested after a scuffle with police in Naples, Fla. in which he allegedly spat blood in one officer’s face and pushed another down a stairwell. The altercation erupted over Lifeson’s son’s apparent refusal to exit the stage at a concert in the Naples Ritz-Carlton hotel on New Year’s Eve. Officers reportedly used a stun gun to apprehend him.

calendar

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

1/16 Bonnie Koloc @ FitzGerald’s 1/16 Alan Parsons @ Oasis 160 1/16 Stripping the Pistol @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Samples @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/17 Old 97's @ Metro, 18+ 1/17 Evan Dando @ Double Door 1/17 Del Ray, Unicorns @ Empty Bottle 1/17 Demolition Dollrods @ Bottom Lounge 1/17 Wrens @ Schubas 1/17 Ani DiFranco @ Chicago Theatre 1/17 Dillinger Escape Plan @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Lexxus @ Cubby Bear 1/18 Unicorns @ Fireside Bowl 1/18 Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson @ House of Blues, all ages 1/18 Joan of Arc @ Empty Bottle 1/19 Jamie Cullom @ Schubas 1/19 Jimmy Gnecco @ Schubas 1/21 Sevendust @ House of Blues, all ages 1/23 Archer Prewitt @ Schubas 1/23 DJ Luv Bug Starski @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/23 Neko Case @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/23 Matthias Heilbronn @ Smart Bar 1/23-24 Marcia Ball Band @ FitzGerald’s 1/23-24 SuperDiamond @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/24 Adam Green @ Schubas, 18+ 1/24 Appleseed Cast @ Metro, 18+ 1/24 Steve Forbert @ Schubas 1/24 Frogs @ Bottom Lounge 1/25 Reigning Sound @ Subterranean 1/25 Ordinary People’s @ Schubas 1/25 April March @ Schubas 1/25 Michael Glabicki @ Durty Nellie’s 1/26 Swell @ Schubas 1/26 Rilo Kiley @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 1/27 Twista @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/27-31 Train @ Schubas 1/28 StarSailor @ Metro, all ages 1/29 Linkin Park @ Allstate Arena 1/29 Gomez @ Vic, all ages 1/30 Lee Rocker @ Subterranean 1/30 Jonny Lang @ Star Plaza 1/30 Huun Huur Tu @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/30 DJ Hollywood @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/30 KC & the Sunshine Band @ House of Blues 1/30 Mahjongg @ Empty Bottle 1/30 Alan Jackson, Martina McBride @ Allstate Arena 1/30 Simple Plan, MXPX @ Riviera, all ages 1/31 Natalie MacMaster @ Harris Theater for Music & Dance 1/31 Webb Wilder @ FitzGerald's 1/31 Joan Jett @ Paramount Arts Center 1/31 Neil Aline @ Smart Bar

FEBRUARY

The heartbreaking death of Elliot Smith has taken a tragic turn as the Los Angeles County coroner’s office has officially stated the cause of death to be “undetermined.”

The coroner’s findings indicated a second stab wound and determined there were no drugs in Smith’s system at the time of his death, casting doubt as to whether it was suicide or foul play. The case remains open.

Willie Nelson has composed an explicit anti-war song, which he will debut at a fund-raising concert for presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. The song, entitled “What Ever Happened To Peace On Earth?” includes lyrics such as “How much oil is one human life worth?” and “How much is a liar’s word worth?” Expect outraged right-wing country fans.

buzz

2/3 Crash Test Dummies @ Schubas 2/3 Super Furry Animals @ Metro, 18+ 2/4 Mae @ Metro, all ages 2/5 Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane @ FitzGerald's 2/5 Monolake @ Empty Bottle 2/5 Life of Agony @ House of Blues, all ages 2/6 DJ Red Alert @ Funky Buddha Lounge 2/6 Buckwheat Zydeco @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/7 Hank Williams III @ Martyrs' 2/7 Immortal Technique @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/7 American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Ann-Margaret @ Star Plaza 2/7 Amy Rigby @ Schubas 2/8 Cyril Pahinui, Cindy Combs, Dennis Kamakahi @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/10 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ Metro, 18+ 2/12 Josh Groban @ Rosemont Theatre 2/13 Cyndi Lauper @ Cadillac Palace 2/13 Kate & Anna McGarrigle @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/13 Mindy Smith @ Schubas 2/14 Pam Tillis & Juice Newton @ the Hemmens 2/14 Him @ Empty Bottle 2/14 Numbers @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/14 John Ondrasik @ Schubas 2/14 Colin Hay @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/17 Nebula @ Subterranean 2/18 Sarah Brightman @ Allstate Arena 2/19 Enrique Iglesias @ Arie Crown Theatre 2/20 Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys @ FitzGerald’s 2/20 Habib Koite @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/20 Delbert McClinton @ House of Blues 2/21 Carrie Newcomer @ Schubas 2/21 David Wilcox @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/21 Sergio Mendes @ the Hemmens

2/22 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/24 Deep Purple @ Chicago Theatre 2/25 Mary Timony @ Schubas 2/26 Alaska @ Bottom Lounge, 18+ 2/26-27 Gossip @ Bottom Lounge, 2/26 all ages 2/27 Junior Brown @ Subterranean 2/27 Boris Grebenshikov & Aquarium @ Martyr’s 2/27 John Hammond, Jr. @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/27 Sting @ Rosemont Theatre 2/28 Erykah Badu @ Auditorium Theatre 2/28 Flying Luttenbachers @ Fireside Bowl 2/29 Cannibal Corpse @ House of Blues, all ages 2/29 Ellis Marsalis Trio @ Old Town School of Folk Music

CHICAGOVENUES House of Blues 329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 The Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, (312) 923-2000 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449 Metro 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-1322 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine at Lawrence, Chicago Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 635-6601 Arie Crown Theatre 2300 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 791-6000 UIC Pavilion 1150 W Harrison, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 Martyrs 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 288-4545 Aragon 1106 W Lawerence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Fireside Bowl 2646 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 Schubert Theatre 22 W Monroe, Chicago, (312) 977-1700

KIDS & FAMILIES Preschool Museum – Children can learn from museum educators and library staff about animals, history, art and more. This week’s presentation will be led by the Early American Museum.

Main Library, Multipurpose Room. Tue 10am10:45am. 403-2030.

Thursday Funfares – A multimedia story time where books, songs and more are featured. Phillips Recreation Center, 505 W Stoughton, Urbana. Thu. Group Funfares – for preschool groups. 9:45am10:15am. Registration of group required.

Family Funfares – for children of all ages with an adult. 10:30am-11am.

Read to the Dogs – An afternoon of reading aloud to animals at the Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana. The afternoon is open to children from kindergarten to third grade. 2210 E Ford Harris Rd, Urbana. Sat 2pm-2:45pm.

Write On! – A creative writing session at the Urbana Free Library with librarian Elaine Bearden. Open to children third grade and up. The Urbana Free Library. Sat 4pm-5pm.

Storyshop – A story and activity concert held twice each Wednesday. Parents with their children, daycare groups and elementary school classes are welcome. Main Library, auditiorium. Wed 9:30am10am (Storyshop 1), 10:30am-11am (Storyshop 2).

Douglass Branch Library. Wed 10:30am-11am.

Character Counts! – Club Fred 4-H program will teach six characteristics of good character–trustworthiness, respect, caring, fairness, citizenship and responsibility. Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Mon 4pm-5pm.

Winter Read – Kindergartners through sixth graders can come to the library and read a book, a poem and a riddle to earn a “Polar Bear Buck.”

Main Library, Children’s Services department. All week, during regular library hours.

Family Reading Night – Families can come to the library to read and share with others. The library will offer refreshments and give away prizes.

Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Mon 6:30pm-7:45pm.

KnowZone – Students can get help with their homework at the library throughout the month of January. Douglass Branch LIbrary, Conference Room. Tue 4pm-5pm.

T.A.C.K. – The library’s Thursday Arts and Crafts for Kids program welcomes children to come make a craft. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room.

Thur 4pm-5pm.

O Baby! – Come to the library for 20 minutes of lap bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities, easy listening and play time for your infants. Main Library, Multipurpose Room. Mon 9:30am-9:50am, 10:30am-10:50am.

Baby Time – Come to the library for half an hour of lap bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities and play time for your infants. Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Thur 10:30am-11am.

Computer Basics – A beginners class to help people get familiar with the mouse and keyboard. The class will create a letter and other simple documents to help participants get comfortable with computers. Main Library, Auditorium. Thur 1:30pm3:30pm.

Cover-to-Cover Book Discussion Club – Join this club that gathers monthly to discuss popular literary works.This month’s discussion will be on Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. To join, call 4032070. Main Library, Multipurpose Room. Thur 2pm3pm.

Cover-to-Cover Club at the Branch – Come discuss books by contemporary African-American writers.

This month’s discussion will be on Passing by Samaria by Sharon Ewell Foster. To join, call 4032090. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room.

Tue 6:30pm-7:30pm.

Talkin’ About Your Health – Shelley Hunt of the Alzheimer’s Association willspeak at the January meeting. Douglass Annex, 804 N Fifth. Wed 10am11:30am.

ART NOTICES Portraits – Award-winning portrait artist Sandra Ahten is currently accepting commissions for portraits for holiday giving. Portraits are priced at an affordable range and professional exchange or barter may be accepted. For examples of work and a quote, contact Sandra Ahten at (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com.

Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes offer technical instruction and the exploration of materials through the expressive and spontaneous art process. Independent studies of personal interests and ideas, dreams, etc. are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. Call for times and schedule. For more information, contact Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955. CPDU's offered. 1102 E Washington, Urbana. www.creationartstudios.com Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – Gallery Virtu, an artist-owned cooperative, now invite applications from area artists. The Gallery also offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. Gallery Virtu offers original works by the members including: jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. For more information please call 762-7790, visit our website at www.galleryvirtu.org, e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org or visit the gallery.

Regular hours: Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-

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6pm. 220 W Washington Street, Monticello.

Art Classes at High Cross Studio – All classes are held at High Cross Studio in Urbana. 1101 N High Cross Road. E-mail or call for reservations and details. (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com “Portrait Paintings with Oils”– This course will provide instruction in painting portraits from photographs. Paint a portrait of your loved one or yourself. Mon-Fri daytime class and weekend workshop offered.

"Collage for the Soul" – Students will learn a variety of collage techniques, including photo and photocopy transfer, papermaking and manipulation, and frontage, while exploring a particular subject, such as a place, a memory, an experience or a relationship. No art-making experience necessary.

"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" – For adults who have always wanted to learn to draw, but felt as if they lacked talent or confidence.

Other Classes:“Making Monoprints,”“Art With Intention” – Open Studio. For information on these visit www.spiritofsandra.com and click on "classes," then e-mail or call for reservations.

Art Classes At Verde Gallery – Verde Gallery presents art classes for adults and children beginning in Jan. Sign-up and payment required by Jan 12, sign up by Jan 5 and receive a 10% discount.

Drawing Fundamentals l For Adults: Meets for 8 sessions, Mon 7-9PM, starting Jan 19. Cost: $120.

Includes materials. Children’s Art Class: Meets for 5 sessions, Sat 10-11:30am, starting Jan 17. Children ages 6-12 welcome. Cost: $90. Includes materials.

More class details are available at www.verdantsystems.com/education.htm

ART GALLERIES & EXHIBITS Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists.

Original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, woodturning and more. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd, White Heath. ThuSat 10am-4pm. 762-4907.

Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic Art by Michael Schwegmann and more. 403 Water St, Champaign.

Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610.

Cafe Kopi – Work from local artist Shannon Batman on display through Jan. Artist statement:“Collage technique layered with oil painting is the process that I have been attempting to master for several years. This medium allows tangible images to communicate while the color fields and symbolic imagery speaks to areas of intuition and emotion.”

109 N Walnut, Champaign. Mon-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. 359-4266.

Creation Art Studios – Current display features paintings and drawings by Shoshanna Bauer, Audrey Martin and Jennifer Martin, Jeannine Bestoso and an evolving display of recent student works in ceramics, paintings and drawings. For information, contact Jeannine Bestoso. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 14pm and scheduled studio sessions. 344-6955. www.creationartstudios.com Country in the City – Antiques, architectural, gardening, home accessories. Custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St, Urbana. Thu-Sat 10am5pm 367-2367.

Framer's Market – Frame designers since 1981.

Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave, Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020.

Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s-1980s, retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University, Champaign. 352-5150. Sun-Mon 12-4:30pm, WedSat 11am-5:30pm.

Glass FX – New and antique stained glass windows, lamps and unique glass gifts. Gallery is free and open to the public. Interested in learning the art of stained glass? Beginning, intermediate and advanced stained glass classes offered. 202 S First St, Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. 359-0048. www.glassfx.com.

Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and

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decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St, Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546.

Gallery Virtu Cooperative – Original works by the nine artist-owners: jewelry, pottery, paintings, collages, hats, handbags and other textiles, sculptures and journals. The gallery also offers workshops.

220 W. Washington St, Monticello. 762-7790. Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. www.galleryvirtu.org Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand-painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill, Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.

Larry Kanfer Gallery – "Prairie Catharsis" - dramatic new Central Illinois prairie images on display by Larry Kanfer, award-winning photographer. 2503 S Neil, Champaign. Free and open to the public.

Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm Sun 11am-3pm. 398-2000. www.kanfer.com LaPayne Photography – Specializes in panoramic photography up to six feet long of different subjects including sporting events, city skylines, national parks and University of Illinois scenes. 816 Dennison Dr, Champaign. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm and by appointment. 356-8994.

Old Vic Art Gallery – Fine and original art, handsigned limited edition prints, works by local artists, art restoration, custom framing and periodic shows by local artists. 11 E University, Champaign.

Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am-4:30pm. 3558338.

Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques, framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St, Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-2924. www.steeplegallery.com Ziemer Gallery – Original paintings and limited edition prints by Larry Ziemer. Pottery, weavings, wood turning and glass works by other artists.

Gallery visitors are welcome to sit, relax, listen to the music and just enjoy being surrounded by art.

210 W Washington, Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-9786. www.ziemergallery.com Parkland Art Gallery – Pastel drawings by Springfield artist George Atkinson. Drawings focus on the Midwestern landscape and its dairy farming community. Exhibit opens Jan 12. Mon-Fri 10am-3pm, Mon-Thur 6pm-8pm, Sat 12pm-2pm.

ART-ON VIEW NOW “Texture of a Place, Plein-Air Paintings” – Original paintings by Beth Darling and ceramics by Michael Schewegmann on display through Jan 10 at Verde Gallery. Showing in main gallery: Sculptures In Wood by Joe Gower. In cafe and halls: paintings by Jess Byler. In the newsroom: New works by Toni Putnam and sculptures by Jim Zimmerman. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

“Verde Retrospective: New Works by Old Friends” – New show featuring new work from featured gallery artists of the past year on display at Verde Gallery Jan 13 - Feb 7. No Reception. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson and Shoshanna Bauer, along with art by family and friends of the studio on display at Creation Art Studio. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 3446955. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana.

