2B-The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 5, 2006

the b-side


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Television
One of the biggest ratings stunts ever
has thankfully come to an end. "Survivor"
desegregated its cast after just three
episodes. The teams are no longer split
up by race and two large teams have been
formed, which means the show, now in its
13th season, officially has nothing going
for it. With the racial experiment over,
the cast is now its usual blended mess of
dirty, stinky egomaniacs. All is right with
the world. While it's still not clear why
executives decided to put the cast back
together, most likely they realized it was a
stupid stunt to get ratings they didn't need.
As if you needed another excuse to
watch "CSI," the fashion industry has
picked up on the advertising potential
of television's No. 1 show. Meet Edoc
Laundry, a small company that merges
interactive games and storytelling with
alternative clothing. Their slogan? "Fashion
meets entertainment." It may sound
outlandish, but on second look, it's a stroke
of marketing genius. Edoc Laundry has
created a line of clothes embedded with
hidden messages that unlock episodes in
a video story that customers can watch on
the Internet. Next week, the clothing will
be featured on an episode of "CSI: NY"
where the murder victims are all linked by
similar Edoc T-shirts with hidden messages.
Film
Considering how hard she tries to downplay
her gorgeous exterior, Scarlett Johansson
just can't seem to keep her curves out of
the spotlight. First Isaac Mizrahi is fondling
her breast, then she's telling the media she
would like to deemphasize her sexuality.
Too bad, Ms. Johansson - Esquire named
her the Sexiest Woman Alive in their
November issue, which hits the stands Oct.
18. In the article that will surely take a
backseat to the provocative photo spread it
accompanies, the young starlet reportedly
mentions, once again, that she wishes that
some other parts of her body (like her brain)
would get as much press as her chest.
The reviews for "Jackass 2" have been
unbelievably positive. Rolling Stone gave
it four stars, and a recent TV spot began
with the words, "Guess what just got two
thumbs up?" But apparently not everyone
is thrilled about the latest gross-out flick
from MTV's overgrown hellions. A theater
owner in Illinois shut down his business for
two weeks to avoid showing the newest
"Jackass" endeavor on his screens. The
owner, Greg Boardman, claims he wasn't
trying to send Hollywood a message about
producing idiotic movies. He simply didn't
need the money and felt he would be
wasting his facilities on a (literally) shitty
movie. Sadly, Boardman's theater is in the
middle of a farming town of 6,000 people,
many of whom were angry that one of their
main sources of entertainment was closed.
Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz were
reportedly set to appear together "A

"Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1967)
Directed by: Sam Wood
Starring: Robert Donat

TOP: Scarlett Johansson in "Match Point." BOTTOM: Steve-O in "Jackass Two."

By Bernie Nguyen
Managing Arts Editor
Robin Williams, step aside. Your
"Captain, my Captain" was out-
classed 12 years before you were
born.
In the 1939 British film "Good-
bye, Mr. Chips;' uptight and fastidi-
ous Charles Chipping arrives at the
all-boys Brookfield Public School
in 1870 to teach Latin, that fusti-
est and dustiest of all subjects. Poor
Chipping's serious countenance
makes him the butt of practical jokes,
his students raucously targeting him
while his inability to be flexible costs
him a promotion.
Chipping seems beyond help until
his friendly colleague Max, who
teaches German, takes him to Austria
on a hiking trip where he meets, of
course, the woman who will change
his life - lively Kathy Ellis (Greer
Garson). The two marry, of course,
and his new vivacious love teaches
Chipping - now Chips - how to
relax and take more out of life, mak-
ing him a favorite among students and
an established figure at Brookfield.
Chips' popularity keeps him
happy, even though his wife is tragi-
cally taken from him in childbirth.
During his teaching career, he teach-
es the son and grandson of one of his
former students, the masses of whom
ebb and flow with as much tender
treatment as any teacher-pupil mov-
ies have ever succeeded at since.
Probably one of the best aspects of
"Goodbye" is that it manages to track
the change of time (over thirty years)
with careful and deliberate pacing,
aging Donat with expert hands and
following his rapport with his stu-
dents without falling into the trap of
oversentimentality.
Inexorably, time intrudes, and
Chips finally steps down when a
younger headmaster takes over
Brookfield, leaving a full career
behind him. But problems of the
world finally invade the academic
idyll of boys in uniforms as the
school's teachers and former students
alike leave to fight the Great War.
Max, Chips' oldfriend,is fighting too
- for the Germans.
CARGO
Continued from page lB
them with the A-side. It's the
most recognizable intro in
Motown history. That piano
glissando into that strident bass
line - Oh. My. God. It's the
most sure fire get-them-all-on-
the-dance-floor track there is,
even now, 27 years later.
"Oh baby all I need is one
more chance (Show you that
I love you) / Won't you please
let me (back in your heart) / Oh
darlin' I was blind to let you go
(let you go baby) / But now since
I see you in his arms (I want you
back)."
The structure of the song is a
basic I / IV / vi / iii / IV / I / ii
/ V / I, with a call-and-reponse
chorus and an absolutely unfor-
gettable bass line. Once again
Michael's vocal performance is
immediately arresting. It's easy
to forget looking back after all
he's been through, but this is
a child making his recording
debut. It's a momentous moment

