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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1984)
XXTT1 Of mrppg. X¥ r x ^ 'VX 1 M*m*iKmmmmmimmm!*s‘'- L '9'■■■'-■ ■ FVianV. Nov 30,” 19B4 ! Books '2010' is more fun, but not as deep as '2001' With the release of the movie "2010: odyssey two," interest in the book behind the film is bound to increase. Although the film version of "2010" is reportedly more acces sible than its predecessor, "2001: A Space Odyssey," you jnay still want to read the book before you see the new movie. Even if you're not a science fiction buff, "2010: odyssey two" is one of those books that's hard to put down, once you've started reading. Author Arthur C. Clarke has spun a tale based part on sci ence fiction and part on the sci entific facts that nave been gar nered since the novel and the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" were released. Some of the sci ence fiction in the book "2001: A Space Odyssey" has become science fact in the intervening 14 vears between books, and it will be interesting if some of the science fiction in "2010: odyssey two" (e.g., life on Jupiter) were to pass from fiction to fact in the near future. If you want to enjoy the full impact of "2010" (the book), you may want to familiarize yourself with what went on in "2001." Although "2010" is eas ier to read and understand. "2001" is a good book and sets the stage for "2010." In a nutshell: in 2001, the U.S. sent the spacecraft Discov ery to Jupiter in order to survey that planet and to examine a monolith placed in Jupiter's or bit by some alien presence. How do we know it was placed there? Because another mono lith was found on the moon, and monoliths, especially ones with the configurations and properties of these monoliths, aren't random occurences in space. The purpose of these monoliths are a mystery. The mission to the monolith in Jupiter's orbit runs awry in 2001 when HAL, the Discov ery's computer, kills everyone in the crew except for astronaut Dave Bowman. Bowman then has a showdown with HAL and must overcome several obsta cles that the wily computer throws in his way. Bowman eventually succeeds in shutting HAL down, then exits the Discovery and heads for the monolith. His last com munication with Earth is the in triguing "My God, it's full of stars!" Bowman's compatriots on earth are filled with wonder • and curiosity about his fate and exactly what he experienced in side the monolith, but it takes nine years to mount another mission to Jupiter. In "2010," both the U.S. and the Russians are close to being ready to blast- off to Jupiter and its mysterious monolith and to attempt to discover what hap pened back in 2001. The Rus sians' mission will reach Jupiter ahead of the U.S. mission, but they need the Americans' knowledge to carry out the mis sion of bringing the Discovery's computer back to life and find ing out what happened, so a joint venture is initiated. From here on, Arthur Clarke proceeds at a pace that is well- timed and full of suprises. He blends the facts that nave been uncovered by unmanned mis sions to Jupiter with creative and well-written science fiction to produce a novel that is more fun and exciting, although pos sibly not as "deep," as "2001: A Space Odyssey." The U.S. and Russian crew aboard the spacecraft Leonov have several missions. They in clude: rendezvousing with the Discovery and finding out what happened to the mission in 2001, sending the Discovery back to Earth if possible, inves tigating the monolith (which is still the best part of the mission) and surveying Jupiter (if there's rime after the other missions have been completed). In the 14 years since "2001: A Space Odyssey" was released in book form, the tastes and de sires of the reading public changed and this may be the reason for the change in Clarke's style for "2010." The actual trip to Jupiter is faster and less detailed than it was in "2001" and once the crew gets there, the action is non-stop, with one suprise following an other in quick order. In compa rison, "2001" relied more on a slower more sustained sense of suspense that kept building throughout the story. The suspense in "2010" is dished out in fast, short bursts and as soon as one problem seems to be solved, another pops up to take its place. The characters are developed as the story evolves, with each lend ing his talents and expertise to solve each crisis as it comes along. There is a series of mes sages in the story, just as there was in "2001," but the messages have changed somewhat in the intervening 14 years. The epi log, entitled "20,001" is espe cially enjoyable. So, if you're a "2001" fan and are ready for another trip to Ju piter and that mysterious monolith, or if you just want to read a good novel, pick up a copy of "2010." It's great enter tainment from one of the most aeative