“Digital Dabblings” – An eclectic selection of digitally processed photographs by John Sfondilias on display at Aroma Café through Jan 31. Subjects include the University’s South Farm and Quad as well as locations as far away as Greece and Turkey.

118 N Neil, Champaign. Open 7 days a week, 7amMidnight. For information contact Amanda Bickle.

356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com “Ethereal Organics” – Photographs from Jim Hultquist on display at Café Aroma through Jan.

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

Hultquist:“A project in the study of light interacting with natural forms.” 118 N Neil, Champaign.

Open 7 days a week, 7am-Midnight. For information contact Amanda Bickle. 356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com “One Place After Another” – The Illini Union Art Gallery presents this non-traditional 3-D show through Feb 4. 1401 W Green, Urbana. Open every day 7am-10pm.

“Whistler and Japonisme: Selections from the Permanent Collection” – Marking the 100th anniversary of James McNeill Whistler’s death, this exhibition highlights his works on paper and examines the influence that Japanese woodcuts had on his artistic technique. On display at the Krannert Art Museum through Mar 28. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested donation: $3

MIND BODY SPIRIT Sunday Zen Meditation Meeting – Prairie Zen Center, 515 S Prospect, Champaign, NW corner Prospect & Green, enter through door from parking area. Introduction to Zen sitting, 10am; full schedule: Service at 9 followed by sitting, Dharma Talk at 11 followed by tea until about noon. Can arrive at any of above times, open to all, no experience needed, no cost. For information call 3558835 or www.prairiezen.org.

Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:30-9pm and monthly retreats on Sunday. Theravadan (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vjrayana & Dzogchen) meditation practice. Meets in Urbana. More information call or email Tom at 356-7413 or shayir@soltec.net. www.prairiesangha.org.

Watson at 353-4934.

FILM LISTING Top Gun – This 1986 film stars Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards and Kelly McGillis. Cruise plays Maverick, a hot-headed pilot who attends the Top Gun Naval Flying School with his wingman, Goose, played by Edwards. The film revolves around Maverick’s antics, attitude and struggles to deal with his father’s death and his inferiority complex. Virginia Art Theatre. Jan 9-10. Fri 7pm, Sat 2:30 & 7pm, $5.

THEATRE LISTINGS “Meet My Husbands” – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her "new" husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. A multiple surprise ending caps this hilarious romp. Show dates are Jan 16,17,18,23,24,25,30 and 31. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8pm. Matinee performances on Sundays (the 18th and 25th) begin at 2pm. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” – The Zoo Theatre Company presents this performance at the Virginia Theatre on Jan 22, 23 and 24. Shows begin at 7:30pm with an additional 1pm show on the 24th. Tickets on sale now at the Virginia, call 356-9063.

WORKSHOPS

Clear Sky Zen Group – Meets on Thursday evenings in the Geneva Room of the McKinley Foundation.

Newcomers to meditation and people of all traditions and faiths are welcome – McKinley Foundation, 809 S Fifth St, 6:25-9pm.

Career Planning Seminar – Participants will learn about the career development process, explore interests, abilities, goals and discover available resources. A tour of the center is provided, followed by an opportunity to schedule an individual appointment with a career counselor. Parkland College, room A208. Jan 20 6pm-8pm. For more information, call 351-2536.

Simplicity Discussion Group – This month, the group will discuss the book Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply by Linda Breen Pierce. The author encourages readers to define a life of simplicity unique to them and their family.

Whether or not you have read the book, you are welcome to join the group. Hosted by Jo Pauly.

Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd, Champaign, 351-9011. Thu 7pm. For more information, contact Pauly at 337-7823, jopauly@prairienet.org.

A Political and Geographical History of Champaign – Explore area history with one of Champaign County's historians, former Champaign Mayor Dannel McCollum, assisted by Champaign County Historical Museum Director Paul Idleman. The class will cover county history from the distant past through the 20th century.

Champaign County Historical Museum. Feb 5-26 7pm-8:30pm. Registration deadline is Jan 29. The course fee is $33. For more information, call 4034590.

‘Science of Mind’ Study Group – This group’s purpose is the sharing and discussion of spiritual topics as we each improve our own lives and live from our own spiritual center. Anyone interested in attending is welcome. The group will use the monthly “Science of Mind” magazine for discussion, meditation and study topics. The Jan 14 meeting topic is "Going North to Go South." Wed 9:45am-11am. For more information, go to www.scienceofmind.com or contact Jo Heiser at joheiser@juno.com, 384-0437.

Interior Design: Doing a Lot with What You've Got – Participants are encouraged to bring their design problems along to this explanation of "What is interior design?" and "How can I do a lot with what I've got?" Innovative ideas about ways to make a simple improvement or a complete makeover will be discussed; questions and problems will guide the discussions in class. Parkland College, room D146. Feb 5-26 7pm-9pm.

Registration deadline is Jan 29. Registration fee is $37. For more information, call 403-4590.

Life Makeover Group – This last meeting of the group will focus on the topic “Build a Soulful Community.”The group will discuss where to go to find support in the changes you want to make in your life, and where you can find like-minded people after the group ends. If you are interested in being a part of the new group that will be forming, contact Diana Sarabi at 352-4251. Champaign Park District Hays Center. Thur 7pm-8pm.

Conversational Spanish I – This class is for those who have travel plans or just want to learn beginning Spanish. Topics will include greetings, food, clothing, weather and more. The class will cover basic grammar and sentence construction as well.

Parkland College, room X116. Jan 26- Mar 8 7pm9pm. Registration deadline is Jan 19. Registration fee is $69. For more information, call 403-4590.

Introduction to Film Study – Participants will view films by classic directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford and will learn to view a film not only for its entertainment value but also to assess them as a medium of information about society and ourselves, the viewers. Parkland College, room M130. Feb 3-24 6:30pm-9pm. Registration deadline is Jan 27. The course fee is $38. For more information, call 403-4590.

Overeaters Anonymous – This group meets Tuesdays and Fridays, 5:30pm, Fellowship Circle in Champaign. For more information, contact Lin, 359-4449. Monday meetings are at First Presbyterian Church, Urbana, 7:30pm. Contact Lin or Marcey, 356-8748, for more information. The group also meets Thursdays at 5:30pm and Saturdays at 9:30am at Channing-Murray Foundation, Urbana. For more information about the Thursday meetings, contact Torie, 369-6218.

For more information about the Saturday meetings, contact Marcey.

Formerly-Fat Persons’ Support Group – Free social meeting every Sat at 2pm at Aroma Cafe, Champaign. For more information contact Jessica

Fiction Writers Workshop – Learn the elements of good fiction, such as characterization techniques, character development, dialogue, setting the scene, plot development and point of view.

Students will read aloud and critique each other's work in class. By the end of the course, students will write one complete short story or novel chap-

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JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | WATCH THE SHOWER DRAINS WITH THOSE FLOWING LOCKS, BOYS.

Rock’s journey from West Virginia

ter. Parkland College Bauman Center. Feb 4- April 14 5:30pm-7:30pm. Registration deadline is Jan 28.

The course fee is $91. For more information, call 403-4590.

Beginner, Beginner Computers – Designed for those who have never touched a computer, this hands-on class will start with the very basics–how to turn on a computer, what it is and what it does.

There will also be a discussion of what to look for when buying a computer. Illinois Employment and Training Center. Feb 2-16, 6pm-8pm. Registration deadline is Jan 26. The course fee is $41. Call 4034590 for more information.

American Minor come from Appalachia to cornfields and rock the whole way

BY STEVE KLINE | STAFF WRITER

Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn important steps in the home buying process including pre-qualification, inspection and closing. Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 5 and 12, 7pm-9:30pm.

The course fee is $20 for individuals or same household couples and includes a workbook. Call 351-2235 to register.

A

merican Minor gave me a new appreciation for boxes of snack crackers. The design is so simple: a rectangular bit of cardboard just wide enough to let Keebler’s Wheatables serve as an anchor, just tall enough to properly get those last crumbs without elbow discomfort and yet thin enough to store nicely in a cabinet.

They’re just ready for when you get a hankering to enjoy and digest. You don’t really appreciate the beauty of a Wheatables box until you buy bulk, which is a pain in the ass on all fronts–staleness is inevitable.

This particular box shakes spastically on a three-foot JBL amplifier as American Minor fleshes out a new song–this box had no idea what it was in for. “We practice as loud as we play shows, just so it translates,” said guitarist Josh Gragg.

Gragg and lead guitarist Bud Carroll trade guitar licks, tweaking to get the most Rock without overdoing it. The snack crackers shake, but never fall.

“Try not to hold back with the chords, keep moving,” Carroll said.

“I think the last part was awesome, I just don’t want the next to be half-assed,” Gragg said.

“You wanna hammer it out?”

There’s a reason why 17-member ska bands stay in vogue for a few days, a month at most.

Emo had a quick sprint before becoming a

Basic Principles of Real Estate Appraisal – Learn principles of market and valuation analysis, appraisal theory, concepts and techniques.

Parkland Business Development Center. Jan 27Feb 26, Tue and Thu 6pm-9pm. The course fee is $380. Call 351-2235 to register.

DiSC Customer Service Personal Profile – Participants will be able to increase customer satisfaction and service, build productive teams and ease frustration and conflict within their organizations by identifying customers' primary dimensions of behavior and their preferred approach to communication and problem-solving. Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 4, 8:30am12:30pm. The course fee is $110. Call 351-2235 to register.

What Managers Do – Learn how to use planning techniques that ensure smooth operations, organize a department for maximum productivity, staff in a way that matches jobs with talent and motivate employees to perform to their maximum potential. Parkland Business Development Center.

Jan 28, 8am-5pm. The course fee is $195 and includes the textbook. Call 351-2235 to register.

The Basic Principles for a Collaborative Workplace – This course presents guidelines for day-to-day interactions. The basic principles discussed create a climate where everyone is able to cooperate, share ideas and work together for a common purpose. Learn how collaboration positively affects productivity, quality, customer expectations and overall organizational performance.

Parkland Business Development Center. The class meets either Jan 22 or Jan 29 from 8:30am12:30pm. The course fee is $99. Call 351-2235 to register.

word worse than “sellout.” Hair bands stick around until the novelty wears off. Have you ever seen Pete Townshend on VH1’s Where are They Now? whining, “Beavis and Butt-Head killed us?” Hell no. Good, old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll tends to stick around. It’s there, alongside the angry suburbanites and novelties. As a fad becomes a stale embarrassment, real rock stays crunchy–fun for straight-edgers and stoners alike. It’s safe to risk blatant editorializing to say, American Minor has the Rock.

Two years ago, American Minor was going to be a last hurrah. In rural W.Va., bassist Bruno (“Just Bruno”), rhythm guitarist Josh Gragg, drummer Josh Knox, and vocalist and lead guitarist Rob McCutcheon who later broke ranks with the band, wanted to start something before they moved their separate ways.

American Minor saw this as a last chance.

They hired an agent for booking outside of their W.Va. hometown, recorded a demo in a friend’s basement and practiced consistently.

“We took it pretty seriously; we knew this might be the last time we could be in a band,” Bruno said.

The four-song demo passed through many record label hands. Eventually, an entertainment lawyer in New York got a hold of it and flew to see American Minor play in Nashville, Tenn.

And thus, the West Virginian rock band obtained representation. What started as a small step became a journey.

“We started shopping a shitty basement demo and started privately showcasing with

The Leader in Each of Us – Learn what defines leadership behaviors common to each individual in an organization and five strategies to increase job effectiveness. Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 5, 8:30am-12:30pm. The course fee is $99. To register, call 351-2235.

End of Life Decision-Making: Organ Donation; Advanced Directives – Learn about organ and tissue donation, as well as the legal issues associated with advanced directives. Tony Noel Agricultural Technology Building, Parkland College. Jan 20, 1:30pm-3pm. For more information, call (217) 4031429.

ANSWERS FOR PUZZLE ON PG 22 S A D S A C K

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music

Drummer Josh Knox lays down the beat with bassist Bruno (in the background) joining in.

record companies,” Bruno said. A private showcase involves playing a set in front of two record “suits” sitting and watching from the couch.

“We had to fire our lead guitar player, it just wasn’t working out,” Knox said. “Let’s just keep it at that.”

Bud Carroll, another musician from W.Va., stepped up to the plate.

“Bud was still in school, we thought for sure he’d say no,” Bruno said.

“He said ‘yes’ and pretty much had it down after a four-hour rehearsal.”

In less than a year, the band went from a basement recording session on an eight-track to private showcases, professional representation and a major line-up change. Changes came rapidly for the young band–the environment went from Atari’s Pitfall to Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

Time to get while the gettin’ is good, get the hell out of Dodge, go west, young man; insert your own escape cliché here.

Rob McCutcheon’s wife got accepted into the graduate dance program at the Guitarist Bud Carroll lets the locks go as he jams.

University of Illinois and American Minor made the decision to move. “It really they let us be musicians since that’s what they was time to get out. Once you’re taken out of invested in.” There has to be a little bit of faith your hometown you can really concentrate,” to the band can do on its own, “to give money to five yahoos like us,” he said.

Gragg said.

With a major publisher in its corner, the The music scene in Champaign-Urbana surprised them. “It’s not competitive out here. members of American Minor practiced at least There are lots of bands with different sounds four hours a day. They took a break from tourand everyone’s helping each other out,” ing to write new material in a farmhouse in Bruno said. “That’s not typical–usually bands Champaign’s cornfields. “There are still so many places this could go wrong,” Bruno said. are catty.”

When American Minor boarded the stage at “A lot of chance.”

Out in the boonies, there’s a small bubble of Chicago’s Double Door, they had no idea a guy from the Chrysalis Music Publishing sound surrounding the farmhouse, peeling green paint falls to the ground. High school Company was in the audience.

The representative was interested so the kids who decided to inebriate themselves in band gave him a demo. Chrysalis CEO Kenny the cornfields to avoid cops might freak out a McPherson flew out to Champaign from Los little. “I hear somethin’, man, there’s something out there.” A little closer, they’ll realize Angeles to see a show at Cowboy Monkey.

“The crowd was great, they were really it’s Rock. Not emo, not experimental, but pure pumped and it was a free show and everyone old-fashioned rock–not influenced by Red Red played really well,” Bruno said. A large, Meat or Weezer or Echo–but the Stones, man, drunken crowd gave the band more energy, the fuckin’ Stones.

Inside, the five members fight to keep hair more home-team advantage than having to out of their eyes while talking time signatures, play in a studio for two “suits.”

