Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TfJP T vf VP &>Jk. "M wff^^ f?|^^l|^^^ jA Martin Tune, James York, Beau the recently-released issue of 'Pi wim mrnmm ' ' < i:|;:;iS|s| fg||g ^ iiill ' ' ,!v-" I I A PC By WANDA JONES Staff Writer For 13 years, students have become published writers and artists through Portfolio, USC's literary magazine. "Anybody who is a student at USC can submit work to Portfolio," editor Julie Frick said. "You don't have to be an English major, or an art major to submit art." Frick, an English senior, said math, law and engineering majors have been published. This is Frick's first year as editor. She has served as poetry and fiction editor and was a general staff member during her freshman year. The Portfolio staff reviews all Biographic Mideo vault Over the next two months, three screen biographies of public fig ures win oe unieasnea upon tne masses. The films, "Malcolm X," "Hoffa," and "Chaplin," are all heavily anticipated and are expected to rack up Oscar nominations, but if one were to look at past films in this genre, there might be less cause for excitement. After all, if there's one thing Hollywood can screw up royally, it's a celebrity biography. Filmmakers are notorious for taking famous dead people, casting stars to play them who bear virtually no physical resemblance to the celebrities in question, and putting them in totally ridiculous situations that are made up by screenwriters and have no basis in fact. This isn't the case all the time, as one of the films in this "Video Vault" show. Occasionally, a halfdecent "bio-pic" will pop up, but for the most part, the films are so ludicrous they probably have the inspirations for them doing cartElectron b< By The Associated Press A University of South Carolina researcher is experimenting with a powerful electron beam he says could improve water quality and help solve longstanding environmental problems. The beam of 1.5 million electron volts causes chemical reactions in water that break down contaminants into harmless products, Roger Dougal, a professor in USC's department of electrical and computer engineering, said Friday. "It's only recently that the combination of the technology and a concern for the environment came together and made this economically feasible," Dougal said. Dougal, who has been involved in the research for about eight c e [ 'jf. is* 311 '5 1M ^. IBB : rSS JmSHBm WBBk - Thompson and Editor in Chief Jt ortfolio/ The painting is a detail c k L? \ " a y' ' ' g 1 I :?S:?3 "* ^ ^ >RTF< submitted material to determine what will go into the magazine, which is published four times a year. "A lot of work goes into choosing what goes in," Frick said. "We look for anything that has been obviously well thought out and that someone has put a lot of time into." According to Frick, the magazine's content is sometimes criticized. "Anybody who has any criticism of the magazine can come join the staff," she said. All USC students can join the Portfolio staff. Staff members read work and debate what should go into the magazine. The staff requires that anyone mnvips: nn r a a i'vy v wk-/ W a %/ r wheels in their graves. The Babe (1992): John Goodman, like Babe Ruth, is a man who looks like he doesn't miss a lot of meals, but the comparison ends there. Goodman gives a simply dreadful performance as the mighty home run hitter, making him a one-dimensional dolt who, despite womanizing and carousing, has a heart of pure platinjm. The story is hokey and has a washed-up Babe doing supernatural things like hitting three home runs in his last game and singlehandedly saving the life of a dying little boy with his baseball skills. The film is so syrupy that it should probably have a warning label from the American Dental Association saying it causes cavities. ( 1/2) The Doors (1991): Jim Morrison, both man and myth, is covered in this Oliver Stone-directed drama. Val Kilmer plays the brooding musician perfectly, even supplying a lion's share of the vocals in the many concert segments. Everyone else seems bored though, giving pale imitations of the various musicians they're playing. The story, which details "the lizard king's" life, often seems like 2am destroy months, is working on a $325,000 project for the Savannah River Site to determine whether the beam can treat water used in scientific labs and contaminated ground water. Water from the nuclear weapons production site near Aiken is taken to Florida where it is treated with a beam originally designed to kill bacteria in sludge at a sewage plant near Key Biscayne. Dougal and Bill Cooper of Florida International University are using the plant for their research. The facility was closed in the 1970s because harmful heavy metals couldn't be removed using the technique. "It won't remove mercury. What it's good at is decomposing organic material," Dougal said. All types of industry, including textile plants, ]aro] I Mi?-11?g I f ^T^-"" .." *t* -^rn-y, .""vs.* 1 ?* ta,^ jfm#' :m^^,,m Lea Clayton/The Gamecock ilie Frick, above, work to produce )f a painting by Trehern Cook. : : ' ,V . : ' :: : iv# ^ * v** :;:-:*:]:";:;:j:';:-:"::|: * submitting work to the magazine put their name and phone number on their work. This information is needed in case the work does not get into the magazine. A person should not be discouraged if he or she does not get published in an issue, Frick said. "Just because they are cut from one issue does not mean they will be cut from another one," Frick said. 2 Factors such as staff debates and the v available amount of space does not i allow some works to be printed. "Portfolio is a magazine for the t student body done by students," a Frick said. "I want to encourage tJ everyone to submit work. I know we have a lot of good writers and a artists that go to this school 1 because this is a big school. This is / ideo fail to n a demented, psychedelic hallucina- d tion and the Film gets so depress- tl ing, by its end, that it's almost a unwatchable. B In a nutshell, it's almost as e excessive as Jim Morrison himself, g and if you like the guy, you'll