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The WeatherToday: Overcast, cool, 48°F (9°C)

Tonight: Cloudy, 36°F (30C)Tomorrow: Showers, 20°F (-7°C)

Details, Page 2

Volume 119, Number 16 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, April 2, 1999

The Tappet brothers, 'Click andClack,' of National Public Radio's . Student leaders tickled by choice Ray operates Cambridge garage

) Car Talk fame, have been selected Pooja Shukla '99, president of Tom Magliozzi earned a Ph.D.as MIT's next commencement the graduating class, said that Click in management from Bostonspeakers.. and Clack were a "hilarious pair." University and served as an associ-

Known as Tom and Ray Shukla thinks that "the class will ate professor at Suffolk UniversityMagliozzi to those who don't listen be really pleased to have a unique for five years before leaving to taketo the show, .the two are graduates and genuinely fun commence- up Car Talk full time.

. of MIT. Tom Magliozzi graduated ment." She said that the brothers Ray Magliozzi continues to1. in 1958 with a degree in economics "can speak to the intellectual side operate the Good News Garage in

while his brother took a humanities of the audience .as well as the play- Cambridge.degree in 1972. ful side." . Between the two of them, the

President Charles M. Vest said, Graduate . Student Council brothers have taken Physics I (8.01)" "We're proud and excited that Tom President Brian 1. Schneider G also a total of four times.

and Ray Magliozzi will be returning praised the selection of a humorous Commencement speakers into their alma mater as speaker: "I'm excited to see a little recent years have included President

"/ Commencement speakers." He said humor visit MIT at this year's com- Clinton, David Ho, and UN.that the brothers "rank among mencement. The last couple of years Secretary General Kofi Annan.

\.Licensing Board Allows Sigma NnTo Reside inFonner Fiji Honse

Frank, Page 19

Voting and civil disobedienceFrank devoted a great deal of

time to comparing civil disobedi-ence to voting. He pointed out thatthe great activist movements of thiscentury, led by Ghandi and MartinLuther King Jr. were forced to civildisobedience precisely because thegroups were barred from vot!ng.Such disobedience should be a lastresort, he said.

Frank said that while many mayconsider voting to be "weak tea"and refuse to vote to punish politi-cians, such arguments are "nuts."He said that while corporationsmay be affected, "demonstrationsrarely affect politicians." Negativedemonstrations and "beingattacked by your enemies onlyleads to an increase in fundrais-ing," Frank said.

Frank related a personal anec-dote of a sit-in threatened by sup-porters of Lyndon LaRouche.Frank said that he advised his staffto call the press first, then thepolice: "I want the credit forarresting them."

The message the Frank drovehome over the course of the addresswas that voting was a more effectivemethod of influencing governmentthan demonstration. He classifiedthe National Rifle Association as"very effective" but pointed out thatthey "never had a shoot-in" nor did

AJAI BIfARADWAJ-THE TECH

Lanl Rapp '01 avoids a Babson College opponent as she takesthe ball upfleld Tuesday.

have been pretty serious and 1thinkMIT is in serious need of humor."

dedicated to their futures."Dorow represented MIT in sup-

port of Sigma Nu at Wednesday'shearing. "The tragic history of thisparticular address is one in whichthe members of Sigma Nu had nopart, and for which they certainlybear no responsibility," Dorow said.

MIT's best-known and best-lovedgraduates."

GREG KUHNEN-THE TECH

Congressman Bamey Frank talks about how students can have an Impact on politics and the govern-ment last night In 54-100. The lecture was part of the 1999 Democracy Teach-Ins which will continuetonight at 7pm and tomorrow night at Spm.

about the outcome of the hearing,said Nathaniel V., Houle '02, "butwe knew we had a strong case, andthen during the hearing there wasn'treally a lot of opposition at all."

Elizabeth Dooley of the Ladies'Guild next door to Sigma Nu was"very concerned that people thoughtthey were a drinking organization.They are good neighbors and... are Sigma Nu, Page 18

Barney Frank Promotes Student Political ActivityBy Frank Dabek , Frank advocated voting and The majority of Frank's remarks sometimes see from the results) doNEWS EDITOR other forms of traditional involve- were dedicated to addressing rea- not give a voting test."

The Democracy Teach-Ins con- ment in the democratic process as sons why.students fail to vote. Hetinued last night in Rm. 54-100 with the best means of affecting change. systematically proposed anda talk by Rep. Barney Frank, D.• Frank began by pointing out that debunked common complaintsMass 8th. Frank's free-wheeling "most 18 to 21 year olds militantly about the voting system.and often irreverent speech focuse.d refuse to vote." When students fail Frank addressed concerns thaton encouraging students to vote but to vote they shouldn't be surprised voting is complicated by pointinghe also shared his views on gay when they are ignored by politi- out that voting is easier than gettingrights and drug laws.. cians. a driver's license: "we (as you can

By Frank DabekNEWS EDITOR

'Click and Clack' Will Deliver1999 Commencement Speech

By Rima ArnaoutASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

For the first time since PhiGamma Delta's dormitory licensewas suspended in January 1998 , anMIT fraternity will reside at 28 The

1;' Fenway. Yesterqay, the BostonLicensing Board granted the MITchapter of the Sigma Nu fraternity a

( :. dormitory license to move from 523Newbury Street to 28 The Fenway,

. formerly home to Fiji., The license is cont,ingent upon

''-, Sigma Nu'g"maintenance,of its poli-cy that there can 'be no alcohol onthe premises at any time.

"I'm very happy for Sigma Nu': and very happy that the board

allowed them to occupy 28 TheFenway," said Neal H. Dorow,

. , adviser to fraternities, sororities, and.• independent ljving groups.A hearing to grant the license

was held Wednesday at Boston City4 ; Hall. The official decision was made

the following day.Sigma Nu President Justin M.

Schmidt '01, Vice-President David(: B. Berman '99, and President of the

Sigma Nu Alumni HouseCorporation Michael D. Plusch pre-

.,i'. sented Sigma Nu's case to theLicensing Board.

The mention of 28 The Fenway,the location of the drinking death of

. t Scott S. Krueger '01, initiallybrought up concerns on behalf ofthe Licensing Board about lettinganother MIT fraternity occupy that

" building. Chairman of the LicensingBoard Daniel F. Pokaski expressed"concern about MIT's really not

',' getting it as far as taking care ofpeople under their care."

Dorow, ,neighbors defend Sigma NuEven at the hearing, however,

Sigma Nu's track record of goodbehavior, its references from neigh-bors, and its no-alcohol policyseemed to convince the LicensingBoard that Sigma Nu would be aresponsible member of the Fenwaycommunity. '

"We were a little apprehensive"

'...."

,

Page2 THE TECH

WORLD & NATIONApril 2, 1999

" ...

Milosevic Wms.Public Support ;.Through Propaganda Actions >

Three U.S..Soldiers MissingAmidst Widening Conflict

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planners preferred. They have fired ..,more than 100. All told, the militarycampaign is costing the Pentagon anestimated several hundred million .•dollars a week.

-A United Nations court said ithas indicted Zeljko Raznatovic, anotorious Serbian paramilitary :leader known as'" Arkan," inSeptember 1997 on allegations ofcommitting war crimes during theBosnian civil war in the mid-1990s. ,,'\He has been seen in Belgrade inrecent days.

-The Clinton administrationr\

said it was setting aside $50 millionto help provide food and shelter forthe more than 580,000 people ofKosovo that the State Department ,estimates have been uprooted.

-At least 7,000 men, womenand children were marched to thetrain station in Kosovo' s capital, r....Pristina. No independent witnesseswere allowed to see what happened ~to them next, but a Serbian joumal- .'Itist said they were being taken southto the Macedonian border.

-The Vatican's foreign minis-ter, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, :~was heading to Belgrade Thursdaywith a personal appeal for peacefrom Pope John Paul II.

Over the past year, Rugova'spolitical influence and stature .•declined as the Kosovo LiberationArmy's guerrilla war did more toadvance the independence causethan a decade of Rugova' s peaceful ~jresistance campaign.

Being so friendly with Milosevicon state-run television when muchof Kosovo is being cleared of itsethnic Albanian majority isn't likelyto help Rugova' s image among hisown people.