Now they had a publisher. A publishing bridges, progressions and cowbells. “I love the deal is not a record deal by any means. cowbell, I think people underestimate…the Publishers work with musicians to help get cowbell,” Knox says with a smile. Discussion their music heard. They pay artists a financial over, they strap on their instruments to pound advance to write and record quality music the hell out of their amps.

Sound waves from the speakers and ampliwhile they look for good music outlets, such fiers pummel our ear drums. Tipper Gore, as soundtracks.

“It wasn’t really what you’d think. They’re somewhere, keeps getting chills and doesn’t good guys who make sure to work with the know why. The Wheatables, man, that box band, not controlling,” Bruno said. “I mean, goes all over the place but it never falls. buzz

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arts

WHAT CORNER IS THE ARTIST ON? | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

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PHONE: 217/337-8337

ARTIST CORNER

BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR

back window.

M

Why do you choose to pair images of man-made objects with images of natural objects?

att Cohn is a recent graduate of the University, receiving a double degree in rhetoric and psychology. Currently, you can find him serving up fine vegetarian fare at Strawberry Fields.

Though he is by all accounts a friendly young man, he prefers quiet, introspective moments to loud parties.

Don’t be fooled by his serious demeanor, though. He is quite capable of having a good laugh.

Why did you switch from taking pictures with an automatic camera to a manual camera this past summer?

I went to Europe last summer with a tiny CIA-looking automatic camera. I could carry it everywhere without fear of being construed as a tourist, but I don’t think most tourists take pictures of the fluorescent lights at subway stations. The automatic camera helped me look at the world one little rectangle at a time. I like a lot of my Europe pictures, but they lack depth. Now I’m unashamed of feeling like a tourist in Urbana, walking around with a camera hanging from my neck.

Well, if you look at the ‘fall’ pictures, you can see that the artificial light emulates almost EXACTLY the color of the dying leaves. This is textbook hubris, my friend...the stuff of sad art.

What are your future goals as a photographer?

I should make it a goal to take more than one photograph of the same thing. Also, I heard that some people like to take pictures with people in them, so I should overcome the fear that I will steal the soul of anyone I photograph.

How do you feel your photography complements/ influences your writing?

I take pictures of objects that my narrators might be staring at when they’re talking, or places that my narrators would really slip into storytelling mode.

Why did you choose the piece you’re featuring?

The (Chevrolet) Celebrity is a good mascot for my art. I went in to Paradiso to check on the show and most of the pictures had fallen.

I framed the pictures on cardboard, so I had to be creative with the hanging. Well, my technique didn’t work and I ended up using duct tape. Art should be more like this person’s

bookreview The Life Eaters ★★★

David Brin

BY BRIAN WARMOTH I STAFF WRITER

B

estselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author David Brin adapts one of his early novelettes to graphic novel form in The Life Eaters, an alternate history storyline occupying the genres of science fiction and fantasy.

Brin, a scientist and author, has written numerous short stories novels, including The Postman, which was adapted into a film by Kevin Costner. The plot is set in a world where the Allied invasion on D-Day failed, the gimmick being that the Norse gods of Viking mythology entered into the war on the side of the Nazis. Though this premise might be enough to deter one’s interest who is not typically a fan of science fiction or graphic novels, the heart of the book is the author’s belief in the human spirit’s ability to triumph over

impossible odds, particularly when faced with a foe driven by fanatic religion. All said, Brin classifies The Life Eaters in a sub-genre of science fiction pioneered by Phillip K. Dick’s novel The Man in the High Castle, which explores how Hitler might have won World War II. There is also a strong presence of inspiration from such comic book characters as Iron Man, Captain America and Thor.

The graphic novel itself, standing at 144 pages, is divided into three chapters. The first sets the tone for the story, establishing in dark brutality the setting and introducing key characters. The author definitely succeeds in outlining a complicated alternate reality, giving a basic overview of the current condition of the world; Odin, the king of the gods, and his son Thor, the god of thunder, reign over most of the earth alongside the Nazis. Loki, the Norse god of mischief (and also Odin’s son) has defected to the side of the struggling Allies.

The shocker of the book comes with the second chapter and the exploration of how the Viking gods came into being seemingly out of nowhere. Herein lies the book’s discussion of religion’s power in the world and Brin’s case for the potential of humanity. As he states in the afterword, normal everyday people were the ones “who pounded Adolf Hitler’s mon-

sters back into mythology, where monsters belong.”

If the book has a weakness, it’s in the limp ending, which fails to deliver after an amazingly conceived build in conflict throughout chapters one and two. His manipulation of characters and other elements of Norse mythology is well-executed, though the central character is ultimately poorly developed.

This is somewhat excused by the focus on humanity’s triumph as a whole, but blemishes the finale of the narrative itself.

The artwork in the book is done by renowned comic artist Scott Hampton, who employs very realistic images and usually great attention to detail and lighting. Though the illustration is nothing groundbreaking, it serves its purpose to convey several very cinematic sequences and plays with the reader’s awareness of the spaces being depicted.

The Life Eaters is a fascinating read for any history buff, fan of science fiction or anyone with general interest in mythologies. It succeeds on the level that most science fiction stories set out to achieve–to explore humanistic themes in unrealistic scenarios. It is also a commentary on the role of the Nazis’ dabbling in the occult and contrivance of mythology to define themselves in relation to the tragic

scope of what they accomplished in the Holocaust. Brin’s discussion is epic, but in the end admirably tackled.

classified

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | WELL LET THE NEW YEAR RING LOAD AND CLEAR AND WE WILL HELP YOU SELL THAT OLD TREADMILL FOR THE NEW ONE

DEADLINE: 2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

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• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

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• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

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Services CLEANING

HELP WANTED | Full Time Express Personnel Services 217.355.8500 101 Devonshire Dr., Champaign

Exact Extraction. Carpet & upholstery cleaning. Free estimates. 6883101.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES $250-$500/week. Will train to work at home helping the US Govt. file HUD/FHA mortgage refunds. No experience necessary. Call toll-free 1800-778-0353.

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384-5010.

Apartments

400

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished | Unfurnished

BUSINESS SERVICES

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EACH WAY*

Hinsdale Oasis Advance Reservations Required

Leave HUFF HALL 4th & Gregory 4:45am 7:45am 9:45am 12:45pm 3:45pm

Leave IL Terminal 45 E. University 5:00am 8:00am 10:00am 1:00pm 4:00pm Dependable Service since 1998

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Photo Sellers 30 words or less + photo: $5 per issue Garage Sales 30 words in both Thursday’s buzz and Friday’s Daily Illini!! $10. If it rains, your next date is free.

Action Ads • 20 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $14 • 10 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $7 • add a photo to an action ad, $10

400

1 bedroom lofts $497 2 bedrooms $585 3 bedrooms $750 4 bedrooms $950 Campus, parking.

Fall 04, 367-6626

808 S. LINCOLN, U Renting Aug 2004. Classic older building with Unfurnished 1 BR+ sun room, 1 BR + den, Furnished 2 BR apts and efficiency across from Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Ave. Near Krannert, Law School, Music, etc.

Features hardwood floors in upper units, laundry on site. Parking $45/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

1 BR+ SunRoom- from $605/mo(UF) 1 BR+ Den - from $605/mo (UF) 2 BR - from $495 to $540/mo (F) Efficiency - from $370/mo (F) BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com Available Now. 2 bedroom on campus for January. $550 per month.

367-6626.

Boutique style apartments and lofts.

Ones, twos, threes, and houses. On or near campus. Available now, December 15, 2003 and for August 2004. Rent starting at $349/mo. for 2 bedroom apartment. 841-4549

Avail Aug 2004. Attractive modern loft apts. Dishwasher disposal, window a/c, ceiling fans, patio/ balconies, carpet, laundry, parking, 2nd floor skylights. Rents from $350/mo. $50/month to furnish. Apts. shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

Renting August 2004. Quiet building in nice Urbana neighborhood. 2 bedroom townhouses, furnished $590/mo., unfurnished $570/mo. 2 bedroom apartments, furnished $525/mo. Parking optional, central A/C, carpet, laundry facilities, gas heat. Daily showings, 7 days a week BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1108 S. LINCOLN, U

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

Aug 2004 rental. Older classic building close to Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Avenue. Upper apts. have hardwood floors. Laundry in building. Efficiencies have carpet and are furnished with rents from $325 to $360/mo.

Unfurnished 1 bedrooms from $560/mo. Unfurnished 2 bedrooms from $695/mo. 7 days a week showings.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. WALNUT, U Renting for August 2004. Quiet neighborhood. 1 bedroom apts. from $465/mo. 2 bedroom from $505/mo.

Gas heat, central a/c, laundry facilities. Parking included. To furnish $50/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

*Rates expire 1/25/04

Available Jan 1st One Bedrooms

Billed rate: 34¢/word Paid-in-Advance: 25¢/word

Apartments

T-1/UIUC/Ethernet $395-$540 Engineering Campus 1004-906-911 W. Springfield, Urb.

Bailey Apt., 344-3008 www.BaileyApartments.com

205 N. Busey, one bedroom, pay own electric $490.00. Doyle Properties 398-3695 2 BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE Available January 15. Campus Bus, CA, DW. $685. 328-1998 www.lincolnshireprop.com

1005 S. SIXTH, C. Aug 2004. A+ location! Next to UI Library. Great older building. 1 bedrooms from $405/mo. Laundry facilities, Window A/C, Carpet. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1006 W. STOUGHTON, U. Very close to Engineering campus.

Avail for Aug 2004. Masonry construction.

2 bedrooms from $620/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Parking $25/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1007 S. FIRST, C. Aug 2004. Good location near First and Gregory. Quiet building. Attractive well-maintained. 2 bedroom apts from $625/mo. 1 bedroom from $425/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Laundry facilities. Parking included.

Apts shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

101 N. BUSEY & 102 N. LINCOLN, U. August 2004. Excellent location near Green & Lincoln. 2 bedroom apts from $500/mo. Window A/C, Laundry. Parking avail at $30/mo. Apartments shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

102 N. GREGORY, U. August 2004. Close to Illini Union. 2 bedrooms at $500/mo. 1 bedroom $390/mo. Efficiencies $350/mo. Carpet, Gas Heat, Laundry. Parking available at $30/mo. 7 days a week showings.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

103 E. DANIEL, C Showing for Aug 2004. Beautiful building. Great location close to Frat park. Efficiencies from $370/mo.

Central A/C, Storage units, Laundry.

Parking avail at $50/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

105 E. DANIEL, C Avail. Aug. 2004. 4 bedroom apt near Frat park. 1,000 sq. ft., spacious living room, dining area, 2 baths. Balcony, laundry facilities, dishwasher/ disposals. Parking $50/ mo. Rent starts at $1,350/ mo.

Shown Daily.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

105 E. GREEN, C Studio apts avail Aug 2004. Carpet, electric heat, wall a/c units, off street parking avail, laundry on site. Rents from $320/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1107 S. EUCLID, C Aug 2004 rental. First rate location near Armory, IMPE, and Snack Bar. 1 bedroom apts. Window A/C, Gas Heat, laundry. Parking $35/mo.

Rents start at $395/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com 111 S. Busey 3 bedroom townhouse, elegant, DW, AC, 2 bath, 1 block engineering. $1150/mo. 398-1998 www.lincolnshire.com

201 N. LINCOLN, U August 2004 rental. 1 and 2 bedroom apts close to campus with parking, ceiling fans in some units, laundry, carpet/tile floors. Shown 7 days a week. 1 bdrm $390/mo, 2 bdrms from $500/mo.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

311 E. WHITE, C. Avail for Aug 2004. Large furnished efficiencies close to Beckman Center. Rent starts at $325/mo. Parking avail at $30/mo. Window A/C, carpet. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

404 W. HIGH, U Renting for Aug 2004. Huge 2 bedroom apts. Completely remodeled.

Washer/Dryer in each unit. Parking available. Quiet Urbana neighborhood. Rents start at $695/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com 502 E. University, C.

Security Building 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, large rooms, AC, furnished, parking, quiet building. Aug. 04 369-0237. www.zhengrentals.com

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

509 W. MAIN, U. Quiet Urbana location very close to campus avail for Aug 2004. 1 BR apts. Rents start at $390/mo. Carpet, laundry facilities, window A/C, storage, parking avail at $25/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

611 W. Green, U New 2 bedroom luxury apts avail. for Aug 2004. Georgian style architecture with brick exterior in historic Urbana neighborhood. Balcony/ patio, washer/dryer, dishwasher, microwave, garbage disposal, internet access, assigned parking $40/ mo.

Rent $950/ mo. Call for details.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873

702 W. WESTERN, U. Aug 2004. 1 bedrooms with window a/c, carpet/tile floors, boiler heat, laundry on site. Parking avail. Rents start from $380 to $495/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

705 S. 1st St. Apts.

First & Green

Luxury 2, 3 & 4 BRM apts Balconies, Central A/C, 2 Baths 1 SPRING LEASE AVAILABLE

367-2009 705 W. STOUGHTON, U. Aug 2004 rental. 3 bedroom apts.

Near Lincoln Ave. and Engineering Campus. Fenced-in yard. Balconies/ patios. Microwaves, carpet, central A/C, disposal, dishwasher, parking $25/mo. Rents start at $615/mo.

Shown daily 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. FIRST, C Excellent Value for Aug 2004. Half block south of Green on First Street.

Large apts in security building. 2 bedrooms from $480/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Hot water heat. Parking at $30/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. LOCUST, C. Aug 2004 rentals. One block west of First Street, close to campus in quiet neighborhood. Window A/C, Gas heat, Carpet, Covered Parking available, Laundry facilities. Efficiency $300/mo, 1 bedrooms $395/mo and 2 bedrooms $610/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

802 W. GREEN, U. Aug 2004 rental. One block from Lincoln Ave. Great architecture and design - not a box apt. Large units with central A/C, carpet, patios/balconies, laundry. Off-street parking at $45/mo. 2 bedrooms from $595/mo.

Efficiency $355/mo. Showings 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

903 W. NEVADA, U Quality rooming house. Near Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Ave. Rooms avail for Aug. 2004. Rents from $260/mo to $330/mo. Laundry facilities, Common kitchen. Showing 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

17

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

905 S. Locust, 2 Br. • Furnished, Balcony • Dishwasher, Central A/C • Microwave, Disposal • Onsite Laundry Room • Vaulted Ceiling-3rd Floor • Parking • Ethernet available • Starts at $645 • Call Mon-Sat.

766-2245 www.905locust.com

Locust III Apts 906-908 S. Locust St.

Spacious efficiencies and 1,3 & 4 bedroom apts.

Some units paid heat/water 1 SPRING LEASE AVAILABLE

367-2009 907 W. STOUGHTON, U.

