4B - Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
GOSSIP COLUMN
ART OF THE SEASON
Celebrating
lb-mo
celebni-moms,
eck the halls with lapsed" when she sat down to
pregnant celebrities! be interviewed. Did Jay-Z hire
With the holiday season a surrogate to carry their baby?
approaching, it's time to take a Is Beyonc pretending to be
look at the little bundles of joy more pregnant than she truly is?
that will be Beyonce's publicist denied the
filling the claims of a fake baby bump, but
nation's gos- that doesn't stop gossip sources
sip maga- from scrutinizing the size of B's
zines in nine belly every time she makes an
months or appearance.
less. Hilary While you may think the baby
Duff, Jessica bump coverage is absurd, you
Simpson and HALEY should realize that once this baby
Kourtney GOLDBERG is born, her every move will be
Kardashian tweeted and photographed by
are some of gossip sources for the world to
the celebrity moms with buns in watch. From trips to school to
the oven who have Twitter and play dates at the park, why would
gossip sources buzzing. As the celebrities need babysitters when
mommies-to-be strut the red they have the paparazzi to watch
carpets with their baby bumps, their children 24/7?
these celeb babies gain their star Jay-Z and Beyonc's baby will
status even before they are born. be born in the spotlight and, like
Now, a celebrity pregnancy all celebrity children, in the spot-
typically follows a process. It light is where she will remain.
usually begins with gossip sourc- The process has been tried and
es speculating that a celebrity is true for famous celebrities -
expecting. But most of the time, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's
these claims are wrong and end flock of children, Will Smith's
up spotlightingstars who actu- karate kid son and the daughter
ally just enjoy eating, like Katy who whips her hair. But this all
Perry, who said the rumors of her raises one simple question: Why
being pregnant are attributed are we so fascinated with celeb-
to her love of In-N-Out Burger rity pregnancies?
and Taco Bell. Typically, the
announcement comes from the
celebrity herself - and what Baby bumpsor
pregnancy announcement has bump
been more fabulous this year fast food?
than that of Beyonc6 Knowles?
In a flowing red gown on the
red carpet of the MTV Video
Music Awards on Aug. 28, Maybe it's because the soccer
Beyonce clutched her bulging mom with four children in line at
belly. Before the performance the grocery store can relate to the
of her new song "Love on Top," pregnant celeb on the cover of Us
Beyonc told the crowd and 12.4 Weekly. Or maybe it's because we
million people watching at home feel close to celebrities, so we fol-
that she wanted them to "... feel low the growth of their families
the love that's growing inside as if they were our own friends.
me," confirming that the singer And maybe we just think babies
and rapper hubby Jay-Z were are cute - I know I can't wait
expecting their first child. The to see if baby Beyonc6 has her
due date was later revealed to be mother's Covergirl looks or Jay-
in February. Z's classic scowl.
Beyonc6 then entered the sec- Regardless of the reason, celeb
ond stage of a celebrity pregnan- babies are present in the media
cy: revealing the baby's gender. from the time the announcement
While Beyoncd and Jay-Z kept is made until ... forever. We will
the gender of the future ruler of watch the babies from diapers to
the free hip-hop world a secret, dating, and watch the celeb moms
we luckily had Kelly Rowland, shed the pounds and endorse
Beyonce's friend and former Des- the newest weight loss company
tiny's Child bandmate, to spillthe mere weeks after giving birth. As
beans. At an award show ceremo- today's celebrities fade out, these
ny early in November, Rowland newest tots keep the gossip mag-
repeatedly referred to Beyoncd's azines full and usher in the new
baby as a "her," letting us know era of people TMZ will stalk and
the baby on the way willibe the Perez Hilton will blog about.
next diva to run the world. This holiday season, the gift of
Now the gossip world waits a new gossip generation remains
patiently for the February due wrapped in the designer preg-
date, when we can pick up People nancy clothing of Hilary Duff,
or another gossip mag with a gor- Jessica Simpson, Kourtney Kar-
geous photo spread of the baby dashian and Beyonne. As the baby
and the hip-hop heroes who will bumps take to the red carpet, we
guide her to stardom. can only anticipate the youngest
Until then, we sit in the third celebs who will be the talk of the
stage of a celebrity pregnancy: New Year. So happy holidays, and
the rumor stage. Most notably, congratulations celebrity mom-
gossip sources are contend- mies - thanks for keeping the
ing that Beyoncd really isn't gift of gossip alive.
pregnant. After appearing on
an Australian talk show in Goldberg is delivering
early October, critics claimed Beyoncd's baby. To assist,
Beyonce's pregnantbelly "col- e-mail hsgold@umich.edu.
'TIS THE SEASON
TO FOLLOW DAILY
ARTS ON TWITTER
@michdailyarts
John Copley is responsible for designing the winter holiday-themed decorations on store and restuarant windows throughout downtown.
Decking the ct streets
Behind the scenes
of Ann Arbor's
holiday cheer
By VERONICA MENALDI
Daily Arts Writer
The weather changes and bare
trees aren't the only signs that the
holiday season is approaching.
All around Ann Arbor, twinkling
lights hang on trees and dachs-
hunds with Santa hats and snow-
men listening to' iPods painted
on store windows can be found
for the viewing pleasure of those
walking by. But not everyone
knows who is responsible for the
creation of this holiday cheer.
Window painter and 'U' alum
John Copley has been braving
the temperamental Michigan
weather every holiday season for
the past eight years to paint as
many windows as possible. No
matter the weather, he's always
out there.
"This is just something that's
kind of fun to do," he said.
"Despite it being cold."
Copley has been working as an
artist since graduating from the
University's Art School in 1969.
