Mute m a
ib* udte ma
By' babeoFajurI
Daip Arts Writer
Ah, parents. For many college
kids, a necessary evil. For Teller, a
so re of inspiration. And the sub-
jegjf a new book.
The shorter, quieter half of the
ultra-hip magic duo Penn & Teller,
Teller's recent
literary effort,
"When I'm
n I'm Dead, All This
n ' m l Will Be Yours!"
ll has nothing to
Wl ,. do with the
YUrs afterworld, the
By Teller dead or the
Grade: B+ dying. In fact, it
'Blast Books has everything
to do with some-
one very alive
Joe Teller,
father of the
author. The
book, after all,
ubtitled "Joe Teller - a portrait
kid.'
len I'm Dead" is a simple
about Pad (Teller's pet name
s father) and his early, pre-
yidays in Philadelphia. Played -
lik one of the magician's many
home to visit the family, Joe
dr's tale is drawn out like an
eternal parental tale.
~aders learn details that even the
a orclaims not to have known
about his father before asking ques-
tions like "Where did you and mom
Imeet?" and "What did you do after
high school?"
I Remember how you felt when you
learned that your parents smoked
f pot back in the '60s? The answers
Joe gives his kid are surprising, too.
I not that surprising. Turns out
Ih he wizened old man, now well
into, his 80s, lived life out of a box-
car~fot a time, running away from
home. The text includes lengthy
jexterpts from many of Joe's letters
haute, all of which Teller found
§quirreled away in his parents'
d~iladelphia row house.


ARTS

The Michigan Daily -- Wednesday, April 11, 2001- 9

ician' s parental
kes for charming read

STRIKES
Continued from Page 8
claims that these demands would
cost of as much as $2.5 billion -a
huge discrepancy.
The issues of residuals for for-
eign and video releases may be the
most contentious points. Foreign
and home video combined make up
a much larger portion of the rev-
enue than theater tickets alone,
which make up less than half of the
original production. This is how a

movie like "Waterworld," which
bombed at the box office, remained
an overall financial success.
The current economic uncertain-
ties are definitely muddling the
issue. AOL Time Warner, NBC and
Disney have already announced
large-scale job cuts, and it is likely
that more companies in the indus-
try will be announcing layoffs in
the near future. Even ifa recession
is avoided, two large scale and
long-lasting strikes could send the
economy over the edge.

In addition to life as a profession-
al hobo, Joe recounts tales of work-
ing as a sign painter in Philadelphia
and meeting his wife (that's Mam, to
the author) at art school.
But the book isn't an out and out
biography. It's interspersed with
many of Pad's imaginative and won-
derfully stylized charcoal cartoons,
and includes a color section of Mam
and Pad's oil paintings. The cartoons
are as charming as the text is and the
paintings capture the spirit of
Teller's 'rents perfectly. But this isn't
an art book, either.
What the book turns out to be in
its scant 150 pages is a humorous
homage to a man, his wife and their
bohemian lifestyle.
Obvious admiration of his parents
shines through on every page. They
even teach the kid to paint at one
point in the book.
Despite playing the part of a mute
magician on stage, Teller's flair for
the written word is nothing to be
scoffed at. Maybe it's all those years
of silence on stage, who knows. But
the man knows how to turn a charm-
ing phrase. The right balance of
parental comment and kid-inflected

perspective makes the book cute.
The artwork rounds out the package
nicely.
If there's one criticism to be made
of "When I'm Dead," it's that the
book is a fast read. It takes about an
hour to page through and about an
hour to be forgotten. Nostalgia seek-
ers and fans of retrospectives take
note: This book can be yours. And
no one has to die.


College Unions
POETRY
SLAM-
Invitational
E The Un versy of M chigon
AnnArco 'AC igonf
April ' & '5. 2C01

THE TEAMS-Michigan, Yale University, Eastern
Michigan University, University of Califomia-
Berkeley, Case Western Reserve University,
Louisiana State University I Southern University.
THE FINALS
Sunday April 15, 2001 at 2:00 PM in
the Michigan Union Ballroom -
Top 3 teams
Featuring: Marc Smith, the father of
the poetry slam
$3.00 students, $7.00 others
www.umich.edu/-poetslam/

from avant'9ardtstraent s.d
JJazz
THURS8AY
APRIL 12TH :3OPM
MICHIGAN hAGUE
UN8CRGROUN6

Saturday April 14, 2001 PRELIMINARIES
Round 1
1:00 PM- 2:00 PM
MICHIGAN vs. YALE in the Michigan Union U-Club
EASTERN MICHIGAN vs. UC BERKELEY in the Michigan League Underground
CASE WESTERN vs. LSU/SU in Leonardo's at Pierpont Commons.
Round 2
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
MICHIGAN vs. LSU/SU in the Michigan Union U-Club.
YALE vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN in the Michigan League Underground.
UC BERKELEY vs. CASE WESTERN in Leonardo's at Pierpont Commons.

Round 3a
4:30 PM- 6:00 PM
Ranked Seeds #1 vs.#4 vs. #6
In the Michigan Union U-Club

Round 3b
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Ranked Seeds #2 vs. 3 vs.#5
In the Michigan Union U-Club

Saturday's Events are Free and open to all.
Sponsored by: UM University Unions, Association of College Unions
International and Poetry Slam Inc. Call 763-3202 for more information.

f
i
t
f
i
f
E
E

a0
-Our spring and summer class sessions let you complete a course in
~~pIat0 just six weeks. They're short, sweet, and to the point
so you can pick up that class you need and still
have time to enjoy your summer break. Visit us
at www.gvsu.edu for a schedule of courses in
Grand Rapids, Allendale, Holland, and Muskegon.
4J.0RaIThen call 1-800-748-0246 to register by phone.
Sprtng session starts May 7 and Summer session begins June 25.
STATEUNIVERSITY
616.895.2025 * 800.748.0246 . www.gvsu.edu
GVSU is an attirmnative actnon, equal npportunity instatien and in ancredited by the Nornh Central Ansocatian at Calleges and anhanls.


4a$fY OF
'4RBR

The University of Michigan-Dearborn
invites you to be a guest student for the
Summer 2001 semester. We have three
options to accommodate students who are
home for summer vacation:

Full Term
Half Term i
Half Term I1

May 7 -August 29
May 7-June 29
July 5 -August 29

For information please call the Office
of Admissions and Orientation, 313-593-5100,
to speak with an admissions counselor.
Discover the
Michigan Advantage
during the summer!
The University of Michigan-Dearborn
Office of Admissions and Orientation
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, Michigan 48128-1491



l