Excellent location. Aug. 2004 rental.

Attractive apts with Central A/C, Carpet, Microwaves, Large rooms, laundry facilities. 2 bedroom from $625/mo. Parking at $30/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

BUSEY & ILLINOIS, U. Large apts in quiet Urbana location one block South of Green and one block East of Lincoln. Off street parking. 2 bedrooms start at $665/mo. Avail Aug 2004. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

ARBOR APARTMENTS, C. Avail August 2004. Located at Third and Gregory across from the Snack Bar. A block from IMPE. Large one bedroom apts. Well-maintained. One of the best bargains on campus.

Gas Heat, Carpet, Window A/C, Assigned Parking available. Laundry facilities available. Rents start at $360/mo. Apts shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com Available fall 2004 Large 2 bd on Chalmers. Furnished, C/A, DW, parking and Ethernet available. $740/mo. PPM, Inc. 3511800. www.ppmrent.com Available Now 706 S. Locust 2 bdrm $550/mo John Randolph Atrium Roommate Program Avail starting @ $330/mo BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 Furnished 1 bedroom apartment available on Engineering Campus for $440/mo. Call University Properties at 344-8510.

Furnished one bedrooms and efficiencies for Fall semester from $325 near John and Second or Healey and Third. 356-1407.

QUIET ENGR TOWNHOUSES $800- 900 2 bedroom 2 storks 3981998

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classifieds

WE DO RESOLVE TO HELP YOU SELL WHATEVER YOU SEND OUR WAY | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Unurnished

HOUSES

ARBOR APARTMENTS, C.

John Randolph Atrium Avail now for either semester or year lease. Rent a bedroom/bath in 4 bedroom close to Osco Drug on Randolph & John. Starting at $300/mo. with basic utilities included. Call for showing.

Barr Real Estate, Inc. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

Brand new luxury 1, 2, 3, bedroom apartments available in Champaign.

Call Manchester Property Management at 359-0248 for an appointment.

2 bedroom with office, close to Hessel Park and campus, busline, appliances. Available Dec 20, 637-4388.

NIce 3 bedroom apartment for Spring 2004 Right on campus, only 2 minutes from Grainger. New furniture. Call 367-6184 or email Ggallo@uiuc.edu

Spacious 4 bedroom house with jacuzzi, billiard room and wet bar. Just a few blocks from the quad. For information please call 841-4549.

SUBLETS

ROOMS

1BR apt. at Prospect Point, Savoy.

Sublease avail. Feb 1. No deposit. $665/mo. Credit check. 355-0861.

637-1680.

Rooms from $285 per bedroom on campus. Available January 2004.

367-6626, 637-2111.

Avail August 2004. Located at Third and Gregory across from the Snack Bar. A block from IMPE. Large one bedroom apts. Well-maintained. One of the best bargains on campus.

Gas Heat, Carpet, Window A/C, Assigned Parking available. Laundry facilities available. Rents start at $360/mo. Apts shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

Available fall 2004 Large 2 bd on Chalmers. Furnished, C/A, DW, parking and Ethernet available. $740/mo. PPM, Inc. 3511800. www.ppmrent.com Available Now 706 S. Locust 2 bdrm $550/mo John Randolph Atrium Roommate Program Avail starting @ $330/mo BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873

JOHN & LOCUST, C Showing for Aug 2004. Quiet neighborhood. One block west of First Street and close to campus. Huge one bedroom apts, very bright. Window A/C, Carpet, Gas Heat. Parking $20/mo. Rents start at $350/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

115 W. WASHINGTON, U

NOW LEASING FOR JANUARY 2004 211 E. Clark, C. is a big two or three bedroom apartment, fully furnished for only $675 per month. Security entrance, balcony, and the best management company in town are just a few of the amenities. Call us NOW at 384-6930 to schedule your appointment. Make sure to ask your friends at the Tenant Union about us!

JOHN SMITH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT www.johnsmithproperties.com “believe the hype” 2001 Champaign County Apartment Association’s Member of the Year

Jan- August. 1 bedroom, 1 bath in fully furnished apartment. $350/mo includes utilities, ethernet, and parking. 637-5805 Now: 805 E. Main, Urbana: 2 bedrooms, furnished, laundry, deck, porch, parking. 344-6576.

One bedroom in a 3 bedroom. 3rd and Chalmers. $300/mo.

Allgaier@uiuc.edu 217-766-6934 Roommate needed in furnished 2 bedroom apartment. $310/mo.

(815)263-7431 58 E. John.

QUIET ENGR TOWNHOUSES $800- 900 2 bedroom 2 storks 3981998

Studio, furnished, hardwood floors, W/D, cozy, on campus, $565, available 01-01 1108 W. Nevada, 334-9342.

722 S. BROADWAY, U.

Other Rentals 500

Renting for Aug 2004. 1 bedroom apts. close to Lincoln Square Mall.

Carpet, window A/C, boiler heat.

Rents from $430/mo. Apts. shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com Available early January. Large 2 Bedroom. Race Street/Washington in Urbana. $500/mo. January rent paid. Sublease January - July 31st.

Phone and electric. Free parking.

W/D in unit. No pets. A/C, heater wall unit. References. 344-2143 or manager 356-0017.

Bailey Apartments

901, 906, 911, 1004 W. Springfield, U 901 W. Springfield, U 111 S. Lincoln, U (2 Full Bath) - 1010 W. Springfield, U (2 Bath) - 111 S. Lincoln, U (2 Bath) - 1010 W. Springfield, U

Servicing Campus & Campustown Since 1969 All units near Engineering, Computer Science Campus, Urbana Side.

Furnished, A/C, Laundry, 24 Hour Maintenance, No Pets.

Office: 911 W. Springfield, Urbana www.BaileyApartments.com

344-3008

Personals

900

Furnished 1 bedroom apartment available on Engineering Campus for $440/mo. Call University Properties at 344-8510.

ROOMMATES 1 Month Free!

Roommate wanted for Spring in 3 br apartment. Right on campus, only 2 minutes from Grainger. Call 217367-6184 or email Ggallo@uiuc.edu

Immediate female roommate, for furnished 2 bedroom, Presidential Towers. All utilities included, parking available. $499/mo call Sara 847528-8996.

Roommate wanted. 1 male. Furnished apartment $300/mo. 508 White St. C/A. 217-390-0821. Ask for Scott. berka@uiuc.edu.

RealEstateforSale 600

Furnished one bedrooms and efficiencies for Fall semester from $325 near John and Second or Healey and Third. 356-1407.

You name it

Announcements800 LOST AND FOUND Orange Esprite bag with passports lost at Am-Ko (1st & Springfield).

Reward for returning passports, urgent need to travel home. Call 3447678.

HOUSES

HOUSES 3, 3-5 bedroom homes for rent.

Washer/dryer, stove, refrigerator, very clean, non-smoking, no pets. In Urbana. Available Immediately. 3440000 or 367-8793.

FSBO: 2610 E. Florida, Urbana. Golf course view! 3 bedroom, 2 bath, full basement, deck. Corner lot. Singlefamily 2 car detached garage. $145,000. Call 328-7951 for appointment, prequalified calls only.

Things to Do 700

6-9 bedroom house on campus for fall 2004. 367-6626.

VACATION | TRAVEL

House for rent. 2 bedroom large, new kitchen, two car parking, large yard, close to campus, Aug. to Aug. lease. Available now, 688-2284.

*** Act Now! Book 11 people, get 12th trip free. Group Discounts for 6+ www.springbreakdiscounts.com or 800-838-8202

We’ll sell it for you

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arts

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | CHECK OUT THESE BAD BOYS

Additional justification lies in the graphic novel’s increasing influences on other genres, including film, journalism and even literary novels at large. After the box office successes of X-Men and Spider-Man–now the highest grossing film of all time–Hollywood studios have snatched up comic book and graphic novel properties as prime screenplay material.

Graphic novels have produced numerous successful stories on screen, including Road to Perdition and Shrek. Yezbick plans to delve into this trend of adaptation, looking at works such as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s From Hell.

Though journalism is not an area immediately associated with graphic literature, syndicated political cartoonist Ted Rall’s graphic novel To Afghanistan and Back is actually a graphic novel that deals with just that—journalism of his observances in the war-torn country. The book belongs to a small but growing sect of graphic novels dealing with war journalism, which also includes accounts of the Palestinian and Bosnian conflicts by Joe Sacco.

Michael Chabon’s 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay, Comics.

Yezbick says that when he offered the course a novel without pictures, actually lays out its three years ago, Borders did not have a own case for the graphic shelf entirely devoted to graphic novnovel’s place as an els. “It’s slowly starting to shed the American art form.

It’s slowly starting stigma of being kids’ stuff,” he The novel, which says. Most major book retailers tells the story of to shed the stigma of now have large shelf spaces set two cousins aside for graphic novels and brought togethbeing kids’ stuff. include most of what comprises the er in the shad-Daniel Yezbick course’s syllabus. Moreover, they’re ows of World gaining critical attention in major magWar II, parallels azines such as Spin and Entertainment the beginnings of Weekly. Both publications now review graphic Action Comics and a novels at least semi-regularly. timeline of the comic book industry.

Meanwhile, graphic novels have They set out to create a comic book featuring a character called “The Escapist,” who in not escaped the attention of America’s library December 2003 received his own comic book system. The American Library Association’s series outside of the novel from Dark Horse 2002 annual conference included a seminar

called “Getting Graphic,” a discussion about the graphic novel’s place on library shelves. Major authors in the industry, including Spiegelman and Neil Gaiman, were brought in to speak. According to David Ward, assistant undergraduate librarian at the University’s undergraduate library, “…This is definitely an area that the undergrad (library) is looking to grow in.” The library currently has only a small shelf space devoted to graphic literature.

“I am currently working with one of our graduate assistants on collecting more graphic novels, starting with materials related to the new UIUC course, and expanding from there.

We have only collected a smattering of them previously, so our current efforts, to my

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classifieds

T-1 (UIUC & Internet) • 1 Bedroom • 2 Bedroom • 2 Bed • 3 Bed • 4 Bed • 4 Bedroom

Charming 1 BR sublet 2 blocks from campus, Urbana. Mid-January to mid-May rent negotiable. symes@uiuc.edu

Join Champaign income-sharing community encouraging educated to have children. Teacher, researcher, therapist, homemaker, other positions. www.childrenforthefuture.org 328-3349.

337-8337

JOHN SMITH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT www.johnsmithproperties.com (217)384-6930 “believe the hype”

Renting Aug 2004. Very large 1 bedroom apartments. Carpet, window A/C, parking available at $30/mo.

Rents start at $385/mo. Shown daily 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

MISCELLANEOUS

Daily Illini and buzz Classifieds

Available Aug 2004. 1 bedroom apts. in quiet Urbana neighborhood.

Carpet, window a/c, laundry, boiler heat. Rents from $320/mo. to $510/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

205 EAST HEALEY, C

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call 217.337.8337

A glimpse at several graphic novels.

7#

knowledge, reflect the first major attempt to purchase a wide variety of materials in this area, as opposed to only a few specific titles,” Ward says.

At the very least, Yezbick hopes that his course will better acquaint students with what the graphic novel encompasses as a genre. Its range of materials is geared toward students from all academic backgrounds, whether they are familiar with the works or not.

“One girl who came in when I taught the course before thought it was porn,” Yezbick says. His course will give students a chance to better understand the historical development of a rapidly maturing and distinctly American field of literature—the graphic novel. buzz

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buzz JANUARY8-14, 2004

Graphic novels emerge as literary underdog

moviereview

SUPER MAN| JANUARY 8-14, 2004

BY BRIAN WARMOTH I STAFF WRITER

G

raphic novels are a relatively new form of literature; indeed, many people by and large are unfamiliar with the term. The evolutions of the syndicated comic strip to the serial comic book, which manifested in 1933’s Funnies on Parade; and that of the comic book to the first graphic novel, have been processes akin to the development of the modern literary novel—rooted in historical political and economic events.

Section D of English 106 at the University of Illinois next semester will examine the development of the graphic novel—a maturing and distinctly American literary medium combining text and illustration. In fact, what many might contest to be a study of nothing but large comic books is a very serious look at an extremely diverse and rapidly evolving branch of literature.

Will Eisner is typically credited with coining the term “graphic novel,” which he used to refer to his work A Contract With God, released in 1978. Some argue, though, that the title of “first graphic novel” may actually belong to Jim Steranko’s visual detective thriller Red Tide, which was released two years earlier. The graphic novel, like the comic book, is a hybrid work of writing and illustration. The graphic novel breaks away from the designation of “comic book,” however, in that it is much longer than the average comic book and contains an entire story, unlike comic books, which will most often give only segments of ongoing storylines. Additionally, graphic novels are marketed as trade books, suitable for general readership, as opposed to comic books, which are sold almost exclusively in specialty stores and to narrower markets.

As a form, the graphic novel would not exist today without its historical roots in comic strips, comic books or pulp magazines of the early 20th century. Just as early American literature began with limited varieties of fiction being written to please a consumer market, writers and artists in all three of these areas found their trades to be a source of sorely needed income during the Great Depression of 1930s America.

The popularity of the superhero exhibited in

Action Comics’ Superman led to the mass production of variations by comic book companies, who saw incredible markets to be tapped. Comics have subsequently functioned as barometers of popular culture. World War II brought new heroes and enemies alike to the pages of comic books, where heroes began fighting Nazis years before Pearl Harbor and the United States’ official entrance into battle.

For years, comics remained the playground of superheroes and cartoon characters such as Archie and Disney’s Donald Duck. The second half of the 20th century, though, saw comics gradually appealing to a more adult market with series such as Tales From the Crypt, which tapped into the genres of pulp and noir fiction.

A gradual expanse of readership led to expanded realms of content, plot and subject matter.

With half a century under its belt, a wealthy heritage of graphic art and narrative content to draw from, and a host of experienced writers

with the problematic nature of tackling a hybrid work, which lends itself both to the studies of literature and graphic arts. The only available college degree directly related to the a n d medium comes from the Savannah (Ga.) a r t i s t s College of Art and Design and is designated as who had being a degree in sequential art. As an emerghoned their ing area of study, its place in academia remains crafts, the on the fence at best.

