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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1993)
A • 1 •_£* Aggielife her 18,1993 Thursday, November 18,1993 The Battalion Page 3 :ets '93, and her 97, were the ;sgiving Day I in blankets aer for their lominoes to small coffee :e. isue over the .aid, "Oh no, /le. Class of it is obvious re hell outta vigil outside TICE Tm Bimuos ©y V >aN '9 ilife editor rts editor 'ports editor n, Jan Miura, Stephanie Jopkins III, ala, Jay Robbins, 'uezada and i spring semesters exam periods), al A&M University, n the Division of Reed McDonald d advertising, call ■ Monday through I year. To charge Rock happy with a life of humor By Joe Leih The Battalios Comedian, actor and writer Chris Rock doesn't think his career is special. In fact, he said his chosen life of television, film and stand up comedy is only standard fare. "What I do is no different from the guy who wanted to be a doctor and became a doctor," Rock said. "It's what I set out to do and I did it. There is no difference in the level of happiness." But Rock said he bypassed other careers for a life of hu mor because he knew that was where his talents laid. "I could have done a lot of things and been average at them," Rock said. "I know I could have been an average bus driver, but comedy was the thing I did better than other people." Comedian Eddie Murphy seemed to think so as well when he invited an 18-year- old Rock to make his televi sion debut on the HBO special "Uptown Comedy Express." Since then. Rock has ap peared on NBC-TV's "Satur day Night Live," Fox Televi sion Network's "In Living Color" and several films in cluding "Boomerang," "New Jack City" and "CB4." "I am a total product of the black film movement," Rock said. "If there was no Spike Lee, there would be no me." Rock said the growing popularity of black films and television comedy shows has helped his stand up comedy appeal to other races. "I used to have a tougher time at mostly white col leges," Rock said. "I actually do pretty well now." Dave Salmon, adviser for MSC Town Hall, said that he hopes the racially mixed crowd Rock drew when he performed at Texas A&M last Friday indicates that people are beginning to appreciate di versity in their entertainment. "Even though the Afro- American segment of the stu dent population was our tar get audience, we weren't try ing to bring a program just for that group," Salmon said. "We wanted the whole cam pus to be involved and a lot of them were." Salmon said they hope to bring even more diverse acts in the future. "Chris Rock was a testing See Rock/Page 5 By Margaret Claughton The Battalion M erry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joy to the world. According to the standard season's greetings, the holi days are considered a cheerful time of year. But for many people the holidays are not only unpleasant, they are almost unbearable. According to Director of the Counseling and Assessment Clinic at Texas A&M, Pam Grossman, 20-55 percent of all people have a severe episode of depression at some point. During the winter months, November through February, the number of reported cases of depression increase. Why are the winter months such downers? According to Grossman there are a number of reasons. ^ ^ - • During the holidays, people experience additional stress due to preparations for the celebrations. Gift buying, meal preparing and party planning are all stress factors. • In the winter, there is a decrease in the number of hours of daylight. Neurotransmit ters in the brain that regulate moods respond to exposure to sunlight. Fewer hours of light may cause depression. • Some people get depressed at the thought of having to spend time with their families. Long running family problems or unresolved differences often surface at holi day family gatherings. The anticipation thereof may cause depression. • For students, the stress of finishing off a semester becomes a factor during the winter months. Finals and projects often pile up giv ing the student a feeling of hopelessness lead ing to depression. Depression is a medical illness. It is not a personal weakness. It is also a common yet treatable illness. If a person experiences symptoms of depression for more than two weeks, he or she should see a physician. Symptoms of depression are classified in three categories: emotional, physical, and cognitive. Emotional symptoms include a constant depressed mood and loss of pleasure or inter est. The depressed person us‘u&ilV'"does riot want to do things that would normally bring him/her great pleasure and enjoyment. "They don't feel motivated to go to class and they don't want to socialize," said Gross- man, a post doctoral resident and graduate of A&M. Physical symptoms of depression include fatigue or loss of energy, slowed movements or the inability to stay still, disturbed sleep patterns and a change in weight or appetite. "The person may experience significant weight loss or weight gain," Grossman