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(11/15/04 6:00am)
The story of Ol' Dirty Bastard was never destined to end well.
For almost 12 years, he careened in and out of public consciousness
in spectacular style. Strange arrests, stranger nicknames,
elaborate pranks and one of the most flamboyant rap styles of
all-time combined to shape the distinctive persona of ODB. And
yesterday, with the same unpredictability as all his other
maneuvers, the clown prince of hip-hop passed away after collapsing
in a New York City recording studio.
(11/12/04 6:00am)
Hollywood has gone a bit crazy lately. Jamie Foxx might make it
worse.
(11/11/04 6:00am)
Two years ago, I sat in Helen C. White Library, trying to
prepare a presentation about Nigeria for my political science
class. But after two hours of trying to work, my familiarity with
the African nation still extended only to Christian Okoye, former
running back of the Kansas City Chiefs. Why? My friend Frank.
(11/11/04 6:00am)
Jon Okonek would like to have you and your 1,099 closest friends
over for drinks. And unlike most partiers with big plans, Okonek
has the room to do it.
(11/08/04 6:00am)
Pixar has set a new standard for animation in Hollywood. \Toy
Story"" and ""Monsters, Inc."" lent new humor and insight to
childhood narratives, and ""Finding Nemo"" stole Disney's title as
the home studio of beloved talking animals. But now, with ""The
Incredibles,"" it must be embarrassing to be any other animation
studio. Pixar has not only made another instant-classic family
feature, but they have created a classic suitable for any
audience.
(11/04/04 6:00am)
Halloween has never been a creative time for me. In the late
'80s, I dressed as Ed Hearn, the backup catcher of the 1986 New
York Mets, for three straight years, because he was their only
white guy with glasses. My imagination couldn't stretch to being
another Met or wearing another costume, even though my costume
lasted three times as long as Hearn's unremarkable career with the
Mets.
(11/04/04 6:00am)
UW students are hard drinkers, but we're not really stylish
drinkers. Ever see an old Cary Grant movie? The characters would
hit the bar and throw back good Scotch and real martinis. No, not
appletinis or chocolate martinis or melted-down Jolly Ranchers with
a splash of UV. A lot of chilled gin or vodka, with just a touch of
vermouth. They drank in style.
(11/01/04 6:00am)
Every once in a while, an acting performance comes along that
not only carries a movie, but redefines a career and monopolizes
all further conversations about the year's best. Tom Hanks did it
in \Forrest Gump."" Charlize Theron did it in ""Monster."" And,
now, Jamie Foxx has done it with ""Ray,"" a biographical film about
the great soul singer, Ray Charles. The movie is ultimately less
about the singer than it is about Foxx's stunning ascent from a
middling comedic actor into the ranks of America's best dramatic
screen performers.
(10/28/04 6:00am)
It's pretty hard to provoke much of a reaction from most
Madisonians these days when it comes to Halloween. Creepy costumes
stopped being scary when we were little kids, and now, most
costumes are only scary in how clich??d they are-if any more people
dress as Richie Tenenbaum or wear a bow with a card reading \From:
God, To: Women"" this year, students' lack of originality will
truly be frightening.
(10/28/04 6:00am)
Recently, I was walking down State Street, when a man with a
clipboard approached me. He asked me a question that has bombarded
all of us for months.
(10/21/04 6:00am)
Madison is a great place to party. This year, The Princeton
Review acknowledged this by ranking UW third on its annual list of
top party schools. But even with our endless choices of bars,
parties and other debauchery, Madison tends to fall into routine
when Saturday night rolls around. Grad students crowd into Paul's
Club, freshmen fill Mifflin Street house parties, and newspaper
columnists cry themselves to sleep while clutching empty bottles of
Jack Daniel's.
(10/14/04 6:00am)
Women believe many stereotypes about men. They believe we crave
violence, sex, glamour and pretty women to gaze upon. And my
approach to these caricatures of masculinity has always been \don't
rock the boat."" But at a certain point, excess is just excess and
even the horniest, most destructive guy has to admit that things
have gone too far. I recently reached that point, and that point is
""Perfect 10 Model Boxing.""
(10/13/04 6:00am)
On Monday night, the Houston Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves
and sealed their first victorious playoff series in franchise
history. Jeff Bagwell homered and Craig Biggio scored twice. But
2004 was full of twists for the Astros. And now, as Bagwell and
Biggio advance in their fifth postseason appearance together,
Houston is once again led by the Killer B's. Only now, it is not
Bagwell and Biggio. Beltran and Berkman are the Killer B's now. And
it is just further reason why 2004 has been a screwy season for
Houston.
(10/11/04 6:00am)
Every year, audiences flock to wholesome, inspirational sports
movies. Disney has refined these movies to a science; a weary coach
guides ragamuffin kids on a journey of character, camaraderie, and
happy endings. But now, \Friday Night Lights"" has entered the
fray. And while the movie possesses some of the trappings of Disney
fare like ""Remember the Titans"" and ""Miracle,"" it quickly
announces itself as a different kind of story. Though it stumbles
at times, ""Friday Night Lights"" is a sports movie of rare
insight, honesty and entertainment value.
(10/07/04 6:00am)
Everywhere you go these days, a yellow menace can be seen,
spreading further across the cultural landscape with each passing
week. Kids are pretending they care about the sport of cycling,
students with endless debt are becoming philanthropists, and
football tailgaters are celebrating the victor of a non-contact,
non-drinking French sporting event. And all the rest of us are
wondering what on earth happened.
(10/04/04 6:00am)
Before it came out, \Ladder 49"" was a scary prospect for three
main reasons. It looked to be an exploitative firefighter movie
that was cynically greenlit in the wake of Sept. 11; it looked like
an unnecessary update of ""Backdraft""; and it appeared that the
preview had given away the entire movie. Now that the movie is
here, everyone can rest assured that ""Ladder 49"" does not suffer
in any of those areas. The only thing from which ""Ladder 49""
suffers is overwhelming and sometimes comical badness.
(09/30/04 6:00am)
America is ready for a new sweetheart. Julia Roberts, Sandra
Bullock and Meg Ryan are all on the way out, and the current batch
of high-powered leading ladies-Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry and
Catherine Zeta-Jones-are not cut out for the romantic, sympathetic
and funny roles that characterize the lofty title. So who is ready
to step in? That's a tough question. But The Daily Cardinal is here
to break down some of the contenders exiting and entering the
\Sweetheart Battle Royale.""
(09/30/04 6:00am)
Happiness and comfort in Madison are too often dependent on
other people. Every autumn, freshman years are ruined by roommates
who blast The Cure at all hours or by attractive neighbors whose
long-distance relationships refuse to end. But for upperclassmen,
too, the joy of self-reliance is still a pipe dream. For even if
you live as a shut-in, students are all at the mercy of one fickle
group: professors.
(09/27/04 6:00am)
Kenneth Turan is not a great movie critic. He approaches his
work with respect and dignity, and he has solid taste in movies.
But his reviews in the Los Angeles Times are flat; they offer
decent basic analysis, but rarely provide any notable or
interesting insight. He is a useful guide to new movies on a week
to week basis, but he is purely run-of-the-mill. His writing has no
special draw to it, lacking the generous warmth and history of
Roger Ebert or the cutting versatility and wonderful voice of the
New York Times' A.O. Scott.
(09/23/04 6:00am)
Something odd has happened in the last two years. Several female
friends have asked me to be their husband backup. It's an odd deal,
where they can explore the world, and if they're still single at a
certain age-and I'm single, too-they can claim me as their groom.