As Nina Baym, professor of English at the industry was poised to produce University of Illinois points out, “You cannot a new level of work talk about graphic novels without talking when Eisner published about graphic art.” The same is true in respect A Contract With God. The to the text that accompanies it: narrative tradisubsequent decades saw tion rooted in literature. “The two disciplines comic book writing become need to interact,” Baym says. Figuring out how self-aware with Alan Moore to treat a subject that falls equally into two disand his 12-comic book minis- tinct areas of study (and colleges at the University) provides a signifieries The Watchmen—still in print cant conundrum. in graphic novel form— When asked and Art Spiegelman, an whether or not the independent comic graphic novel has book artist and writer The graphic novel would a place for study who produced Maus, a not exist today without its in the English Pulitzer Prize-winhistorical roots in comic department’s ning graphic novel curriculum, Baym about his father’s strips, comic books or pulp says she is certainexperiences as a Jew magazines of the early ly open to its incluin the Holocaust. sion as a nonNeither of these 20th century. required course, but would have been possays there should be a broad sible without the legacies of enough sampling of works to be diswriting and graphic art that precussed. “I would ask, ‘Do we have a big ceded them, but both have become tesenough selection for teachers to pick and taments to the power of their medium. choose from?’ ” she says. This is an issue Daniel Yezbick, a Ph.D. candidate in film that must be dealt with whenever a new art studies at the University—and the graduate student who will be teaching the course for the form is judged for relevance in academia.

Yezbick’s course will delve into the wide second time in as many years it has been offered—proposed the course as an English array of styles that now inhabit graphic novels 106 topic. Titles of 106 sections vary from with a required reading list ranging from semester to semester, as they are set aside to be Spiegelman’s Maus and Joe Sacco’s chilling taught by graduate students such as Yezbick book Palestine, to perspectives in the civil who must submit academic rationales to the rights movement from Howard Cruse’s Stuck English department for topics they wish to Rubber Baby and Chicano culture works by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. cover.

Literary merit must be distilled from popu“My academic rationale was to allow students to experience a number of diverse views lar culture. The question of where the latter on art, culture and race in a medium that ends and the first begins is by no means clearmixes so many forms of storytelling and cut. Since comic books and graphic novels design,” Yezbick says. The last time he pro- have only recently come out of the woodwork posed the topic—listed for spring 2004 as “The as readings widely aimed at adults as well as Wild World of the American Graphic Novel”— children and teenagers, the case has only was spring 2001. He characterizes the feedback begun to be made for them as serious areas of he received from university students and fac- literary study. As with any discussion of artwork, their value cannot lie outside of the ulty alike as very positive and receptive.

Other universities around the United States value their audience places on them. The and Canada have offered similar courses, expanding length and variety of narratives the including Indiana University, the University of graphic novel has generated is at least half of Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania College of its case. The other is evolution of the artwork Technology, and the University of Alberta, within, as cold as the black and white in Maus, Calgary. In all cases, the schools’ programs are and as cutting edge as Dave McKean, who utivery new, as the medium has only begun to lizes a mixed-media approach of photography, receive serious academic notice in the last collage and computer effects, as well as tradidecade. Furthermore, departments are faced tional ink and paint in his illustrations.

21 GRAMS ★★★★

BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER

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1 Grams is not a movie about shiny, happy people; and it won’t have audiences rolling in the aisles. Instead, this dark, disturbing drama is a powerful, deeply affecting puzzle about fate, karma and unspeakable tragedy.

Sean Penn plays Paul Rivers, a college mathematics professor awaiting a heart transplant; Naomi Watts plays Cristina Peck, a former junkie and beautiful mother of two with a passion for swimming; Benicio Del Toro plays Jack Jordan, an ex-con reformed by an all-encompassing religious faith.

Each of these characters’ lives is intertwined with the others, but even as the film gradually discloses what has transpired between these tormented victims of circumstance, it withholds explaining in a competent, meaningful way how and why they come together. 21 Grams does not generate mystery for the sake of plot twists but rather to pose questions about how life can steer us in unpredictable direc-

moviereview

BIG FISH ★★★

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

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| IS THIS BIG FISH HEAVIER THAN 21 GRAMS?

im Burton creates visual masterpieces.

Whether creating the infectiously dreary mist of Sleepy Hollow or the pastel-coated tongue-in-cheek parody of suburban life in Edward Scissorhands, he aims to astound and mesmerize with potent visuals that last long after seeing the film.

With Big Fish, Burton eases audiences into an amazing looking film, but looks aren't all that counts and unfortunately, this cinematographer's dream occasionally flounders.

At age 45, it seems Burton has finally grown up, and Big Fish serves as his opus to maturity.

After 2001's lackluster remake of Planet of the Apes, Burton needed to take his career in a different direction.

Up until now, Burton focused more on unleashing bizarre characters into a lopsided, M.C. Escher-like world for the sake of craziness: a man lives with garden shears as hands; a man transcends a fantasy world and brings ghosts into the real world when his name is called three times; a man who never knew his father cries over his deathbed as he begins to learn the power of storytelling. For a director whose greatest works can be termed "different," Big Fish is different than anything Tim

tions.

Penn is a stellar choice for Paul. He brings an essential, misguided maturity to the role of a man whose medical troubles complicate his body no more than they impact the collision course of his life. Penn bagging groceries on camera for two hours could be Oscar-worthy.

Del Toro lends a similar density to Jack, who must confront the notion that Jesus might be better at guiding him toward solutions rather than preventing problems. The true surprise here is Watts, though, who has at least three scenes that would stand independently as the dramatic apex in a lesser film. In Christina, Watts finds the best performance of her career.

Courtesy of the team behind Amores Perros, 21 Grams unravels with an engrossingly different form of non-chronological storytelling.

Rather than simply inverting the order of sequences or essential plot points, director Alejandro González Iñárritu chops and scrambles scenes with a chaotic impatience that achieves a surprisingly articulate effect. Every brief exchange is like one letter of a word jumble, but Iñárritu doesn’t just disguise what he’s spelling; every letter is a bitter pretzel of grave sadness and grim misfortune.

He slowly exposes every sorrowful moment inside his characters’ limited timeframe of individual pain to an almost crushing extent. 21 Grams is bold in its gloominess, starkly harrowing in its portrayal of complex, naked desires and defeats. The actors more than uphold the film’s bleak sense of raw human drama.

Burton has done before. The unexpected maturity displayed in Big Fish has also been interpreted as Burton's chance to reach out to his deceased father.

Big Fish tells the story of a son (Billy Crudup) hoping to learn the truth of the life of this dying father (Albert Finney in the film’s best performance) who always told stories.

Stories of a city where people didn't wear shoes because the ground was so soft or about an old witch with a glass eye that showed you how you were going to die. Like any normal human being, the son questioned the truth behind his father’s outlandish tales.

This is where the film diverges: while the son seeks out the truth in a rather haphazardly manner, the father's life is retold through stories with Ewan McGregor portraying the younger version of Finney. Burton has always had an easier time with scenery than sentiment, but this film tries to fill each scene with emotional subtexts about family, love and what it's like to be a big fish in a small pond.

When the son begins his quest to separate fact from fiction, the sentimental story wears thin. Whereas one would expect the film to trace the son experiencing his father's journey for himself (and flashbacks coming at each new scene), the film instead comes off as disjointed.

A film filled with so much magic should never be dull or easily forgettable. Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito bring a little fun to this love odyssey but even their outlandish characters are from from memorable.

Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the

Movie News Compiled by Jason Cantone

21 GRAMS | BENICIO DEL TORO

FOCUS FEATURES

1/7/04

Unfortunately, there are several points throughout this troubling insight into unthinkable loss and compromised morality where Guillermo Arriaga’s script simply fails to deliver. Even with a supreme ensemble in top form, the words occasionally sell short the people saying them.

But for two of the most chilling, numbing hours of the year, 21 Grams creates a genuinely upsetting, poignant swan song to happiness.

Without morbidity or melodrama, it shows, with compelling honesty and brutal truth, the fragility of life, the nearness of death, and the echo of tears shed.

That might not make for a cheerful movie outing around the holidays, but it achieves something rare in the area of personal, cinematic catastrophe: 21 Grams truly makes a statement about redemption and regret.

BIG FISH | ALISON LOHMAN, EWAN MCGREGOR masses will grow inpatient with it. However, it's the films inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome.

Whereas Homer's The Odyssey served as a very literary work that followed the same man on a journey plotline, it remained entertaining and inspiring in its vivid imagination. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003’s most imaginary films, but it falls from its potential to also be one of 2003’s best.

SCREEN REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unwatchable

This week marks the debut of a new weekly column. From the craziest celebrity antics to insider information about the newest movies in production, this column aims to keep the community informed about the latest in entertainment. C-U Views Photo Poll will return next week.

Ben Affleck is not only trying to recover from a possibly fatal career crash, he’s now biting the hand that feeds him–no, not J.Lo’s. Affleck used his interview in Entertainment Weekly to accuse Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein of “whoring” out his friendship with Matt Damon to sell movie tickets. With Affleck’s career relying on Miramax-made Jersey Girl and current box office disappointment Paycheck, he might have made yet another poor choice.

Charlize Theron gives an Oscar-caliber performance in Monster as prostitute/ serial killer Aileen Wuornos but the cameras were turned off when she and crew members reacted to ghost stories of the killer. Theron said locals told her ghosts would turn off lights and throw knives against the wall. That’s almost as scary as looking at Theron, who went from supermodel to super ugly for this film.

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Britney Spears seems on the verge of a breakdown with her recent antics. From an annulled shotgun marriage to sexual poses gracing the cover of Rolling Stone and Internet desktops everywhere, this formerly innocent girl (as if anyone ever believed that) will do anything.

Michael Jackson might be one of today’s most controversial figures, facing child molestation charges for the second time, but the journalists behind the story have become the story themselves.

Fox News questioned a prominent reporter about her claim that CBS paid Jackson $1 million for the widely watched 60 Minutes interview came from an angry former manager and may not have been true.

Cuba Gooding Jr. recently complained that all good black roles go to Will Smith.

Does this mean Smith turned down roles in Boat Trip and Snow Dogs before the Oscar-winner Gooding Jr. picked them ?

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BEN AFFLECK DOESN’T DESERVE ANOTHER PAYCHECK. | JANUARY 8-14, 2004 buzz

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PAYCHECK ★★

BY JOHN PIATEK | STAFF WRITER

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was unable to decide exactly how to spin this tension, and as a result, the audience is rendered as confused as Jennings.

The pace of this film is also quite disorganized; it blazes through action scenes and then sputters to a halt during dialogue scenes. This is a movie where the viewer could easily be on the edge of his seat for a thrilling chase scene and then fall asleep for the next 20 minutes, only to awaken to an explosion or gunshots.

Obvious product placements in this poorly done film add to the feel that the actors sold out for this movie. From Fiji water to trendy sunglasses to a chase into a BMW dealership, this film should have come out in time for people to make lists for their holiday shopping.

Let’s face it. Sure there are a lot of cheap alternatives for Internet access.

What is your favorite flower?

I don’t have a personal favorite, but I like the flowers of spring, like tulips and daffodils.

nu

003 was certainly not a good year for Ben Affleck. After beginning the year with the critically displeasing Daredevil (which never came close to matching the widespread success of fellow comic book adaptation Spider-man), he teamed up with girlfriend Jennifer Lopez to make the biggest box-office bust in recent memory: Gigli. Affleck’s latest work, Paycheck, continues his run of substandard films.

Despite casting stars such as Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman (Kill Bill), and Aaron Eckhart (Erin Brockovich), and being directed by John Woo (Face/Off), Paycheck really feels like it was made for its namesake, another paycheck for rich Hollywood actors.

Paycheck is the story of Jennings’ (Affleck) life as an engineer who works on secret projects for large corporations for ridiculous amounts of money, but with a huge catch–they erase his memory after each project. This way, Jennings can only remember everything up until he began work on his project, effectively trading a few months of his life for money to enjoy the rest of it.

With fears mounting on the safety of the memory-erasing technology, Jennings decides to take on one last project that will cost him

three years of his life, but will reward him with enough cash to live in luxury forever.

After the three years, he awakens from his memory-erased daze to find that he is being hunted by his employers because of something he did, is engaged to Rachel (Thurman), and has mailed himself 19 innocent-looking everyday items as clues to unravel his self-induced mystery and escape from everyone who is chasing after him.

The best part of Paycheck is the thrilling manner in which Jennings slowly and surprisingly uses the 19 random objects to figure out what is happening to him and why he is on the run.

In a style reminiscent of Memento, the film is always one step ahead of the audience and teases them by throwing Jennings into situations where he must use these items like MacGyver to escape.

Sadly, many of the scenes appear far from believable. Of course, many films make few attempts to be true to life, but as long as they are done in a manner that fits with the story, they become believable to the audience.

Unfortunately, Paycheck delivers many scenes that are distractingly unbelievable.

For instance, Jennings beats up everyone he bumps into–from police to corporate goons–a feat that diminishes the “being chased” feeling to the story. Besides, how many engineers can really fight like James Bond, anyway?

Also, Jennings’ romance with Rachel is extremely uncomfortable. Since Jennings cannot remember Rachel–although she obviously remembers him–they have a weird on-screen chemistry. It appears that director John Woo

How would you describe Rick Orr’s Florists?

It is more (of) an upscale, unique flower shop for flowers and gift items.

What is the best part of your job?

Every day is unique. We use flowers to celebrate an event from birth to death and all those special occasions in between. Certain days are predictable, like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. But, on an everyday basis, the need for flowers is varied and unique.

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moviereview

Rick Orr, owner of the upscale flower shop on Walnut St., Rick Orr Florists enjoys the uniqueness of his job. His background in theatre helped him in starting up the Station Theatre, Buzz C-U’s Finest Best Theatre Troupe of 2003.

an

heaper by the Dozen, a remake of a 1950s film, aims to please viewers of all ages. Under the direction of Schawn Levy, this film’s aim is dead on. The film stars Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt as Tom and Kate Baker. When they both hit it big in their careers, they move their large family to the city, where viewers experience the adaptations, trials and tribulations as the family adjusts to their bleak new reality of city life.

This film was pitched as Martin’s latest comedy, but by doing so, the other talented and bright actors involved in this film were ignored. Martin was actually the most unconvincing of them all. Yes, the typical Martin humor is there, but as for being a father of 12 and a football coach, audiences need something a bit more from the acclaimed actor.

More believable is Hunt as a mother of 12 and soon-to-be published author. She beautifully pulls off the caring, always organized mother as well as the stereotypical “career” woman that her Bonnie dreamed of becoming.

The dozen kids are all also collectively more convincing than Martin, delivering what they do best–acting their age. While the writers tried to use the popularity of the older children to draw viewers–Piper Perabo, Tom Welling and Hilary Duff–they all give weaker performances. These weak performances do, however, allow Ashton Kutcher, as Nora’s aspiring-actor boyfriend Hank, to shine on the big screen. This is no surprise since he is all the rage in this MTV-driven pop culture in which we all live.

The members of the cast that should be given the most credit, however, are all the younger kids. They are cute, charming and funny. Their wisecracks, stunts and emotional moments pull at the audience’s hearts, no matter what their age.

