The beat goes on
On Tuesday, February 27, Jazzman’s Cafe was alive with the sound of music, again, as music majors gathered with their professor to provide the Woodland Commons with live entertainment. Three students played in the band with the professor, as four different singers showcased their vocal skills.
The concert was part of the CVPA’s Campus Concert Series, which spotlighted the campus’ homegrown talents during the Tuesday night performances and created a livelier atmosphere in the Commons.
Currently, no more concerts are scheduled for the series. Updates on any future events in the Commons will be publicized on the CVPA Calendar of Events and the Torch Activities Calendar.
Need advice?
Ask Lady Corsair!
By Lady Corsair
Do you want to ask someone for some unbiased advice, someone who won’t judge you or use your information as collateral? Coming soon will be Ask Lady Corsair, a new, anonymous advice column, designed with UMD students in mind.
This column is directed to give you the answers to your questions when you aren’t completely certain your friends are giving you their honest opinion.
Do you have a pesky roommate who just will NOT turn the TV off when he or she goes to bed? Do you have a friend who always “borrows” money from you without ever paying you back?
Are you struggling with some tough classes and don’t know what to do to get some help? Are you completely wiped out by the end of the week because of your crazy schedule?
Do you hate Res food and want to start a cooking club? Are you totally clueless about college and have yet to emerge from your darkened, cob-webby dorm room?
Is your sex life lackluster all of a sudden? Are you and your significant other having difficulties because you go to different schools?
Get creative. Don’t be afraid of being laughed at for wearing pajamas with footsies when your roommate just doesn’t understand that your creative energy flows through your feet.
You don’t even have to sign your name, if you’d prefer not to. Just sign with a question-related pseudonym, like “Concerned Roommate” or “Single, Lonely Male” or even “Loves Penguins.” After all, I don’t know who you are, and you don’t know who I am, so I won’t hold it against you.
E-mail me with your anonymous concerns 24/7 at LadyCorsair2007@gmail.com, and I will reply to you promptly and have a few of my favorites published in the following week’s edition of the Torch.
I will try to vary the kinds of questions I put in the paper so that different issues can be addressed each week. Send me a good one, and you just might see your question with a reply in print! Have fun with it, and I hope to hear from all of you soon.
RECOMMENDING RHONDA
Rhonda says: Read this book!
By Recommending Rhonda
I’m sure you’ve heard about “The Vagina Monologues.”
In 2001, “The Vagina Monologues” took the stage, shocking people across the country with accounts of sexuality, abuse, intimacy and identity. But did you know that aside from being a highly entertaining visual performance, “The Vagina Monologues” also comes in paperback?
Well, it does. And I highly recommend that you pick up a copy.
The story behind “The Vagina Monologues” is that Eve Ensler (the author) engaged in over 200 interviews with women — old and young — about their experiences as females.
Ensler notes, “At first, women were reluctant to talk. They were a little shy. But once they got going, you couldn’t stop them.”
Ensler’s interviews explore a diverse array of topics. There is a monologue on just about every female-related issue under the sun: pubic hair, sexual abuse, orgasms (or lack thereof), menstruation, birth and the way in which women perceive their vaginas.
Ensler won an Obie-Award for her work with the Vagina Monologues and also started a grassroots-movement, called “V-Day,” which aims to educate the public and stop violence against women.
According to a Random House review of the book, it guarantees that “no one who reads it will ever look at a woman’s body, or think of sex, in quite the same way again.”
The monologues are empowering for women and men alike. They give voice to women across the country who have been forever afraid to admit that they don’t know how to give themselves an orgasm, that they have been battered, that they are afraid of their vaginas or, on the flip side, are proud of their vaginas and “want everything” for their vaginas.
This Friday, March 9, UMD’s own fine females will be taking the stage to continue the “Vagina Monologues” phenomenon that has swept the country. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be taking place in the Main Auditorium. If you haven’t been exposed to the monologues, here’s a great chance! I can guarantee that it will leave you wanting more.
...And after that experience, I recommend that you pick up the book. Now, you may be thinking, “Well, if I’ve already seen the play, why would I want to read the book? Isn’t it just going to be the same thing?”
No, it isn’t.