Even as Rugova was smilingwith Milosevic at the president'spalace in Belgrade, the Yugoslavleader inten~ified his brutal reign ofterror in Kosovo' s capital, Pristina,and across the separatist province.

Serbian police, soldiers andparamilitary groups continued to'work in teams going door to. door.

Infantry Division based inWurzburg, Germany. They hadarrived in early March to relieveanother contingent.

The soldiers are part of TaskForce Able Sentry, which had beenin Macedonia to stabilize the regionbut was supplanted by a NATOforce, whose original goal was toenforce any Kosovo peace accord.

The names of the soldiers werenot being released pending notifica-tion of their family members.

'''There was an incident, andinvestigations are going on," Maj.David Pashen, duty officer at theNATO media information center inSkopje. Pashen said he could not gointo any other details about whathappened to the soldiers, their cur-rent location or the mission under-way to rescue them.

A Pentagon official inWashington said the soldiers mayhave been abducted by Serbian sol-diers, Serbian secret police or evenSerbian radicals in Macedonia.

In other developmentsWednesday:

-Pentagon officials expressedconcern that the Air Force and Navywere depleting their supply of cruisemissiles more rapidly than some

Amid the relentless pressure ofNATO bombings and'internationaloutrage ill reaction to liis "scorchedearth" campaign in Kosovo, show-ing off enemy prisoners and meet-ing with a political foe madeMilosevic's day.

Rugova, a Paris-educated paci-fist, was twice elected president ofKosovo by its ethnic Albanianmajority in underground electionsMilosevic refused to recognize.Rugova also wants independencefor Kosovo, an idea M.ilosevicrejects.

The two signed a brief statementsaying "they are both committed tothe political process. and that the(Kosovo) problem can be solvedsuccessfully, and for a long-lastingperiod, only by political means,"state-run television reported.

PRISTINA, YUGOSLAVIA_

On the propaganda front, atleast, Yugoslav President SlobodanMilosevic scored two big victoriesThursday, trotting out three cap-tured U.S. soldiers and meeting withthe top Kosovo Albanian politician.

Video of the American soldiers,at least one apparently bruised andbloodied, led state television newsbulletins every hour until late after-noon, when Milosevic matched itwith another TV coup.

The Yugoslav leader, who nor-mally is pictured sitting stiff andscowling in an armchair, was shownsmiling and chatting with ethnicAlbanian leader Ibrahim Rugova inBelgrade, as if the two were oldfriends.

By Paul WatsonLOS ANGELES TIMES

By James Gerstenzang, PaulRichter and Elizabeth ShogrenLOS ANGELES TIMES

WASHINGTON

Three U.S. Army soldiers inMacedonia patrolling Yugoslavia'ssouthern border were reported miss-ing late Wednesday after theyradioed fellow soldiers that theywere under fire, according to NATOand Pentagon officials.

The soldiers' disappearancecame as the allied bombardment of.Yugoslavia entered its second week.In a day of wide-ranging action,bombers struck for the first timenear the heart of the Yugoslav capi-tal, Belgrade, Russia ordered war-ships steaming toward the conflict,and Serbian forces continued anunrestrained rampage acrossKosovo.

The U.S. reconnaissance teamhad been traveling in a Humveenorthwest of the Kumanovo area,about 20 miles from Skopje" theMacedonian capital, and just southof the Serbian border. An Armyunit, with British and Macedoniantroops, began a search on theground and by helicopter.

The soldiers were part of the 4thCavalry Regiment of the 1st

MEXICO CITY

Hopes Rise in Paraguay

Mexican Governor DisappearsTilE WASIlINGTON POST

A state governor under investigation for alleged ties to Mexico'smost powerful drug cartel has disappeared just days before police wereexpected to seek his arrest for drug trafficking and money laundering,according to law enforcement officials here. Gov. Mario Villanueva ofthe Yucatan Peninsula state of Quintana Roo had been under police sur-veillance but apparently eluded the agents who were tailing him, an offi-cial here said. Villanueva's six-year term, during which he, as a sittinggovernor, has immunity from prosecution, ends Monday, and theMexican media and law enforcement officials suggested Wednesdaythat he may have gone into hiding or fled the country to avoid arrest. IfVillanueva, a member of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party(PRI), were to flee Mexico aild evade charges, it would be a stunningblow to the country's justice system. For decades, corruption at thehighest levels of Mexico's federal and state governments has been welldocumented, but few have ever been held accountable.

TilE "~4.SIlINGTON POSTNORFOLK. VA.

Clinton Urges Patience iIi Kosovo

mE II'ASIlING TON POST

President Clinton, facing perhaps the gravest military challenge ofhis presidency, came to a major naval base Thursday to thank thosein the armed services and to urge public perseverance in the battleagainst Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic' s forces.

Clinton received a warm welcome in a giant hangar, but his mes-sage was complicated by his administration's ongoing struggle to ful-fill its mission in Yugoslavia and by military families' unhappinessover low pay, poor housing and long periods of separation.

Before speaking to several hundred people at the Norfolk NavalStation, Clinton met privately with 18 spouses and children of enlist-ed personnel deployed in the Balkans, the Persian Gulf and else-where. There he heard blunt complaints, "steeped in candor," aboutthe frustrations of military life, according to officers who attended.

One mother, the wife of a full-time military employee, told Clintonshe is drawing welfare benefits because her husband's pay is so low."As a patriot ... she felt that that was wrong, and she made that crystalclear to the president," said Adm. Paul Reason, who described the sceneto reporters. In his speech in the hangar, Clinton praised the group'sfrankness and noted that his new defense budget calls for "a substantialpay raise" for military personnel. He has proposed a 4.4 percent payhike, although Congress is moving to approve an even larger increase.

ASUNCION. PARAGUA Y

As snipers' bullets rained down from rooftops in this SouthAmerican capital, Carlos Dario Candido, 21, clutched the arm of hisuniversity buddy Victor Hugo Molas and ran. Thousands of other stu~dents who had turned out for an anti-government rally last weekendscurried around them in panic. Seconds later, Candido felt Molas'body violently lurch away from him, landing hard with a thump onthe grass. Amid the screams and trampling feet, Candido bent downand held his friend, who died in his arms.

The sniper attack - widely believed to have been carried out byhenchmen of a renegade ex-general who was supported byParaguay's president - killed Molas and four other students and

, wounded dozens more. The deadliest incident here since this small,insular nation emerged from decades of dictatorship in 1989, itlaunched a campaign of violence that many Paraguayans saw as athinly veiled attempt to return this nation to authoritarian rule.

But as Candido told his story while holding his friend's blood-stained shirt, the student said he believed Molas' sacrifice had helpedhis nation pass yet another test in its troubled transition to democracy."Victor would have been proud to die if it meant we would finally getsome kind of justice and democracy here," Candido said.

WEATHERSpring Where? SituatIon for Noon Eastern Standard Time, Friday, April 2, 1999

t

By Bill RamstromSTAFF METEOROLOGIST

After a couple of beautiful days, we unfortunately will be returning to morenormal springtime weather, so hopefully you have enjoyed a nice walk or bikeride by the Charles River. Climatological data for early April shows highs in the ,low 50s and lows in the mid 30s. In fact, for today, we will likely remain a bitbelow normal, with cloudy skies and a cool breeze off the ocean. Despite the coolweather, the later sunset on Sunday at 7: 15pm, due to Daylight Savings Time, will 'help make it feel more Spring-like.

A broad storm system in the lower Midwest will move up over the GreatLakes and into Canada over the weekend. This will bring a warm front acrossNew England late on Saturday and allow more comfortable temperatures, thoughalso a chance of showers. Thus we can expect clouds through the weekend, withcooler temperatures, near 50°F, on Saturday, and somewhat warmer for Sunday.

Today: Overcast and cool, with a damp sea breeze. High 48°F (9°C).Tonight: Continued cloudy. Low 36°F (3°C).Saturday: A few peeks of sun in the morning, chance of showers by late after-

noon. Remaining cool. High 50°F (10°C).Saturday Night: Chance of showers. Temperatures fall only into.the mid 40s

(7-8°C).Sunday: Morning showers. Some clearing by late in the day. High 55°F (13°C).Outlook for Monday: Sunny and cool with a northerly wind.

