The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 16, 2004, Page 5, Image 5
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j THE GAMECOCK * Friday, January 16,2004 5
I i } 1% /1 I % / ‘The object of a new year is not
PnnfQpt I-1 fl—^ % /I I that we should have a new year.
contact I I 1 / ■ ■ ^ It is that we should have anew
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I I i w I I / % soul.” ^
E-mail us at gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu B B B -A X f B B ^ m GK CHESTERTON
ENGLISH POET AND AUTHOR
_
The mwf^ommon New Ye
p^'resolution is in full swing on c&mpus.
Students
participate in
an aerobic step
class at the
Strom
Thurmond
Wellness and
Fitness Center.
Getting in
shape is a
popular New
Year’s
resolution that
brings students
to the gym with
the start of the
spring
semester.
PHOTO BY JASON
STEELMAN/THE
GAMECOCK
CAITLIN COKER
THE GAMECOCK
The holiday season is a time of
wildly depleting bank accounts
and rapidly expanding waistlines.
As capitalists, we seemingly just
^^an’t quit when it comes to con
i unption. In accordance with this,
it seems as if any festive occasion
is saturated with dangerously de
licious entrees and desserts, and
this fact strikes hardest at the end
of the year.
From November through the
end of December, we are hit with
Thanksgiving, Christmas and
New Year’s, all in a row. The first
two holidays are notorious for in
spiring over-eating, and the last
often welcomes over-drinking.
But there is a chance for re
demption. A New Year’s resolu
tion is each person’s annual op
portunity to set a productive goal
for the next year in hopes of be
coming a better person. Carrying
10 extra pounds during the winter
is barely noticeable; that’s what
winter coats are for. But spring
break is coming, and Bobby and
Susie want to look good in their
swimsuits. Therefore, the New
Year is the perfect time to dedicate
oneself to the quest for a sleeker
body line.
Darrell Merrill, manager of
strength and conditioning at the
Strom Thurmond Wellness and
Fitness Center, is familiar with ex
ercisers inspired by the coming
year.
“They’re trying to get their
body toned for spring break,” said
Merrill. '‘Think about it. New
Year’s resolutions have just been
made, and spring break is com
ing up soon. That’s it; they want
to get their body toned for the
summer.”
The resolution to lose weight
has been popular with USC stu
dents. Students flocked to the
Fitness Center in droves on
Monday, desperately filling the
weight rooms and cardiovascular
workout machines.
“Let’s take a look at the log for
Monday,” Merrill said. “There
were 121 men in weight training
room at 5 last Monday. And at 6,
87 women were upstairs in the car
dio area. It’s crazy, but we knew
it was going to be packed.”
To meet the diverse needs of
those looking to revamp their
body images, the Fitness Center
offers a variety of ways to get in
shape. Recreational activities with
friends are a fun way to exercise.
The Fitness Center houses a soc
cer gym, along with basketball,
racquetball, squash and volleyball
courts. Cardiovascular equip
ment, strength training machines,
a climbing wall, an indoor track
and a pool are other popular op
tions.
For $20 a semester, a student
can participate in the classes at
the Fitness Center or at'the Blatt
P.E. Center. The two centers of
fer about 90 classes, including
step, cardio funk, cycling, kick
boxing and yoga, among many
others.
Kristy Lakin, an aerobics in
structor at the Fitness Center,,
has a basic routine that she pre
scribes for starting an exercise
routine.
“Do two exercises with three
sets of 10 at the most. Focus on
your chest, thighs, shoulders and
back on one day. On separate
days, work on your biceps and
legs. Plus, add cardio two other
days of the (work) week,” said
Lakin.
Most of the students at the
Fitness Center seem ready for the
new year with an optimistic out
look concerning their health ac
tivities during the coming
months.
“My resolution is to work out
at least two times a week on the el
liptical and rowing machines,”
said Shelly Fleming, a first-year
mathematics student. “And I’m
here today, for the second time
this week!”
Alessia Butler, a first-year psy
chology student, has similar
plans.
“I want to lose 10 pounds and
keep exercising about three to five
times a week,” she said. She was
at the Fitness Center exercising
with her friend, Nakeiah Taylor,
a second-year nursing student
with goals of her own.
“I want abs by the summer,”
Taylor said. “I hope I get them, be
cause I want to go to the beach.”
Unfortunately, the rate of exer
cise dropouts is typically high
about a month after the new year
begins. Merrill predicts that many
students will forget their resolu
tions.
“It’ll start off strong the first
week and maybe the first few
weeks. But after spring break, it’s
dead,” Merrill said.
Likewise, those who just want
to work off pounds from the holi
days annoy the hardcore fitness
enthusiasts like Marilyn Gartley,
a fourth-year political science and
philosophy student.
“I wish the New Year’s resolu
tions people will leave the gym --
I don’t have time to wait for use of
the machines because of people
who will do it for two weeks and
then quit,” she said.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu
6 4ovie.
‘Cold Mountain’climbs high,
possibly to Academy Awards
COLD MOUNTAIN
★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY GRAHAM CULBERTSON
THE GAMECOCK
Every year Miramax releases a
movie that’s been designed, created
and marketed for one purpose: to
win Academy Awards.
. This year, Anthony Minghella’s
^^ivil War epic “Cold Mountain” is
the chosen film. Since the movie is
a historical war epic featuring well
known actors, a love story and a
running time of more than two and
a half hours, the executives at
Miramax will probably once again
win more than their fair share of
Oscars. The only thing surprising
about this movie is how good it ac
tually is.