Cheaper by the Dozen manages to use it all–humor, drama and action–to captivate and entertain audiences of every demographic. If one is looking for a few hours of relaxation, smiles and a reminder of how fun and important being a part of a family is, Cheaper by the Dozen is the film to see.

What is your most unique flower?

The King Protea from Maui. It looks like one of those from Little Shop of Horrors, the maneating ones. It is very unique and unusual.

E

BY JENNIFER KEAST | STAFF WRITER

time comes for everyone around the world to believe in fairies. Of course, the animated Tinkerbell annoyed audiences, but she was cute enough to invoke pity anyway.

For those looking for a magical adventure into Never Never Land (no–not the Michael Jackson ranch), the 1950s Disney animated film is the surest bet.

This live action version does not have the very racist song “What Makes the Red Man Red?” but it is also missing some of the magic that brought the story of Peter Pan into homes everywhere. Like its band of heroes, this film occasionally soars, but spends most of its time stuck on the ground.

How did you first get interested in the floral business?

I saw an ad for the job in the paper and applied for it as a summer job. I went in and the guy asked me to arrange a dozen roses, which I did. It was a natural talent. I had been in design so it paralleled that.

What are some of your other interests?

I founded the Station Theatre in Urbana during my time at U of I. I am still the artistic director there and direct about two plays a year. My house is in Monticello Gardens in Campustown and I am very interested in gardening as it relates to floral design. I am also a guest curator at the Krannert Art Museum for a show they have on Mom’s Weekend called “Petals and Paintings.”

L

★★★

PETER PAN | JEREMY SUMPTER, JASON ISAACS

What is your most popular floral arrangement?

I would say it is Gerber Daisies. They have very bright, pure colors. We carry them yearround. Roses in many different colors are also popular.

There is nothing better than unpacking a box at the end of January when there is (a) snowstorm outside. The fragrance hits you first and then you find fresh spring flowers from Holland inside.

A

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN

mericans need another Peter Pan movie as much as they need hooks for hands.

Regardless, P.J. Hogan’s delves into the world of the boyhood icon with this new version of an old story.

Long before pirates got their name from stealing music on the Internet, J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan provided generations of children with a swashbuckling tale of a boy who refused to grow up. Young boys everywhere recognize the pirate who lost his hand to a crocodile that ticks like an old clock, but this film presupposes: What if Captain Hook was just a lonely, old man; and what if Peter Pan’s major downfall involved his failed attempt at love?

Interesting suggestions, to be sure, but this rendition is pale in comparison to Disney’s animated masterpiece.

This film is especially pale with its drab cinematography. Each scene (particularly an actionpacked sword fight between Peter Pan and Hook) is bathed in monotonous, singular colors. Whereas this years monstrous success Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl used color to push the spirit of adventure

What sets Rick Orr’s apart from other florists?

We do a lot of research. We don’t carry ordinary flowers like carnations and baby’s breath, though they can be ordered. We import flowers from all over: Maui, New Zealand, France. We have a lot of out-of-town clients that call us to do events and weddings.

Our reputation over the years has spread.

S

moviereview

A

What is the history behind Rick Orr Florists?

I started working at a floral shop while I was working my way through school at the U of I. I went to school for many years studying speech communication and theater but I did not have any formal training in floral design, but it is a lot like theater directing. I thought I would move to Chicago or New York after college but I found that my vocation had arrived into a profession and I had (a) large customer base. I decided to involve my partner Geraldine and it has now been 19 years since that happened.

A

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN | STEVE MARTIN

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

RickOrr

G

20TH CENTURY FOX

★★★

5

Q Q& &A A

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PETER PAN

into every scene, Peter Pan seems content with a blue-gray camera tint that transforms the magical tale into something decidedly British; and decidedly boring. When sword jabs and flying antics seem more dull than daring, the color choice turns this film into a wash of gray.

But that isn’t to say Peter Pan is a bad film. It weaves an enchanting tale that shows kids of all ages that Harry Potter is not the only kid who can demonstrate the magic of storytelling.

Then again, maybe magical live action films need only Jason Isaacs, who stars as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and as both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook in Peter Pan. The film also succeeds at giving this children’s tale a more adult psychological complex, with some of Barrie’s subtler subtexts such as Captain Hook’s middle-age crisis and Mr. Darling’s social ineptitude.

More than anything else, however, this Peter Pan succeeds triumphantly in returning the precocious boy role to an actual male: Jeremy Sumpter, who played young Matthew McConaughey in the under-appreciated Frailty.

Outside of a high school production or two, having an actual boy play this boyhood icon seems a complete rarity. Sumpter plays the role more as a macho and stubborn adventurer than as the frolicking nymph portrayed by female Peter Pans.

Golden Globe nominee Ludivine Sagnier, from this summer’s deliciously sexy Swimming Pool, does her best as Tinkerbell, but with constant pouting faces and an annoying disposition, she hardly seems worth saving when the

community

JANUARY 8-14, 2004

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JANUARY 8-14, 2004

buzz

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I

am black. My complexion shows my ethnicity and my hair confirms it. My dark brown locks do not float freely on the wind like women in shampoo commercials, but are heavy with oil so my hair doesn’t become dry and fall out. People unfamiliar with the elements of black hair and black culture ask so many questions.

“Why don’t you shampoo your hair every day?”

“How do you get your hair so straight?”

Every other month I make the pilgrimage to Penny’s Hair Design to escape the questions and alleviate my frustration. In that little shop on the South Side of Chicago, I can reconnect with other black people living in a white world. It’s a place where I belong, a place where I am not constantly on display. I go to this place because I feel at home.

Pauline Morrison owns the shop, but everyone calls her Penny. She is my beautician and the shop’s namesake. She is also my confidant, adviser and friend. I have trusted her with my hair since I was 16 years old. I have known her since the age of seven when she became my mother’s beautician.

Walking in the door, the jingling bell briefly draws the eyes of the barbers and beauticians to me. Greeted by nods and smiles, I sit in one of the 14 black wooden chairs that separate the salon from the barber shop. As I glance through articles from a six-month-old Jet magazine, the mix of coconut shampoo and acrid chemical relaxer invades my nostrils. Barbers shave customers’ heads. Fresh patches of nappy hair fall and settle on the tiled floor around the black barber chairs. The Isley Brothers sing an old R&B song. Their voices flow through the speakers in the corner of the shop. I sing along.

“Drifting on a memory, Ain’t no place I’d rather be than with you. I wanna be living for the love of you, All that I'm giving is for the love of you.”

One of the older barbers, John, looks at me with what I could only determine was surprise. He smiles and asks, “What do you know about this here music?” I tell him I know plenty about “that there music” and keep singing while he continues to delicately cut hair. John soon joins me and sings along, the buzz of his clippers providing the additional background music.

Music brings everyone together in this shop. Any song that comes on the radio has someone reminiscing about a high school dance, a wedding, a family barbecue or maybe a time in their lives they can only fully remember through the lyrics of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder or Diana Ross.

Waiting for my appointment, I began talking to Sandra, a woman who has worked in a downtown corporate office for 15 years. After a few minutes of superficial conversation, Sandra begins talking about being a black woman in an office where she and two other people are the only minorities. She recalls when a supervisor asked her not to wear a certain pair of earrings because “they were too ethnic.”

Her story brought back memories of Jennifer, a classmate, who asked me if half the students who attend the University are African-American. Surprised at the question, I told her, “No.” She looked shocked and said, “Wow! I thought it was because you guys always travel in packs.”

Penny calls my name and I cut short my

[

conversation with Sandra. I walk over to the tall, slender, middle-aged woman and sit in the old barber’s chair. The chair’s surface is peeling and foam on the seat peeks from between the cracks. Penny asks about school. I tell her about my classes and mention how one of them is giving me problems. As she begins applying the chemical relaxer she tells me not to worry, saying, “God won’t put more on you than you can bear.”

At this moment, it seems harder to bear the relaxer in my hair than the most difficult college class. My scalp begins to burn. The burn starts slowly, hardly noticeable for about five minutes and gradually builds until the muscles and nerves in my head cry out for cold water. Although this is a natural reaction when applying the relaxer, I still hate it after almost 12 years of getting my hair done.

But I have learned how to cheat the pain.

The night before every appointment, I stand in front of my mirror, scoop handfuls of oil and run it through my hair. This helps lower the fiery burn into a manageable sizzle.

I fidget in the chair and wait for the end of this process. Penny is almost finished. Her long, slender fingers work faster, though it is not fast enough for me. The burning is getting worse. Penny tells me not to grimace because it makes her look like she is hurting me. “Be patient. Beauty is pain,” she said.

As young as age eight, I was aware of how much black women go through to make themselves look less ethnic. I constantly witnessed the time and money black people invested in their hair. I would sit at the beauty shop for three hours waiting for my mother.

Waiting at the shop, I read a book or looked

As young as age eight, I was aware of how much black women go through to make themselves look less ethnic.

[

at the television propped up in the middle of the room while my mother’s coarse and unruly mane was slowly transformed into silky, fine tresses. My mother paid $50 every few weeks for this miracle.

As I grew older, I became infatuated with the prospect of having straight hair. I stood in front of the mirror staring at the nappy pigtails hanging about my face. I wrapped a towel around my head and pretended it was the long, soft hair that I didn’t have. Now I know that having the hair I so passionately desired comes at a price.

There is a part of myself that I have to sacrifice. I straighten my hair because it is practical.

But I also straighten my hair to fit in with a mostly white university and a mostly white society. I don’t have to wear that towel anymore. With my straightened hair, I’m in less danger of looking “too ethnic.”

Penny finishes working the relaxer through my hair. She reclines the chair into the sink.

Cold water cascades through my burning scalp and the relief is immediate. The drier is the next step. Shrieking, hot air bombards my head, warms my skin and drowns out any sound coming from the shop. No longer a participant in the conversations, I sit back and watch the silent movie of smiling faces. My hair no longer defines me as I’m surrounded

by French rolls, finger waves, braids, Uptown fades and afros.

Once the drier stops, I am back in the gifted hands of Penny who begins curling my hair.

The heat of the curling irons always scares me.

I tense up. Penny puts the curling iron on the stand among the instruments of her craft. She playfully shakes my shoulders and tells me to relax. So I relax. At least I try to relax. I look at the clock; I have been at the shop for almost three hours. My hair is finished. Penny hands me a big pink mirror. I run my fingers through my hair. Pleased, I give her $50, kiss her on the cheek and say, “Thank you.”

Drive-thru Reviews

Beauty at all costs – a personal struggle

BY CATHERINE ADEL WEST | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BAD SANTA ★★★ BILLY BOB THORNTON AND BERNIE MAC Any way you cut it, Bad Santa accomplishes something that has never been done before: It makes an absolute travesty of something as wholesome and serene as Christmas, and does it without falling completely on its face. Just don’t take the little ones to see it, or you’ll have a lot of explaining to do.

(Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITIS

Haircut.

Marcel irons are used to curl the hair.

STEVE HARVEY AND NICK CANNON All in all, Love Don’t Cost a Thing is a travesty. The story is so transparent that one could walk in 20 minutes late and not miss a beat. Instead of Milian, Cannon should stick to paying R. Kelly to make him look cool and keep releasing R&B tracks.

Milian is a good-looking young lady, but can be seen elsewhere. (Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

MONA LISA SMILE ★★★ JULIA ROBERTS AND KIRSTEN DUNST Julia Roberts plays a free-spirited professor who tries to convince women at a boarding school that life isn’t all about marrying men and becoming housewives. Expect many speeches about intellectual freedom and if that doesn’t sound exciting, I don’t know what does. (Jason Cantone) Now Playing at Beverly and Savoy

PAYCHECK ★★

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN ★★★

PETER PAN ★★★

STEVE MARTIN AND BONNIE HUNT Cheaper by the Dozen manages to use it all–humor, drama and action to captivate and entertain audiences of every demographic. If one is looking for a few hours of relaxation, smiles and a reminder of how fun and important being a part of a family is, Cheaper by the Dozen is the film to see.

(Jennifer Keast) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

COLD MOUNTAIN NICOLE KIDMAN AND JUDE LAW This Civil War epic has been nominated for more Golden Globes than any other film. A wounded soldier returns home to Cold Mountain hoping to find the love of his life waiting for him. This film is based upon the best-selling novel and also stars Renee Zellweger as a semi-comic sidekick. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

THE HAUNTED MANSION

EDDIE MURPHY AND JENNIFER TILLY Ever since he started making kid comedies, Eddie Murphy has become sweeter than candy. This continues the trend that Eddie Murphy only makes terrible, terrible, terrible movies that no one could possibly like if they are older than a gradeschooler. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

THE LAST SAMURAI ★★★★

The relaxer is rinsed from the hair.

LOVE DON’T COST A THING ★

BEN AFFLECK AND UMA THURMAN After three years, Ben Affleck awakens from his memoryerased daze to find that he is being hunted by his employers because of something he did, is engaged to Uma Thurman and has mailed himself 19 innocent-looking everyday items as clues to unravel his self-induced mystery and escape from everyone chasing after him. Although the plot is good, unbelievable scenes, bad chemistry and disorganized pace rip into Paycheck’s potential. (John Piatek) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

SARAH BOLGER AND SAMANTHA MORTON In America tells the story of an Irish couple trying to find their own America through the eyes of their 11-year-old daughter who is wise beyond her youth. To this family, America represents a new start. In America, the family finds what they are looking for and learn to love again. This tale of hope and overcoming adversity was directed by Jim Sheridan. (Paul Wagner) Now Playing at Beverly

The hair is smoothed out to help straighten it.

humor equally, mix well with heartwarming confessions from each of the characters. A holiday romantic classic for people of all generations. (Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

The women of the Rylstone Women’s Institute in North Yorkshire make a yearly calendar based on scenes of the Yorkshire dales. One of the ladies’ husbands is diagnosed with leukemia, and in order to raise money for leukemia research, the women decide to change the content of the calendar from the scenery of Yorkshire to the nude women of Yorkshire. To their suprise, the calendar becomes a worldwide success. (Paul Wagner) Now showing at Beverly

CALENDAR GIRLS

IN AMERICA

Hair relaxer is applied to the hair.

film

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | SPEED THROUGH THE DRIVE-THRU REVIEWS

TOM CRUISE AND KEN WATANABE The Last Samurai is an epic adventure with a great soul and a great message. With so many bad samurai movies in the vaults, it is refreshing to see a film finally relate the concept of the samurai to moviegoers in a way they can understand: a Tom Cruise flick. One of the year’s best films and one of Tom Cruise’s best performances. (John Piatek) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

LOVE ACTUALLY ★★★ HUGH GRANT AND EMMA THOMPSON The film’s delicate blend of outrageous comedic scenes, which also prove that Brits can perform slapstick and dry

JASON ISAACS AND JEREMY SUMPTER For those looking for a magical adventure into Never Never Land (no–not the Michael Jackson ranch), the Disney animated film is the surest bet. This live action version does not have the very racist song “What Makes the Red Man Red?” but it is also missing some of the magic that brought the story of Peter Pan into homes everywhere. Like its band of heroes, this film occasionally soars, but spends most of its time stuck on the ground. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

RETURN OF THE KING ★★★★ ELIJAH WOOD AND IAN MCKELLAN Even if The Return of the King doesn’t win the grand prize on Oscar night, anything short of Best Director victory for Peter Jackson would be an unforgivable injustice. He has raised the bar for fantasy and redefined themes of friendship, honor and courage on a grippingly grand and poignantly intimate scale at the same time. Beside its structural limitations, The Return of the King is more than a rousing ending to a celebrated legend; it’s a battle cry for epic filmmaking.