Weather Systems Weather FronL~ Precipitation Symbols Other S mbolsSnow Rain FogH High Pre"u", - _ Trough * . -S"""'~rs \l \l 'R........................ Warm Front ThundcnlormL Low Pre ..",", Light * 0::> H;u..,~~ ColdFmnl Moderale ** Compiled by MIT~ Hurricane

...... Occluded Fronl Heavy 11*Meteorology 5131f

and 1M Trclr

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,April 2, 1999 WORLD & NATION THE TECH Page 3'

.Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's

.VISitto U.S. Under Discussion

.North Ireland Peace Discussion.,Derailed by Munitions. Dispute

By Charles Trueheart ment" to move past the sensitive missioning before May 22, 2000,THE WASHINGTON POST issue of arms decommissioning. the main Protestant faction, the

J' HILLSBOROUGH, NORTHERN IRELAND, The dispute has become a ful- Ulster Unionist Party, has made aI, Efforts to defuse the most seri- crum for lingering sectarian mistrust, token delivery of IRA "hardware" aous menace yet to the year-old after 30 years of terror and blood- condition for participating inNorthern Ireland peace accord were shed here, and it has threatened to Northern Ireland's new cabinetput on hold Thursday after the two scuttle the establishment of power- alongside representatives of Sinnsides failed to reach agreement on sharing between Northern Ireland's Fein, the outlawed IRA's legalhow and when to dispose of para- Protestant majority and Catholic political wing.military arms and munitions. minority. The Ulster Unionist Party wonI,: After three days of intensive The Irish Republican Army, the the largest share of seats in thenegotiations before the Easter week- mainly Catholic paramilitary group Northern Ireland Assembly, and itsend deadline, the stymied process of that has been fighting to end British leader, David Trimble, has beensalvaging the 1998 Good Friday rule in Northern Ireland, has refused designated the first minister, the toppeace agreement was suspended a Protestant demand that it begin official under the new home ruleuntil April 13. surrendering its arsenal of weapons arrangement.

British Prim'e Minister Tony as a sign of its commitment to the Both Trimble and Sinn FeinBlair called the suspension "a pause Good Friday accords. leader Gerry Adams expressed dis-

, for reflection" and declared the Although the April 11, 1998, appointment at the outcome of thesides already had a "basis for agree- .agreement does not require decom- talks.

By John PomfretTHE WASHINGTON POST

BEIJING

The Foreign Ministry declined toprovide details Thursday about.Premier Zhu Rongji's scheduled tripto the United States next week, adramatic indication of a debate onthe wisdom of the summit among',$enior Chinese leaders.

Foreign Ministry spokesman SunYuxi said he had "nothing to add"to earlier statements that Zhu would'travel to the United States thismonth. The White House hasannounced that Zhu will arrive ont\pril 6 and visit several ~ericanCities. The visit is part of an effort toimprove ties between Chinese andAmerican leaders.\ The Foreign Ministry's silence is

one of several indications thatChina's leadership is debating thewisdom of sending Zhu to theUnited States.

The prime minister wants tomake the trip, one Chinese sourcesaid, but other, more conservativeelements in China are using theNATO airstrikes against Yugoslaviaas an excuse to raise questions abouthis journey.

Meanwhile, CommerceSecretary William Daley, in Chinaon an official trip, said he saw noreason to worry.

"I've not heard any speculation... as to any chance that (the trip)would be canceled or postponed,"Daley told a news conference in thesouthern city of Guangzhou.

,China is angry at the United

States for leading the bombing cam-paign against Yugoslavia and forWashington's decision to sponsor aresolution critical of China's humanrights record at the U.N. HumanRights Commission in Geneva. Itsofficials also are concerned aboutwhat they fear to be a rising tide ofanti-Chinese feeling in the UnitedStates, where China recently hasbeen accused of stealing nuclearweapons secrets.

China's reaction to the attackson Yugoslavia has been unusual,however, in its virulence. One state-run newspaper said the UnitedStates and its allies have "raped"Yugoslavia. Chinese papers are rou-tinely comparing the U.S.-led air

,assault with Nazi Germany's attackson Yugoslavia during World War II.

New-Look IRS Faces ProblemsNEWSDA}'

WASHINGTON

"Good luck in the bull's eye," Sen. Bob Kerrey wrote when hesent his scratchy pencil-drawn organizational chart to newly con-firmed Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti16 months ago.

The IRS commissioner is the bull's eye in the NebraskaDemocrat's doodle, the target for arrows Rossotti drew in his Senateconfirmation hearing two years ago from 16 officials and agenciesthat have something to say about how the giant tax-collecting agencydoes its work. They included the treasury secretary, TreasuryDepartment deputy and six assistant and undersecretaries, the vicepresident's Reinventing Government task force, the GeneralAccounting Office and six committees of Congress.

After 16 months in office, Rossotti has the drawing framed andhung in his office, although he hardly needs the reminder.

As Americans prepare for their annual rendezvous with the taxcollector, Rossotti and the IRS have been peppered with a steady beatof criticism for the agency's heavy-handed enforcement, for its ongo-ing problems with administration, financial management and technol-ogy, and the substantial obstacles it still faces.

Three New Eastern Europe NATOMembers Exposed To Serbs Wrath

1.0S ANG£l.ES TIMESSARAJEVO. BOSNIA.IIERZEGOVINA

Polish troops are flanked by seething Serbs as they guard a keygateway in the north of Bosnia. Czech soldiers patrol the volatileSerb-held region around Banja Luka. Hungarian forces have drawnless prickly duty with an engineering unit of the international peace-keeping mission here - small comfort for this "new NATO memberthat suddenly finds itself on the front line of the Yugoslav conflict.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic courted membership inNATO with fervor during the first years of freedom from the rivalWarsaw Pact and the Soviet Union's tether.

But only days after their induction into the world's most powerfulmilitary bloc, the three Eastern European states, which also serve aspart of the international peacekeeping force here, find themselvesexposed to the wrath of Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and vulnerableto Yugoslav retaliation for their guilt-by-association in NATO's bom-bardments.

The launch of the alliance's campaign against Yugoslavia - merehours after U.S. ceremonies to welcome the three new members toNATO - has undermined political and popular support for theBalkan actions in those countries. And it has raised doubts about thewisdom of putting the stability of fragile new democracies at risk forthe right to share shelter behind NATO's shield.

Weave your class colors ,intothe MIT Loom

back!...its

Tuesday- Jar WarsWednesday- Hack TriviaThursday- Wear your PJs to school

and down a cup-a-J oe for pt

Friday - field day in Kresge Oval4

UndergraduateAssociation

MIT's Undergraduate Student Government

attle of' the Classes '99Brought to you by the UA Committee on Student Life and your class councils

1111I11

Stop by Lobby 7 Mon ay --. Thursday to score pointstowards a study break for

your class

.~

Page 4 THE TECH

OPINIONLetters To The Editor

April 2, 1999

~.'

To Reach UsThe Tech's telephone number is (617) 253-1541. E-mail is the

easiest way to reach any member of our staff, If you are unsure whoto contact, send mail to general@the-tech.mit.edu, and it will bedirected to the appropriate person. The Tech can be found on theWorld-Wide Web at http://the-tech.mit.edu.

" I

".

in by this student group proclaiming, "wewant our families and all the people of theBalkans to live in peace." Perhaps this is so "because it was not Serbian lives that were socallously being taken from this earth, butBosnian and today Kosovar Albanian.

As NATO bombs Serbian territory in an :attempt to avert a humanitarian disaster it failedto prevent five years ago, Serbian students nowwrite to ask for prayers "for our families and all ."the innocent people suffering from this cam-paign!" Is Serbian life, as the timing of this callfor peace suggests, more important than otherlife? I think not. But perhaps in the eyes of the .members of the Organization of SerbianStudents it is; for clearly their concern for theplight of other innocent people who suffered inthe Balkans before last week was not great ...--enough to warrant a call for prayers.

Ahmed Bererhi '99

Letters and cartoons must bear the authors' signatures, address-es, and phone numbers. Unsigned letters will not be accepted. No let-ter or cartoon will be printed anonymously without the express priorapproval of The Tech. The Tech reserves the right to edit or condenseletters; shorter letters will be given higher priority. Once submitted,all letters become property of The Tech, and will not be returned. TheTech makes no commitment to publish all the letters received.

without explanation while the people insidescreamed for help.

