Pulse Editor:
Ryan Nyburg
ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, July 22,2004
— Oregon Daily Emerald
PULSE
Hot Picks:
Impart! Art screening of'Jaws'
Friday, 8 p.m., $2 suggested donation
Comer of Broadway & Willamette
RYAN NYBURG
BUDGET RACK
Celebrities'
after death
Boy; a lot of people have died. Have you
ever thought about that? I mean, damn,
just about everyone has died when you get
down to it. Throughout the whole course
of human history, nearly every person who
has lived is now dead. The only ones who
haven't died are the ones still walking
around, and the odds aren't looking too
good for them either. Shakespeare? Dead.
Richard Nixon? Dead. J.S. Bach? Dead.
P.D.Q. Bach? Dead. All these people and
more were once alive and now are dead.
Doesn't that just scare the piss out of you?
You're going to die!
But who knows, maybe it would be
a good thing. I know that sounds bad,
but what I mean is that many people
have gotten quite a career boost out
of death. For some reason, once a person
passes into the great white nothing,
his esteem rises tenfold. In the case of
celebrities this increase is exponential to
whatever esteem they already had, or
once had. People are willing to forgive
a lot once they no longer have to deal
with a person's faults. Jim Morrison is
the perfect example. Once the old lizard
passed, it no longer mattered that he had
been an insufferable drunken bastard.
Now he was a poet, a mystic, a God!
Death was the best thing that had ever
happened to him.
Kurt Cobain is another prime example
of post-mortem praise. One less heroin
junkie and all of a sudden, mild
wordplay, weak non sequiturs and empty
expressions of angst are considered poet
ry. Tupac Shakur? He's released more
albums dead than alive, and is in fact
doing pretty well for himself. Other than
being dead, that is. Ray Charles hadn't so
much as done a Pepsi commercial in
years, but he kicks the bucket and all the
sudden he's the bee's knees. Ronald
Reagan unwittingly caused more human
destruction and suffering in eight years
than most can manage in a lifetime;
now his corpse is a national hero and
has been paraded across the country like
some kind of twisted Republican
geek show.
But still, death is an interesting topic. Al
though often it is not death itselfrbqt peo
ple's reactions to it that are the more fruit
ful subject of discussion. Have you noticed
that the coverage surrounding a celebrity's
death is proportional to his or her popu
larity rather than actual importance?
When one of the best and most revolu
tionary comedians of the century, Bill
Hicks, died in 1994, the news passed like a
fart in the wind. But Bob Hope, whose
comedy was formulaic and prescripted
and had not advanced one iota since
1960, was hailed as a genius and pioneer.
In fact, it was his style of comedy that
everyone since has been revolting against,
but who cares? He was a funny old guy
Please see NYBURG, page 10
r
Erik R. Bishoff Online & Photo Editor
Scott Stewart, Sergio Martinez and Sarah Tumquist star in the Mad Duckling Children's Theatre production of ‘Alice in
Wonderland.’ The show is sure to delight local children, and their parents, when performances begin July 27.
‘Wonderland’ comes
to Children’s Theatre
Performers bring joy
to their production of'Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland'
RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
Lewis Carroll's classic children's story, "Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland," has remained a
popular standard for both children and adults
since its original publication in 1865. It has been
reprinted numerous times and adapted to stage,
screen and television. Many talented illustrators
have rendered their own interpretations of the
evocative story.
Now the University's Mad Duckling Children's
Theatre is bringing its own interpretation into
the fray with an adaptation of the story penned
by director and theater arts graduate student Eliz
abeth Helman.
"We looked for an adaptation we could use, but
everything we found required a cast of 40 people,"
Helman said. "We needed something for a cast of
seven. So I just wrote it myself."
Helman said she was attracted to the story
because it featured a strong female protagonist,
something missing in many stories written
for children. As director of past University The
atre productions such as "A Thread in the Dark"
and "Jane and the Beanstalk," which also
featured strong female leads, finding interesting
roles for women has been a longtime project
for Helman.
