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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1993)
mmmma Lifestyles WWlllllllW imiiBiCTwaCTiiMiiiiiiiiiiiMMimiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiii Tuesday, March 9,1993 The Battalion Page 3 Award-winning singer to perform in Rudder Chronicle depicts a literary rogue By DENA DIZDAR The Battalion The University Chamber Series will present baritone Christo- pheren Nomura and pianist Kayo Iwama in Rudder Theatre tonight. Nomura is the winner of the 1992 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, a prize that has given him the opportunity to travel exten sively and per form various works. Professor Wemer G. Rose, coordinator of Texas A&M's Nomura Music Program, said Young Con cert Artists (YCA) is a non-profit organization that tries to locate and identify outstanding musi- and I really enjoy the recital reper toire. It's more fulfilling to be able to dictate my own pace and not be dependent on 20 to 30 people to do a show." Nomura's performance tonight consists of 25 pieces he has cho sen, with one intermission. All se lections will be accompanied by pianist Kayo Iwama. Rose said in chamber music, though, the pianist is really a col laborator, not an accompanist. "'Chamber' essentially means a room," he said, "and that's what it was originally intended for. The aspect of one player to a part (and not more than 9 players total), shows that there has to be a true artistry to play in such an intimate setting." The players are involved in a music dialogue, and the art form enhances the message of the writ ten text through song. Rose said. Rose said the series was devel oped in 1986 to supplement the expanded music course offerings Book Review "'Chamber' essentially means a room... there has to be a true artistry to play in such an inti mate setting." -Werner G. Rose, coordinator of the University Music Program dans and take them under its wing. Rose said, "Past winners (of the audition) are now some of our top musicians. We are looking at the stars of tomorrow." Nomura said his long-term ca reer goal is to incorporate the con cert and recital performances he is doing now with a schedule of op eratic performances. The singer was in the middle of an opera commitment when he won the audition. Getting a mix of solo and group experience is important to gain flexibility and perfect one's artistry, he said. "I'm really enjoying going out on my own now, Nomura said. 'I've always been an individualist. at the University. Since then, the series has grown from one performance a year to six, including local talent and in ternationally recognized artists like Nomura. This year the Music Program has hosted the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Western Arts Trio and pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, and on March 23 will bring An Yao, performing on the zheng, or East Asian long zither. Nomura said an important ele ment of his career is bringing his message to a wide range of people from schoolchildren to college stu dents to seasoned music buffs. "I can really bring the music to the people," Nomura said, "and that's really my main theme." By JOE LEIH Carroll The Battalion "Hunter: The Strange and Savage Life of Hunter S. Thompson" By E. Jean Carroll Penguin Books $25.00, hardback Finally, someone has written a biography of Hunter S. Thompson that gives a lucid picture of the bizarre personality and actions of this famous journalist and author. Thompson, known for his boisterous and sometimes shocking antics, was a major contributing political journalist to Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970s and is the author of such classic novels as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "The Great Shark Hunt." E. Jean Carroll, a contrib utor to Esquire and Playboy magazines, tells Thomp son s story by alternating between biographical infor mation and the fictitious narrative of the "scantily clad" Laetitia Snap, imprisoned in Thompson's abandoned cesspool and forced to write his "shocking and disgusting" biography. Carroll's brilliantly unique style of compil ing the perceptions of Thompson and his ac quaintances gives a tremendously vivid pic ture of the abnormal life of one of the strangest and greatest writers of the twenti eth century. Snap, a respected ornithologist, journeys to Thompson's /,000-acre estate in order to in spect nis amazing collection of cocks - pea cocks, that is. The shy and prudish woman is then sub jected to witnessing Thompson's ungodly de bauchery. She looks on as he consumes more cocaine, marijuana, clove