|riters Raise Moneyo n e yat~ omorrow in Daily Arts: Writer's Harvest fundraiser gives money to charity. A national U Sorry kids, but R.E.M. has left the Daily Arts for at least event, S.O.S' Writer's Harvest presents readings today across the one day. But tomorrow check out an interview with the writer United States. In Ann Arbor, three University professors will pre- and director of "The Big Chill," Lawrence Kasdan. sent their work. Charles Baxter will read from his collection of fic- tion, Linda Gregerson will recite poems, and a group of Music stu- dents will give a cold reading of a play by Oyamo. Rackham AT Thursday; Amphitheater. 5 p.m. $5 admission for charity. October 29, 1998 8 A dent wil gie acoldreaing f aplayby yamo Rakha 'Work' works well - By Kate Kovalazki Daily Arts Writer Look under you and examine the chair on which you are sitting. No guarantees, but it may just be a piece originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames, distributed by Herman Miller, Inc. The husband and wife designing team, most productive in the '40s and '50s, made such contributions not only to design, but to archi- tecture and film as well. The exhibit, on display at the Slusser Gallery in the Work Art and Architecture WorkS Building until Nov. 15, high- Art and lights the designers' works Architecture in all the media, with pieces guiding of furniture on loan from the Through Nav, 15 Henry Ford Museum, the Henry Miller Archive and private collectors. One of the most striking features the exhibition emphasizes is the sheer expanse of the Eames' work. This couple not only experimented with materials such as plywood and plastic in their furniture, but also emphasized the use of inorganic, industrial materials in their houses. Chairman and architecture Prof. Brian Carter said a key goal of the exhibition is to demonstrate the Eames' close connection to Michigan. The couple met at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where Charles Eames held a fellowship from the late '30s. Although they moved to California, the Eames' collaborated extensively with the Detroit industrialist Colonel Edward S. Evans and Herman Miller, Inc., whose Archive in Zeeland still holds an exhibition of the Eames' work. The importance of the couple's works and its long existence is evidenced by the ongoing produc- tion of Eames' designs by Herman Miller Inc. The advances in technology which the couple made through their exploration of different materials was originally intended to produce inexpensive but high-quality products, modern and functional for the '50s family. Today, however, original Eames' furniture is in high demand and thus commands much higher prices than originally intended. The exhibition contains quotes on the Eames' works by various influential persons and even one by Mike- D of the Beastie Boys that demonstrates Eames' furniture is still very much a sought-after product. When asked to restate the significance of the exhibition, Carter said that "the Eames' works Courtesy of Herman Miller, Inc. Ray and Charles Eames furniture projects prove that "what works works." demonstrate that great designs can be valid for a long time, while the collaboration between Charles and Ray Eames shows a different mode of working, not only work between a man and woman, but between husband and wife." Carla Swickerath, who designed the graphics for the exhibition, further reemphasizes the connection to Michigan and the couple's extensive explorations of different media. The essence of the exhibition and the Eames' work is most perfectly summed up by a Ray Eames quote: "You know what looks good can change, but what works works." Craven frghtens on By Jie Lin Daily Arts Writer Grab a friend, microwave some popcorn, turn off thelights, curl up on the sofa and get into the Halloween mood early with Wes Craven's new made for TV movie, "Don't Look Down." Best known as the master of teen horror flicks such as "Scream" and its sequel, Wes Craven has decided to take a detour from movies and take a stab (not literally) at television. And what better time than the month of October for him to showcase his tal- ents? Just in time to scare the wits out of all the little trick-or-treaters. "Don't Look Down" is the first in a series of movies made in a deal with ABC that will make Craven movies an annual event during Halloween. "Party of Five" alumnae Megan Ward (Jill) stars as Carla Engel, a Don't Look woman strug- Down gling to deal with the tragic death Agt of her sister, An C Rachel (Tara p.m. Spencer Nairn). As the title so cleverly sug- gests, after her younger sister accidentally falls off a mountain, Carla has suddenly developed a fear of heights. Overwhelmed by the guilt of letting down her younger sister who she was suppose to protect and care for, Carla experiences hallucina- tions and breakdowns. Her paranoia starts affecting her relationship with her husband, Mark (Billy Burke). She is forced to leave her job as a reporter after losing it during an interview with a senator. At the insistence of Mark, who has found a fabulous doctor on the Internet, Clara agrees to seek the psy- chiatric care of Dr. Paul Sadowski (Terry Kinney). Sadowski specializes in acrophobia, and he is experiment- ing with a new therapy called "flood- ing." Clara is part of the experimental group, and she is forced to not only confront her fear of heights but ana- lyze the relationship she had with her sister. This movie isn't exactly made up of Pietasters* roll into the State - By Curtis Zimmermann Daily Arts Writer In the ever-growing world of under- ground ska a few bands have emerge in the past few years as the leaders of the movement. One such group is The Pietasters, which brings its wild brand of ska, punk and soul to Detroit when they open for swing revivalists th Cherry Poppin' Daddies tonight at th State Theater. The band has a rather dastardly scheme to break into the mainstream according to lead vocalist Stev Jackson. "We're going to try and g on 'Letterman' so our Bass player can cut his toe off," Jackson said in a recent interview. Despite remaining an underground band its popularity has grown, largely due to its relentless touring schedules and wild stage shows that usual- ly don't include dismemberment. Pietasters Jackson said thi State band's talent has Tonight at 7:30 improved consid- erably he said that its original stage concept was "Covering up lack of talent with putting on a big show." He also stated hoo one of its goals while performing has always been that if "somebody goes home bleeding than they'll be a good story to tell as opposed to 'oh they were really good they played all of their songs."' The Pietasters first began in 1990 in Washington, D.C. The band members credit numerous influences including The Skatalites, Rancid and Otis Redding. "Willis," their latest record- ing that was released last year on Helo Cat records, is a different sounding record from some of its earlier albums. Jackson discussed the bands past few albums and how the members didn't feel that some of their earlier record- ings captured what they were about. "When we played live we've been a very loud in your face kind of band, and even when were playing mellow traditional songs were still sweatint and throwing up on each other, Jackson said. "'Oolooloo' came out, and we were like, 'that just doesn't sound like us live.' It just wasn't hap- pening, I know a lot of people who really like that record, but for us were our own worst critics. So we did 'Strapped Live' to try and get the live thing out and that too didn't quite cap- ture what we though we were all about. I think 'Willis' has come the closest to the way we sound every night on stag and the varieties of stuff we'll play." Prior the release of "Willis" the band made a rather bold move .in switching from Moon Ska records, which was at the time considered the nation's premiere ska label, to Hell-Cat a division of Indie giant Epitaph. Jackson talked about this move and how the band just felt it was the right time to start expanding. "We wanted to tour more extensively, but we wante to make sure the record got distrib- uted," he said. He also added how ti band still wanted to have artistic cofy trol. "We weren't to excited to go find. Epic or somebody like that and have them say something like 'you guya need to sound more like Reel Big Fish then we can sell a lot of your records.' We wanted to keep being The Pietasters and keep playing and doing the things that we do." After this two-month tour with thq Cherry Poppin' Daddies winds down,, the band plans on returning to the stu- dio to record another album. courtesy of AsC One, two Wes is gonna get you - especially tonight in "Don't Look Down" airing at 9 p.m. on ABC. great actors but then again none of Craven's movies are likely to get an Emmy for acting. Even though the leading actress Megan Ward used to be on "Party of Five," she is definite- ly no Neve Campbell. While Ward doesn't add much dimension to her character Carla, the supporting char- acters, such as Dr. Sadowski (Terry Kinney) and Mark (Billy Burke) are all characters with much more devel- opment than what's seen on the sur- face. When Clara starts her therapy with Dr. Sadowski, that's when the movie really starts rolling and keeps us guessing until the end. During the first hour, the movie doesn't do such a stellar job at developing its plot. Craven can't seem to make up his mind whether he wants this to be a true horror film or one of those week- ly made-for-TV movies. Had this actually made it to the the- aters, most audiences probably would have walked out. Good thing we're not at the movie theaters and that we are willing to give him a break con- sidering this is his first TV movie in a long series. Luckily, the second half of the movie sort of makes up for the humdrum of the first part. Just when we think the film is going no where, boom: A surprise. Wes Craven final- ly decides he wants this to be a horror flick after all and manages to salvage what's left of the movie. As Clara meets up with Dr. Sadowski and joins her therapy group, bodies start dropping dead left and right. Everyone is either a suspect or the next victim, and that's when things start getting really exciting. The clues start piling up (not just dead bodies) and all kinds of possible theories start forming. In the end, we are left with the ultimate question. Who did it? Feel free to miss the first half, but be sure to catch the last parts because for all you Craven fans out there, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. ..vv.. *t The Princeton Review April MCAT . schedules are here. # 8 pointaverage score improvement # Expert instructors 0 Maximum class size of 15 students # Unlimited extra help I # Guaranteed results THE PRINCETON REVIEW 1-800-2REVIEW www.review.cord