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Friday, December 2, 2011- 5

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, December 2, 2011 - 5

'Losing It' with Miller

Sexuality laid bare

By JACOB AXELRAD
Daily Community Culture Editor
William Miller is not a cynic.
He just happens to believe opti-
mists are not as smart as pes-
simists and says, "America has
gone giggling into the sea." This
satirical wit is how he chooses
to present himself as he mocks
everything from the aches of old
age to the naivete of college kids.
A Universitylaw professor and
historian specializing in Icelan-
dic sagas and blood feuds, Miller
has written numerous sociologi-
cal texts dealing with his per-
sonal take on anxiety, emotions
and even the theme of disgust.
But his new book "Losing It"
tackles a different subject matter
- the myth that with age comes
some sort of dignity. He said he's
positive this is not the case. For
Miller, one's twilight years bring
little more than absolute panic at
the thought of losing one's mind.
Underneath the sarcasm and
the jokes, Miller calls himself a
"pure romantic" - someone who
wants only to speak the truth
about the humor and pain of los-
ing his mental faculties in what
he terms an age of "Yahoo! and
beer commercials."
An idealist cloaked in a prickly
exterior, Miller discusses the
horrors of outliving one's men-
tal abilities in his latest book,
fully titled "Losing It: In which
an aging professor laments his
shrinking brain, which he flat-
ters himself formerly did him
Noble Service. A plaint, tragi-
comical, historical, vengeful,
sometimes satirical and thankful
in six parts, if his Memory does
yet serve."
"The fear behind the whole
book is that in our culture now a
big hunk of us outlive ourselves,
so we get demented," Miller said.
"Our bodies don't die on time.
So our brains go but our bodies,
because of medicine, keep going
- so half of the population over
85 is seriously demented."
The book is divided into three
general sections: autobiogra-
phy, history and a final section
devoted to the art of complain-
ing. Miller began the project
when he realized his brain no
longer worked like it once did.
This caused him serious distress
and inconvenience - he said he
doesn't like the idea of forgetting
the name of the president or, more
importantly, his own wife. But an
upside to this forgetfulness is that
it prompted Miller to write the
first section, which he cheerfully
referred to as "brain rot."
He is not alone. Starting at
the age of 30, the brain starts
to shrink, becoming smaller

COURTESY OF JOHN MASSON
When writing "Losing It," Miller was inspired by the Icelandic sagas he teaches.
and spongier, Miller said. As a Which is pretty good."
member of the baby-boom gen- While college-aged readers
eration, he wants the rest of his don't necessarily think about
cohort to recognize the agony their legacy, undergrads will find
that comes with getting old, and plenty of humor in "Losing It."
then he wants them to laugh But since Miller supplements his
alongside him. comedy with a darker underbelly,
"There's all this stupid the book also serves as a premo-
research that comes from psy- nition, Miller said.
chology departments that caters "(The book) is real grim gal-
to this baby-boom bubble that lows humor," he said. "It's what's
tells us old people are happier in store for you."
than they ever were," he said. Miller found much of his inspi-
"Yeah - that's because their ration from the Icelandic sagas
brains don't work. They're just he teaches students on a regular
sitting there with stupid grins on basis. By studying stories of peo-
their faces." ple dealing with similar issues of
old age, Miller placed his own
thoughts in context.
V l w p o. One Icelandic tale depicts
'U' law prof. an old man contemplating tak-
ing revenge on his enemy. But
instead of violent action, he goes
humor intact, to bed, quitting his life. These
fateful decisions about revenge
and honor are found in many
elderly protagonists of ancient
Though he routinely wakes tales. Miller also finds them in
up with bruises on new parts of the everyday occurrences of the
his body and bemoans his ever- 21st century.
shortening temper, Miller says In the introduction to "Los-
he would rather be losing his ing It," Miller calls the book a
memory and ability to focus than "prologue" to the dead. When the
suffering in any other part of his end is near, people should ready
life. He jokingly asserted that life themselves for a bumpy road of
is one giant progression of mis- decline, he said.
ery. And the worst period for him Miller assumes many roles,
was his 20s. effortlessly shifting between
"The excuses you have for stern academic and sarcastic
being a fuck-off are rapidly dimin- teenager. For now he seems con-
ishingandyou realizeyou're actu- tent with his malleable exterior.
ally gonna have to do something," "I'd say I'm about 50-percent
Miller said. "You don't (have) any serious when I say all of this," he
idea what you're gonna do. And said. "It's all a joke. It's a serious
then you get through that and joke. But it ain't a tragedy, I'll tell
you end up ... a boring professor. you that."

Basement Arts
production explores
LGBT issues
By JACOB AXELRAD
Daily Community Culture Editor
Three flat rectangular back-
drops lie against the upstage
wall with a cross at the center
decorated in
Christmas tree
ornaments. An bare: A Pop
elevated plat- Opera
form sits cen-
ter stage where Tonight at
actors will 7p.m.and
briefly inhabit 11 p.m. and
the lives of tomorrow
Catholic high at11 p.m.
school stu- Stadit One.
dents, tackling Waigreen
the pertinent Drama Center
issue of reveal-
ing one's homo- Free
sexuality.
With the culmination of World
AIDS Week tomorrow, the cast
and crew of the latest Basement
Arts production, "bare: A Pop
Opera," hope to spread a mes-
sage of activism: Anyone can
make a difference when it comes
to increasing support for AIDS
research. As such, wristbands
and T-shirts will be sold outside
of Walgreen Drama Center's Stu-
dio One before and after each
performance, with proceeds
going toward AIDS research.
"bare" depicts a group of teen-
agers in a Catholic high school
as they come of age and struggle
with their identities. The story
pivots around Jason, a young
man secretly in a relationship
with his roommate Peter. While
Peter wants to come out and tell
people about the romance, Jason
insists on remaining in the closet,
for fear of letting down his par-
ents and even himself.
The show discusses the poten-
tially tragic consequences of ado-
lescents not receiving support
from peers and family. In recent
years, groups have emerged to
prevent suicide among at-risk

"bare" examines the topic of homosexuality in a Catholic high school.