The lack of teachers prompts Chips
to return to his old school, where he
becomes interim headmaster and
leads the boys everyday in saying
prayers for their fallen comrades,
even for fallen Max. And even from
the other side of the screen, viewers
will feel the story as keenly as Chips
obviously does, and we can't help but
feel that twinge when Chips quietly
bids farewell.
Donat's outstanding turn as Chips
snagged him the Best Actor Oscar
for that year over Clark Gable's Rhett
Butler. Easily the best part of the film,
Donat plays Chips with sensitivity
and style. Best of all, he's believable.
Everyone's had that teacher - or at
least, everyone wishes he's had that
teacher. Chips works his way into
the viewer's heart with as much ease 4
as he does his students', and director
Sam Wood manipulates his black-
and-white medium well, capturing
both the timelessness of the story and
the affection of the characters. And
Kathy's death will just break your
heart.
"Goodbye" anticipated many later
tropes that movies like "The Emper-
or's Club" and "Mona Lisa Smile"
tried to do. But it was better. Chips
didn't fight the man or raise a ruckus.
He simply did his job, and by doing
so, captured the hearts of his students
over his 50 year career. Mr. Chips
was Mr. Chips, and that just makes
us love him all the more.

Little Game of No Consequence," a
remake of a French film about a couple
who fake their breakup only to find
out that their friends never thought
their union was a good idea in the first
place. Unfortunately, both actors have
apparently bailed on the project. The
last time these two worked together
was on 1994's "The Mask," and the
fun and funny chemistry between them
had been buzzed about for some time
now. Though filming was set to begin
this month, the duo both admitted
they were unhappy with the storyline.
Whether "A Little Game" will be canned
altogether or will be recast is unknown.
Fine Arts
If you've run out of causes to support,
consider the fact that 42 percent of the
world's population lacks access to toilets
and proper sanitation. The German Toilet
Organisation is apparently well aware
of this fact, and has seen fit to pepper
the city of Zurich with life-size, orange
street-art statues of men squatting with
their pants down. Some of the figures
are out in the open while others are

hidden behind bushes and dumpsters.
The orange men are also supplemented
with signs that ask, "Where will you
hide?" So get out there, and fight for
the right to take a crap in peace.
Music
It really is true: adopting babies is
the new black. Sub-Saharan orphans
are currently more popular among A-
listers than Kabbalah bracelets and
Rachel Zoe combined. The cliche
seemed to have taken a firm hold
on Madonna, who was said to have
adopted a one-year-old baby boy in
Malawi yesterday. But later reports
from her publicist denied the story.
Madonna's rep did confirm that the
singer is in Malawi visiting orphanages
as part of a program called Raising
Malawi, which provides care for the
nation's one million orphans, many
of whom are suffering from AIDS.
Madonna was allegedly not bothered
by the untruths because they still raise
awareness for her latest pet cause.
-Compiledby Caitlin Cowan.

in pop-music history and beyond
that it's a great fucking song.
I've worn out the grooves on
my copy and I could still lis-
ten to it every day without los-
ing any of the personal awe it
inspires. I'm not one of those
people that thinks Michael is a
freak anyway, but even if he has
50 kids buried in his backyard,
that doesn't diminish that he
ranks up there with The Beatles,
Sam Cooke and Frank Sinatra
as titans of 20th century popu-
lar music. "I Want You Back"
backed with "Who's Lovin You"
started all that for Michael, and
the combined impact of those
two perfect pop creations make
Motown M1157 not only the
greatest Motown single, the
greatest pop single, the greatest
soul single, the greatest single
from a man who would go on to
have the greatest selling album
of all time, but simply the great-
est single of all time.
-Cargo can be reached
at lhcargo@umich.edu.

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.Ag Zr brLo
Sunday, Oct. 8:30 m GalupPark
Register fnine: ww.que< stforb;rethorg
Help us id a cure
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a form of pulmonary
scarring of lung tisssue that blocks the ability to breathe. IPF
affects approximately 200,000-300,000 in the U.S. alone.
Univer iiy of Mhi it is very difficult to diagnose and often, missed for months
Hea te or sometimes years before being recognized.

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for mote intotmafion coil 734/615-6449
The Department of Geological Sciences presents
a public lecture and reception

Jeroen Ritsema
Henry Pollack Professor of Geological Sciences
Friday, October 6, 2006
4:10pm
Alumni Association
L SA Founders Room

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