Now playing at Beverly and Savoy

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE ★★★★ JACK NICHOLSON AND DIANE KEATON This truly is Keaton’s film. While the always remarkable Nicholson has some revelatory and tender moments, and the rest of the cast stands tall, the film gets its unmistakable shine from Keaton and her ever-sharp comic timing, her winning personality and charm, and the beauty that she effortlessly radiates throughout each scene. (John Loos)

Boardman’s

Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

STUCK ON YOU ★★★ MATT DAMON AND GREG KINNEAR Though it is a bit longer than necessary–there are at least two places that would have made equally satisfying endings–Stuck on You remains an often hilarious, insightful comedy about finding love and happiness in the face of biological barriers. It’s a respectful mix of comedy and compassion, a formula the Farrellys will hopefully stick with. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

OPENING THIS WEEKEND 21 GRAMS ★★★★ SEAN PENN AND BENICIO DEL TORO For two of the most chilling, numbing hours of the year, 21 Grams creates a genuinely upsetting, poignant swan song to happiness. Without morbidity or melodrama, it shows, with compelling honesty and brutal truth, the fragility of life, the nearness of death, and the echo of tears shed.That might not make for a cheerful movie outing around the holidays, but it achieves something rare in the area of personal, cinematic catastrophe: 21 Grams truly makes a statement about redemption and regret, which, come Oscar time, weighs a heck of a lot more than fruitcake. (Matt Pais) Opening at Boardman’s Art Theatre

21

SAVOY 16 Route 45 & Burwash Ave. (217)

355-FILM

$5.50 Kids all shows $5.75 Seniors $6.50 Late Shows Fri & Sat $6.50 Students $6.00 DAILY Matinees til 6pm No passes ALL DIGITAL STEREO Unlimited Free Drink Refills & .25¢ Corn Refills

Stadium Seating Gives YOU An Unobstructed View All Rocking Chairs

SHOWTIMES 1/09 - 1/15

CHASING LIBERTY (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING (SAT/SUN 11:25) 1:55, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 12:00 BIG FISH (PG-13) 12:10, 2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 11:50 MY BABY'S DADDY (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 12:10, 2:00, 3:50, 5:40, 7:30, 9:20 FRI/SAT LS 11:10 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (R) 11:30, 2:05, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 LOST IN TRANSLATION (R) 5:25, 7:40, 9:55 FRI/SAT LS 12:05 CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (PG) 2 PRINTS / 2 SCREENS 11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:35 STADIUM SEATING (SAT/SUN 11:10) 1:40, 4:10, 6:40, 9:10 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 COLD MOUNTAIN (R) 12:35, 3:40, 6:45, 9:50 PAYCHECK (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:45, 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:45 FRI/SAT LS 12:15 PETER PAN (PG) 11:45, 2:10, 4:30, 7:00, 9:25 FRI/SAT LS 11:50 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

BIG FISH ★★★ EWAN MCGREGOR AND ALBERT FINNEY Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the masses will grow inpatient with it. However, it’s the films inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003’s most imaginary films, but it falls short of its potential to also be one of 2003’s best. (Jason Cantone) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

CHASING LIBERTY MANDY MOORE AND STARK SANDS Mandy Moore plays the 18-year-old daughter of the president desperately trying to live a normal life. While on a European vacation, she manages to escape from her Secret Service guards only to fall in love with a British stranger.

Unbeknownst to her, the stranger is working undercover for her father. (Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

(PG-13) 2 PRINTS / 2 SCREENS 12:00, 4:00, 8:00 STADIUM SEATING 3:35, 7:35 MONA LISA SMILE (PG-13) 12:50, 3:30, 6:10, 9:00 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:30, 2:05, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 STUCK ON YOU (PG-13) FRI/SAT LS 11:55 THE LAST SAMURAI (R) STADIUM SEATING 12:15, 3:15, 6:15, 9:15 MASTER AND COMMANDER (PG-13) 11:30, 4:20, 7:00 COUPON

THE HAUNTED MANSION

(PG) 11:30, 1:30, 3:30 BAD SANTA (R) 2:20, 9:40 FRI/SAT LS 11:45 ELF (PG) (SAT/SUN 11:15) 1:20

20OZ.DRINK

with $2.50 purchase of 46oz. bag of buttery popcorn

one per ad @ Savoy 16 Exp. March 2004 "DI"

BEST DEAL in eNewsletter at www.savoy16.com

www.savoy16.com

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG ★★★ JENNIFER CONNELLY AND BEN KINGSLEY Based upon the bestselling novel which was boosted by joining Oprah’s infamous book club, this film focuses on an Iranian couple forced out of the Middle East and a former junkie. When the junkie loses her house to the couple, a psychological battle ensues that provides brilliant performances but lacks some emotional depth. (Jason Cantone) Opening at Savoy

MY BABY’S DADDY EDDIE GRIFFIN AND ANTHONY ANDERSON Three friends are roughly brought into the real world when their girlfriends all become pregnant. Hilarity ensues as these young men are forced to deal with the situations that they forced upon themselves. (Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

Art Theatre

126 W. Church St. Champaign, IL

21 Grams R, runs 125, minutes, flat, presented in HPS-4000/DD.

Starring Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts Showtimes: Daily at 5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., & 10:00 p.m., matinees Sat/Sun at 2:30 p.m.

“Two thumbs up!”... Ebert and Roeper.

“Winner, one of the five best pictures of the year.”... National Board of Review “Winner, best actor for Sean Penn”...

National Board of Review and Venice FilmFestival.

At the Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston LOTR3!

eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

BOARDMAN’S THEATRES www.BoardmansTheatres.com 1-800-BEST PLACE (800-237-8752) 217/355-0068 eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

MONA LISA SMILE (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 12:30 4:30 7:10 9:40

BAD SANTA (R) Fri. & Sat. 5:30 10:00 11:50 MY BABY'S DADDY (NR) Fri. Sun. - Thu. 5:30 10:00 & Sat. 1:10 3:10 5:10 7:30 9:30 11:50 BIG FISH (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. Sun. - Thu. 1:10 3:10 5:10 7:30 9:30 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:50 PAYCHECK (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. CALENDAR GIRLS (PG–13) 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30 12:00 Fri. & Sat. 12:40 3:00 5:15 7:30 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30 9:40 12:00 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 3:00 5:15 7:30 9:40 PETER PAN (PG) Fri. - Thu. 12:50 4:15 CHASING LIBERTY (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 SOMETHING GOTTA GIVE (PG–13) 12:10 Fri. - Thu. 1:10 4:10 7:10 9:50 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 STUCK ON YOU (PG–13) Fri. Thu. 12:30 3:00 7:30 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) Fri.-Thu. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:20 7:30 9:30 HAUNTED MANSION (PG) Fri. 9:50 11:50 & Sat. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:20 9:20 11:20 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:20 9:20 COLD MOUNTAIN (R) Fri. Thu. 12:10 3:20 6:40 9:40 LAST SAMURAI (R) Fri. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 10:00 RETURN OF THE KING (PG–13) (3 SCREENS) Fri. - Thu. 11:45 1:00 3:00 4:15 5:00 7:00 8:30 9:00 IN AMERICA (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:40 3:00 6:50 9:20 11:40 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 3:00 6:50 9:20 LOVE ACTUALLY (R) Fri. Thu. 6:50 9:50

Showtimes for 1/9 thru 1/15

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22odds & end ARIES (March 21-April 19): The astrological omens say it's a favorable time for you to seek greater exposure and get yourself noticed. But there are relatively bad ways and good ways to proceed. Do not, for example, distribute nude photos of yourself over the Internet, proclaim your mad love for an unavailable genius in a full-page newspaper ad, or bust up a meeting with a screaming tirade about how brilliant your ideas are and how stupid everyone else's are. Instead, try this: Spruce up your physical appearance, stoke your charisma, improve your packaging, and hire a marketing consultant.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Sixty-six-year-old Taurus actor Jack Nicholson is a paragon of receptivity. "I'm dying to have my mind changed," he told "Esquire" magazine. "I'm probably the only liberal who read *Treason,* by Ann Coulter. I like listening to everybody. This is the elixir of life." Nicholson's refreshing declaration should be your words to live by in the next couple of weeks, Taurus: It's your astrological season of expansion and experimentation. Don't just grudgingly agree to open your eyes and have your theories challenged.

Learn to love the uncanny stretching sensation.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I believe you should draw your inspiration this week from the British graffiti artist Bansky.He bought an unremarkable landscape painting at a flea market and glued a police "Do Not Cross" tape onto it.Then, disguised as a shuffling old man, he smuggled it into London's prestigious Tate Museum and managed to hang it on a wall, where for a while it was regarded as a legitimate work of art by visitors and staff alike. Is there some place in your life that needs a comparable touch of prankish levity, Gemini? Any overly dignified or formal environment that could use the healing touch of a gentle lampoon?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The oldest woman to have a number one pop song was Deborah Harry, born under the sign of Cancer. She conquered the UK charts with "Maria" when she was 53 years old.The world's oldest astronaut was another Crab, JohnGlenn, who flew on the space shuttle when he was 77. Now you, too, have a chance to make history through success in an activity that most people might regard as impossible or inappropriate for someone your age. Don't let anyone shame you into shrinking from the challenge, whether you're 25 and thinking of entering a bubble-gum blowing contest or 65 and considering the possibility of windsurfing down the Amazon River.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I really like a lot about "Suga Suga," a song by hip-hop artist Baby Bash. The rhythm is crafty, the lead guitar line tasty, and the chorus melody infectious. I love Baby Bash's sinuous rap cadences and Franky J's gorgeous singing. The lyrics of "Suga Suga," on the other hand,

I’M STILL RECOVERING FROM NEW YEAR’S | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY are vapid and vulgar. And the video of the song is morally idiotic, depicting men leering at a succession of surgically sculpted women who dress and preen like android porn stars. Is there anything in your life that you both love and hate, as I do "Suga Suga," Leo? I'm betting the answer's an intense "yes!" What should you do about it? Try to ignore the part you're allergic to, or else abandon the entire enterprise altogether? Don't make a decision until at least February 1.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Pope Jean Paul II has canonized 477 new saints, exceeding the total of the last 86 popes combined. His secret? Previously, candidates had to have performed three miracles, whereas now it's two at most.

Other saint-makers have been inspired by the Pope's example. The Church of the Subgenius is creating an average of 2,100 new saints per year (non-Catholic variety), while the Discordians are close behind with 1,875. I'm embarrassed to say that my own faith, the Temple of Sacred Uproar and Rowdy Blessings, has been lagging far behind -- until now, that is. In honor of the miraculous feats of beauty, truth, and love that "Free Will Astrology"-reading Virgos have been pulling off lately, I hereby bestow sainthood on every one of you. You may hereafter put a "St." in front of your name.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Accountants are experts about money that doesn't belong to them. A scholar may read the texts of mystical spiritual traditions but not be able to enter into the sublime states of consciousness described therein.

Please refrain from getting into a relationship like this with the resources you need, Libra. Don't just study them; own them. Seek up-close experiential immersion, not conceptual understanding from a distance.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Creativity comes in a wide variety of forms, from the unruly originality of an avant-garde music composer to the brilliant tactics of a four-year-old manipulating his parents into buying him more toys. The creativity you will specialize in during the coming weeks, Scorpio, is a cross between that of an engineer building a bridge over a steep gorge and a gadfly who prods two ancient enemies into sitting down to talk. It will fit the description articulated by writer William Plomer: "Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected."

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian Pudge Rodriguez is one of the best catchers in professional baseball. Last October, he played a major role in helping the Florida Marlins win the World Series. His contract expired at the end of the season, however, and he was insulted when the Marlins proposed a future salary of only $8 million per year, a 20 percent reduction from the $10 million he earned in 2003. He rejected the Marlins' offer, and made his services available to other teams. Though I admire his fierce pride, I

urge the rest of you Sagittarians to be less demanding. If you're offered 8 million of anything -- hugs, gold stars, M&Ms, dollars -- instead of the 10 million you wanted, definitely take the 8 million.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Following Castro's revolution in 1959, 11-year-old Carlos Eire was exiled forever from his beloved homeland of Cuba. Raised in America, he became a Yale professor, but never lost his yearning for paradise lost. His recent memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana, recounts his cherished memories. "In the past 38 years," he wrote, "I've seen 8,917 clouds in the shape of the island of Cuba." What's your equivalent, Capricorn? A missing treasure you're reminded of whenever you gaze upon the ripples in a lake? A fugitive dream that floats across your mind's eye as you're falling asleep? I predict you will be united with it in 2004. A crucial pointer will arrive soon. Watch the clouds.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In a recent speech, "Boondocks" comic strip creator Aaron McGruder said that if liberals want to regain power in America, they'll have to learn to be meaner. Leftist singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco echoed the theme in an interview in "Indie Culture" magazine. "It's our job to help and inspire each other," she mused, "but I don't think that all my songs have to be about nature and children and love and hugging. There are ways of helping people by expressing anger." I advise you to err on the side of compassion and kindness, Aquarius. But this is a perfect moment to take McGruder's and DiFranco's words to heart. You should find ways to creatively and constructively channel your sacred rage at what's wrong in your world.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I urge you to sing or chant the following rant ten times a day for the next two weeks. "All I ever wanted in life was to make a difference, be worshipped like a god, conquer the universe, travel the world, meet interesting people, find the missing link, fight the good fight, live for the moment, seize each day, make a fortune, know what really matters, end world hunger, vanquish the dragon, be super popular but too cool to care, be master of my own fate, embrace my destiny, feel as much as I can feel, give too much, and love everything." (Thanks to Tatsuya Ishida at www.sinfest.com for dreaming up this set of affirmations.)

✍ HOMEWORK:

What part of you is over-civilized, super-domesticated, or way too tame? What are going to do about it? Tell all at www.freewillastrology.com.