Every woman who performs in “The Vagina Monologues” brings something personal to her monologue. In the “What would your vagina wear?” skit, for example, the women taking the stage are actually coming up with their own answers. Also, the skits included in the performance of the monologues is only a taste of all that Ensler has to offer.
To learn more about V-Day, the book, or Eve Ensler herself, I recommend that you visit Random House’s website, at http://www.randomhouse.com/.
And, of course, support your classmates and definitely check out “The Vagina Monologues” on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It’s a great chance for you to experience the monologues up close and personal and see a side of the women at UMD that you never thought you’d see.
Adventures in line, shape and space
Sure, we all know about the CVPA Campus Gallery in Group VI, but how often do we really pay attention to the great displays that are constantly rotating through the displays on each floor over in the CVPA?
There are some amazing works (by some of this campus’ incredibly talented students) that too often go ignored...or maybe they’re seen but not fully acknowledged. Well, enough of that! Let’s take a look at some of the work currently available for your viewing pleasure.
Currently, the ground-floor display cases outside of the Campus Gallery in Group VI are filled with a variety of student works from several classes. Some of the pieces are explorations of three-dimensional design, either in the form of mini-architectural constructions or abstract sculptures. Other works fulfill more specific assignments to learn more about line, radial patterns or particular artists’ work.
SCREW THE ACADEMY
Serious Carrey role causes serious problems in ‘23’
By Bronson Michaud
“The Number 23” (2007)
Rated R for violence, disturbing images, sexuality and language
Runtime: 95 minutes
Editor’s Note: This review contains some spoilers. Also, please note that the review itself is 394 words long.
3 x 9 - 4 = 23.
The general consensus that I received prior to writing this review is that people hate this movie, including Jim Carrey’s performance. I staunchly disagree with this point of view.
For the most part, I liked this movie because it is the type of thrilling, conspiracy-type film that has the surprise ending, which has you leaving the theaters and not remembering where you parked your car. The major flaw with this picture is that it seemed to be comical at points when the viewer should not have been laughing. Not a perfect feature, but better than most I have seen in 2007.
Directed by Joel Schumacher, this intriguing movie stars Jim Carrey as the mild mannered dogcatcher Walter Sparrow and Virginia Madsen as Sparrow’s wife, Agatha. The movie kicks off after Walter reads a mysterious novel titled “The Number 23.”
The basis of the book and the entire movie, for that fact, is to show the audience how 23 is involved in every facet of human existence. Two divided by three equals .666. The date the Mayans predicted the world would end on December 23, 2012 (20 + 1 + 2 = 23).
These are just some of the chilling facts that force the main character to look into his own life -- past and present -- to see if the number 23 has affected him. I personally loved this concept and think that more movies could be made on the lure of the title number’s mystery.
What really threw this movie off was the very funny Jim Carrey playing someone so serious and disturbed as Walter Sparrow.
For some reason, Carrey is just one of those actors that I feel compelled to laugh at, whether he is giving an exasperated explanation on how 23 is a big part of his life or slitting his own wife’s throat (in a particularly good scene). This caused some serious awkwardness in the movie’s tone and even had an effect on the chemistry between the two leading roles.
All in all: the premise is great, the directing is well done, and the ending was incredible, but Carrey was wrong for this role. However, I still recommend that you go see this movie if you are a fan of the genre. If not, waste your money on “Music and Lyrics.”
I give this movie a 3 out of 5.
Art therapy info session hosted by CVPA
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- On March 14, the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) will host an information session for students who are looking to pursue a career in art therapy.
The college will host a presentation by Dr. Michaela Kirby, assistant professor and art therapy coordinator at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kirby will discuss career options in art therapy and overview the highly regarded art therapy program at Lesley.
Kirby received a master’s degree in expressive therapy from Lesley in 1986 and completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in 1998. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC), as well as a registered/board certified art therapist.
For the past six years, Kirby has coordinated the art therapy program at Lesley College, where art therapy has become the fastest growing undergraduate major.
The information session will be held on Wednesday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m., in Group VI, Room 156. Visitors are advised to park in Lots 8 and 9. For more information on this information session, please contact Jarrad Nunes at (508) 999-8010.
