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Courtesy of NBC
"I find that a shiny pair of handcuffs stands out against an orange jumpsuit."
Martha's Apprenice':
It's not a good thi~ng
By Ben Megargel
For the Daily
In her post-incarceration bid for image
rehab, domestic diva Martha Stewart hops
on the real-
ity-TV band-
wagon with The Apprentice:
her version of Martha Stewart
"The Appren- Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
tice." However, NBC
unlike Donald
Trump's origi-
nal, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart"
falls flat because of its lack of originality
and overly contrived drama.
The debut episode begins with Stewart
rattling off her many past successes, con-
veniently omitting her recent five months
of jail time for insider trading. The show
is close to an exact copy of the original
"Apprentice's" premise: 16 contestants are
split into two groups, competing weekly
in various challenges. One member of
the losing team is voted off each week by
Martha and her two sidekicks, daughter
Alexis Stewart and former music execu-
tive Charles Koppelman. The winner gets
a job working closely with Martha "to
create something new or something dif-
ferent," as she explains.
The contestants collectively decide
to split into two groups, one being the
"corporate" types, called the Primarius,
the other the "creative" types, Match-
stick. The teams then take on a set on
the task of adapting a classic children's
story. Overall, the teams feature more
females and artistically inclined charac-
ters than their Trump predecessors. Most
of the characters blend in with the rest,
but a few do stand out: Loudmouth Jim
Tay Hall
play Blind
Pig record
debut disc
By Amos Barshad
Daily Arts Writer
CONCERT PREVIEW
Holed up in the studio for days at a
time, the kids of Tally Hall might not be
in school, but that doesn't mean they aren't
working. They've been sweating record-
label pressure and
recording at 40 Oz.
Studios since the Tally Hall
middle of July. Friday Sept. 23 at
Titled Mar- 9:30 p.m.
vin's Marvelous At the Blind Pig
Mechanical Muse- _
um, their upcom-
ing album is a tribute to its namesake,
an antique gaming arcade in Farmington
Hills, where the members of Tally Hall
spent a large part of their adolescence.
One of the band's three songwriter/sing-
ers, Joe Halley - alongside keyboardist
Andrew Horowitz and guitarist Rob Can-
tor - explained, "It's this really unusual
arcade of oddities, of old school video
may prove to be the new Omarosa, while
Dawn seems to play the role of the con-
stant complainer.
What is shocking about Stewart's ver-
sion of the show is how much it blatantly
borrows from the first "Apprentice."Every
aspect, from the faux-suspenseful back-
ground music to the mildly attractive Brit-
ish secretary, is a copy of Trump's original
formula. This would be all well and good
if Martha were able to effectively adapt
this blueprint to her own style.
Stewart, however, is neither as intimi-
dating nor as charismatic as Trump.
She comes across as cold, lifeless and
restrained. Her fellow judges, both infe-
rior knockoffs of Trump's, do little to help
the situation.
When Stewart does add personal
touches to the show, they only hamper the
competitive suspense that made Trump's
series so successful. Instead of a dramati-
cally lit boardroom, Stewart holds court in
a well-lit, airy conference room. The tasks,
more geared toward arts and crafts than
business, feel pointless and without con-
sequence. Even Annie Lennox's "Sweet
Dreams" theme song is no match for The
O'Jay's "For the Love of Money."
However, Stewart does succeed in one
regard. Her method of firing in polite,
handwritten letters is a salaciously fantas-
tic addition to the show, almost topping
Trump's famous "You're fired" catch-
phrase. This creative change could have
made the show the new guilty pleasure
this season.
In the end, "The Apprentice: Martha
Stewart" is a victim of lazy writers and a
sloppy concept. The overwhelming simi-
larities between Stewart and Trump's
shows lead to unavoidable comparisons,
and it is apparent that the better of the
two comes with a combover.
FILMMAKER DAVID LYNCH
BRINGS MEDITATION
TO CAMPUS
By Zach Borden
Daily Arts Writer
As one of the most revered figures in cult
cinema, filmmaker David Lynch has fascinat-
ed audiences for decades. With his surreal and
haunting portraits of the vari-
ous facets of everyday Amer- David Lynch
ican life in movies such as
"Blue Velvet," "Mulholland Sunday, Sept. 25
Drive" and the famed TV at 5 p.m.
series "Twin Peaks," Lynch Free
is one of the most unique and Atthe Power Center
daring narrative artists work-
ing today. The Montana-born visionary con-
tinues to test the boundaries of film, but he is
currently devoting much of his time to a new
project - the David Lynch Foundation for Con-
sciousness-Based Education and World Peace.
Lynch will speak at the Power Center on Sunday
as part of the University's Program in Creativity
and Consciousness Studies, a cross-disciplin-
ary group dedicated to creative expression as it
relates to consciousness.
One of the goals of Lynch's foundation is to
help students discover and learn about transcen-
dental meditation (TM), which was developed
by famed spiritual educator Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi. Lynch, who has been practicing the men-
tal technique for 32 years, is eager to spread
Maharishi's powerful teachings.
"(TM) turns the mind within," Lynch said.
"It allows any human being to dive within and
experience the unified field. All positive values
of that field get better and better."
Based on the passion in his voice, it's clear
just how much of an impact TM has had on
Lynch's life and how it affects his work.
"Negative things like anger and anxiety and
fear started receding," he said. "I enjoy doing
things so much more now and have had more
energy and more fun in life. I also feel intuition,
which is a super-valuable tool in filmmaking or
any part of life. Creativity grows and the abil-
ity to catch ideas grows. All avenues of life start
improving."
