The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - October 8,1992- Page 3
A Selleck
strikeout
by Alison Levy
The month of October means
the boys of summer finally hit the
World Series in the All American
game: baseball. I lot dogs, peanuts,
Cracker Jack, scratching, chewing.
players cheating on their wives,
etc. are all characteristics of the
tame. This subject captured on
celluloid many times over is the
scope of Australian director Fred
Schepisi's film "Mr. Baseball".
Tom Selleck plays .ack I lliot,
a rebellious, aing Yankee who
Mr. Baseball
Directed by Fred Schepisi: written by
Gary Ross, Kevin Wade, and Monte
Merrick; with 'Tum[ Slleck.
spends more time in the bedroom
than on the dianond. When a star
rookie joins the team, fun-loving
Jack is traded to the Japan Drag-
ons. A fish-out-of-water. he
clashes clt urally' with his new
team, mnanagi.er, and girlfriend.
A horrendous and predict able
script, along with even worse act-
ing ruin this (lismal film. Put a lit-
tle more Velveeta on your hot dog
because the movie is major league
cheesy. The film is perfect for
Japan-bashing with its constant
jokes about the height of the
Japanese, the food, the language
barriers, Japanese baths and the
women. One of my most favorite
running ags was about spitting
tobacco. Like I haven't seen that a
million times before.
Selleck ' . ack starts off as a
dick, but instead of' redeeming
himself, he simply remains a dlick.
He isn't even remotely likable.
Not to macntion, Selleck thinks that
he's still got the bod to do several
nude scenes. I think not. le must
be close to 50 by now, and it
shows. If you want to see butt-
nekked boys in the shower, go see
"School 'l'ies." Also, his brashness
and American ego aren't cute:
they're. annoying and embarrass-
ing.
A va Takanashi plays his girl-
friend, Iliroko. For someone so
wild and crazy, Jack surely picked
someone bland to fall in love with.
Opposites must attract because
this gir is more boring than Won-
der Bread. Ken Takakura ("Black
Rain") wins no trophy as Elliot's
manager either.
The only bright spot, thespian-
wise, is Toshi Shioya as Yoji, EIl-
Iiot's Charmint'1(d good-natured
interpreter. The Japanese scenery
is also interesting and beautiful.
MR. SEIM ALL is playing (t
More than food, the Jug is a tradition
by David Groves
percentage of regular customers
in. I think it was because of the fam-
{
We all know the Brown Jug as a whom the waitstaff are able to es- ily atmosphere, the feeling that peo-C
great place to hit after the bars have tablish friendly relationships in a ple there care."I
closed, or to scarf some cholesterol- work environment. Throughout the Through the years, chain stores,
loaded munchies. Testimony from years, these patrons have also re- corporate run restaurants and themeJ
frequent patrons like this one from turned regularly on football bars have come and gone. Yet thef
recent university graduate Sean Saturdays as alumni. They'll often Jug has endured with only minort
Field are common: "The beer is reminisce about the long hours they adaptions. Expensive, flashy decor1
cheap and the waitresses are hot." spent there; studying, chatting or and extensive promotions are nott
It's notoriety has even spread far partying. One long-time waitress part of these changes. Alterations tot
outside the campus area. Mark believes this sense of loyalty has the menu concerning home-cooked
Bergal recalled eating at the Brown trickled through the generations and themes are important, not to mentionI
Jug while he was a student at the has done well to keep the Jug afloat. the pizza, which employee Fleetat
University of Wisconsin. "I remem- Colette Cassady, who waitressed Siegel claims may be the best inI
ber going to the Brown Jug when we at the Jug for two years, agreed that Ann Arbor. He hesitantly admits thatt
were road tripping to Ann Arbor. there is sense of closeness there. "A a competitor's deep dish pizza may
We went there to eat breakfast be- lot of homeless people would come just edge the Jug's. University stu-
fore the football game, and we also
had a lot to drink," he said. "You
don't find a lot of places with that
kind of combination."
But there is another side to the
Brown Jug, an aspect which lies in
it's long history. The name was in- l z;
spired by the classic football rivalry
between Michigan and Minnesota.
The Little Brown Jug has been the
trophy awarded to the winner of thisx
annual match-up since the turn of'
the century. The Paron family of
Ann Arbor purchased the restaurant
in 1959 and kept the name to honorY
that tradition. Today, ownership rep-
resents three generations, headed by
the well known matriarch whom ev-
eryone working there refers to as
"Mama Paron." According to Jim
Paron, part owner and grandson of
Mama Paron, this sense of family is
a primary concern in the manage-
ment of the business.
The Brown Jug is home to a high The Brown Jug is just the place to combine good conversation with hardeningi
Small towners meet the big city
dent Marc Weber appreciates the
quality, stating, "The food's kind of
greasy, but I like it that way."