Over the years, we have seen whatSlobodan Milosevic is capable of doing toinnocent people, and that if something is notdone to stop him, he will do it. I compare himto Hitler as a man who does not understandwords but only deeds. Although I do not con-done the double standards of certain NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization members withregards to their foreign policy, something hasto be done to keep Milosevic in check.

I realize that NATO air strikes put civilianinstallations and more importantly, Serbiancitizens at risk - destruction does not comewithout such risks. But Milosevic does notseem to believe that the lives of his people arevaluable enough for him to make concessionsand reach a peace deal. In the years I havebeen at MIT, I never once read an article sent

Opinion PolicyEditorials are the official opinion 'of The Tech. They are written

by the editorial board, which consists of the chairman, editor inchief, managing editor, news editors, and opinion editors.

Dissents are the opinions of the signed members of the editorialboard choosing to publish their disagreement with the editorial.

..)Columns and editorial cartoons are written by individuals andrepresent the opinion of the author, not necessarily that of the news-paper.

Letters to the editor are welcome. Electronic submissions areencouraged and may be sent to letters@the-tech.mit.edu. Hardcopy submissions may be addressed to The Tech, P.O. Box 397029,Cambridge, Mass. 02139-7029, or sent by interdepartmental mail toRoom W20-483. All submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. two daysbefore the date of publication.

In directing its letter ["Stop the Bombing,"Mar. 30] to "all people of good will," the MITOrganization of Serbian Students was perhapsmistaken in its choice of words. It might havebeen more appropriate to address "all' peoplewho want to revisit the holocaust." I say thisbecause that is really what is happening inKosovo. I have heard reliable reports of menbeing systematically executed, of housesbeing shelled and burned, and of men, womenand children being forced out of their homesand ordered to flee to neighboring countries. Ialso watched disturbing coverage (reminiscentof scenes from Schindler's List) of a train fullof ethnic Albanians hoping to escape persecu-tion in Kosovo, arrive at the Macedonian bor-der. Police surrounded the train, its doorswere locked, and it was sent back to Kosovo

Holocaust in Kosovo

BUSINESS STAFF

Associate Advertising Managers: JasmineRichards '02, Huanne T. Thomas '02; Staff:Karen Cheng '02.

rECI/NOLOer STAFF

Director: Shantonu Sen '02; Staff: Hoe-Teck Wee '02.

E/J/TORS AT I..ARCH

Contributing Editors: Jennifer Lane G,Dan McGuire '99; Color Editor: GaborCsanyi G; Senior Editor: May K. Tse '99.

ADVISORr BOARD

V. Michael Bove '83, Robert E. Malch-man '85, Thomas T. Huang '86, JonathanRichmond Pho '91, Reuven M. Lerner '92,Josh Hartmann '93, Jeremy Hylton '94,Garlen C. Leung '95, Thomas R. Karlo '97,Saul Blumenthal '98, Indranath Neogy '98.

PRODUCT/ON STAFF FOR TIllS ISSUE

Night Editors: Ryan Ochylski '0 I, AgnesBorszeki; Staff: Zareena Hussain '00 .

I'lwnu 'IW.\' .\'I:-'I-'F

Editor: Brett Altschul '99; AssociateEditors: Ian Lai '02, Agnes Borszeki; Staff:Erica S. Pfister '00.

.\'EH'S ST.IFF

Editors: Frank Dabek '00. SusanBuchman '0 I, Jennifer Chung '0 I. KristaL. Niece '0 I; Associate Editors: RimaArnaout '02, Sanjay Basu '02, Neena S.Kadaba '02, Kristen Landino '02, Kevin R.Lang '02, Karen E. Robinson '02; Staff:Shawdee Eshghi '99, Jean K. Lee' 99, EricSit '99. Anna K. Benefiel '00, AdamBrown '00, Dudley Lamming '00, KatieJeffreys '0 I. Laura McGrath Moulton '0 I,Jane Yoo '0 I. Gitrada Arjara '02, SteveI-Iobennan '02, Alex lanculescu '02, PayalKohli '02. Priya Prahalad '02. Michael M.Torrice '02; :\Ieteorologists: Michael C.Morgan PhD '95, Greg Lawson G, BillRamstrom G. Gerard Roe G, Chris E. Forest,Marek Zebrowski.

ChairmanJosh Bittker '99Editor in Chief

Zareena Hussain '00Business Mana~erJoey DieckhansOOManaging EditorRyan Ochylski '0 IExecutive Editor

Douglas E. Heimburger '00

Ft. .., 1VRHS SlAFF

Cartoonists: Solar Olugebefola '99,Jessica WU '99, Jennifer Dimase '01, XixiD'Moon '01; Staff: Shawdee Eshghi '99,Jean K. Lee '99, Andrew J. Maywah '99Aaron D. Mihalik '02.

()/'/\1() \ .\'1: "T

Editors: Michael J. Ring '0 I, NaveenSunkavally '0 I; Columnists: Julia C.Lipman '99, Eric J. Plosky '99, ElaineY. Wan '0 I. Veena Thomas '02, KrisSchnee '02; Staff: Wesley T. Chan '00,Dawen Choy '00. Seth Bisen-Hersh '0 I,Andrew J. Kim '01, Jeff Roberts '02.

1'1/0 TOG RA 1'1/ r STAFFEditors: Gregory F. Kuhnen '00, RebeccaLoh '0 I, Annie S. Choi; Associate Editors:Garry R. Maskaly '00, Karlene Rosera '00,Ajai Bharadwaj '0 I; Staff: Rich Fletcher G,Aaron Isaksen G, Wan Yusof WanMorshidi G, Thomas E. Murphy G,Michelle Povinelli G. Arifur Rahman G, T.Luke Young G. Krzysztof Gajos '99,Connie C. Lu '00. Chun Hua Zheng '00,Ying Lee '0 I, Rebecca Hitchcock '02,Ming-Tai Huh '02, Angela Piau '02, YiXie '02, Lucy Yang '02, Miodrag CirkoviC.

SPORrs ST.,IFF

Editor: Shao-Fei Moy '98.A R 1:\'srAfTEditors: Joel M. Rosenberg '99, SatwiksaiSeshasai '0 I; Associate Editors: Vladimir V.Zelevinsky '95. Bence P. Olveczky G; Staff:Daniel Metz G. Steven R. L. Millman G, RoyRodenstein G, Teresa Huang '97. David V.Rodriguez '97, Mark Huang '99, KateSamrandvedhya '00, Fred Choi '02, Daniel J.Katz.

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April 2, 1999 OPINION THE TECH Page 5

Get Tough or Get OutNATO Must Risk,an EscalatedKosovo Campaign or Halt Air Strikes

Veena Thomas

I could have been killed.That could have been the end .....while stressing about 1"ny exalns.

That~ no uJay to die.

Don't LetStress

Hit You

Not even having time to think, 1 ran toescape its collision course. When I somewhatsafely reached the middle of the road, I turnedto observe the Jeep still reversing erraticallyuntil it reached the light on the opposite side,which was still red. Unfortunately I was tooshaken up' by the incident to take note of thelicense plate number of the idiot who almost ranme over. I finished crossing the street as a fewothers and myself looked at each other in disbe-lief of what we had just seen. Someone said tome, "Wow, you were almost flattened." Toostunned to digest what really had just happened,I kind of tried to make light of the situation, andagreed. But as I slowly walked to my dorm, thefull implications of the event hit me (no punintended). I could have been seriously injured orkilled. That could have been the end ... whilecrossing Mass. Ave. stressing about my exams.That could have been it. My last thoughtswould have been about getting good grades onmy tests. That's no way to die.

Like everyone else, I had heard the stereo-typical "make the most out of life" speech moretimes than I can count. It's never rung so clearas it did that night. I wasn't prepared to saygoodbye to the world that night, yet a few feetcloser, a few seconds later, and that could havebeen the case. But is anyone ever prepared tosay goodbye? For more than 18 years of exis-tence to have been taken away suddenly, at thatmoment, seems unthinkable.

