12B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazine - Thursday, January 24, 2002
LOADED
Continued from Page 7B
bination of investigative journalism
and intimate biographing, Robert
Sabbag has provided a definitive his-
tory of marijuana in the United
States from the 1970s to the present.
"Loaded" should be essential read-
ing for those whobare interested in
learning about the immense
cannabis market found in the
Americas and the evolution of
today's drug policy. Or, in other
words, it's a guaranteed pleaser if
you like reefer.
"What cartoon character would you
get into a drinking contest with and
who would win?"
The Michigan Daily- We end, etc. Magazi
Handwriting analyses makes a skeptical an<
By Rich Haffner
For the Daily
U "Yosemite Sam would definitely win.
He's so mean, he's gotta be a hardcore
drinker. He spends all his time in the
bar shooting at glasses."
- Kris Warnemuende, LSA senior
Curtes~y ofLtle, BoUwn adCompan~dIy
Robert Sabbag, author of 'Loaded,' will
be doing a book signing at Borders
next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
6 ar T 'sue s *,4 "^b
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Car~d aing
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Analysis
(inye Li
1
Q "I'd pick Scooby Doo. He would win
because I'm pretty sure he weighs
more than me and I'm a lightweight.
Out of that whole Scooby Doo posse, I
think all the rest of them just smoke a
lot of weed, so I pick Scooby."
- Mike Burns, Engineering junior
Il "I'd go with a Transformer. He'd win
because he's a robot and I'm not."
- Duncan Hwang, LSA Junior
Like almost everyone else, I admit I
read my horoscope once in a while.
Like almost everyone else, I don't
believe for a second that the move-
ments of the planets and stars
have anything to do with my
life. Nor do I believe my
handwriting is an indicator
of my character. But
graphologists, or hand-
writing analysts, do.
Liz Mills, a certified
handwriting analyst
from Livonia, offered
free handwriting analyses
at Borders Arborland on Jan.
16. Mills, like other handwriting ana-
lysts, believes certain features of a per-
son's handwriting provide insight into a
person's character. These features
include letter spacing, slanting, height,
loops in certain letters, the crosses of
"t's" and the dots of "i's."
An in-depth analysis of a subject's
handwriting may take an hour or more
and typically costs around $100. Mills'
free analysis varied in length from
about five minutes for a single person
to about 15 minutes for a married cou-
ple.
Mills asked each subject to prepare a
writing sample prior to the analysis.
Each sample was to begin, "Dear Liz,"
include six to eight lines of body text
and conclude with the subject's signa-
ture. The body text was to include the
subject's earliest memory, a significant
event in the subject's life or a summary
of what the subject had done that day.
In giving her analy-
ses, Mills briefly
ject's handwriting
sample before begin-
ning to describe the sub-
ject's life and personality.
She claimed she did not read
the content and began
mostly with a general
statement such as
"You like sports,"
or "You are hav-
ing a diffi-
cult
in your life."
Throughout an
analysis, Mills contin-
ued glancing back and
forth from the handwriting sample to
the subject. For some analysis Mills
maintained a dialogue
with the subject. For others, the subject
remained silent for most of the analy-
sis.
Mills concluded each analysis by
saying, "If you disagree, I'd like to hear
about it."
Overall, the group of subjects at
Borders was satisfied. "She was very
accurate," said Washtenaw Community
College freshman Rachel Makarrall.
"She was telling everyone before me
that they had issues with their mother.
With me, she immediately said I wasn't
happy with my father. She was right
about my feelings for my father."
Trevor DuPras, an Ann Arbor resi-
dent, agreed. "I would say she was 80
to 90 percent accurate about me," said
DuPras.
Added Makarrall, "She also said that
in social situations like parties, I'm
content to just stand back and observe.
That was another detail about me that
was right on."
When it was my turn, I handed Mills
my handwriting sample, and she imme-
diately told me vague things like
"You're creative," "You don't like your
job" and "You're something of a per-
fectionist." As with the others, she con-
tinually looked back and forth from my
face to my handwriting sample.
Mills was more or less accurate abo
me. But she also would have been ju
as accurate and just as vague if sI
would have said, "You are a young ma
of average height and build."
Debunkers of handwriting analys
point to the techniques of cold readir
and to the Barnum effect to explain i
apparent accuracy.
Psychics giving cold readings <
strangers tend to first make vagu
claims about their subjects, then fish fi
details in a dialogue with their subjec
For example, the psychic may say, "Yc
are having trouble with your love life
The subject may reply, "Yes, I think m
husband is having an affair." The ps:
ANNs
Miehin
MsaL "ague
Open House '02f
L.
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$10 Rush Tickets on sale 10 am - 6 pm
the day of the performance or the Friday
before a weekend event at the UMS Ticket
Office.
50% Rush Tickets on sale beginning
90 minutes before the event at the
Performance Iall Box Office.
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SPRING BREAK]
A look at the
underside of U of M
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Mock Qmcdian
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Da Camera of Houston: Marcel Proust's Paris
American String Quartet
William Sharp baritone
This event takes late 19th-century musical works and
intersperses them with readings to recreate the world of
Marcel Proust in a French salon at the turn of the century.
The Chieftains
with special guests:
Natalie MacMaster fiddler and dancer Allison Moorer singer
Jeff White guitarist Donny Golden dancerJon and Nathan
PiIatzke dancers
Ireland's most famous traditional musicians return to Ann
Arbor for yet another incredible concert!
University of Michigan Business School
Presents:
Globol Crisis, Asian Opportunities.
12' Asian Business Conference
February 1- 2nd
Keynote by US Representative Earl Blumenauer
Member of House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific
Panel Sessions:
" FINANCE: New Rules in Asian Banking in a Ik blue
& JAPAN: New Opportunities for Corporate Japan sapphire gem!
" CHINA: Changes Ahead (dmacdby'thaigem)
SHEALTHCARE: Improving Asian Lives
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" HI-TECH: Silicon and Beyond-Asia's Move into New Technologies
" WOMEN IN ASIAN BUSINESS: Strategies and Achievements
" SOUTH ASIA: Improving India's Global Competitiveness
" KOREAN ECONOMY: Opportunities and Challenges
For details and registration, visit our web-site: www.umich.edu/-asiabus
Sponsored by Michigan League Programming, League Catering, Wendys and Tim Hortons.
For more information please call 763.4652 or email progieague@umich.edu.
gums 764.2538
A valid student ID is required. Limit two
SoctY offered if an event is sold out. Seatingi
UMS TICKET OFFICE LOCATED IN THE MI LEAGUE,
HOURS M-F 10AM-6PM, SAT 10AM-1PM
tickets per student, per event. Rush Tickets are not
is subject to availability and box office discretion.
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