100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Download this Issue

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

This collection, digitized in collaboration with the Michigan Daily and the Board for Student Publications, contains materials that are protected by copyright law. Access to these materials is provided for non-profit educational and research purposes. If you use an item from this collection, it is your responsibility to consider the work's copyright status and obtain any required permission.

September 19, 2008 - Image 7

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 2008-09-19

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, September 19, 2008 - 7

REVIEW
From Page 1
public circus his work generates
rather than the matters it concerns.
And since everyone should be famil-
iar with the 2004 race, he made
a wise choice in chronicling his
62-city get-out-the-vote tour by pri-
marily focusing on the tour itself.
Really, "Slacker Uprising" is just
a concert film. Moore embraced
that notion, calling it his version of
Neil Young's legendary 1979 "Rust
Never Sleeps" film. From handheld
backstage footage and close-ups of
politically possessed fans to local
news coverage at many of the tour's
stops, the film attempts to exhaus-
tively catalogue the zealous fire
burning around Moore's anti-Bush
crusade. As much as Moore makes
himself the star, the spectacle per-
vading his tour stops is given an
equally distinguished role.
The supportingspeeches of his
kindred spirits are showcased -
Viggo Mortensen's remarks from

Columbus are especiallyeloquent
and Roseanne Barr's sarcastic Tal-
lahassee rant is the funniest portion
of the film - and five fullmusical
guestspots are featured, includ-
ing songs from Eddie Vedder and
Tom Morello. Of course, the most
articulate pro-Kerry rally attendees
are given face time to express their
support, justas the pro-Bush faction
members are permitted to embar-
rass themselves on screen with mal-
apropisms and self-contradictions.
In a press conference scene,
Moore refers to all of his films as
"anti-propaganda," but "Uprising"
is really the first of his efforts to
make a great claim at that higher
ground. Nearly free of dubious
statistics and accusatory insinua-
tions, and keeping heartstring-tugs
to a relative minimum, even most
GOPers will have a difficult time
dismissing the film as "liberal pro-
paganda" like they have with his
previous releases. He spends much
of his breath imploring the news
media to seek and demand truth
from politicians - a cause that

should be celebrated onboth sides
of the political aisle.
"Uprising" 's reminder of just
how energetic the groundswell of
support for the Kerry campaign
was will surely be disheartening for
many. Democrats will likely wonder
if the present outpouring of Obama
support will be in vain just as Ker-
ry's was four years ago. And "Upris-
ing" gives them no real reason to
feel otherwise besides a closing
screen card predicting that this year
Republicans "won't be so lucky."
"Bowling for Columbine" was
widely chastised for not addressing
its own questions, while "Farenheit
9/11" was denounced for arriving
at unfounded answers. By casting
serious questions aside, Michael
Moore made "Slacker Uprising"
both less essential and more acces-
sible than his prior work. But just
like all the other documentaries
he's released, "Slacker Uprising"
will be rejoiced by his fans and
sympathizers while it simultane-
ously offends those who loathe his
politics and his existence.

CLEANING THE TOWER

Window-washers cleaned the Tower Plaza apartment building on East William Street yesterday.

PICKENS
From Page 1
Pickens has said he wants to
reduce America's dependence
on crude oil imports-specif-
ically, down to 20 percent of
current consumption within a
decade.
Now, Mesa Power is construct-
PARKING
From Page 1
transportation alternatives to
support the University's further
development in the Wall Street
area.
"We would like you to work
with us, to step back - it doesn't
have to be for a long time - and
take a look," Hieftje said, refer-
ring to the University's plans to
go forward with the construc-
tion. "Is there another way to
get people into the Wall Street
area except creating two new
parking structures there, in
what could become a very con-
gested area?"
Hieftje proposed that the Uni-
versity focus on the development
of rail lines through the city and
move parking underground so
local residence wouldn't have to
look at the structures.
"I'm not sure we have over-
turned every stone and looked
down every avenue to see if
there isn't another solution," he
said.
After Hieftje spoke, Univer-
sity President Mary Sue Coleman
opened the floor to comments
from the public about the Wall

