The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 03, 2006, Page 6, Image 6
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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. . .
Solutions
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