Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Smile lor the world s most candid camera BY J.P. STEPHENS THE GAMECOCK Don’t think. Generally, this is the sort of advice that might lead one to bungee jump from a crane in Cancun or finally get that tat too of Taz just above the right but tock, but in the case of lomogra phy, the goal is art. Lomography takes its name from the LOMO Compact Automat, a tiny point-and-shoot camera initially manufactured by the LOMO Russian Arms and Optical factory in the early ‘80s. According to the Web page of the Lomographic Society International, lomography was first bom when several Viennese students traveling in Prague bought two of the LC-A’s in order to document their trip. Because of the camera’s small size they found it conducive to sponta neous, reflexive shooting. The photographic results were in SURFYOURSELF Learn more about the aesthetics of tomography at www.lomography.com triguing, and so tomography was bom. Now, some years later, tomog raphy has become a fad for the ul tra-hip. Codified with “ten gold en rules” including “don’t think,” “tomography is not an interfer ence in your life, but part of it” and “don’t worry about any rules.” Lomography presents an inter esting alternative to traditional photography. It’s the attitude of spontaneity and vivaciousness that is clearly the underlying theme of the LOMO Web site. The site seems to promise that by breaking traditional rules of com position and lighting with your LC-A, you will create truly indi vidual art — art that is an exten sion of your hip, active lifestyle. While a camera might not be able to make you an artist or hip (much to my chagrin) the LC-A does create interesting pictures; hyper-saturated, with a slight vi gnette effect. Best of all, the cam era has an automatic exposure set ting but no flash, allowing for cool indoor and nighttime photos with out fear of washing out subjects in harsh white light. Ultimately, though, the LC-A runs $180, which is too much for this broke college student to spend on a point-and shoot camera. My advice: go to the site, try out their rules, but do it with a cheaper camera. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Atwood CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 singing: a feature suggested to Crake by the sexual semaphor ing of crabs.” Despite its science-fiction gilding, Atwood’s world isn’t a far cry from our own. As of2003, science has yielded us goats that produce spider silk, rats that glow in the dark and tomatoes spliced with fish genes that sus tain freshness longer. And let’s not forget the sensation earlier this year spawned by a veritable cult when it stepped into the me dia spotlight claiming to have the power of human cloning. Jimmy’s plight as an under grad should be of a particular in terest to USC students, since we’re now watching the admin istration gradually tip the scale of arts and sciences in the direc * tion of sciences. Jimmy, the progeny of scientifically gifted parents who has more of a niche in words than biochemistry, winds up at the notoriously un derfunded and seedy Martha Graham University. Meanwhile, his genius buddy Crake is blow ing away his peers at the Watson-Crick Institute. On the downside of this nov el, the constant witticisms make the worldwide plague that sends Jimmy back to the Stone Age al most unbelievable. Maybe this is the point, but it would have been nice to read the serious sec tions of the novel without Crake cracking jokes or Jimmy being such a pathetic putz — as he tends to be throughout most of the flashbacks. The scene where Jimmy kills Crake for killing Oryx in the midst of pandemic comes off looking like a Shakespearian spin on a bad episode of Johnny Quest. Despite their well-written his tories, there just isn’t enough depth to the characters, no mo tive to drive Crake’s megaloma nia, no actual scene to account for Jimmy’s mom’s sudden birth of conscience regarding her biotech work. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com BIV CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 played to 10 people every night, I’d still be psyched.” Bivins said people come to the show expecting “some singer/songwriter sort of thing, but instead they get my geek punk up in their face.” Bl V is Kind of melodic geeky,” Bivins said. “Kind of punk rock for wussies.” “It’s been de scribed to me as Weezer meets the Foo Fighters,” he said. Bivins, who lends vocals to and plays guitar in BIV, started the in strument about six years ago. He said when he was learning to play guitar he never learned any cov ers. He just learned chords and soon started writing his own songs. “I’m not really a guitar player,” he said. “The key to BIV was having oth er people who can pick up my sorry slack,” said Bivins, who is joined in BIV by fellow JLC members Johnny Gray and Ward Williams, along with Danny Cassady. Tinkers Punishment’s Adam Blake is sit ting in as the drummer for BIV un til the band finds someone to fill the spot. its hard to find drummers,” Bivins said, noting the irony. The show Friday will mostly con sist of songs that Bivins wrote, but the guys have some “ex citing” mystery covers that they plan to spring on the unsuspecting audience. Bivins said that as a songwriter he likes to have a healthy mix of songs written from personal ex perience and fictional songs. A If you go WHAT: BIV with Tinkers Punishment and Thomas Reed WHERE: New Brookland Tavern WHEN: Friday at 10 p.m. BOX OFFICE: 791-4413 TICKETS are $7 21 and up and $10forunder21. PHOTO COURTESY OF NICK WILSON The BIV tour began July 23 at the Handlebar in Greenville. creative writing teacher once told Bivins that when you’re writing you have to tell the truth, but you also have to know when to lie. “When I hear a song that has n’t been written from personal ex perience, I just don’t identify with it,” Bivins said. BIV isn’t Bivins’ only fun out let. He said he likes to go bowling and to watch horror movies. Bivins said he would like BIV to tour as often as possible. But BIV’s touring ability ultimately hinges on JLC’s schedule because so many of BIV’s members belong to it. JLC begins touring again on August 14. Bivins said it will prob ably be winter before BIV has a chance to tour again. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Steely Dan CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 On the title track to the al bum, the Dan guys reflect on the possible end of American global supremacy, suggesting that “It’s high time for a walk on the real side/ Let’s admit the bastards beat us/ I move we dissolve the corporation/ In a pool of margaritas.” Donald Fagen and co-con . spirator Walter Becker also ru minate on the end of a rela tionship in “Things I Miss The Most”: “I’m learning how to meditate/ So far so good/ I’m building the Andrea Doria out of balsa wood/ The days don’t last forever/ But it’s getting pretty damn close.” The lyrics demonstrate a re fined dark comedy that one rarely sees. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com