probably like the Film. On the other b hand, if you think Jimbo was just a tl pretentious hack poet, skip it. ( ) H Ruby (1992): The story of the ii man who shot the man who shot A JFK. Danny Aiello is wretched as o nightclub owner Jack Ruby and the ii movie is a boring, confusing and pi unfocused look at the various w forces who came together to e: remove JFK from office. Sherilyn Finn of Twin Peaks fame is wasted S and just seems to be in the movie o: to provide attractive scenery. The d< cinematic equivalent to Sominex. c( ( ) a Bugsy (1991): Warren Beatty gives a good, if inconsistent, per- tii formance, as Bugsy Segal, a 1930s h< gangster with a violent temper and bi an obsession with Hollywood. His lb off-screen wife, Annette Bening, is al also fine as the actress Bugsy gets se involved with, although the two are al never really convincing as a cou- re pie. de The story is also a bit weak and the movie runs way too long. It's a y~ water corn could benefit from the technology, ne especially since environmental in; restrictions on emissions are tightening, Dougal said. of "The amount of material indus- wj tries are allowed to release is get- hy ting smaller and smaller," he said, lal "A lot of the processes used are foi not effective in removing trace m< quantities. This procedure is pretty effective at removing almost any- w? thing." art Dougal said his Florida colleagues probably will have a foi portable facility ready by March rac that can be taken to various indus- co trial plants for tests. Within a year, Bi the beam could be ready to market, au he said. do "There's still a lot of work to be so done. I don't want to give the an impression a cure-all will be ready Dc i great outlet to be published. I (( vish more would take advantage of ai t." ai Some Portfolio writers have U ecome published in national mag- y< izines. Frick wants USC to know hat Portfolio is a "real'^-magazine. s( The magazine has won many "1 wards since its first-issue in d( 977. The South Carolina Press la Association gave Portfolio Best th leasure up [ efinite improvement over many of le other gangster films released at bout the same time ("Billy athgate," "Mobsters") but, considring the cast, it's not nearly as ood as it should be. ( 1/2) Amadeus (1984): One of the est screen biographies and one of le best films of all time. Tom [ulce gives a hilarious and amus- 1 lg performance as Wolfgang .madeus Mozart, a man with lots I f tolnn f 1*1**- nln/> i IU1V1U, UUl dlSU A llld.ll Willi nmaturity. F. Murray Abraham lays his more serious rival, Salieri, hich he won an Oscar for his iccellent portrayal. The story, recounted by an older alieri to a priest, tells of the rise f Mozart and of his untimely jath. It has just the right blend of )medy and drama and is virtually perfect movie. ( ) Well, that's all the movies I have me for in this column. I sincerely Dpe this year's crop of screen ographies is better than most of ^ e films I just discussed, and I ? so hope Hollywood comes to its M :nses and makes more movies >out the public figures people TP ally like to see movies about: JL :ad classical musicians. 1 Be kind and rewind and I'll see r} i next time. ? taminants 10 in xt week. But it is very promisg," he said. 0p The electron beam causes some ^a the hydrogen and oxygen in iter to change into free-floating drogen and hydroxyls. Those cor ch onto organic compounds to ry rm new compounds and set off sur( 3re chemical reactions. -] What's ultimately formed is p^. iter, carbon dioxide and nonhaz- -j lous organic salts, Dougal said. "You could start with benzene, jne r example, and after a period of Qr( liation, other products form that uld be as hazardous as benzene. antj it after a while those things go ^ my (during subsequent reacns). Ultimately, you're left with C0L mething clean and not haz- (jea ious to the environment," q >ugal said. Collegiate) Literary Magazine id won first place for concept ia layout from the Columbia niversity Press Association this jar. In September, Portfolio spon>red a campus reading forum, Jortfolio Out Loud," where stujnts read their work. The reading sted nearly two hours. Frick said , cc i ? e sian pians 10 sponsor anotner indi Blackburn, Paul Bress< 5C's production of 'Our Town 'ulitzer prize egins run at >m Staff Reports rhe everyday charm of small yn America will be celebrated Thornton Wilder's enduring lerican classic, "Our Town," ening Nov. 18 at Drayton 11. 'Our Town" is an affectionate Tor of life in a typical American nmunity at the turn of the centuwhere simpler times and pleads are the rule. The play won the 1938 Pulitzer it for drama. The first act, taking place over course of a single day, exams the everyday happenings in )ver's Corner, N.H. The story ticularly focuses on the Webb Gibbs families. ^he two subsequent acts follow circle of life, including irtship, marriage, birth and th. ^hough the play was first pro:ed more than 50 years ago, I 1 IH3KL m reading, possibly at the end of this semester. Anyone who is interested in joining the Portfolio staff can come to their meetings, 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays in Russell House Room 317. To submit work, take it to Room 317, or call the Portfolio office at 777-5793. Hgf mm ys m Jm E|i: . )ud and James Carmine star in / -winning play Drayton Hall "Our Town" is as relevant and entertaining today as it was in 1938, said USC graduate student Barrett Whitener, the play's director. "During a period of hard times and difficult choices, 'Our Town' reaffirms our faith in the values of the family ? love, compassion, an acceptance of diversity and steadfast belief in ideals ? which are at ^ the core of the American dream," he said. "Everyone can relate to the characters' aspirations, joys and sorrows," Whitener said. Tickets are $10 for the public; $8 for USC faculty and staff, senior citizens and military personnel and $6 for students. The play will be performed at 8 p.m. Nov. 18-21 and Dec. 2-5 and at 3 p.m. Nov. 22 and Dec. 6. Tickets are available at the Longstreet Theatre box office. To 0 order, call 777-2551/2552.