This whole incident was ironic becausethere I was, upset about the work load andhow awful things were going and howstressed out I was, when my life was almostcut short. The one thing I was complainingabout almost disappeared. Only a few hoursbefore I had been worrying about entropy andenthalpy, but now I was upset at what couldhave been the end. Academics are not worthstressing about to the degree that many othersand I have at times. Life is much too preciousto spend worrying about trivial details. If youmust stress, worry about whether or not youare living your life to the fullest extent possi-ble. Life can be take!1 away at any moment,prepared or not, and, in the words of Kansas,"All your money won't another minute buy ...all we are is dust in the wind."

I was unbelievably stressed out the Tuesdaybefore spring break. Originally, I had a 5.60exam, an 8.02 exam, and an 18.03 exam allscheduled for Wednesday, March 17. Becauseof numerous complaints, the 5.60 exam wasrescheduled for the night of the 16th. I wasn'tsure if this was a blessing or a curse. I no longerhad three exams on the same day, but now I hadone less day to study for 5.60.

So the 16th found me in my dorm room,frantically studying. I tried to eat lun

Page 6 THE TECH

THE ARTSApril 2, 1999

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Alpha Phi Phlea Market. The Log Jam was a ..Jmemorable and successful night for thesewidely known singers. '

The opportunity to be involved in the ....show made the concert much more enj9yablefor the crowd. Everyone had a great time lis-tening to the music and watching the anticsand dramatic element put on. The combina- ....tion of groups from all over made for anincredible night and left the audience with

.warm feeling of tradition: .Michael Potash, an alum, helped organize

the largest Log event ever. There was a 50thAnniversary commemoration T-Shirt made,along with an anniversary CD, Long Load,that is available for sale. The Logs are notsellitig the CO yet, but they are available by

. contacting Will Lee atwillee@neogenesis.com. The T-shirts areavailable (both the traditional Logs shirt andthe new anniversary one) from the Logs(Iogs@mit.edu). The shirts and their latestrelease, Redwood, is also for "sale in LobbyI0 this week.

well, although the group seemed to have dif-. ficulty keeping their concentration. Andalthough there were no painfully. blatantmishaps, neither was there anything particu-larly outstanding in the movement, with theexception of excellent work done by theoboe section.

For the last movement (Sturmichbewegt), the Symphony re-collected them-selves and began strongly, but either theylost steam or they were trying too hard tokeep the work togethe.r by the time theyreached the second section. From then onthe Symphony-began to have definite prob-lems both in the full ensemble and withininstrumental sections. Near the beginningthe violins' phrasing was very well-done,but then they ,failed to mesh well with thecello section, and later the strings and theoboe section were likewise out of sync.Once again the group had a strong sense ofthe structure and transitions were verywell-done, but too many times musiciansburied themselves in their music and

. ignored the clear directions from the con-ductor.

The performances of the Symphonyreceived a good reaction from the audience inattendance, and their praise was justlydeserved. The group of extremely talented " ~individual musicians worked together to pre-sent a difficult, but highly enjoyable, program.

a change from the uniform look thewomen's groups had. Their songs rangedfrom Toad the Wet Sprocket to theBackstreet Boys. The audience had as muchfun with the music as they did, since theXtension ~hords made every song a produc-tion instead of just a rendition of a familiartune. And they had collectively mastered arange from a soothing bass to a high coun-tertenor .

The Chords were followed by another all-women group from California, the USCSirens, who had a fun and colorful sound. Thegirl who did the vocal percussion was out-standing. This was the group's first tour.

The Logarhythms have been featured inThe Boston Globe and boston. com. Theyperform four free concerts at MIT everyyear, and at other places in the entire NewEngland area, inCluding Boston University,Faneuil Hall, President Vest's house, andColby College. The group of thirteen has .also performed at many campus charityevents like Sigma Kappa Late Night and the

T. LUKE YOUNG--.-THE TECHThe MIT Logarhylhms 'Perform Elne Kleine NOTmuslk, a traditional oldie but gOOdie, Intheir 50th anniversary concert.

in 0 Major was excellent. There were manywonderful moments throughout all four ofthe movements, although the first two move-ments stand out in particular. The opening tothe first movement (Langsam. Schleppend.Immer sehr gemachlich) bordered on thesublime, with the strings quietly supportingthe woodwinds as they set the early morningscene. When the brass, playing offstage asdirected in the score, joined the establishedmusical setting seamlessly, they played witha wonderful warmth and certainty. The fluteand clarinet "cuckoos" were lovely, and theopening cello melody was absolutely gor-geous. The rest of the movement was simi-larly controlled and impressive. TheSymphony completely understood the struc-ture of the rather mammoth movement andtransitions between sections were oftentimesperformed perfectly. The musicians wereable to build up the music to wonderful lev-els of excitement, sustain a quiet intensity,and convey real joy and jocularity withapparent ease.

The second movement (Kraftig bewegt~doch nicht ze schnell) was filled with greatenergy and really showed off the capabilitiesof the Orchestra. The middle, quieter sectionfelt a little unsure, but the return to the firsttheme renewed the Symphony's sense ofcontrol. The third movement (Feirlich undgemessen, ohne ze schleppen) was played

~T. LUKE YOUNG-THE TECH .~.

The Logs and alumni representing all fifty years of the group's existence conclude the concert with aperfonnance of MIT's alma mater, Arise All Ye of MIT.

asked to sing, the entiremiddle section of the audi-torium rose, and over 60alumni joined the Logs inthe front. Together, theextended Logarhythmssang the oldtime favorite"Coney Island Baby" and"Arise Ye Sons / Take meback to the Tech." Theincredible part was thatthere were Alumni repre-senting all 50 years of theLogs. "It was the mostincredible experience tomeet the alumni and singwith them," says Kuo-Chiang Lian '00. "We hada reunion throughout theday, that involved singing,looking at pictures and memorabilia, andactivities for the Alumni."

Opening for the Logs were our very ownMuses, followed by the Smith Noteables. Thisall-female group had a very refreshing a cap-pella sound. Their mix of songs both old andnew was well done.

The Jackson Jills from Tufts were next.Their intense sound and fun got the audienceinvolved. MIT men and women alike foundtheir skit of the difference between the sexesto hit home pretty well.

Next was the first of two groups that hadtravelled a long way. The Xtension Chordsdrove 18 hours from Illinois, and for theirmellow yet strong sound, I'd say it wasworth it. The Xtension Cords took the stagedressed in jeans and all different shirts, quite

should have. The pauses in their first melodywere disruptive instead of fully integrated,the bow changes in accompanying figureswere often awkward' and disconcerting, andeven within long bow strokes there was noteven the hint of legato. Also, in a majorityof the faster passages the strings lackedensemble, causing these sections to bemurky. All of these contributed to the over-all result that the majority of the first move-ment felt disjointed and incoherent.

After this rough beginning, the Orchestragreatly improved. The introduction to the sec-ond movement (Allegro) was excellent, withthe solo clarinet and the second violins play-ing with definite purpose. Here the Orchestrabegan paying closer attention to Anzolini' sclear conducting, shaping each musicalphrase under his guidance. As themes wererepeated in different sections, the articulationand style were also matched, to great effect.The strings played more as a cooperativegroup than they had in the first movement,and two often overlooked instruments, theharp and the timpani, really shone. Themovement ended very strongly, highlightedby powerful tremolo and unison sections.

For the most part, the MITSO' s perfor-mance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. I

ON CAMPUS

LogarhythmsOldgrowth andflowers infull bloomBy Rupa Hattangadl

Incelebration of its half century in exis-tence, the MIT Logarhythms performed a50th Anniversary concert to a packedaudience in 10-250 on March 13. Theevent included an excellent combination of,according to the program I got, "old growth"(Log Alumni) and "flowers in full bloom"(their wives). A plethora of guest a cappellagroups helped round out the evening and setthe stage for the highly anticipated Logs per-formance.