cigarettes, and acid than any mortal should be able to subject his body to. She is astounded as Thompson places co caine on his "virile member" and persuades a Republican speechwriter to snort it off. She nearly swoons as he frees her nipple from the confines of her clothes with a snip from a pair of scissors. After several days of these disgusting events. Snap 1 is held captive in Thompson's cesspool being pelted with frozen burritos and an amazing amount of sanitary napkins. Snap's depiction of the episodes leading up to her unfortunate incarceration is the most ridiculous, unbelievable and absurd series of events ever put on paper. It's perfect. The biographical sections of the book con taining quotes from Thompson's friends, lovers, and co-workers give evidence that the scenes she describes are far from improbable. In fact, the accumulation of these quotes depicting stages in Thompson's life show that the eccentric writer has always been ridicu lous and unbelievable. Her sources range from Ralph "Sonny" Barger, president of the Oaklana Chapter of the Hell's Angels, to Thompson's childhood friends. Carroll ends up giving a brilliant overall impression of the writer instead of a boring, chronological listing of his life history. According to Carroll's research, Thompson was a wild and unpredictable teenager in Louisville, Ky., who began drinking when he was fourteen and was involved in many other anti-social activities. He robbed a gas station three consecutive nights in a row and once put twenty bottles of beer through the super intendent of schools' window. The young Thompson also went to jail sev eral times. His last prison sentence kept him from graduating from high school and result ed in nis enlistment in the United States Air Force. After being discharged from the service, Thompson worked on an assortment of news paper and magazine assignments until he fi nally completed the novel "Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Mo torcycle Gang." In order to research his book, Thompson became a pseudo-member of the bloodthirsty motorcycle gang and was eventually beaten by the burlv hrutes. In 1970, Thompson came to national atten tion by running for sheriff on the Freak Power ticket in Aspen, Colorado. Changing the name of the town to Fat City and installing a set of stocks for dishonest drug dealers were only part of his political agenda. Michael Solheim, a close friend of Thomp son, said Thompson's conservative opponent, Carrol Whitmire, "was a crew cut-wearing sheriff from the old school." Thompson shaved his head so he could refer to Whitmire as "my long-haired opponent." His unbelievable antics continued as he be gan working for the music magazine, Rolling Stone. He stole his editor's stereo amplifier, threw typewriters out of windows, and ac cording to David Felton, a former Rolling Stone editor, reduced editors to tears by forc- Controversial journalist Hunter S. Thompson stands in his descriptively decorated kitchen. ing them to receive his faxed writing for a continuous 72 hours. In 1990, Thompson came under national scrutiny again, accused of tweaking the breast of a former pornography producer, Gail Palmer-Slater. Eventually all charges were dropped. Despite its brilliant depiction of Thompson, this biography has one minor flaw. Carroll does not include several vital pieces of infor mation about Thompson's life. She never states how Thompson received his discharge from the Air Force. Was it honorable or dis honorable? Did he receive it early? Also Carroll never quite makes it clear how Thompson acquired nis position at Rolling Stone. She just abruptly starts recording dif ferent people's perspectives of his days at the magazine. It is cnoppy and confusing. Still, Carroll has created an incredible biog raphy. Her new style gives a more accurate depiction of Hunter S. Thompson than a con ventional biography ever would. Just don't put the book down after "Laetitia Snap's" first chapter. Keep reading and be lieve! Characterization, unpredictable plot make 'Crying Game' a winner Movie Review By JENNY MAGEE The Battalion "The Crying Game" Starring Stephen Rea, Forest Whitaker and Jaye Davidson Directed by Neil Jordan Rated R Playing at Post Oak III "The Crying Game tears of ‘ g Game" should brings to tne movie industry's eyes. For the First time in far too long/a movie that combines both detailed character de velopment and an unpredictable plot is gracing the screens of movie theaters. Yes, make no mistake, as unbelievable as it seems the word used to describe the plot was UNpredictable. "The Crying Game" is one of those movies that if someone