She isn't the only dne involved in the project
who feels that way.
"I love that this is a little girl who is out exploring
purely on her own curiosity," University post-gradu
ate Sarah Tumquist, who will play the lead role of
Alice, said. "Nobody is saying 'do this' or 'do that.'"
The production of the play, which will be per
formed on a lawn outside the Robinson Theatre,
summons a variety of challenges: Multiple set
and costume changes are necessary, something
difficult for outdoor performances. But accord
ing to the director and cast members, the trouble
is worth it for the chance to perform for what
Helman calls "the best sort of audience," young
children and their parents.
"It's all about the kids," said performer Scott Stew
art, who plays the Mad Hatter. "Rehearsals are fun,
but when the kids come it's amazingly interesting.
It's one of the best things I've done in my life"
The joys of performing for children is what the
Mad Duckling Theatre, now in its tenth year, has
always been about. According to the University
Department of Theater Arts Development Direc
tor Joseph Gilg, the Mad Duckling performanc
es give students a unique opportunity to perform
for a young audience.
Please see ALICE, page 8
Indie label
musicians
Wondergoat Records LLC
prefers bands ivith social
or political messages
KEVIN MILLER
FREELANCE REPORTER
Jason Tanenbaum has a typical academ
ic's biography, save for the fact that he runs
a record company, making him one of the
coolest nerds around. Political science is
only the tip ofTanenbaum's iceberg, and
when not teaching, he turns musicians
into rock stars.
As vice president of business and legal
affairs for Wondergoat Records LLC,
Tanenbaum handles all the corporate
and contracting mumbo-jumbo that goes
along with managing an indie label.
While it may sound like a suit-and-tie po
sition, Tanenbaum prefers a Black Sab
bath T-shirt and some old jean shorts to
formal business attire. In fact, the compa
ny prides itself on being more laid-back,
artist-friendly and musically conscious
than the big guns.
"We're interested in developing a
scene, not cannibalizing it," Tanenbuam
said. "Major labels tend to wait until
something is mature and then they
swoop down and clip the ones they want,
leaving the rest in ruins."
At the moment, Wondergoat carries
only three bands: Hester Beasley, Ryan
Orr and 2Bucks Short — a local punk
outfit that recently played two gigs
on the Warped Tour. The label says that
it prefers signing acts with social or
political messages. And, while they
accept demo submissions from any
genre, Tanenbaum is at once realistic
about marketability and true to
his conscience.
'I like hearing spoons, but I can't see
anyone selling 5,000 albums of Spoon
man," He said. Also, we wouldn't put Brit
ney Spears out there because I couldn't
sleep at night even if I was sleeping on a
big pile of money."
When you're a small label, certain as
pects of sales and marketing can be a
challenge, Tanenbaum said. Nevertheless,
for local
• •
Please see LABEL, page 10
'Bourne' sequel fails to reign supreme
Fast-paced action and some strong acting can't stop
The Bourne Supremacy'from unraveling
STEVEN NEUMAN
FREELANCE REPORTER
Sometimes a sequel is better then the first film. "X2" pulled off this
feat, so did "Spiderman 2". Unfortunately, "The Bourne Supremacy"
has a bit of an identity crisis.
The genre of this film lies somewhere between thriller, spy flick, ac
tion movie and corrupt-cop story, but excels in none
of these categories.
The movie picks up three years after "The Bourne
Identity" left off. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), try
ing his hardest to remain out of the sight of the CIA,
has moved to an idyllic Indian beach town with his
girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente). For a short time, it appears that
"Supremacy" is going to be all jogs on the beach in slow-motion, oc
casionally interrupted by one of Bourne's frantically edited night
mares. Fortunately, a mysterious assassin kills two CIA officers
MOVIE
REVIEW
Please see IDENTITY, page 8
Courtesy Universal Studios
Still running from the CIA, Matt Damon returns as Jason Bourne in The Bourne
Supremacy,’ which will open Friday nationwide.