minds in the field of science fiction. A&M returns to feasting of old for Yuletide By LEIGH-ELLEN CLARK Senior Staff Writer Lord and Lady Raleigh of Nottingham invite their fnends from Aggieland to the fourth annual Yuletide MSC Madrigal Dinner. On Wednesday, De cember 5 through Sunday, De cember 9 the Memorial Student Center Banquet Rooms will be transformed into the manor of the Raleighs of Nottingham. As in the days of old, the "Great Hall" will be the gather ing place for the guests. Greeted by jugglers, magicians, musicians and assorted other entertaining types, guests will mingle with characters from the Renaissance era. The Raleighs have invited special guests from Germany, France, Italy, Spain as well as "Lord and Lady Baf- feled of Aggieland." Behind all of the festivities will be the music of a string uartet and a brass quartet un- er the direction of Perry Nor ris. Guests are encouraged to participate in sketches and sing ing but everything stops when the feast begins. You will know it's time to eat when Lord Ra leigh's jester, dressed in the tra ditional dress of the day, leads the guests to the dining hall. For those who are really hun gry, the fanfare that follows may be somewhat drawn-out before the feast — but what an impressive way to wait for your waiter. A toast for the Wassail cup, a blast from the trumpet and the food is paraded in by the serving lads and wenches. The Lord and Lady are ushered in by madrigal singers, and a invocation is sung. "The Madrigal Dinners are designed to enhance the Christmas spirit of the Bryan- College Station community. They are planned with the indi vidual in mind so that each per son who attends is touched by the holiday spirit," Patricia Flei- tas, Artistic Director for the pro gram says. And the holiday spirit is ev erywhere — the marketplace and the groaning board. Finally, after everyone has eaten their fill, the Christmas concert will begin. The madri gal style of music is intricate and involves several vocal parts plus instrumentals. The whole production in volves about 50 people and is different from any other pro gram on campus. People from the community and the campus have worked together to bring this holiday festival back to the MSC. Tickets are on sale in the MSC Box Office, $14 for stu dents and $17 for general pub lic. There are plenty of tickets available for all shows except Saturday night. Shows begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and a Sunday matinee at 3:30 p.m. The beer necessities of brewing at home By LEIGH-ELLEN CLARK Senior Staff Writer A group of uncommon peo- E le with a common interest — eer brewed at home. Every second Sunday of the month, 12 to 15 members of the Bryan/College Station Beer .Brewing Club gather together over extract, hops and grain to make beers and polish their beer judging skills. Jana Cezak, of Home Winery says the whole thing started when people came by the store and brought their own beers. "They were wondering what they did wrong or they were es pecially proud of their creahon and would come by to ask ques tions," she says. About one and a half years ago, the group loos ely organized (in that there are no designated officers) and be gan meeting at the Home Win ery. There is no membership fee, but Cezak says that the possibility may come up. "We're working on a newslet ter and may need some money to cover the postage," she says. The members exchange reci pes and do a lot of tasting. "To work on our judging skills, we all chip in and buy some commercial beers and bring some home brewed ones in a particular category," Cezak says. Stouts, porters, pale ales and lagers are a few of the dif ferent kinds of beers that the members partake of at meet ings. The big interest in exercising the tastebuds is that the Beer Brewing Club enters contests with its own creations. The members stole the show at The Dixie Cup contest, spon sored by the DeFalco company in Houston. DeFalco is a sup plier of wine making products. The southwest region of home brewers came to the con test with its finest. And the Bry an/College Station Beer Brewers left with 13 ribbons. There were 114 beers en tered, 36 of them from Bryan- /College Station in the 13 cat egories like the ones mentioned above. Best of Show is the com petition where the first place winners from each category are entered to determine which one came closest to the type of beer it was supposed to be. Again, the Beer Brewing dub took first and third places. Such successes take practice and the members try to get a lot of it. But Cezak says that occa sionally they break away from the beer routine. "Once we got a lot of peaches and made peach wine — that was fun, for a change of pace," she says. For anyone interested in the club, they can drop by the Home Winery to learn more about beer, how to make it and which kinds taste the best.