ing a wind farm in Texas with up
to 2,700 turbines capable of pro-
ducing four gigawatts of electric-
ity. The wind farm, slated to be
completed in 2011, would be the
largest in the world, generating
five times as much electricity as
the current leader.
Critics of his plan say Pickens
is only interested in such endeav-
ors for his own financial gain, a
Street proposal.
Several residents who live in
the.area used the opportunity to
ask the regents to reject the pro-
posal.
Raymond Detter, a Unives-
ity alum and the chairman of
the Ann Arbor Downtown Area
Citizens Advisory Council, said
the proposal "forever changes
the possible use and streetscape
of the Maiden Lane-Wall St.
area."
He said the plan would put
thousands of cars on the road,
which would add not only to local
traffic congestion, but also to air
and water pollution.
"For those of us who have
worked for years on this particu-
lar project, it's a slap in the face,"
Detter told the regents.
University alum Rosemary
Sarri, a Lower Town resident,
said the University needs to think
of new solutions to traffic rather
than recycling old ones.
"The construction of these free
standing parking structures is an
obsolescent, old idea and we real-
ly need to think of other alterna-
tives," she said.
Additionally, those residents
in attendance distributed a 231-
person petition from residents of

claim he denied last month at the
Democratic National Conven-
tion.
"I'm not doing this for the
money," Pickens said. "I've met
with (Republican presidential
nominee John) McCain and
(Democratic nominee Barack)
Obama. I'm totally -nonpartisan.
It has nothing to do with politics.
I'm for America, this is an Ameri-
the Lower Town neighborhood
asking the regents not to approve
the construction plan.
The petition said the construc-
tion of the parking structure
would harm the public health
of local residents, damper eco-
nomic development in the area,
create public safety hazards by
putting more cars on the road,
and increase crime by creating
two large empty structures that
would be mostly unoccupied at
night.
Coleman said she understood
the concerns of local residents.
"I know that people feel pas-
sionately," said Coleman in an
interview after the meeting.
"We've listened and will con-
tinue to listen, and as we design
the project we will certainly want
to be sensitive to people's con-
cerns."
Regent Julia Darlow (D-Ann
Arbor) said during the meeting
the regents appreciated input
from the local residents and the
mayor and that the regents were
only being asked to approve one of
the parking structures.
"That process has been going
on for a long time and will contin-
ue to go on," she said. "It's not just
what we get here at the meetings

can plan."
The choice to tap Pickens fits
with the Homecoming theme: "Go
Blue, Live Green." Other Home-
coming events include a lecture
by Dr. Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran,
author of "Power to the People,"
on Sunday the 28th at the Power
Center and Environmental Phi-
lanthropy Day on Thursday, Oct.
2 on the Diag.
that we have been paying atten-
tion to."
She then made a motion to
approve a resolution giving the
go-ahead to one of the parking
structures.
Regent Laurence Deitch
(D-Bingham Farms) told the resi-
dents opposed to the project that
while it is important to take the
concerns of the residents into
consideration, "the Medical Cen-
ter is one of the spires of excel-
lence at the University" and that
it "needs to continue to grow for
the overall growth and health of
the community."
In an interview after the meet-
ing, Deitch said the financial
performance of the University is
intertwined with the economic
prosperity of the larger Ann
Arbor community.
"The University is the econom-
ic driver for the community, so
we have to work collaboratively
with the community to the full-
est extent possible," he said.
"But at the same time we've got
the responsibility to nurture the
growth of the University. So, it's a
balancing act."
Amy Munslow contributed
to this report.
FULL COLOR T-SHIRTS

PLAYBOY
From Pge 1
they thoughtI was the type for it."
The auditions were open to any
female student enrolled at the
University who was 18 or older.
According to Playboy publicist
Jessica Sigelbaum, the inclusive
nature of the selection process
allowed anyone to get their shot at
the spotlight.
"It's all about school spirit, and
getting the girl-next-door out there
and finding great college girls that
embody what Playboy's all about -
pretty girls next door," Sigelbaum
said. But with school spirit often
comes rivalry and trash-talk. Ali-
son said that when she arrived on
the day of the photo shoot, "The
hair and make-up and wardrobe
lady said that the (Michigan) State
girls had been, you know, talking
crap about us, and saying that they
weren't going to find any hot girls
at Michigan."
Seven women from Michigan
State were featured in the maga-
zine.
. To promote the release of the
issue, Playboy held a signing yes-
terday at Campus Corner. The
event drew a sparse crowd, but
Sigelbaum said she was confident
more people would show up to the
Girls of the Big 10 party at Rick's
Cafe late last night. There, fans
could mingle with Alison, Shan-

non and Korina and hear a perfor-
mance by the band The White Tie
Affair, recently featured on MTV's
reality show The Hills.
Ann Arbor resident Markay
Hall, who said she was an ardent
Playboy fan, attended the signing
with her young daughter.
"She's hot. I wanted to know if
she lives with the Girls Next Door,"
Hall said, referring to Alison and
the E! television show.
Other attendees were less
expressive about their reasons for
coming out. College of Engineering
sophomore Jordan Klein and LSA
sophomore Zane Aukee said they
attended the signing for a friend
who couldn't make it.
Another student, who asked
that his Playboy be signed to "The
Dam" - the nickname given to his
house on the corner of State Street
and Hoover Street - came after
hearing about the event from Cam-
pus Corner staff and seeing flyers.
When asked to elaborate, he said,
"Well, we're getting beer. Naked
women. And she's here, so we can
get asignature."
. As Alison stood waiting to greet
fans, she looked excited despite her
less-than-glamorous surround-
ings.
Asked if she would go back and
do it all over again, she said with-
out hesitation, "In a heartbeat."
- Veronica Menaldi
contributed to this report.

Sin the DanWI
Advertise your pro age I
~~~rgaStudy Abroadspeca ae
StudyAbrod sp ublicity with an ad
Get your program p
starting at $99.subishd
9h and the page sadbFir.

S-XL $18.ea. 2XL-$19.ea.
SEND CHECK OR CALL WITH CCARD
ADRIANS SCREENPRINT
t02 PONTIAC TRAIL
ANN ARBOR, MI 48105
734-94-13367
adrianstshirts.comn

Plant Operations employee Ted Dwornick inspects one of the electric cars yesterday.
Student proposes replacing part
of'U' fleet with electric vehicles

Plant Operations
considers making
eco-friendly swap
By ELAINE LAFAY
Daily StaffReporter
Engineering senior Michael
Mullins, an intern with the Plant
Operation Division of the Univer-
sity, hopes to exchange some of
the University's trademark white
vans for battery-powered electric
vehicles.
"We're looking to switch to
alternative fuel vehicles...for the
environment as well as for the cost
savings for the University," Mullins
said.
Plant Operations hired Mull-
ins to research how the University
could move toward more fuel-effi-
cent means of transportation.
Salespeople from e-ride, an alter-
native transportation company,
yesterday brought two electric cars

that resemble small Hummers to
Transportation Services headquar-
ters on South Campus so that fore-
men from Plant Operations to assess
their practicality.
Each ofthe cars, called Neighbor-
hood Electric Vehicles, run on nine
8-volt car batteries that can be fully
charged overnight. When charged,
the batteries power the vehicle for
about 40 miles when running at a
speed of 25 mph.
Each model would cost between
$17,000 and $28,000 butwouldonly
cost, "pennies a day" in electricity to
charge the batteries Mullins said.
Plant Operations officials said
they were concerned that the small
size of electric vehicles could lower
worker productivity, Mullins said.
"Other vehicles we've looked at
may not have the capacity or the
weight or the ability to work around
an entire plant operation's eight-
hour workday," Mullins said.
Ted Dwornick, an air condition-
ing and refrigeration mechanic for
Plant Operations, said he thought

the vehicles would be good for
some work around the University
but not for heavier projects.
"I think they'd be more geared
toward light service work as far
as the plant department is con-
cerned," he said. "There are cer-
tain things which they wouldn't
quite fit into the scheme of things,
but for the majority of applications
they'd probably be good vehicles."
Dwornick said the 30- to
40-mile range of the vehicles is
consistent with the average dis-
tance the University's mainte-
nance staffers travel each day.
Johnson said Plant Operations
wouldn't replace its entire fleet
with electric vehicles because the
electric models wouldn't be able
to drive fast enough in areas with
higher speed limits.
While Mullins said he was
hopeful about e-ride's potential
partnership with Plant Opera-
tions, no contract has been inked.
He said no decisions will be made
for about eight weeks.

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan