The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Monday, January 28, 2019 — 5A
WORK ON MACKINAC Island
This Summer –
Make lifelong friends.
The Island House Hotel and Ryba’s
Fudge Shops are seeking help in all
areas: Front Desk, Bell Staff, Wait
Staff, Sales Clerks, Kitchen, Baristas.
Dorm Housing, bonus, and
discounted meals.
(906) 847‑7196.
www.theislandhouse.com
By Susan Gelfand
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/28/19
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
01/28/19
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Monday, January 28, 2019
ACROSS
1 Take it easy
5 Cabo’s peninsula
9 Sheepish smile
13 Cabinet dept.
with an oil derrick
on its seal
14 Immortal
racehorse Man __
15 What kneaded
dough should do
16 “360˚” CNN anchor
19 Bud
20 “How disgusting!”
21 Gave medicine to
22 “Uncle Vanya”
playwright
27 Yoga posture
28 Krypton or xenon
32 Semester
34 Pea surrounder
35 One of about
268,600 in Tex.
36 You, to Yves
38 Hipster, and
based on their
initials, what each
of 16-, 22-, 52-
and 61-Across is?
41 Blender setting
42 Hubbubs
44 Like Letterman’s
humor
45 “See ya later”
47 Dugout seats
49 Put together, as
equipment
52 “Appalachian
Spring” composer
56 Lustrous bit of
wisdom
59 Tokyo’s former
name
60 When repeated,
a Gabor
61 19th-century
steel industry
philanthropist
who built an
eponymous
concert hall
66 Nod off
67 Prefix with correct
68 Dunham of “Girls”
69 Snow transport
70 H.S. math subject
71 Clog fillers
DOWN
1 Becomes aware
of
2 Explanatory
comment written
in the margin, say
3 British alphabet
ender
4 Bard’s “before”
5 Title cop played
by Titus Welliver
6 Came to
7 First mo.
8 Rainbow shape
9 Slots cut with a
chisel
10 Fabric flaws
11 “Got it”
12 Bookish type
17 Rock’s Ocasek
18 Dumpster
emanation
19 Sheep bleat
23 Half and half
24 Agent on a bust
25 McDonald’s
founder Ray
26 Dove into
vigorously, as
work
29 Stylish men’s
monthly
30 Parisian pal
31 Common dinner
hour
33 Grass cutter
34 Two-__ tissue
36 Restaurant bill
37 Poem of praise
39 Approximately
40 Baseball rain
delay cover
43 Like Capone’s
face
46 Up to, informally
48 Partner of
hearty
50 Vote out of
office
51 Kiss in a busy
store, for short
53 “Sweet!”
54 PC drive insert
55 Buff suffix
56 Footballer’s
shoulder
protection
57 Hydroxyl
compound
58 Axe relative
62 Happy tail
movement
63 Billiards stick
64 Legendary
seasonal helper
65 “Holy cow”
Classifieds
Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
The Michigan
Daily loves
its readers
a LATTE
For a brief moment in mid
’90s Tokyo, a new musical
genre flourished and traveled
around the world to the very
countries that fed into its
creation in the first place.
“Shibuya-kei” was a patchwork
of genres that borrowed from
the
previous
decade’s
city
pop
and
everything
from
MPB (Brazilian pop), French
chansons
and
’70s
lounge
music. The district Shibuya
is an eclectic monument to
consumerism in the best way
such a description could entail,
and Shibuya-kei reflects its soul.
Trying
to
recount
the
complex, fascinating history
of the genre in just a few
short sentences would do it a
disservice, so I recommend
checking out a brilliant article
by Drowned in Sound for a
primer. Keigo Oyamada, known
as Cornelius, was one of the
founders of Shibuya-kei’s most
iconic bands, Flipper’s Guitar.
His 1997 work Fantasma (which
the article names as the genre’s
“essential album”) is a result
of his prolific solo career, and
distills the essence of the genre
he helped elevate into a cohesive
yet chaotic album.
Interpol’s Turn on the Bright
Lights (in my opinion, one of the
best albums ever made), takes
the listener on a tour of the
city in the dead of night, when
its seedy underbelly comes to
the surface and when one can
feel the crushing isolation it
induces.
Fantasma
rewinds
a couple hours before the
comedown. Manic energy is
abounding, and the night is still
unpredictable.
Fantasma bounces around
genres and time periods, with
Cornelius paying homage to
figures
from
Brian
Wilson
to ABBA, and injecting his
homages with an infectious
kitchiness.
“New
Music
Machine” channels noise pop
and shoegaze, reminding me of
an amped-up version of Yo La
Tengo’s “Sugarcube.” “Chapter
8
‘Seashore
and
Horizon’”
feels like a warped Revolver-
era Beatles Track. “Star Fruits
Surf Rider” somehow combines
a Jungle-esque breakbeat and a
beautiful orchestral interlude.
“Clash”
alternates
between
lying on a bed of bossa nova
chords and bursting into a
powerful chorus.
The album is an interesting
case study on artistic influences.
Like the Greta van Fleets of
the world, Cornelius wears
his unabashedly on his sleeve.
Unlike the Greta van Fleets of
the world, he synthesizes them
into a compelling, inventive and
most importantly, completely
novel form. You can feel his
admiration and love for the
artists he channels without
every getting the sense he’s
making a hackneyed cover of
any one of them.
Fantasma
may
veer
into
overtly cartoonish territory at
times, but that’s what gives it
its charm. Listening to it is like
taking a peek into its creator’s
colorful mind or like walking
around Shibuya at night, with
the neon signs illuminating
the throngs of people around
you and the cacophony of
noises settling into a somewhat
comfortable background. It’s
overwhelming, sure, but it’s
also incredibly exciting.
DAILY WORLD MUSIC COLUMN
SAYAN GHOSH
Daily World Music Columnist
Like every other school night,
I was surfing Netflix after
completing work and stumbled
across the show “Tidying Up
with Marie Kondo.” The show
follows
Marie
Kondo,
the
famed
Japanese
organizing
consultant,
as
she
helps
families across America gain
some semblance of order in
their lives. Kondo is most
famously known for her book
called
“The
Life-Changing
Magic of Tidying Up: The
Japanese Art of Decluttering
and Organizing,” which focuses
on the technique she employs
which has been dubbed as the
KonMari Method. The essence
of this particular method lies in
her belief that every item that
we own must “spark joy,” or in
other words, elicit happiness
from within us. If you think
about that statement, it does
make sense: Why should one
keep something if it does not
please them? I watched the first
episode and was left absolutely
enamored. Some part of me was
even inspired to start my own
cleaning drive in my room.
The
KonMari
Method
is rather simple beyond its
underlying
ideology,
and
can
be
broken
down
into
two
key
parts:
discarding
and organizing. The first is
straightforward and essentially
recommends getting rid of any
and all things that contribute
to the stress of our daily lives,
but that does not necessarily
equate to living a minimalist
life. The second part requires
us to visualise the final image
and find an appropriate space
for each item by categorising
them according to type instead
of location. However, the most
important yet unsaid step is to
be committed to tidying up the
space, and to remember to do it
all at once instead of breaking
it into smaller portions. It isn’t
rocket science, but it is hard
work. After watching the show,
I really wanted to try this out
for myself. Let it be known: This
isn’t something I or most people
would normally have a desire to
do. So the question that really
arises is: Why is that? Why
are we only motivated when
something becomes so popular?
Marie
Kondo
and
her
ingenious ways of organizations
are undeniably helpful and have
been
becoming
increasingly
popular ever since Netflix first
released the show. The internet
is filled with discussions on
the KonMari Method, how it
has changed people’s lives and
that it’s the next big thing.
There are countless articles
analyzing
the
method
and
simplifying it further, which
I found surprising for two
reasons. The idea itself is self
explanatory to a great extent
and, as I mentioned earlier, it
isn’t rocket science; it is simply
the notion of building a habit
that stays with us.
Marie
Kondo
isn’t
the
first person that has tried
revolutionizing the way we
organize our lives, yet her
way has now been turned into
a movement and placed on a
pedestal and as the ultimate
way to get things right. I agree
— it is indeed difficult to have
everything in place all the
time and having definite ways
to go about doing so can make
a difference. But are we really
making that change? I love the
show and how it not only shows
the process of cleaning in such
a clear manner, but the fact that
they have remained true to her
Japanese heritage and didn’t
dub the language. It is indeed
the small things that matter.
However,
I
am
beginning
to
question
our
immediate
instinct to follow the popular
trend, and this is not a new
discussion. As a society, we
have been asking this for a
while now, and there is possibly
no one answer, maybe it just
boils down to human tendency.
The problem lies in the fact
that when we simply follow
something because it’s popular
or famous for that period of
time, we learn it, but we don’t
retain it.
I say this from a personal
experience; I gave in to my urge
and tried the KonMari method
myself. The first time I did it,
it was time-consuming, but it
was fun. I enjoyed choosing
between the gazillion pieces
of clothing I own and asking
myself whether that piece made
me happy, and then folding it
into tiny stackable rectangles.
However, it wasn’t something
that I would be able to keep up
for more than a week. For those
who do, kudos to you. You are
a select minority that truly
assimilated the technique into
your lives. For the rest of us,
the harsh truth (though we may
not consciously agree) is that
we probably did it to appreciate
how aesthetic it looked for once
and because it is the talk of the
town right now. This time next
week, the talk will be something
else, and we will be trying that,
already having forgotten the
art of tidying up. We move from
one idea, one trend to another at
the speed of lightning. We are
living in a world where sticking
to one idea and completing it
for an extended period of time
is difficult. I believe that we
need to possibly stop hyping
ideas, trends and people, even,
to such a great degree, and then
just jump the boat. If we believe
that something is truly worth
the amount of attention we are
giving it, we need to show it not
through our articles or social
media posts but by actually just
continuing to do it.
Given these thoughts, I still
highly recommend watching
the show on Netflix, for it is
wonderful and does “spark
joy,” and maybe even try your
hand at tidying up your life in
her way. Who knows, you might
actually end up loving it and
incorporating it into your daily
life. In the process, you might
just find the next revolutionary
method
of
organizing
our
lives. If you do, let us all know,
because I can already see the
heap of clothes piling up at the
back of my room.
STYLE NOTEBOOK
Is Kondo’s advice realistic?
PRIYDARSHINI GOUTHI
Daily Arts Writer
To want to change the world
is not an uncommon ambition.
Perhaps that explains why reflex
responses to this sentiment are
consolidating around the form
of a dismissive grunt.
But what if, just this once,
we paused and unpacked the
aspiration before issuing a hasty
dismissal? Then rescaled it to
fit a cross-section of the world,
and calibrated it according
to the talents of its utterer,
then, beyond that, situated it
in a specific arena for enacting
change, and, last but not least,
launched wholeheartedly after
that revised version of
the phrase?
For the promising
results
of
this
experiment,
see
“On
the
Basis
of
Sex.”
Mimi
Leder’s
(“The
Leftovers”)
biographical
drama
recounts some of the lesser-
known
episodes
of
Ruth
Bader
Ginsberg’s
(Felicity
Jones, “Rogue One”) quest to
dismantle
legally-sanctioned
gender-based
discrimination,
culminating in the case Charles
E. Moritz v. Commissioner of
Internal Revenue in federal
appellate court. Now, as the
end of the film coincides with
Ginsberg’s victory in this court
case, the film errs on the side
of rejoicing excessively over a
small victory part of a much
larger, and at times much
more brutal, struggle. But all
the better to err on the side of
building momentum in favor of
social justice than on the side
of overemphasizing the limits
of
minute
accomplishments.
The latter tactic runs the
risk
of
ingraining
despair;
the former leaves audiences
feeling eager to carry the torch
and characterizes the chief
impression “On the Basis of
Sex” will leave on audiences.
To achieve this effect, the
film reminds us that if you
plan to change the world, first,
you must live in it. Whether
you’re taking it to the streets,
the courtroom or even the
kitchen as your family prepares
dinner, you will not be granted
reprieve from the injustice
you’re striving to upend. The
filmmakers capture Ginsberg’s
endurance
of
sex-based
discrimination in various parts
of her world, from the dean of
Harvard Law School’s (Sam
Waterston, “Law & Order”)
framing of her admission to law
school as nothing more than his
own noble gesture on her behalf,
to an interviewer at a legal firm
ogling her (concealed!) cleavage
before turning her down.
At
the
same
time,
the
film remains conscious that
Ginsburg is one woman amid
an entire nation’s worth. She
is not the only one who seeks
justice, and the film is not mired
in her vision of change alone. In
various scenes in her classroom
at Rutgers, she solicits the
perspectives
of
her
young
students, who hail from diverse
backgrounds. At home, she spars
with her daughter Jane (Cailee
Spaeny, “Bad Times at the El
Royale”), who places greater
trust
in
civil
disobedience
and Gloria Steinem than in
the law. And in the process of
avoiding a myopic portrait of
what the struggle for equality
looks like, the film renders a
surprisingly
comprehensive
historical
atmosphere
and
defies the tendency of historical
biographical dramas to lose
themselves in the force of their
main character and neglect
their historical situation in
turn.
“On
the
Basis
of
Sex”
defies other expectations. It
doesn’t, for example, flatten
the characters secondary to
the subject of its biographical
lens. In particular, Spaeny’s
performance of teenage Jane
Ginsburg comes to mind. She
challenges her mother’s chosen
arena for effecting change, at
one point accusing her mother
of settling to inspire another
generation of activists rather
than taking matters into her
own hands. Later, she questions
how much legal change can
accomplish compared
to social movements.
These
tense
scenes
will undoubtedly leave
audience
members
reevaluating
their
own ideals of social
change.
As
a
film
that centers gender-
based discrimination, “On the
Basis of Sex” also carefully
avoids relying on tropes of
female portrayals, especially in
Jones’s portrayal of Ginsburg.
Refreshingly, the filmmakers
did not recycle the familiar
dramas that working mothers
and wives are often called to
act out in film. Instead, the
character simply lives her own
unique story.
So, when next you hear
someone say they want to
change the world, think before
you roll your eyes. Think of
Ruth
Bader
Ginsburg.
Or
perhaps Jane Ginsburg. Better
yet, picture an entire history
of world-changing women and
hear how powerful their voices
are in chorus. And be grateful
for the reminder “On the Basis of
Sex” gives us, of the possibilities
that await once we trade the
complacency of cynicism for the
humbling effect of a leap of faith
and trust of self.
FILM REVIEW
RBG’s biopic is stunning
JULIANNA MORANO
Daily Arts Writer
“On the Basis of
Sex”
The Michigan Theater
Focus Features
FOCUS FEATURES
Cacophony and Cornelius
Marie Kondo isn’t
the first person
that has tried
revolutionizing
the way we
organize our lives