“Cold Mountain” is set in a fic
tional North Carolina town of the
same name (although most of the
movie was actually filmed in
Romania), and the action takes
place in North Carolina and South
Carolina. Inman (Jude Law) has
gone to fight in the Civil War af
ter briefly but effectively courting
the daughter of the town’s new
preacher (Nicole Kidman). The
two barely know each other, but
somehow remain passionately in
love despite their separation. This
is not a flaw in the movie but a
source of confusion for the char
acters themselves. After the first
few minutes of the movie, both
Inman and Kidman’s character,
Ada Monroe, dominate separate
narratives. Inman, wounded in
battle and resting in a hospital, re
ceives a letter from Ada begging
him to return to her. Although
leaving the hospital and thus the
Confederate Army is treason, an
offense punishable by death,
Inman starts out on his quest to
return to his beloved.
From that point on, the movie
plays like a Civil War-era version
of “The Odyssey,” with Inman fac
ing a variety of adventures and in
teresting characters on his travels,
and Ada attempting to fend off an
unwelcome suitor and keep up her
farm in Cold Mountain. When city
girl Ada has completely let her
farm fall to ruin, a wanderer named
Ruby (Renee Zellweger) shows up
and offers to help. As Inman slowly
makes his way back to Cold
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Jude Law gives a low-key tone to the dramatic
fote of Inman in “Cold Mountain.”
Mountain,
Ruby trans
forms both Ada
and her farm.
Although
Philip
Seymour
Hofiman,
Giovanni
Ribisi and
Natalie
Portman play
characters in
Inman's narra
tive, and
Brendan
Gleeson and
Ethan Suplee are excellent in brief
roles from Ada’s story, the film de
pends heavily on the performances
of its leads. Surprisingly, each of
them rises to the challenge, from
Law’s laconic, low-key performance
as Inman to Kidman’s surprising
ly resilient Ada, to Zellweger’s
heavy-accented Ruby. Zellweger’s
performance strikes a perfect bal
ance between righteous anger and
much needed comic relief.
If “Cold Mountain” does have
a fault, it is the sheer seriousness
of the entire movie. With the rare
exception of Ruby and her drifter
father, there are almost no
comedic moments throughout the
entire experience. Both traveling
with Inman and staying at home
with Ruby and Ada, there is a non
stop barrage of death-dealing, evil
men. Although this is probably
true to the original source mate
rial, a novel of the same name
written by USC alumnus Charles
Frazier, it makes for a difficult
film to watch. Coupled with its
lengtny running time, this con
stant suspense occasionally
makes “Cold Mountain” an op
pressive experience.
Anchored by impressive perfor
mances by its three main charac
ters, and supported by breathtaking
cinematography and a compelling
story, “Cold Mountain” manages to
be a love story and a historical war
epic, both personal in its treatment
of the characters and strikingly
knowing in its understanding of the
South. Although the high intensity
level can be somewhat disconcert
ing, this is one Oscar-season film
that is actually worthy of all the
buzz.
Comments c*n this story?E-mail
?amecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu
Game. Review
‘Sands of Time ’ marks trend
to remake old game favorites
name recogni
tion to
achieve suc
cess.
“Sands of
Time” follows
the story of a
young prince
who traveled
to India with
his father’s
army to wage
war. After
conquering
the people of
this foreign
land, the
prince decides
go treasure
hunting in the
fallen palace.
In his quest,
he comes
“PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE
SANDS OF TIME”
For XBox, PS2, Gamecube, PC
★ ★★★ OUtof'fr'fr'fr'fr^
BY BEN ANGSTADT
THE GAMECOCK
In the current generation of
game systems, making new ver
sions of older video game fran
chises has become a leading
trend. “Contra,” “Metroid,”
“CastleVania” and many other
classic games have all received
21st-century updates.
With the huge popularity of
the original “Prince of Persia,”
it’s no surprise that it is one of
the latest game series to receive a
face-lift.
But the best part is that
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of
Time” is a top-notch-same on its
own that does not simply rely on
across a magi
cal dagger and takes it as his
own.
However, a power-hungry ad
viser to the conquered king
tricks the prince into unleashing
the Sands of Time, a deadly force
that spreads throughout the
palace and mutates all inside
into hideous creatures, save for
the prince and two others.
To keep the Sands from over
taking the world, the prince must
destroy the creatures and find a
way to recapture the Sands for
good.
Like the original “Prince of
Persia,” “ Sands of Time” focuses
mainly on crafty evasion of
traps. Throughout the palace,
spinning blades, swinging
swords and deep pits make the
prince’s quest much more diffi
cult, and force him to rely on
gravity-defying acrobatics to find
a way to his destination.
The prince’s acrobatics prove
useful in the intense battle se
quences as well. A few squarely
placed attacks will down the
prince for good, so he must vault
over opponents, rebound off
walls and evade blows with
back-flips to survive the en
counter.
But even with the prince’s
athletic supremacy, the most ex
citing of his abilities are afford
ed him through the magical dag
ger and the Sands themselves.
With each defeated enemy, the
prince can use the dagger to cap
ture a small amount of sand that
allows him to manipulate time
itself. He can freeze enemies,
slow time down, increase his
own speed and see briefly into
the future.
The greatest of the prince’s
skills, however, is his ability to re
verse the flow of time. There are
few moments in video games
more frustrating than those acci
dental deaths that result from tak
ing a miscalculated jump or walk
ing into an obstacle. But as long
as he has sand stored in the magi
cal dagger, the prince can reverse
time and essentially erase his mis
takes, giving him another chance
to continue on his quest.
Despite some moments where
the sound effects on the game
seem awkward and muffled,
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of
Time” is an exciting game that
stays true to its roots while tak
ing the series in an innovative
direction. It’s a perfect example
for those looking to revive other
series of how to turn the old
school into the brand new.
Comments on this story?E-mai:
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu