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.