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Check out M-Flicks' Film Farm, a showcase of student films,
Saturday night. M-Flicks has a farm. And on this farm they present
short films from young 'U' filmmakers, including Matt Reichle and
Michael Massie whose 22-minute "Baby Seal" headlines the screen-
ing. Don't miss this exciting first-time event that will likely become a
campus tradition. Nat. Sci. Auditorium. Admission is $2.
Friday
December 5, 1997
10
'Comedy'
8y Angela Delk
Daily Arts Writer
Crying Laughter Productions, a new student organi-
zation that hopes to encourage interest in education
through comedic means, will pre-
sent is first annual "Comedy
Kickoff for Education.' The com- <P
edy show will be held tonight in i j
the U-Club on the first floor of the Co
Michigan Union. .ft
"The purpose of the event is to
promote higher education
through comedy," said LSA
senior Alena Green, the group's president and found-
ing member.
The members of Crying Laughter Productions tutor
high-school students at local Ann Arbor schools.
They believe it is important to help the younger gen-
eration achieve higher education.
Through comedy, young students can see the posi-
tive ways in which they can contribute to society.
Establishing a release through humor is a good way to
relieve stress and forget about the pressures of the
classroom and the workplace.
"It is important to allow students to see both the
academic and social side of college life so they will
know how to balance their fun and studies," she
explained.
Green calls herself the Queen of Comedy and has
opened for Black Entertainment Television (BET)
kicks off at U
- Club
comedian. Mike Bonner and D.L. Hughley.
The organization extended their mentorship by
allowing the high-school students to participate in
planning for this event.
ned Kickoff
or ducation
Tonight at 7:30
u-club - $5
sponsored by The
"I love comedy and have been
truly blessed with the skill, and I
just want other young students to
see the funny, but positive side of
comedy,' said Green.
"Everybody is really excited
because we plan to take comedy
to another level,' said Green.
The comedy show is being
University Activities Center and the
"It has been great working with everyone," said
Green, "It's going to be the phattest comedy jam of
the semester," said Green.
After e-mailing all University organizations and
posting flyers around campus, Green said she knows
the event will be successful because they have been
planning the event since the summer.
The $1,250 expected profit will be used to help
fund the P.L.A.Y.E.R of the year competition, an
event being held for the Martin Luther King
Symposium on Jan. 25.
The Positive Leaders And Young Effective Role-
models competition is an event where young men will
be judged by a panel of female judges based on their
appearance, education and personality.
"The purpose of the P.L.A.Y.E.R competition is to
Michigan Union Programming Board.
The host of the show is Detroit's own Mike Bonner.
He has appeared on BET
half hour stand-up comedy
and is currently a candidate
being considered for the new
host of BET's "Comic View."
Horace Sanders, an LSA
senior, and another comedi-
an from "Comic View" will
also aide Bonner and Green
in kicking off the first
Crying Laughter
"It 's g oing to be the
phattest comedy jam
oft te eester3"
- Alena Green
Crying Laughter Productions, President
show everyone that there are
a lot of positive black male
role models," said Green.
Green said that Crying
Laughter Productions has
put a lot of time and effort
into making the event a pos-
itive, but entertaining expe-
rience.
"We would appreciate
everyone's support, but be
there promptly at 7:30 or get
Production.
Sanders has also appeared at The 1996 Mascarade
Ball and several other'campus events,
talked about," Green said.
Powerful people under
30 get into the Swing
Mike Bonner will host "Comedy Kickoff for Education" at the U-Club tonight.
Artists get cozy on
'rome' for holidays
By Caitlin Hall
For the Daily
What do actor Will Smith and envi-
ronmental activist Danny Seo have in
common? No, they don't kill aliens
together and they don't advocate the
Clear Air Act together but they are both
part of Swing magazine's annual 30
Under 30 Power List.
Yes, the 20-something population is
experiencing a wave of success, and
Swing magazine is celebrating this trend
with its annual double issue of the most
powerful people in their 20's. This issue
is the magazine's fourth "30 Under 30
Power List, the first of which comprised
the theme of the first issue of Swing.
Some of the powerful Swing-ers fea-
tured are household names, while oth-
ers are unknown outside of their field.
The list is diverse and tries to focus on
people who are successful by any stan-
dards, not just successful for their age, a
market that is sometimes overlooked in
favor of fleetingly successful novelties.
The list is divided into seven cate-
gories: technology, politics, business,
arts/fashion, music, Hollywood and
sports. The idea was to thoroughly rep-
resent the interests of the generation
now in their 20's. People profiled range
from singer/songwriter and Lilith Fair
mastermind Sarah McLachlan to stock
car driver Jeff Gordon.
The inspiration for the issue, as well
as the entire magazine, is the bad repu-
tation the 20-29 age group has been
given - as whining, master slackers.
"This generation tends to get a very
bad rap," said Swing's executive editor
Megan Liberman. "(The generation is
often seen as) lazy and undirected," she
said. "Swing magazine is trying to
change that perception."
By creating such a diverse list, Swing
shows the accomplishments while
destroying the negative stereotypes.
There is not a mold that the people have
to fit into to get on the list. The main
criteria is whether or not the person has
made a "major breakthrough" in his or
her field in the last 12 months.
The list-making process lasts all year
and has many different stages.
According to Liberman, the reporters
and editors get names through people
they know and stories they write, devel-
oping a master list of Generation Xers
and then cut it down.
Liberman said that the generation is
sometimes not given credit for over-
coming all that it has.
"This generation may have more
opportunity while their parents' genera-
tion had more stability. For people try-
ing to start their careers and families
now, the job market and stability and
the economy have changed drastically.
There is also more divorce," Liberman
said. "People now have the added
responsibility of questioning if a rela-
tionship will last forever."
Actor Will Smith, shown here in a scene from 1996's "Independence Day," makes
Swing magazine's fourth annual 30 Under 30 Power List.
When 25-year-old editor-in-chief,
David Lauren started the magazine sev-
eral years ago, he did so because he
couldn't find anything in the media that
was speaking to his concerns.
Lauren started the magazine while
he was a sophomore at Duke University
in 1990. After graduating, he decided to
go to private investors to get funding for
his idea of a general interest magazine.
This allowed him to launch the maga-
zine in North Carolina.
The magazine is now distributed
nationally and targets the 18-34 age
range. Liberman credited Swing's suc-
cess to its ability to "strik(ing) a chord"
with the age group by appealing to their
sense of identity. It is also giving them
hope by showing "success stories" The
people profiled could be seen as inspi-
rational.
The list is not necessarily of role-
models but the people have consider-
able accomplishments for any age.
Liberman is happy with the "diversity"
and "energy" of the people on the list.
"This particular group is a pretty ambi-
tious and directed group," she said.
Liberman said that she is proud of the
fact that the people on the power list
range from poets to politicians to violin-
ists. They all reflect their generation pos-
itively through their accomplishments.
Through this reflection, Swing is
succeeding is reversing the negative
stereotype of the generation as slackers.
Like many people her age, Liberman
doesn't like the phrase "Generation X."
She sees it as a media catch-phrase that
has nothing to do with who it is trying
to classify. "We don't all do one or two
things," Liberman said.
The diversity of the group and their
talents shows that Swing is speaking to
a talented generation. The issue of the
30 most powerful people under 30 is
hopefully going to make that message
clear.
Various Artists
A Home for the Holidays
Mercury Records
Now that Thanksgiving is over, we
find ourselves suddenly wrapped up in
the Christmas season, which entails,
among the many other holiday tradi-
tions, a plethora of compilation
Christmas albums.
"A Home for the Holidays," although
not the best CD ever to hit the shelves,
is a quite enjoyable, and features a wide
variety of artists, all the way from Tony
Toni Tone to Joan Osborne to Bon Jovi.
And you'll feel good about buying it
because all proceeds are donated to
Phoenix House, the largest non-profit
drug abuse rehabilitation center in the
country.
The majority of the album is rather
mellow with a jazzy sound to the
music, such as OMC's sur-
prisingly well-done ver-
sion of "My Favorite
Things." OMC tem-
porarily parted from
the style that pro- .
duced hit song "How"
Bizarre" to record the
Rogers and
Hammerstein classic
backed by an orchestra.
If you're a Boyz II Men fan,
you'll love their beautiful renditions of
"Silent Night" and "Let it Snow." Both
were so pleasant and relaxing they
made me want to curl up next to a warm
fire with a candy cane and hot cider.
There are a few vibrant songs inter-
twined to contrast the slow tunes
including Marshall Crenshaw's upbeat
"Sock it to me Santa" and "Christmas
Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)" by
ska superstars The Mighty Mighty
Bosstones.
One of the highlights of the CD is the
fun and playful "Baby It's Cold
Outside" performed as a duet with
Vanessa Williams and Bobby Caldwell.
It was obvious the pair had a good time
recording the song together.
The variety in "A * Home for the
Holidays" is really what makes it
worthwhile. It covers many of the tradi-
tionals including "O Come All Ye
Faithful," and "Hark the Herald Angels
Sing" but also non-traditional songs,
many of which I have never heard
before. Songs like "How Beautiful"
"Arbolito de Navidad," sung in Spanish
by Gloria Estefan, spiced up the album.
If you're looking for something to
put in your CD player to get you into
the holiday spirit and you want to con-
tribute to charity as well, you should
pick up "A Home for the Holidays."
-Amy Barber
KISS
Carnival of Souls-The Final
Sessions
Mercury Records
*
In the last few years Kiss's music
evolved with the musical climate
and with this the band has
created some very solid
music that is easily
comparable to the old
school songs like
"Rock and Roll All
Night,' and "Shout It
Out Loud:'.
This evolution of
their music comes t
screeching halt with t
latest album, "Carnival of
Souls."
Over the last three decades, Kiss has
released 29 albums world wide, this
one is perhaps their worst ever. While
their music has always had a hard edge
to it, this album differs in that it sounds
more like the works of a low-grade
thrash metal band than that of Kiss.
The first song on the album, "Ha"
begins with hard-pounding guitar -
tortion. Gene Simmons' voice is then
heard screaming. Most of the songs
seem to follow this standard pattern. It's
not that the musical arrangements on
this album are bad, it's just that the
sound of Paul Stanley's trademark
voice singing death metal songs on
tracks like "Rain;' "Master and Slave,"
and "It Never Goes Away" just doesn't
cut it.
There are two songs on this alb
that seem to be in the true Kiss style -
See RECORDS, Page 11
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