Rob Brezsny's Free Will ☎ Astrology beautyandtruth @ f r e e w i l l a s t r o l o g y. c o m 415.459.7209(v)• 415.457.3769 http://www.freewillastrology. com P.O. Box 798 San Anselmo, CA 94979

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 They come in fits 5 Insurer’s file: Abbr.

9 Firmly add on 14 Take ___ (rest) 15 Ethnic cuisine 16 Kitchen gadget 17 Writer Earl ___ Biggers 18 Basketball Hall-ofFamer Harshman 19 Skirt 20 Big job for a teller 21 Prefix with industry 22 Turns over 23 ___-deucey (game) 24 Games that go into overtime 26 Squalled 28 Actress Hyams of 1920’s-30’s film 29 Common female middle name 30 Popular toys since 1961

32 1969 N.B.A. M.V.P. who played for the Bullets 34 Hot 36 Work the room 39 D– 43 Old war zone: Abbr.

44 Antiquarian’s stock 46 Escalator feature 47 Turned state’s evidence 50 Wagner soprano 51 Representative 52 “___ ask you!”

53 Baglets 54 ___ once 55 Edge 56 Port near Mascara 57 “Don’t You Know” hitmaker, 1959 58 Bad spots 59 Make a decision 60 Triglyceride, e.g.

61 Mothers and daughters

62 RimskyKorsakov’s “The Tale of ___ Saltan” DOWN 1 Bumbler 2 Quite a lot 3 Show no respect for privacy 4 Like some pesticides 5 Hindu soul 6 Two murals at the Met 7 Is in love vainly 8 Danish tourist attraction 9 Some vase decorations 10 Pin 11 It’s far removed from the real world 12 Furniture style of the early 1800’s 13 In braids 25 Further down 27 Warning sign

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Puzzle by Randolph Ross

31 British party 33 Vacation destination 35 Certain Zinfandel 36 Big tract 37 Peter and others

38 Small tract 40 The Dnieper flows through it 41 House of Milan

42 Star of “The Bronx Zoo” 45 Rays 48 Food in a nursery rhyme 49 Small change

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Charlotte Sometimes (DVD) MATT MITCHELL STAFF WRITER

★★★ Eric Byler borrowed the title to his 2002 feature film debut from a 1981 Cure single about a girl beset by ambiguous emotional turmoil. It’s a fitting choice: this film is all about emotional ambiguity. At its strongest points, this ambiguity is rendered with compelling nuance by a talented cast and a confident and able director, while at its weakest, it becomes merely vague.

Mike (Michael Idemoto) is an emotionally reserved auto mechanic who reads a lot and spends a lot of time alone. Lori (Eugenia Yuan) and her boyfriend Justin (Matt Westmore) live downstairs. When their athletic sex gets too noisy, Mike goes out for a drive. Mike and Lori are friends–they enjoy all the heartache, jealousy and ambivalence that comes with a bonafide romantic relationship, only without the sex. It’s clear that she’d rather hang out with him–she routinely joins him upstairs for some anime after screwing Justin to sleep. And Mike may or may not be in love with Lori. Their interaction is halting and at times tantalizingly tense. When Mike meets Darcy (Jacqueline Kim), they embark on a tentative relationship of their own, and Lori feels neglected in ways she can neither justify nor explain.

The film is remarkably self-assured for a first-time director. Byler takes his time telling the story: scenes are generally brief, with vague conversations full of pregnant pauses. The dialogue is often awkward and halting, but this suits these emotionally guarded relationships. We cringe through many awkward moments with these characters. Little is said explicitly, and their speech somehow conceals more than it reveals.

Charlotte Sometimes was produced independently on a $20,000 budget, although it doesn’t look it. The film is beautifully photographed, surprisingly warm for digital video, with a lot of uncomfortable, voyeuristic angles and contrasts of light and shadow to emphasize the distance between characters. It often feels as if we’re watching them when they don’t expect it, peeking around corners, through windows and over shoulders.

The film flickers between interesting ambiguity and frustrating vagueness throughout, and eventually vagueness prevails. These characters somehow become less scrutable as the story progresses.

Although she seems harmless at first, there’s something vaguely insidious about Darcy, though it never rises to the surface. She remains enigmatic–in a kind of interesting, kind of annoying way–through the end of the film.

Charlotte Sometimes gained an influential advocate in Roger Ebert, who raised its profile with a glowing review. The DVD features an hour-long

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3

JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | WAYNE COHEN FOR PRESIDENT!

FIRST THING’S FIRST...

Kill it and grill it, but beware of stumbling, disoriented animals

BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER My friend Matt is a vegetarian.

He has his reasons and I totally understand and actually agree with them, even though I eat meat like a bastard. Still, he has said he isn't opposed to eating meat necessarily, if he were the one to actually kill and clean the animal.

That makes sense to me. There's a nobility to that. It's easy to sit back and be all fat and happy and make fun of vegetarians while you're sucking on a piece of beef jerky, but it's completely different to be the one actually getting your hands dirty. Now, I'm assuming when Matt says he would kill his own meat he doesn't mean sneaking out to South Farms after midnight and gutting a dairy cow. He means actual hunting, the way we used to get meat. My father used to hunt all of the time and I went with him a few times, but I never really took to it.

I've shot a few birds and killed a deer once and that's about it. The deer was a result of a car accident, but I'm counting it just the same. I feel it's significantly harder to kill something with a car than with a gun, but that's another topic.

It's always struck me as fairly easy to kill something and kind of hard to deal with the remains. Birds are easier to clean. You pull the heads off, skin the breast back, break off the legs, and that's about it. I've helped butcher deer though and that's not the easiest thing in the world. Guts are falling out, blood is everywhere, bone is snapping,and the smell would make a rat turn away. You have to really enjoy meat to get through something like that.

I doubt I'd eat nearly as many chicken wings if I had to snap each one off the bird myself. That roast I cook every Saturday afternoon wouldn't be quite as alluring if I had shaved it off the cow's ass on Saturday morning. My point is, no matter how you look at it, meat is pretty much an ugly business.

It gets even uglier the more you learn about it. When the United States had its first outbreak of mad cow disease, I found out more about the way meat is raised than I ever really cared to. I'm not worried about dying or anything really; it just makes me look twice at that burger. Yeah, I'll still eat it, but I won't enjoy it nearly as much as I might have.

Take a look at some of the new regulations the U.S. Department of Agriculture put out to enhance the safety of our beef supply. They put a ban on using "downer" cows. Apparently, these are cows unable to walk or stand like the infected mad cow that caused all the problems. People, people, shouldn't that sort fall under the category of common sense, if not simply good taste?

With the exception of a few hillbillies I grew up with, I can't imagine anyone seeing a stumbling, disoriented animal and thinking it would make a fine entree.

The USDA estimates that 130,000 downed cows are slaughtered each year, so that's a small percentage, but it's also like saying only a few thousand people have pissed in our water supply. Let's be honest, even one is really too many.

The USDA is also banning the use of small intestines and head and spinal tissue in older cattle. Just older cattle? C'mon, let' get crazy and ban that from any sort of cattle. What do you say? Yeah, we'll probably have to change the ingredients on the hot dog labels, but it's a small price to pay for an intestine/spinal cord-free treat.

While we're cleaning things up, let's take a look at what we feed these cows to begin with, what is essentially the cause of mad cow disease. Part of their diet consists of "animal protein" which is basically whatever is swept up from slaughterhouse floors and repackaged. The practice of feeding ground up animals to other animals is supposed to be banned, but apparently isn't since there are still mad cows out there. If something isn't a cannibal, it might be best not to turn them into one. I might turn a little nutty myself if I was ingesting ground up pieces of my peers with every meal.

The beef industry can bitch all it wants and talk about the money it stands to lose, but the industry brought it all on itself. It's fine to run it like a business but I'm not sure it's something you can run like a factory.

My guess is that an individual pair of underwear is inspected more carefully than an individual cow. Hell, you know there are more cases of mad cow disease out there, but it'll be a hard case to prove in court until someone dies. We keep eating all the evidence.

Michael Coulter is a videographer at Parkland College. He writes a weekly e-mail column, “This Sporting Life” and has hosted several local comedy shows.

News of the weird Alternate Universe

Bright Ideas

In December, Vice President Cheney led a "hunting" party to the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier, Pa., to shoot pheasants, which had been specially bred to be killed by the club's members and guests. Cheney reportedly bagged 70 ringneck pheasants plus some captive mallard ducks, and his party killed 417 of the approximately 500 pheasants released.

To fight two speeding tickets emanating from the same police camera in a 60km/hour zone, Carlos DeMarco, 39, went to the trouble of commandeering a 70km/hour sign and affixing it to the pole underneath that very speed camera, then photographing it to show that he was not speeding. In November, the judge in Parramatta, Australia, detected the clumsy nature of DeMarco's work and fined him another A$1,000 on top of the A$246 in tickets (about US$880).

Recent Names in the News Delegates of French "villages of lyric or burlesque names" formed an association in October as sort of a promotional and support group made necessary because so many visitors laugh at the towns' names. Among them are villages whose names, translated into English, are beautiful mad, filthy pig, my bottom, eat onions, very stupid and doubleass.

Oops!

Pro football punter Chris Hanson played only one-third of the season this year because of a self-inflicted leg injury. His Jacksonville Jaguars coach had put a log and an ax in the locker room as a motivational symbol that the team needed to work hard in order to succeed. Hanson took a swing at the log, missed, and banged his leg so badly that he needed emergency surgery.

Also, in the Last Month To ease pressure on the judicial system, the Netherlands government announced it would no longer prosecute airport drug smugglers with less than three kilos of cocaine. A 4-foot-high, half-ton snowball fell on an 11-year-old boy on a school playground, pinning him until several teachers lifted it off (St. Catharines, Ontario). A man implicated in the 1992 crime that moved activists to push for California's nation's-first “three strikes” law was arrested for theft, which would be his third strike (Fresno).

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I LOVE GOING INTO TOWN, EVEN IF IT’S ONLY FOR AN HOUR | JANUARY 8-14, 2004

editor’snote

insidebuzz

BY MARISSA MONSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF

The Story

4 Beauty at a cost - a personal struggle

As listed in “The Hurly-Burly” on Page 11, nearly three months after Elliot Smith’s death, Mr. Misery’s case remains open. Initially labeled “suicide” by the Los Angeles County coroner, Smith’s fan base accepted the news with sighs, recollections of past predications and the gripping comparison with Nick Drake–the weight of the world on slim shoulders.

Smith battled drug addiction, and at the end of his tenure, speculations of Smith falling off the proverbial horse left even Smith’s fair-weather fans worried, and alas, a self-inflicted death seemed to be the depressing last chapter to one heartwrenching artist’s story. And a stab wound to his heart, equally as heartbreaking.

Initial reports stated that Smith was found by his live-in girlfriend with one stab wound to the chest. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office speculated the death was a suicide. Now the case remains open; maybe a suicide, maybe not.

But, as the official coroner’s report surfaced, a gleam of hope of saving the wistful singer’s reputation surfaced, Elliot Smith kicked his demons and the only drugs in his system were medication for attention deficit disorder and anti-depressants. The coroner reported that these drugs had not been

I am black. My complexion shows my ethnicity and my hair confirms it. My dark brown locks do not float freely on the wind like women in shampoo commercials...

Arts 6 Literature’s black sheep Graphic novels are a relatively new form of literature; indeed, many people by and large are unfamiliar with the term.

Music 9 American Minor, a major success American Minor gave me a new appreciation for boxes of snack crackers. The design is so simple...

Calendar 12 Eddie Money at The Virginia Turn on any Oldies radio station and you will hear Eddie Money’s foot-tapping hits sooner or later.

Film

19 21 Grams weighs well 21 Grams is not a movie about shiny, happy people; and it won’t have audiences rolling in the aisles.

PHOTO | STEVE KLINE

Rob McCutcheon, vocalist for American Minor, sings at the mic at one of the band’s many practices. See full story about the West Virginian transplants in the Music section on Page 9.

BUZZ STAFF Volume 2, Number 1 COVER DESIGN | Mason Kessinger

Editor in chief Marissa Monson Art Directors Meaghan Dee & Carol Mudra Copy Chief Chris Ryan Music Jacob Dittmer Art Katie Richardson Film Paul Wagner Community Emily Wahlheim Calendar Maggie Dunphy Photography Editor Christine Litas Calendar Coordinators Lauren Smith, Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography Christine Litas, Steve Kline Copy Editors Chris Ryan Designers Amy Hanlon, Jason Cantone, Jacob Dittmer Production Manager Theon Smith Editorial Adviser Elliot Kolkovich Sales Manager Lindsey Benton Marketing/Distribution Melissa Schleicher, Maria Erickson Publisher Mary Cory

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Copyright Illini Media Company 2004

abused. And with that, another side to Elliot Smith surfaced, contradictory from his sad discourses through song, one of a fighter, and a recovery.

Elliot Smith’s suicide seemed obvious, at least to me it did. Melancholy lyrics about drug addiction and depression and performances by a man that appeared obviously battered and defeated. Elliot Smith, suicide, absolutely.

I read Smith’s songs as autobiographical, and rarely spun his works in the CD player unless I was on some sort of emotional bender. I forgot the cardinal rule of artistry: Creating music is cathartic. Through his songs, he continued trying to conquer his addictions, but media continued to coin him as Misery Man. The sore arm Smith complained about at shows led to speculations of hard drug usage. Early signs of his album in the works, From a Basement on a Hill, seemed to confirm what fans were already guessing.

Regardless of whether Smith died from his own hand, or an outside party, we can put him to rest knowing it was not drugs that defeated him.

Instead, he was a man who felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, and was affected maybe a little bit more than the rest of us.

-M.M.

23

buzz JANUARY 8-14, 2004 | ME, TOO Q&A with Byler, Idemoto and Kim hosted by Ebert at his 2003 Overlooked Film Festival at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign. Byler is impressive and articulate as he elucidates a few of the film’s vagaries, while Idemoto is endearingly inarticulate about his portrayal of Mike’s endearing inarticulateness.

The obligatory behind-the-scenes clips and “bloopers” are less amusing for the rest of us, but they do nicely reflect the closeknit atmosphere of this production. The actors and director share an obvious affection for one another and for their project. It’s sort of fun to see them make each other laugh, since there’s so little laughter in the film. The two commentary tracks are occasionally illuminating and often trivial, but they show that this film was a thoroughly collaborative effort, with Byler encouraging his actors to improvise and even to rewrite pivotal moments in the story.

DVD release has become increasingly crucial for films like Charlotte Sometimes, which often get only a limited engagement in larger cities and at festivals. “Straight to video” carries less of a stigma than it once did, offering independent productions a chance to gain a much wider audience. Charlotte Sometimes is a strong start from a promising young filmmaker, and hopefully his next effort will spend more time in the theaters.

DAVE’S DREAM DIARY

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