The Logs opened with the Beatles' song"All My Loving," and continued from rockshow tlmes "Grease Lightning" and "PinballWizard," to "Life in a Nutshell" by theBarenaked Ladies and Chris OeBurgh's"Lady in Red." The repertoire also includedCream's "White Room," and CountingCrows' "Mr. Jones." The performance waspunctuated by quite a number of soloists andcomical skits in between. There was also arendition called "Eine Kleine NOT Musick"which was done very well, except for thesmall casualty that came about during the pro-duction. "Krazy" Karl Erdmann '02 got hit inthe face by a wandering brass rat. "His headcollided with my fist," said Seth JacobCooperman, the wearer of the Rat. "It was acomplete accident and would have been a lotbetter for Karl had I not been wearing my[ring]." Karl came back quickly and joined thegroup again for the last few songs after takinga few minutes off.

Looking around the audience, it wasclear that there were more than just cumentMIT students there. As the alumni were

ON CAMPUS

The fledgling USC Sirens made their premier appearance on the East Coast.

By Fred CholSTAFF REPORTER

One can't help but admire the MITSymphony Orchestra for evenattempting to tackle such majorworks as Ives' and Mahler's FirstSymphonies. These two are of such difficul-ty that a professional orchestra could easilyspend half a year working to prepare themfor performance, and still not fully perfectthem. It is much to the credit of the conduc-tor, Dante Anzolini, that the Symphony'slevel of performance of the two works Mar.13 in Kresge Auditorium was commendablyhigh. Although the concert was not flawless,there were many fine moments that clearlydisplayed the skill of the group.

The first section of the program wasdevoted to the first two movements fromCharles Ives' Symphony No. I in D minor.However, it wasn't until well into the firstmovement (Adagio molto sostenuto) that theSymphony Orchestra as a whole reallybegan to show their true capabilities. The'opening English horn solo was played withwonderful control and tone, supported nicelyby the lower strings. However, further on,the strings, especially the upper strings, pre-vented the movement from flowing as it

MIT Symphony OrchestraAn evening of Ives and Mahler

mailto:willee@neogenesis.com.mailto:Iogs@mit.edu.

.".1., .''':-., I ..... ,.THE TECH Page 7

standing visual and aural experience.Working with the music, perhaps driving it,or perhaps driven by it, is the outstandinguse of cuts, slow motion, still shots, and per-spective. The use of the camera in Lock,Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels seems unlikethe work of a skilled cameraman; it gives thesense that the camera is living, changing itspace with the mood, adjusting focus andbearing to fit the environment. As Our Manwalks away from the poker game, with "IWanna Be Your Dog" blaring in his and ourears, the camera positions itself inches fromhis face, following every movement of hishead, focusing on his horrified but placidexpression, with the environment behindhim violently changing; it's quite a fantasticscene. I can't say enough about the camera-work and editing without saying too much,however, sol' II just say this: it is quite avisually stunning ride, without using cameratricks and digital effects to excess.

Of course, as with all films about rivalingcriminal elements and innocent fools caughtin the middle, the ending inevitably becomes(and I hesitate to use this term, for fear of afilm cri'tic mob stringing me up) aTarantinoesque bloodbath. But I particularlyenjoyed the endless ending this film had, withits multiple denouements and the resurgenceof the narrator we encountered in the begin-ning, and the very last moments produce oneof the most enjoyable surprises found in a filmin a long time.

Overall, I found it highly enjoyable.Ignoring the elements that exhibit weaknessesregarding structure, depth, imd morality is amust for this film. Let's face it: this isn't themost original premise, and the method ofmasking this by adding innumerable subplotsis somewhat confusing. The characters lackdefinition, and, of course, let us not forget thateveryone in this movie is a criminal. And yetit is one of the most entertaining films I haveseen in 1999. And, naturally, any movie withSting in it can't be all bad.

choice, and pacing of the dialogue - toreinforce our perceptions (anyone .who candeliver the line "Besides, it's cheap!" with-out a humorous context and still make theaudience laugh deserves recognition). Thedialogue composition and pace are clearlyobjective; what isn't told outright isexpressed in very succinct terms. Indeed,much of this story is about the telling of sto-ries. As a result, the dry method of speakingand its contrast with both characters andvisuals is highly enjoyable.

The eternally complicated story line,when viewed as a whole, has a sort of detri-mental effect on the plot. Follow me here:our heroes buy guns stolen for a loan shark

to rob a group of toughies whorob a group of pot growers who

, grow the weed for another mobboss to whom our heroes are try-ing to sell the stolen pot in orderto payoff the loan shark thatwanted to steal the guns in thefirst place. And that's leaving o~thalf the cast. However, whe'nviewed individually, the subplotsare extremely funny by them-se Ives, and thus add to the film'soverall effect. It is this group ofhilarious subplots that maydetract from the plot, but theykeep the viewer constantly guess-ing and add tremendously to thefilm as a whole.

Also adding to the film is itsuse of music. I remember very lit-tle of the original score, becausethe only music. that sticks in myhead is the impressive use of well-assembled soundtrack. What is itwith the British and Iggy Pop? I'venever been a big fan of the man,but rarely have I seen "I Wanna Be

Your Dog" used as well in a film.The music, coupled with the

cinematography, creates an out-

THE ARTS

S. PEARSON

(Left to right) Eddy (Nick Moran), Soap (Dexter Fletcher), Bacon (Jason Statham), and Tom (JasonFlemyng) share a pint and a laugh In the Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

seems new (TrueRomance comes tomind, although Lock,Stock is much better) .This admittedly simplis-tic premise is convolut-ed with a multitude ofsubplots whose relation-ship to each other is lostuntil very near the end.A fair amount of retro-spective scrutiny isneeded to finally under-stand the story, but thereis a wonderful feeling of"I've got it!" at the end.The characters them-selves are rather lackingin definition and motiva-

_tion, and only' one char-acter (the father/enforcer) exhibits any sem-blance of depth ..

However, the makeup of the film is clear-ly not dedicated tp formal excellence, andthus we must not analyze it as such. Makeno mistake about it, this film is here toentertain, through its sharp dialogue, hilari-ous situations; carefully chosen soundtrack,and outstanding cinematography. Each char-acter's strengths and weaknesses (especiallyweaknesses, given the film's tag line: "Adisgrace to criminals everywhere") are dis-played at the beginning of the film by anexternal narrator and laid before us. Afterthe formal introductions, we rely on theirverbal interaction - vocal inflections, word

S. PEARSON

(Left to right) Vinnie Jones discusses a scene with the film's writer and director Guy Ritchie onthe set of his film Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels~

MOVIE REVIEW

By Francisco DelatorreSTAFF REPORTER

Written and directed by Guy RitchieWith Jason Flemyng, De.xter Fletcher, Nick

. Moran, and Jason Statham

..Lock, Stock and TwoSmoking BarrelsNot a stupid movie

Ilove accents, whether it's British, Scottish,Russian, Italian, German, or, for that mat-ter, anything else. I also like free stuff. Soan ideal gift for me is something free thatinvolves people with accents. Thus, when

.'~ LSC (Lecture Series Committee) had a freesneak preview of Lock, Stock, and TwoSmoking Barrels, I had to go.

And, in retrospect, I would pay full priceto see this film,

The story is that of four petty criminals,who pool their "earnings" into a high stakespoker game. We soon find, though, that thegame is rigged, and not even the card sharkamong them can save their hard-earned cash.Unfortunately, however, the amount they lose

~ far exceeds the amount they have, and theyare given one week to come up with theremaining money. Their plans to acquire the

", cash clash significantly with the plans of vari-ous rival criminal groups, and our heroes findthemselves caught in the middle of a circle ofviolent incompetence and ruthless bloodshed.And it's funny!

To get the unpleasantries out of the way,the film did have weaknesses that any two-bitreviewer for a school newspaper can pick upon. First, a movie about tooth-and-nail crimi-nals' following a bunch of small-time law-breakers who have' stolen their money hardly

t'

..«.

By Vladimir ZelevlnskyASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR

Directed by Ron HowardWriiten by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo MandelBased on the screenplay "Louis 19, Ie Roi desOndes" by Emile Gaudreault and SylvieBouchardWith Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman,Ellen DeGeneres,. Woody Harrelson, MartinLandau, Rob Reiner, Elizabeth Hurley

E'Dtv leaves behind a better impressionthan the film, given its unoriginality,probably should. EDtv director RonHoward is first and foremost a skillfulHollywood craftsman. With nary a flash ofbrilliance, his movies invariably display theirsolid workmanlike qualities. Albeit, his lasttwo. films didn't fit this mold at all- Apollo

1~ soared, while Ransom wasrepugnant and exploi~ative -with EdTV, Howard returns tohis usual form.