were to give away the secret you would probably be inclined to spike their Coke with Liquid Dran-o. A few basic plot details will not give away in vital secrets. Fergus (Stepnen Rea) is a volunteer in the Irisn Republican Army, and in an effort to retrieve one of their captured men, the IRA have taken Jody (Forest Whitaker) prisoner. The two men develop a touching friendship while Fergus is standing guard over Jody. Jody, who knows his death is inevitable, asks Fergus to find his lover, Adele (Jaye Davidson), and tell her that he was think ing of her. The shocking details of the plot unravel from here. "The Crying Game" is about human nature - the people who are born to be givers as opposed to the people who are bom to be takers. Jody tells Fergus a story about a scorpi on who asks a frog for a ride across the river. Halfway across, the scorpion stings the frog and both begin to drown. The frog asks the scorpion why he stung him, ana the scorpion answers, "Because it is in my nature." Some people will do anything to help another human being, while others will destroy another even if they must be de stroyed also because it is "in their na ture." "The Crying Game" shows that most people favor destruction. Even taken at face value, the film is en tertaining because it is not an ordinary story of human relations slapped into a generic Hollywood mold. Rea and Whitak er are not the most glamorous-looking peo ple in the world, and the average movie goer has probably never heard or either of them, but they are fantastic actors. The first half hour of the film centers around the fact that the two men, brought together bv a desperate situation, connect so well. The irony is that Fergus is hold ing a gun to Jody's head while the two are building a friendship. The success with which the actors and actresses define their characters almost makes it seem like director Neil Jordan is directing a theatrical production. Perhaps Rea's performance in the Broadway pro duction of "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" gave him experience in creating a be lievable politically motivated character, ist be said 1 It must that it is not in the na ture of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to nominate a movie like "The Crying Game" for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. But they did and should be applauded for their de cision. It is definitely reassuring to see the Academy recognizing a movie that had to prove itself before even being ac cepted into mainstream theaters. If the Academy, usually prone to honoring films that star popular actors and actresses, can not overlook a filitv that is a monumental achievement in originality and acting quality, then there may be hope after all. As a suggestion, fight off anyone who tries to give away the secret of this movie at all costs. Put your hands over your ears and hum "Yankee Doodle Dandy" real loud, but don't let anyone spoil the one surprising movie of the year. ray Professional Computing 505 Church St* College Station Ph. 846-5332 (One Block North of Kinko's Copies) Featuring a complete line of Hewlett-Packard Scientific and Business calculators HP 48SX Expandable Calculator HP 48S Programmable Calculator * 32K Built in RAM * Combined Graphics and Calculus Functions * I/O ports for data transfer to and from a PC * SX features Expansion Ports for plug-in Applications Pacs and RAM cards HP 19BII Business Consultant * Algebraic or RPN Logic * Graphics for cash flow and Statistical Analysis * Menus and Softkeys HP 17BII Financial Calculator * Choose between Algebraic or RPN Logic * Menus and Softkeys for easy access to solutions * Over 250 functions for real estate and finance Business Hours Mon.-Fri. 8:00-5:30 Sat. 10:00-3:00 m HEWLETT PACKARD Authorized Dealer FACEs 1993-94 Freshmen Adjusting to College Experiences Mentor Applications Available "You can make a difference" Qualifications t ' -must be a sophomore, junior, or senior by FALL '93 -must have a minimum GPR of 2.25 -must have a sincere; interest in helping an ethnic minority freshman .. . • ’ V . : Available* Office of Student Affairs (RM no YMCA BLDG) A-2 Lounge • (comer of Moses and Hughes Halls) South Area.Office For more information call: The FACEs Office 845- 9804 Alisa Reyna, Mentor Sub-chair 846- 8812 Due: March 26, 1993 r me Committee for the Awareness of Mexican American Culture ’’Unity Among Latinos" by Dr. Emily Santiago Wednesday March 10, 1993 Room 226 MSC 7:00 - 8:00PM For more information^contact CAMAC at 845-1515 Want to maximize your performance on the LSAT? 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