LGBT youth, said "bare" director
and School of Music, Theatre &
Dance junior Jason Kovacs.
"(Suicide) should not be
where our youth go to today,"
Kovacs said. "It does ultimately
get better."
Before social issues factored
into Kovacs's decision to direct
and the actors' interpretation of
the text, the artistic reason for
performing the show was simple:
It's a chance to explore a relative-
ly unknown piece, and Kovacs
was impressed by the soundtrack
- since it's a rock opera, "bare" is
sung all the waythrough.
"It's almost like doing a new
work, helping to find the hearts
of the characters and their wants
and needs," Kovacs said.
Initially unsure as to whether
Basement Arts had the resourc-
es to fund an entire pop opera,
Kovacs reached out to the Spec-
trum Center for additional
money, and he said the center
was more than willing to help
out. Once Kovacs got the green
light, the next task was to find a
cast capable of disseminating the
show's complex themes.
Leading the cast are MT&D
senior Sam Lips and MT&D
sophomore Michael Hartung,

who play Jason and Peter, respec-
tively. For them, the roles present
an opportunity to learn firsthand
what many face all the time.
"It's a very similar view of
homosexuality people have had,
which is the 'I'm-gonna-hide-it-
from-people view,' which is very
different from my own life," Lips
said. "My family is very accept-
ing of me, and I've never really
had to deal with what Jason has
to go through on a day-to-day
basis."
Lips does not view Jason as
the show's protagonist because
he does not think audiences will
or should root for the character.
"What he wants is to stay in
hiding while having this little
secret love affair on the side," he
said. "Hopefully, audiencesnwon't
want him to continue doingthat.
And that's somethingthat I think
a lot of people go through."
More than anything else,
Kovacs said he wants people to
understand that, even in times
of extreme crisis, there is always
someone to talk to. Whether it be
a 24/7 crisis intervention line or
anon'in a Catholic high school,
there is a shoulder to lean on for
kids facing similar problems to
the characters in "bare."

Grooving to a different beat

By LAURA KAYE
DailyArts Writer
After Thanksgiving, it feels
like an eternity until winter
break comes along. But now is
the time to get
down and boo- Groove
gie, shake and
jig to the beat Presents:
of the "drums" Percussion
at Groove's .
upcoming
performance, Tonight at
"Percussion 7p.m.
Concussion,"
which will hit Michigan Theater
the Michigan From $5
Theatertonight.
Groove is a student-run per-
cussion group that prides itself
on its non-traditional forms of
music. Instead of viewing an
object as having a singular pur-
pose, Groove takes items and
transforms them into musical
instruments.
In the past, Groove has made
music with hammers, sheet
metal and screwdrivers, prov-
ing even construction mate-
rials can produce music. By
piecing together a series of PVC
pipes, the group fashioned an
unusual version of a xylophone
- played using paddles, it cre-
ates a distinctive timbre. In this
upcoming show, the group is
performing a number in which
its members bang on traffic signs
hung up around the stage, which

furthe
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r emphasizes how com- ous performance, they present-
ace objects can be musical ed a skit in which two friends
t own right. brushed their teeth together
ugh Groove develops its after an eventful college week-
susic, choreography and end. The accompanying piece
ments, all it requires of evoked different stroking
ers is the ability to main- sounds from the bristles on their
ythm and to keep a tempo. toothbrushes.
junior Griffin Working In "Percussion Concussion,"
hile his fellow members the theme of concussion runs
ove come from a variety deeper than simply the show's
sical backgrounds, the name. In one number, some of the
duals without traditional members will become the drums
ig often bring the most themselves, while others will
deas to the table. bang out tunes on their heads.
Helmets will protect them from
suffering an actual concussion.
Heads are For tonight's performance,
Groove will collaborate with
istrumental acampus tap dance group
Rhythm. Working said he was
n tonight's at first skeptical about the part-
nership until he learned how tap
roove show. dancers make their own instru-
mental patterns and beats with
their feet. Together, Rhythm
and Groove were able to com-
e person will describe the municate ona rhythmic and per-
s he is imagining in terms cussive level in order to develop
musical noise," Working a synthesized piece that show-
Is it echo-like, melodic or cases the talents of each group.
netallic? And then we will Music is not always strictly
figure it out and experi- structured like a symphony or
with different materials." even a rock band - at a Groove
ove is not only a percus- performance, any noise can be
roup, but also a perfor- a form of music. Whether they
group. Members connect employ kitchenware or a trash
of their musical pieces can, songs pervade our lives.
narratives and central Groove questions a closed inter-
s, which involve acting as pretation of music and exposes
choreography. Ina previ- us to all that it can represent.

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try to
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