Any other year, this wouldnot be a compliment; but in1999, it is. With all worthwhilemovies that one can catch nowbeing either holdover or. latereleases, this year's slate is rep-resented by such abominationsas She's All That and AnalyzeThis. Therefore, it hardly comesas a shock that when a movie'sonly accomplishment is to makeno major creative blunders, it is

automatically considered head and shouldersabove the usual multiplex dreck. There's not asingle aspect of the movie which is eithermemorable or original; on the other hand,thankfully, there's nothing groan-inducingeither.

EDtv is the story of a lovable lout EdPekurny (Matthew McConaughey), who is tobe filmed 24 hours a day, seven days a week,for a reality-based show called True TV. "Butthat's The Truman Show!", I hear you cry.Well, no. Ed knows he's being filmed, notonly because he gave his consent, but alsobecause there's half a dozen sweaty guys run-ning around him with TV cameras and boommikes.

Very soon, Ed becomes a major celebrity,with his cult status reaching country-wide pro-portions. As such, his dealings with his fami-

ly, his brother (Woody Harrelson), his broth-er's girlfriend (lenna Elfman), and his otherfriends and relatives, all change.

There are many directions where this storyidea could have headed. We could have a bit-ing satire on the burgeoning fascination withthe institution of celebrity; we could have adark exploration of invasion into personal pri-vacy; we could have a rollicking farce, withthe clever notion of live TV broadcast being adirect influence on the events being transmit-t~d. I guess, all of these ideas are present inED tv, in some vague diluted shape or form .But the movie doesn't really go for any ofthese. It is simply a feature-length sitcom. Iteven looks like one, with thoroughly unre-markable costumes and art direction.

And it's not a sharp-eyed, deconstruction-alistic kind of a sjtcom, the way Pleasantvillewas. This one is merely content to put itscharacters through the relaxed paced of anamusing comedy, with really nothing tooffend anyone (the only negatively portrayedcharacter, a TV studio honcho played by RobReiner, is a bare-bones caricature), and reallynothing to say.

Watching EDtv is not unpleasant; quite theopposite, I had two solid hours of good time.Howard's direction is quite unremarkable, buthe manages to stage a few good shots, mostlyinvolving creative cutting from the scene tothe same scene on a TV screen and back.There are also a few relatively seriousmoments in the screenplay, some of whichfeel artificial, and some work.

And then of course there's the acting.Again, it's mostly just proficient, but two ofthe performers should be proud of their workhere. Both McConaughey and Elfman giveengagingly nuanced portrayals, which areeven more surprising since they start themovie as caricatures, portraying their ~harac-ters in really wide brush-strokes, But by theend, they manage to completely fill their char-acters, and what's remarkable is that none ofthese nuances contradict the wide-eyed lov-able losers they were playing in the beginning.

EDtv is certainly enjoyable to watch. Onlyafter the film is over, and one can think aboutit, several things come to mind which canchange one's opinion about it. At first, it's notreally in the same weight category as the firsttwo millennial zeitgeist "TV is Life!" moviesof last year, The Truman Show andPleasantville. There are some striking paral-lels between these three, mostly involving theclimactic attempts of the characters to escapebeing locked inside the boob tube. And, com-pared with those two, EDtv is weightless tothe point of disappearance.

Another problem is with the story. There'sno arguing that this film tries to show a con-trast between the bright and cheerful ambianceof a TV show and the more somber feel of reallife; but the script, scene after scene afterscene, keeps returning to simplistically sitcom-like characters and conflicts. In a word, whatpasses for Ed's private life feels so artificialand scripted already, that it's very hard tomake a point of its superiority over TV.

Page 8 THE TECH THE ARTS

J

cult to recognize true heartfelt candidnesseven when it's sung directly to us from a #stage in a cafe, but the Mystery Band proved 'in their performance that they are not onlythe real thing, but a talented group of musi-cians as well. Their performance at the "Kendall Cafe showed The Dan EmeryMystery Band playing their catchy, memo-rable, feel-good, and honest-without-being-cheesy songs at their best, giving a much-improved and better-informed opinion of theband than came from being only acquaintedwith their album. Although their concert wasall too short, the audience (who was general-ly too interested in their drinks to give theband a chance to win them over) was not.ideal, and many people didn't even know.'that they had missed the opportunity to hearsuch a great band. For those who were pay-ing. attention, the Dan Emery Mystery Banddid more than succeed in entertaining us;they won us over and made us fans. If youwere among those that missed them, don'tdespair. You can pick up.their album, Love ~"and advertising at CDNow, Amazon.com,and the Band's website athttp://aperock.home.mindspring.com/.

Without even exerting one's mind,it's easy to list at ieast half adozen "trials of the century," run-ning all the way from Ragtime'sshooting of architect Stamford White to, well,you know what. Each of them seem to exist ata nexus of multiple conflicts, money versusfame versus guilt versus whatever might bethe current hot topic in the societal conscious-ness.

The Leopold & Loeb trial (Chicago, 1924)was certainly one of them. Two rich youngmen, from affluent families, plqt a perfectcrime. They kidnap and brutally kill a littleboy, without really any reason to do so. Theymake an idiotic mistake and are caught andpromptly charged with murder. They aredefended by none other than famous ClarenceDarrow, who would later go on to defendschoolteacher Spokes in the notorious "Biblevs. Darwin" case. The case is a tangle ofissues. There's the fact that Darrow knew ofhis clients' guilt, and still defended them,being a staunch opponent of the death penalty.There's the mystery of why two handsomeand rich men went for a base crime. There's ahomosexual romance between the two.There's a curious involvement of popular phi-losophy, most significantly Nietsche. And, ofcourse, there's the clash of characters, drivenstate prosecutor Robert Crowe versus Darrowversus his clients.

There are many directions one can takethis play. One can go for a riveting courtroomdrama; or maybe a twisted romance; or, per-haps, for a harrowing character study; or for aperiod piece, using the 1924 milieu as a sepa-rate characters; or, ultimately, as a somberlook at the sources of fascism, with Leopold& Loeb attempting to achieve the status ofNietschean supermen by the means of murder.

. SHEILA FERRINI

Bill Moatos (left) and John Kuntz as Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold plot the murder •,of ~bby Franks In the Lyric Stage Company of Boston's production of John Logan'sNever the Sinner-The Leopold & Loeb Story currently running through April 18th•

THEATER REVIEW And the play, shockingly,amazingly, unbelievably,misses every single one ofthese opportunities, squan-dering dramatic actions,

Thetanot.1,. ~ t'IJI'fJenlO"l-Ft'l,. A C.untury char~cter insigh~, and evenLt 1U51., fIUI U IUJ ~'fI the slffiple story m favor of,By Vladimir Zelevlnsky oh, I don't know what. It comes as,no surpriseASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR that the ,playwright John Logan has anotherLyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon St., career as a Hollywood screenwriter (with theBoston yet unproduced Conqu!stador, Any GivenWritten by John Logan . Sunday, Mission: Impossible II to his credit).Directed by Spiro Veloudos His play operates in the way most HollywoodWith John Kuntz, Bill Mootos, Bill Humpreys, blockbusters do, with the scenes being soDale Place short and switching so r~pidly, that one isMore information available at 617-437-7172 readily reminded of the MTV-style editing.Through 4/18 At its best, this is distracting; at its worst,

infuriating, when the play rapidly switchesgears just when it could have ~tayed with thescene for at least another minute and maybegain a moment of insight. As a result, Neverthe Sinner reminded me of a hamster on its lit-tle spinning wheel: there's an amazing flurryof activity, with rapidly moving limbs allakimbo, and you know it's working very hard,and moving very fast ii but moving very muchnowhere, and its gets highly annoying verysoon.

First act is mostly disappointing, with onlyone thing really happening: the murder itself,a graphically disturbing scene. Everythingelse is lost in a flurry of two-minute scenes.Second act, picks some things up, by at leasthearkening to the Playwrighting 101 class andcreating some kind of dramatic conflict,between the attorney Darrow and state prose-cutor Crowe. These scenes have some zing tothem; but by this time, it's too little, too late,and the second act generally feels soporific.

