2B - Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

ARTS RECOMMENDS
In this feature, Daily Arts writers will give their endorsements
for the arts you need to experience to help you deal with current events.

"Les Miserables"
Perhaps you've seen a stage production of the hit
musical or already have your tickets to the midnight
release of the upcoming film starring Anne Hatha-
way, Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried. But let's
go all the way back to 1862, when French writer
Victor Hugo first published the historical-fiction
novel "Les Miserables." The book interweaves sev-
eral stories, focusing mainly on ex-convict Jean
Valjean's quest for redemption.
The Lion's Roar - First Aid Kit
Launched into fame by posting an exquisite,
stripped-down cover of Fleet Foxes's "Tiger
Mountain Peasant Song" on YouTube in 2008,
Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg
have emerged as a powerful force in today's folk
scene. Their second album The Lion's Roar comes
just as the duo has garnered a broader audience,
and highlights their simple, Americana-inspired
music laden with rich harmonies.
"Jingle All the Way"
Do you have the post-Black Friday blues? Want
to watch (someone else) endure the arduous task of
holiday gift getting? In "Jingle All the Way," Arnold
Schwarzenegger plays a father who forgets to buy
the hottest new toy of the season, a Turbo Man
action figure, for his son. The quest for the coveted
doll is sure to induce empathy, and a lot of laughs.
It certainly is the most wonderful time of year - to
pre-order and shop online.
"Ben and Kate"
FOX's family sitcom "Ben and Kate" has been
this season's comedy sleeper hit. In just nine epi-
sodes, theseries has landed both the jokes and the
heartwarming moments, even doingthe impossible
by making a likeable child character. While char-
acters on "The New Normal" are busy shouting
cliches, the Fox siblings prove that the "unconven-
tional family" premise still works and portray the
most realistic sibling relationship currently on TV.

JU DGING
ABOOK
BY ITS
COVE'R
Daily Arts writers go
against the famous
idiom, choose a
random book and
make assumptions
about its contents
based on the cover art.
Sophie cries). Vegan chocolate
gelt it is ... again.
Isabel Gillies calls "The
Chocolate Money" "hilarious"
and "devastating" - an insen-
sitive judgment, for privileged,
young toddlers everywhere are
subjected annually to the cruel
chocolate-to-almost-chocolate
exchange. Contacted 15 years
after "The Chocolate Money"
was published, Sophie Lou-
ise Benjamin said in a recent
public statement, "The ordeal
really prepared me for all
those weekend trips to Paris.
The currency exchange rate?
Almost as horrid as that vegan
gelt. You know how it is."
-BRIANNE JOHNSON

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MARINER

They say the third time is
the charm, but they - whoever
they are - have never expe-
rienced Hanukkah with the
Benjamin household. Sophie
Benjamin is dreading her
third year of menorah-lighting
madness, steeling herself for
another eight days of - dare
she think it? - vegan chocolate
gelt.
. No Lisa Frank sticker can
make this better. No baby-pink,
faux fur-lined Betsey Johnson
coat will lift Sophie's sugar-
less spirits. And if you think
that Sophie Louise Benjamin
accepts bribes, think again!
... Well, not unless the bribe
includes a limited edition 1996

Tickle Me' Elm. That baby
has Sophie's name written all
over it, albeit spelled "sofi lois
bjmen." Hey, the girl's still,
mastering big-girl undies. Give
her a break.
But this Hanukkah, no
Tickle Me Elmo is offered;
just a treasure chest of gilded
golden money begging to be
unwrapped by sticky toddler
fingers and chewed by bitty
baby teeth. Sophie Louise Ben-
jamin's teeth, to be exact. Alas,
Grampy Benjamin loves, ani-
mals thore thanhis dear grand-
daughter. "Save the Utters!" he
cries every December, tossing
left-over Halloween treats into
the trash ("Save the Snickers!"

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