said. "They may have insomnia or sleep too much." Cognitive symptoms include feelings of worthlessness, feelings of excessive guilt, the diminished ability to concentrate, the inability to make decisions and suicidal thoughts or thoughts of death. Depression can be conquered through a variety of treatments including professional and self-help methods. Self-help methods can be preventative measures as well. Exercise and good nutri tion are essential to good mental health as well as physical. "Nutrition is really important. It affects your brain chemistry," Grossman said. "On a diet of chips and Diet Coke you may not do so well." Grossman also says organization is impor tant. "Find ways to mart&gfe your time well," she said. "It helps you relax if your are better organized." Many times, victims of depression do not want to tell anyone because they feel guilty for being depressed. Texas A&M has four clinics willing to lis ten, two of which offer services to non-stu dents in the community. The Counseling and Assessment Clinic and the psychology clinic will treat non-students. The Student Counsel ing Center will treat A&M students free of charge. For faculty and staff, the University offers the Employee Assistance program. In case of an emergency, call the MHMR hotline at 822-6467. 1 1 Mlic — Collins drans on ‘Both Sides’ By Lesa Ann King The Battauon "Both Sides" Phil Collins Rock Atlantic Records Phil Collins displays his lyrical and musical tal ents by not only writing every song on his latest release "Both Sides," but also by performing, pro ducing and providing all of the instrumentation. And while the album offers a good selection of new songs, it fails to be as solid as his previous re leases such as "No Jacket Required." "Both Sides" contains the distinctive Collins sound that has brought him and the group Genesis success for many years. However, instead of being thought provoking or pro found, as most of Collins' music is, many of the songs on the album come across as long and boring. Similar to his previous single, "Another Day In Par adise," Collins examines the issues of violence and homelessness in "Both Sides of the Story" and "We Wait and We Wonder." Collins One of the better cuts on the album, "Both Sides of the Story" looks at' the societal issues of home lessness, kids in broken homes and the rage of ghetto kids. As the title notes, this song asks peo ple to consider both sides of a story before passing judgment. "We Wait and We Wonder'' opens to a sharp British bag pipe sound. The song itself takes a frightful look at murder and asks, "When will the killing end?" Another selection to lis ten for, "We Fly So Close" opens with a beautiful acoustic guitar arrange ment,has a mysterious aura about it. This song talks about walking on the edge of disaster either in life or in love. Another good song lyrically is the sad, reflective "I've Forgotten Everything." The song falls apart, however, as it drags on without much change in pace. Collins should be commended fqr his immense .vo cal, as well as instrumental talents. However, his earli er albums contain much more lasting and impression able music. MS: a psychedelic, modern sound By Jacqueline Ayotte The Battauon "Full Moon, Dirty Hands" INXS Altemative/Rock Atlantic A whole lot of this and a little bit of that. That's what INXS's "Full Moon, Dirty Hands" is made of. It's new, cool, fast and smooth. It takes the cry of a psychedelic guitar and fastens it together with a trumpet sound in one song and adds the leg endary voice of Ray Charles to another. The result is an intriguing album full of modernized diversity. "I'm Only Looking" has an electric, grunge type sound. At first, it sounds like the same cool beat found in new Pearl Jam and old Red Hot Chili Pep pers. Then it adds the flavor of a trum pet to make it distinctively new INXS. This musical transition flows flawlessly. "Please (You Got That)" is also very electric, but this song is very different be- cause it features guest singer Ray Charles. Pairing together the modem beat of INXS with Cnarles's bluesy un dertone, the two seem like gin and tonic. Although they've each survived on their own, the two together make one tasteful combination. Another bluesy tune is the title song, "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts." It's slow and deep and adds spark with the voice of The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde. Hyn- de's husky cry flows smoothly behind lead singer Michael Hutchence's voice, adding depth to this quiet melody. Out of all the songs, "Freedom Deep" is one of the best. It has a U2 feel, with a very soft and almost elegant sound. Although INXS's "Full Moon Dirty Hands" album does include a vast array of different musical sounds, the sophisti cation of INXS's musical mixing is what makes the new INXS sound so refresh ingly distinctive. And that's reason enough to make anyone listen to INXS for the first time, all over again. IMBIllSaillWM JM