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6__ _ OSCAR PICKS Best Picture: “Brokeback Mountain” “Brokeback Mountain” strays from the same tired, overdramatic films that win Best Picture every year, and these days, viewers and critics alike welcome such uniqueness. Achievement in Directing: Ang Lee for “Brokeback Mountain” Ang Lee makes a bold statement with his film, but that statement is overshadowed by the heartbreaking story of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist. Best Actor: Heath Ledger for “Brokeback Mountain” This is the toughest category this year because all three nominees deserve to win, but never before has Ledger become so unrecognizable in a character. Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon for “Walk the Line” This is one of the first serious roles Witherspoon has played in a while, and she poignantly bares her heart and soul as the woman in love with Johnny Cash. IfliL • (Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal for “Brokeback Mountain” Gyllenhaal is an excellent actor and deserves the ultimate recognition by the Academy. He has shown in previous roles that he was capable of more, and he finally proves this with “Brokeback.” Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Keener for “Capote ” Keener quietly but confidently played Truman Capote’s best friend and renowned author Harper Lee. Keener’s acting went beyond words; simply by her physical demeanor, Keener proved that Capote and Lee had a substantial bond. (Tlarjone Riddle STAFF WRITER I Society brings Mardi Gras sound to city Tyler Cooh THE GAMECOCK While enjoying the typical starch-filled cafeteria feast on Tuesday, students heard the peculiar combination of clarinet, cornet, trombone and tuba that makes up the quintessential Dixieland jazz sound. Why stray from the ‘80s and ‘90s pop that typically filters through the speakers at the GMP? Mardi Gras, that most licentious of vaguely Franco-American holidays celebrated before Lent, that’s why. rr you misseu it, rear nor, for this Sunday you can throw yourself prostrate at the altar of jazz, and you don’t even have to bring a baby lamb. The Carolina Jazz Society will be presenting a concert in their ongoing series on March 5 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Capital Senior Center in Maxcy Gregg Park, located near the USC campus on Pickens and Blossom streets. Admission is $6 for adults and free for students 18 and under. The admission price includes a raffle for door prizes, tasty treats prepared by members of the society, and of course, hot traditional jazz music. “But I’m going skiing in Aspen,” you, a twelfth year elementary education student, say. Again, fear not, for the CJS — founded in 1957 — is the oldest jazz society east of the Mississippi, and this organization is so devoted to preserving, spreading and performing traditional Dixieland jazz that they will be having another concert on April 2. And if you’re kicking back cold ones on the beach both Sunday afternoons, you’ll still have one more chance. The CJS holds a concert the first Sunday of every month from September through May, with the upcoming concert being the seventh in this series. The mission of the CJS is to perpetuate one of America’s original art forms — traditional Dixieland jazz. In keeping with this mission, Dr. Farren “Red” Smith, president of the CJS, said the organization is looking for “the best musicians that play our kind of music.” Smith stressed that the early Dixieland style of jazz is “an American original. It has a vitality and enthusiasm that is not so obvious in later jazz.” Several current and former USC faculty members perform with the CJS. Any member of the Mighty Sound of the Southeast will recognize the name Dick Goodwin, the trumpeter whose name is on practically every chart in the marching band’s pre game show. Doug Graham, professor emeritus of single reeds and former assistant director of bands at USC, was slated to be the featured performer at this concert. Due to a scheduling conflict, Larry Conger, a cornet player who played with legendary trombonist Turk Murphy, will be leading the band thi Sunday. Normally, talentee young musicians who are interested may also sit in 01 jam with the band if thej know a song that is coming up in the program. There will be no sit-ins at thi: concert because there is £ guest performer leading the band. Also, interested student: are invited to join the CJS — they will be admittec free of charge at the Apri’ concert, and some student: may be invited to joijrg for free at this weekene,„„ ■ce concert. ho take your eight-track player and chuck it into the garbage disposal. Grab a handful of adventurers and walk on down to the senioi center to have the Carolina Jazz Society send you back to New Orleans. For more information on the society or .this concert, contact Dr. Farren Smith at (803) 432-1504. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu ^ Spring break gives students chance to relax, get away Cheryl IMheson THE GAMECOCK Spring break: It’s the best break of the year for most college students. Spring fever is hitting everyone as March arrives and the days get longer and warmer. Time to bring out those swimsuits, shorts and tank tops for a week of fun with your friends. Maybe just going home is enough to satisfy you. Either way, spring break is a nice getaway from campus life. Spring breakers are looking for the warmest and most inviting places they can find for their trip. Most prefer to lie around on the beach somewhere for a week, and who could blame them? The top beaches for students to spend their spring break include Cancun, Miami and Myrtle Beach. There are a few students who are not doing the traditional party-filled spring break week. “Since I live at the beach already, I am going to volunteer at a physical therapy practice for admissions to graduate school,” said Ashley Blaney, a third-year exercise science student. Money, of course, is always a big factor for students and their spring break plans. The average beach getaway can cost from $500 to $1,000 per person, especially when going to a different country. $tudents opting to spend their time working over the break try to save money for other things. “I’m working all spring break at a restaurant to save up for a house payment for the summer and just for some extra money,” said Allison Holzinger, a second year nursing student. Your spring break does not have to be the ideal MTV spring break experience. Whatever you are doing for your spring break, wheth£S it’s going to Jamaica c staying at home, remember to have fun and be safe. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm. sc. edu [ i HaPPa The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity will soon be added to the Univer sity of South Carolina campus. This highly respected international fraternity believes the historically strong Greek community at USC presents excellent opportunities for a new colony. Pi Kappa Alpha, commonly referred to as PIKE, was founded in 1868 at the University of Virginia. The establishment of the colony at USC will add yet another page to the Fraternity’s distin guished 137 year history. Since 1868, the Fraternity has grown to 210 chapters and colonies throughout the United States and Canada with over 200,000 initiated members. One of the most influential fraternities in North America today, Pi Kappa Alpha proudly boasts the largest average chapter size and the most pledg ings and initiations per chapter for any inter/national fraternity over the past decade. “We have achieved this success by attracting the highest quality individuals,” noted Expansion Consultant J.R. Parsons. “The men who represent PIKE have made the decision to make the most of their college careers. From the youngest person ever to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor to countless CEOs and United States Congressmen, Pi Kappa Alpha members have set themselves apart.” Pi Kappa Alpha takes a unique approach when establishing a new colony. The Fraternity recruits its members on a recommendation basis. Recommendations come from several sources including alumni, university administrators and faculty, athletic coaches, and student organizations. Recommended men then meet with Pi Kappa Alpha consultants, who use these meetings in the develop ment of the new colony. “Pi Kappa Alpha is seeking outstanding men with diverse back grounds at the University of South Carolina to develop our Fraternity’s newest colony,” Parsons stated. “We believe Pi Kappa Alpha can elevate the college experience and bring future success to USC, the Greek community, and our colony members.” Parsons, along with Chapter Consultant Tom Olsen, will be on campus from March 13th through April 13th. Anyone interested in further information about this opportunity may contact them ■ by e-mail at jparsons@pikes.org / tolsen@pikes.org or by phone at I mouie • conTinuEDPRoms I Karen’s statements suggest the children’s home mistreated and neglected children for years before it was closed. It is here, amid tattered dolls, broken furniture and discarded children’s clothes, that Karen gently pushes Brenda to admit what really happened to her son. Brenda’s confession discredits the Gannon police force’s takeover of | the Armstrong projects and shakes up both communities and everyone involved in the search. 1 he ending holds nothing spectacular in store for viewers, and they’ll be glad it’s over. Jackson usually gives a { good performance, but he overly dramatizes certain scenes, making them comical when the situation doesn’t call for it. One of his lines in the movie is: “God, is, like, retroactive.” He says it like he’s a 15 year-old girl. Lorenzo forcefully interrogates Brenda in their first scene together. While he should have been sympathetic and soft-spoken, he erupts in her face, demanding details on exactly what happened. And this is before she even tells him her son was in the backseat of her supposedly carjacked car. Lorenzo evidently has asthma in the movie — he puffs on an inhaler and requires an adrenaline shot while at the hospital. But his asthma has no relevance to anything that happens. It’s almost as if Lorenzo is such a loose cannon, 11 >i 1 lie iiypei ventilates wueii tensions exacerbate. What leading detective would freak out and hyperventilate every time something happens in a case? Jackson’s character is completely unbelievable, unsympathetic, and well, just plain pathetic. A four-time Oscar nominated actress, Moore has shown her acting potential, but she takes a giant step backward as Brenda. While convincing as balco as Karen provide ^ the only upside to an otherwise miserable film. Falco’s passion and deliberateness humanize Karen. She delivers an excellent monologue to provoke Brenda’s confession. “Freedomland” casts unbelievable relationships between its characters, who generally act uncharacteristic of the people they portray. The plot drags excruciatingly. A riot erupts between the SWAT tea' J and the Armstrong resident-" This fight was unnecessary to the plot and seemed more like a political statement by the filmmakers. And even the statement’s meaning was ambiguous. Viewers should emphatically avoid the pointless and terrible “Freedomland.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures @gurm. sc. edu fli * a mentally unstable former junkie, viewers can tell from the beginning that she’s hiding something. This may have been the point, but she confides in Lorenzo even though he yells blatantly in her face. Any remotely distraught woman wou^ not have just disclosed information to a detective yelling in her face. The film’s ending has Brenda confiding in Lorenzo again, and she expresses her affection for him as her friend. Viewers will scratch their heads in puzzlement over this declaration of friendship. Lorenzo continually yelled accusations in her face and unsympathetically took her to the alleged crime scene multiple times. The sudden affection between Lorenzo and Brenda makes absolutely no sense. . . 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