Eight years ago, he was hired by
the Ann Arbor Main Street Area
Association to dress up storefront
windows during the holiday sea-
son and has been happily doingso
ever since.
This year, roughly 30 venues possible to incorporate the spirit
have requested his services. In of the venue he's painting for.
order to accommodate all the When he chooses to do holiday-
requests, Copley started working themed paintings, they tend to
on them one-by-one every day be more on the funny side with
since Nov. 2. To avoid any conflict animated characters - like the
when it rains, he saves the few smiling Christmas tree covered
venues with awnings or covers in beer labels at Connor O'Neill's
for rainy days and works on the or grape vines at Vinology with
others when the weather is more ornaments hanging with phrases
bearable. and symbols relating to the venue
Copley has worked on a diverse inside.
set of window displays this year. Copley also adds poetic phras-
Blue Tractor, the Bank of Ann es to windows when applicable,
Arbor, Cherry Republic, Arcade like the few lines from a Robert
Barbers and Conor O'Neill's are Frost poem he painted on the
just a few of the venues. Jolly Pumpkin's window.
Some companies already have But Copley is not the only one
an idea for what design they would responsible for Ann Arbor's holi-
like on their windows, while oth- day spirit. The Ann Arbor Down-
ers are more open to his ideas. town Development Authority
"I have a lot of experience in works to make the glittering trees
design, so I can come in and make shine throughout the cold winter
suggestions to people," Copely nights by providing the funds to
said. "I'm perfectly willing to maintain the twinkling lights.
do whatever they want, though, Questions have arisen as to
within reason." whether the city is responsible
This allows Copley artistic for promoting a primarily Chris-
freedom - excluding any reli- tian holiday to its residents.
gious symbols, as he prefers to Rohen Shah, co-president of
emphasize the general spirit of the Michigan Atheists Student
the holidays over religion. - Society, said he thinks everyone
Additionally, the window should be allowed the freedom
paintings are meant to last to use whatever decorations
through the winter, so the they desire as long as they aren't
designs tend to be winter-based harmful to others.
as opposed to holiday-themed. Shah said he believes many
This means a passerby will see Christians-turned-atheists still
more snowmen and snowflakes have a soft spot for all things
than Santa hats and reindeer. Christmas and the universal feel-
Copley tries to be as creative as ing of kindness and giving.
"Even if you don't believe in
Jesus, you can still like Christmas
stuff," he said.
In Shah's eyes, Christmas
time and its associated decora-
tions serve are symbols for joy,@
but he does draw a line: He said
he would be bothered if someone
came up to him and asked him to
join them in celebratingthe birth
of Jesus through prayer. Howev-
er, Christmas music and decora-
tions don't faze him in this way.
Copley has been the recipi-
ent of many good wishes from
students as he proceeds with
his work. The biggest complaint
Copley receives is for starting too
early in November.
"I get a lot of really nice com-
pliments like, 'It always feels like
Christmas when I see you paint-
ing the windows,' "he said.
Maggie Ladd, director of the
South University Area Associa-
tion, said she feels that walking
around the Ann Arbor streets
during this time of year - namely
the South University, State Street
and Main Street areas - is a
"magical" experience.
"Wouldn't you feel that (magic)
when it's a cold winter's night and
the entire downtown is all lit up
with twinkling lights?" she said.
Whether students are heading
to a study session or simplytaking
a stroll around town, they should
take a moment to let the view sink
in and experience the magic first-
hand.
ANNA SCHULTE/Daily
Christmas lights stay in the trees year-round but are only lit in the winter.
PAUL 5t.RMAN/Daily
Dogs with santa hats and iPod-toting snowmen grace windows of Nickels Arcade.
LITTLE
the
musical
a Department of Musical Theatre studio production
Music by Jason Howland " Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein
Book by Allan Knee " Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott
Dec. 8 at 7:30PM " Dec. 9 & 10 at 8 PM." Dec. 10& 11 at 2 PM e"Arthur Miller Theatre
Uyf General Admission $17 " Students $10 w/lD
MusicIlaeatre&Eance League Ticket Office * 734-764-2538 " tickets.music.umich.edu
SO-CALLED LIFE
From Page 3B
specific episodes and garner big
ratings. "Very special episodes"
usually dealt with controver-
sial issues like adultery, sexual
assault, eating disorders or drunk
driving. But the problems that
arose from these social issues
were usually resolved neatly at
episode's end. No single episode
of "My So-Called Life" was a
"very special episode" because
all of them were "very special."
Classmate Rickie's (Wilson
Cruz, "Party of Five") sexuality
and Rayanne's drug abuse were
continual themes, and the show
dealt with less-covered issues,
like pretty-boy Jordan Catalano's
(Jared Leto, "Fight Club") dys-
lexia.
Obviously, there could never
be a show today exactly like
"My So-Called Life." So many
things about it are inherently
'90s-esque - the two-sizes-
too-big clothing, lip liner, refer-
ences to Hillary Clinton's new
haircut. But are there any shows
these days about high school-
ers just being high schoolers?
"Gossip Girl" is fabricated, the
characters of "90210" barely
attend school and the "Pretty
Little Liars" are so beautiful
and privileged they could never
be as accessible as Angela and
Rayanne. MTV's "Awkward" is
the closest match, but despite its
strong characters, it still doesn't
ring with the candor of "My So-
Called Life."
In just 19 episodes, "My So-
Called Life" made me fall in love
with its characters to the point
where I'm still holding a grudge
against ABC for its premature
cancellation. Its early demise is a
shame not only because we don't
get to see these characters con-
tinue to grow, but also because
it's a reminder of the television
no longer around - a simple
coming-of-age story devoid of
supernatural elements, self-
indulgence or picture-perfect
hairstyles.