Another goal of Lynch's foundation is to "cre-
ate a wave of peace across the country." In order
to accomplish this, Lynch is currently raising
money for scholarships so that 10,000 students
can learn how to mediate.
"Schools are in a great deal of trouble," he
explainesd. "Consciousness-based education has
Fourtesy of the David Lynch Foundation
Filmmaker David Lynch will speak at the Power Center this Sunday evening at 5:00.
shown huge success in reducing stress and anxi-
ety while raising positive values. The world is
full of problems, and we're wallowing in the
mud. (TM) lifts you out of the mud. Education
should develop the human being."
Recently, Lynch's foundation gave grants to
eight different middle schools to teach both
inner-city students and students with learning
disabilities about TM. According to Bob Roth,
a spokesman for the David Lynch Foundation,
research has shown that this mediation practice
is more effective than medication, and students
have improved their learning skills and grade
point averages after practicing TM.
In addition to getting his foundation off the
ground, Lynch is currently in the midst of shoot-
ing his next film, "Inland Empire," due for release
in 2006. Lynch was mum on plot details for the
film, but he did reveal that he - like fellow film-
makers George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez -
has made the jump from film to digital video.
"DV is the way to go," Lynch said. While
he did admit that "the quality is not as good
as film," he said there are many advantages to
shooting in the digital format as well.
As with his foray into digital video, Lynch
believes that new technologies are the future.
"I think everything is going to merge," he said.
"The Internet is the thing. Music is on the 'Net.
Films are on the 'Net. Everything is going to be
digital."
Lynch also made it clear that despite the huge
popularity of "Twin Peaks" and the fact that his
film "Mulholland Drive" was originally intend-
ed as an episodic TV series for ABC, he has no
plans to return to television.
At this point, Lynch seems focused on ridding
the world of stress. He believes it's vital that
people discover the power of TM and hopes to
find plenty of "eager helpers" in the future.
"It's a quick way to end suffering. It's a huge
stress reliever. When the mind settles down to
the deepest level, the physiology also -settles
down and things start unwinding," he said.
The A nn A rbor material that we've come up with in the studio thatn e'
heard before that eea't wait to play.
Spotlight:
TMND: Wht's it like to be an Arn Arbor band?
No m EB: Ann Arbor is really receptive and supportive ofthas
community It steems'ike ther's a lotgig nadepe
By Llyd Cargo doing a great job f1prm9iina andputting shows together.
Daily Arts Writer There's somethig reay eilabut havig { cmunity<
that really spp you.Popl 4e e a se oowrsip.
The Michigan Daily caught up with Nomofrontman and Nomo wouldn't inC a rNe
University alumnus Elliot Bergman to talk about the hand's
next hometawn s TMi: What else is g1iV99 i:thbnd?
EB: We just had our record comie out in. Jaan (last)n Fri
The Michigan Daily: What's going on at the show this Sat- day on this Iae1 cal.ed P-Vine. put out grat stuff
urday? -ee hfr a Brown oco Rosie to S Ra
Elliot Bergman: (The show) is going to be a benefit for
the victims of Hurricane Katrina. An installation piece by TMD : ow:'thtioa epneto}N.m:;
m yfriend Soma (will open the show.It's a large, inflatable t Oh0 E Ppe a e (e s n ssten. We've
structure that inflates and deflates in time and is lumines- pJyed : ynd f ibl, f be
cent. There's going to be six of us in there playing drones r2 ip 4,1 bkkpatylat wkendin
until people get sufficiently weirded out. Then the bands .Chag.'m interestednidng sminghm' k
will play. We also have some really great DXs ...:...:.....s.piiual ad neletull ngg
ng and chajreging.
TMD. What's it like to be playing at The Blind Pig?
EB: I'm really excited for it. It's cool to be able to have The N' wi lperrmla The ndP
Blind Pig let us do our own thing. We've got a lot of new tomorrow nights a 3p .m.
FILE PHOTO
Tally Hall will play the Blind Pig tonight at 9:30
games. It's not like, 'get the ball in the
hole,' it's 'grab this ball and then we'll
shock you' or 'put your hand in a cage
and dog will try and bite you."' Drummer
Ross Federman added, "(It has) those old
arcade games where you don't even play
anything. You put in a quarter and watch a
guy getting his head cut off."
Local entrepreneur Al McWilliams, a
purveyor of Spanish educational videos, is
fronting the money for the band's record-
ing budget and releasing the album on his
own label, Quack! "Al's giving us a sweet
deal," Halley said. "The way it's working
out is unbelievable, especially for a band
like us, getting our first deal."
With a cross-country tour planned,
the band discussed shedding the 'Ann
Arbor band' label. "People in Ann Arbor
(think), 'Oh it's your friend's friend
who's in it, or, 'That kid was in my hall,"'
Federman explained. "But on MySpace
(www.myspace.com) and all that, to them
(we're) a legitimate indie band. They
didn't know we were still taking classes.
For all they knew, we were already tour-
ing the country."
"For us, the Internet has been amaz-
ing," Horowitz added. "Rather than being
a college band in Ann Arbor, we became
a national underground band."
"It's do-or-die at this point," said Hal-
ley. Right now, publicity is key to the
band's success.
Tally Hall will. be playing The Blind
Pig tonight. And their first album, Mar-
vin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum,
comes out at the end of October.
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