ts ^Entertainment
t^LA CKAMA Sprint
January 19, 2005
• 7
raordinary author begs: please don't feed the freshman
ssle Mathieson
Clackamas Print
ar extraordinaire Zoe
risited Clackamas last
id wowed students and
ke with her inimitable
i to the written word.
ne who has ever been
iwkwardfend humbling
’ life known as adoles-
îay find .they are all too
dentify with 18-year-old
pe’s “Please Don’t Kill
unan.”
is intimately hilarious
which chronicles her
i year in high school,
tows us that we are not
ones to Sustain perma-
iry in the camage-rid-
den minefield that is
such a loyal following
youth.
at such a young age.
Before she stood
Zoe Trope authored
to read Wednesday
the brutally honest and
night in the Literary
heartfelt “Please Don’t
Arts Center in Rook
Kill the Freshman”
Hall, Zoe Trope was
roughly four years
seated in the audi
ago, a fact that is quite
ence along with the
unbelievable given its
rest of her attendant
wise, insightfill char
listeners, looking no
acter.
more like a published
As part of her read
and accredited young
ing Wednesday night
author than any one
she also shared a few
of the many other
more recent pieces of
audience members.
her writing, a lot of
Michaele Cooper Clackamas Print
While taking her
which had to do with
place at the podium, Trope, who prefers not to show her face,
her admitted infatua
she commented on
tion with domesticity.
instead
reveals
the
cover
of
her
latest
work.
how she didn’t like
In one of these pieces
them much because
in particular, Trope
they made her feel too official. are undoubtedly just a couple likened some people’s envy of
of
the
reasons
she
has
gathered
another
’
s
car or physical looks
Her casual and humorous nature
to her envy of other people’s
houses and coffee table litera
ture.
When asked whether or not
we will get to see another pub
lished work anytime soon, Trope
is not hesitant to tell that another
full-size book isn’t planned for
the near future.
She does however publish
an online journal at www.zoe-
trope.com to properly sustain
her loyal fans while she is
completing her freshman year
of college in • Oberlin, Ohio.
Perhaps we can all look forward
to a college edition of “Please
Don’t Kill the Freshman” in the
timé to come, which will surely
demonstrate, in perfect imper
fection, all of the humiliating
splendor of college life.
oach Carter’ a game winner
Jason Pirtle
The Clackamas Print
If you don’t have anything
to do this weekend, head over
to the movie theater, because
“Coach Carter” is heating up
the big screen.
This movie was hot, and it
had all of the ingredients to be
one of the best films of the year.
No doubt, I’d put this one on the
“movies to see” list right now.
“Coach Carter” is a true and
inspirational movie about how
the Richmond Oilers head coach,
played by Samuel L. Jackson,
morphs a losing basketball team
into a winning team.
s
Samuel L. Jackson does a
superb job of playing the part
of Coach Carter. Coach Carter
is a hard-nosed, “my way or the
highway” coach who wants his
players to succeed both on the
gym floor and in the classroom.
The “tough-guy coach” atti
tude from Jackson came across
well, since he’s played other
tough-guy parts such as Jules,
the scripture-spitting hit-man in
“Pulp Fiction.”
The chemistry of Jackson
and his players gels somewhat
nicely, since some of the play
ers have never acted in a movie
before. The players either joke
around with Jackson or clash
with him. The players also pro
vide comedy throughout the
movie and issues outside of
basketball. Promising student
Kenyon (Rob Brown) gets his
girlfriend Kyra (R&B singer
Ashanti) pregnant and is forced
to make a decision: baby or
basketball.
The on-the-court • scenes
are fine, if overdone (every
game has to be determined
by a buzzer-beating shot), but
that’s expected in a Hollywood
movie.
In fact, it’s the lockout that’s
the climatic hook in this movie.
Jackson puts the chains around
the gym after finding out that
some of his players are doing
poorly in the classroom, even
when his team was undefeated.
The controversial decision by
Carter made national headlines
and sparked anger in a gang-
banging Northern California
town, Richmond.
“Coach Carter” is in the
samé pool as “Friday Night
Lights” and “Remember the
Titans,” because it’s more
about what happens outside the
game than what happens in the
game. The only difference is
that “Coach Carter” is in the
arena of California high school
basketball, and not in the arena
of high school football in Texas
and Virginia.
Either way, the movie teaches
an important lesson about high
school sports today. Sometimes
teachers, parents, and play-
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ers forget that high school is
more about getting an education
than being a successful athlete.
Some players never realize this
and end up on the streets.
None of the players in the
movie went on to play for big
universities or in the NBA, but
thfey did go on to college and
graduated, and that’s a victory
of its own.
Attending a meditation group is a great way to
center yourself while breaking cultural boundries. It
is a way of preparation, relaxation and healing,
Fellow student Michael- Tang is a practicing
Buddhist. He explains the basics of meditation.
The meditation is lead by a teacher, whose sooth
ing voice guides the students through the ritural.
After assuming a cross-legged position atop either
a pillow or meditation bench, the eyes close while
taking deep, cleansing breaths. The teacher begins
to speak. I
The speech is a reminder of the Buddhist dharma:
not to kill one another, no stealing, no sexual miscon
duct of any kind, no crime, no drinking or drug use
and so forth.
“All of the speech during the meditation is for
cleansing your heart and head, and sometimes you
might have to do it alone if you want,” said Tang of
the teachings.
Meditation has been in practice for centuries, and
is used in many other activities, such aS yoga, sweats
and prayer. .
Many do find participating in meditation very
relaxing, noting a sense of spiritual cleanliness after
ward. Going to meditation is a great way to center
yourself and let go of the bad.
There is the Buddha, who is the doctor, the
Dhamma, who has the medicine and Samgha who is
the nurse and gives out medicine. Buddhists have the
every direction?
medicine within the temple.
I, Meditation is a great way
of escaping the world that
surrounds us.
If relaxation through
meditation interests you,
Portland is home to many
temples, such as the
Beaverton Kadampa
Buddhist
Center.
I
For more informa-
cT.sJOf'.
tion, contact them
at www.mcdita-
tiohinoregon.org
orcall(503) 233-
6747.
-Compiled by
Christa
Danielson