Flexibility is another factor. The
Jug opens early and closes late, of-
fering a great deal of the full menu
throughout the business day. Long
hours of operation lend themselves
to distinctly different atmospheres
through the week. Days and
weeknights are generally quiet and
pleasant, usually catering to more of
the regulars; professors, business
people, city residents and busy stu-
dents. Weekend nights are decidedly
more active.
"One night a bunch of police
came in wearing riot uniforms sur-
rounded the kitchen. Nobody in the
restaurant seemed surprised," said
Marc Mancuso, a Rackham graduate
student who enjoys eating at the Jug.
"I think I was the only one that
noticed."
Partying students and bar crowds,
many of whom have delved a bit too
deeply into their liquor cabinets, cre-
ate a loud and rambunctious bar-likey
atmosphere. Under such conditions,
the work becomes a bit more
annoying.
The money isn't always enough
to compensate. When Martha, a
manager and server, heard that
University students tip among the
worst in the country, she responded,
"I'm not surprised."
The customers can also get down
right nasty. Cassady said by the end
of her stint as a Jug waitress, she
was tired of dealing with obnoxious
and disrespectful people. "A lot of
the clientele at night were drunken
frat guys who would come in and
make passes at the waitress," she
said. "I waited one guy who asked
me if I slept with the manager to get
my job."
Despite this, many employees
stay for a number of years, some
throughout their college career.
They're friends, they hang out to-
gether, party together, both in and
outside of work. For these reasons as
well as the Paron's attention to the
business family, there exists a cor-'
dial and friendly environment which
the employees can generally estab-
lish with their customers.
.4
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tea
4;
of the arteries.
by Saloni Janvela
You think they're the ones you
see looking overwhelmed, shy,
keeping to themselves, appearing
bewildered as they cross the diag.
But the truth of the matter is, stu-
dents from small towns are explor-
ing and enjoying the large univer-
sity.
These students said although the
change from the small town to "big"
Ann Arbor was drastic in some
ways, they felt Ann Arbor had a lot
more to offer than their hometowns.
As Jane Rixe, a first-year School of
Engineering student, put it, "It's in-
teresting to meet all the different
types of people. Where I come from,
it was homogeneous. "
"It's cool that Michigan has so
many people from different back-
grounds," said Carmen MacLean, a
first-year LSA student. "I come from
Granville, Ohio, with a graduating
class of '96. My high school was
mostly white, so it's great to see the
diversity here at Michigan."
MacLean also said that one of the
things she liked best about Ann Ar-
bor was the proximity of different
things to do. "A lot of the stuff I do,
you walk ten feet and it's right there.
You can do anything any night of
the week. In Granville, there's no
movie theater, no recreation building
... there's one street with little stores
on it."
When asked about her first im-
pression of the university, Jeanette
Leonard, first year engineering stu-
dent from Maybe, MI, related expe-
riences about the diag. "It was kind
of neat - seeing people that stand
on the diag and put on shows or give
speeches."
Leonard added that she finds Ann
Arbor a bit too crowded. "It was
kind of a big change," she said. "I'm
used to having my own space. I'm
considering moving to North Cam-
pus. There's more room, more trees,
it's just more countryish. It's more of
what I'm used to."
For some small town students,
older brothers and sisters may have
eased the shock of coming here. "I
come from a larger family, so I was
introduced to the college scene a lit-
tle early on," said Alan Striegle,
first-year LSA student. "I really like
it here - the diversity of people is
incredible. Dorr was a town of a
couple thousand, so we didn't see
too many different kinds of people.
Ann Arbor also has so much
happening - there was very little
activity in my town. You had to
pretty much drive to Grand Rapids
to do anything."
Striegle said the only thing he
misses is knowing everyone around
him. "I sometimes miss the real per-
sonal feeling of being in a small
town and knowing the people you
pass on the street. Here I sometimes
walk between classes and don't rec-
ognize a single person."
Some students said that Ann Ar-
bor is a town where they can be their
own person. Such was the case with
first-year LSA student Jeff Massoll.
He said that his hometown, Pinck-
ney, Mich., is so small that it's con-
sidered a village. "The first differ-
ence I noticed was how at home ev-
eryone noticed my green hair and
how I dressed. Here, no one cares,
which is really cool," he said. "In
my town, people were really set in
their way of thinking and you
couldn't get away with being your-
self. It's a really nice change to come
here and be whoever you want."
Rixe also related a positive expe-
rience. "My hometown of Walcott,
Iowa only had a total of around
1,000 people. I was really scared
when I saw the dorm - it was so
huge and there were so many people
here. But I really feel at home now,
which I didn't think I would consid-
ering this is such a big university."
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Celebrate Local Cable Programming Week
Stop by the AACAT booth in the center of the mall
For more information call 769-7422
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Selleck
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
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