I can't even imagine how. bad Never theSinner would feel if it were poorly staged. Atleast, the Lyric Stage production works extra-hard to make the audience ignore the play'sfaults. Both the direction and acting are .justright, interesting enough but not too much soas to distract from the other aspects of the pro-ductions. Most impressive are the lightingdesign (which evocatively creates the mood ofmany changing setting which are all donewithout any changes in the set) and sounddesign. The latter is very interesting, withsuch effects as the seamless fade of periodmusic from the house speakers to the smallradio on the set.

Too bad, really; such a story (true, as mostgreat stories are) would merit a better stageversion. What Never the Sinner is most mem-orable for, is its spectacular squandering ofopportunities.

Never the Sinner

mance, especially "Bra" and "The Only OneWho Loves You," where the lyrics andmusic were more immediate and thus morepotent. Also, Dan Emery's practice of keep-ing the lyrics fluid by changing them slightlyas it suited his mood caused each song to feelwonderfully spontaneous. Additions werewelcome surprises as well, like the lyrics andpiano sound effect in "Bra" in which on topof everything bad that had happened that daythe knob for the hot water falls off while thegirl is trying to take a relaxing shower.There's also the alternate verse in "StudentLoan" in which the narrator keeps trying toget rid of his student loan mailings, evengoing so far as to have NASA send them into

. orbit.But the highlight of the evening was the

final song, "The Only One," played at therequest of an overly zealous audience mem-ber. The band showed their desire to please,for although they protested the request atfirst by saying, "But we don't have .ourdrummer!" they immediately shrugged offtheir momentary reservations and performeda stellar version of the song.

In our cynical modem society it is diffi-

also features an amusinganalogy. Over a goofyaccompaniment reminiscentof "Wild Thing", Espinolaeloquently answers the well-known question "If a treefalls in the forest and there'sno one to hear, does it pro-duce a sound?" with thelines, "You're a tree in theforest/and you just want to

fall/But if you're not in the news/you didn'thappen at all."

Such amusing metaphors are one of theidiosyncratic strengths of the Mystery Band'salready catchy songs. In the same vein as"Bra" and "Famous" are the tunes "OtherPeople's Tongues," in which the narrator saysthat even though he and his girlfriend havekissed many other people in previous rel~tion-ships, "That's okay, 'cause we brushed ourteeth," and "Little Jar of Mustard." The latter

song is a unique mini-serenade inwhich the narrator begs the

object of his desire to"Squeeze me, squeeze me,

squeeze me, 'cause I'm alittle jar of mustard." Healternates between suchdeclarations of affection,growing more emphaticwith pleas to "Squeezeme and spread me" and

"Squeeze me, spread me,eat me," with insecure ques-

tions of, "Do you like mus-tard?" and "Are you allergic to

mustard?" and finally, "Are you aller-gic to me?" The song is so trivial yet so hilari-ously memorable that it stood out even amongall the other great performances of the night.

It's impossible not to mention at least inpassing all five of the songs which regret-tably do not appear on the Mystery Band'salbum but were performed. Along with"Famous" and "Mustard" were "Whoop-te-do," a gently lilting song about a formerlove, and the two irreverent songs,"Downloading Smut from the Internet" and"Me Against the Assholes of the World.""Smut" greatly increased the group's energy.and featured one of the band's best hooks,and "Assholes" was completely refreshing inits honest confessions. Both were told in atongue-in-cheek manner that let the audienceknow that even though the group is unafraidto address topics that may be consideredtaboo, the group never takes their r~bellionagainst society too seriously.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the fivesongs taken from Love and advertising wereamong the best songs from the album. Thesongs really benefited from live perfor- ~

expect is here: mint-green con-vertibles, abandoned warehouses,and a bouncy camera synchro-nized to the groovy 70's soundeffects.

The young ensemble workswell together, the characters being

gritty but cohesive when they need to.Individually, they're not always as successful.Omar Epps is so cool that sometimes he'sfrozen stiff, but otherwise he's usually right-on, whether exploding at Pete for crashing his"set o'wheels" or freaking out when a gang-ster asks to dance with him. Claire Danes isapt but out of sync with the atmosphere attimes, whether it's because she looks moreapathetic and annoyed than gritty, or maybebecause she shows a bit more emotion thanthe plot's frail frame can sustain. Maybe it'sthat 90's-70's connection again.

As for the coppers, Dennis Farina andRichard Jenkins could probably do these rolesin their sleep. The script tries to actually makethem do that, but Jenkins in particular stillmanages some agitated zing, as he did inFlirting with Disaster. Brolin has perhaps themost one-dimensional character, whose screentime consists almost exclusively of fake smil-ing.

It's Giovanni Ribisi who walks away withthe movie; even his name is probably moreinteresting than most characters, and his per-formance is non-stop entertainment. There areactually many laughs in this movie, and theyare all earned by Ribisi. From his growlingmatch with a dog (which is painted on thewall) at the beginning of the movie, to hisclown-like facial contortions both when show-ing earnest and put-on emotion, he keeps themovie from dragging. Having held his own i_nSaving Private Ryan, it's apparent that Ribisihas great dramatic and comedic range.

There's not much more to The Mod Squad.If you're looking for some 70's grooves, anexplosion or two, and some amusing perfor-mances, you will enjoy this movie as much as'I did. Just don't go in expecting any kind ofplot or character development that youwouldn't see in an episode ofa 70's TV show.

CONCERT REVIEW

By Fred CholSTAFF REPORTER"I have one mission tonight," said the man

on the slightly elevated stage of thecramped, dimly-lit cafe. "For you," hecontinued, stopping here to point direct-

ly at a random guy in the audience wholooked completely bewildered, "for you Ihave one mission ... It is to entertain you."

And for those of us in the audience whowere willing to shut up and listen, entertain usthey did. The Dan Emery MysteryBand, an up-and-coming bandfrom New York City whosedebut album Love andadvertising has beenrecently reviewed by TheTech, played their firstnon-NYC gig at TheKendall Cafe Friday,March 12. Even withouta drummer, The MysteryBand played their 10-songset with a passionate con-viction, a tangible sense ofhonesty, and a general air ofgood-natured humor that was absolute-ly engaging. Their songs range from quietmusings to honest conversation to raucoushumor, all guaranteed to put you in a bettermood.

The Mystery Band eased into their reper-toire by opening with "Space Renegade," aballad from their album. Like their other slow-er pieces, it tends to get overlooked in favor ofthe more upbeat songs, but in performance itwas completely stunning. Dan Emery's strongvocals, Brian Tully's solid bass-playing, andthe sounds Steve Espinola produced using ashort-wave radio, all combined to convey per-fectly the sense of loneliness, resignation, andescape that the song relates.

The opening song, great as it was, beliedthe fun and frolic that filled most of theevening. The band introduced the next songwith the comment, "This is famous," whichturned out to be a bit of a joke because thename of the song was "Famous." As in "HerFavorite Bra," a song in which a male friendwishes he could help his female friend getthrough her difficult times by being supportiveand "firm" and "strong" like a bra, "Famous"

MOVIE REVIEW

By Roy RodenstelnSTAFF REPORTER

1999, 1 hr 31 minDirected by Scott SilverWritten by Stephen T. Kay, Scott Silver, KateLanierWith Claire Danes. Omar Epps. GiovanniRibisi, Dennis Farina. Josh Brolin

The Dan EmeryMystery BandA liUlejar of mustard for the saul

When you think of The Mod Squad,what comes to mind? Many of ushave vague recollections aboutthis 70's show, which was pro-duced in part by Aaron Spelling, just the 8thof his 123 (so far) producer stints, and ranfrom 1968 to 1973. The Mod Squad the moviehas the 70's sensibilities down pat. Of course,the catch is that a large portion of these sensi-bilities is indistinguishable from those of the90's. Indeed, a well-known clothing manufac-turer is promoting clothes based on the movie.The other catch is that The Mod Squadachieves a TV-show feel all too successfully,and looks flimsy on the big screen.

Sporting a game cast, The Mod Squad isthe story of three youngsters caught by thepolice who are given a second chance byCapt. Greer (Dennis Farina) if they agree togo undercover for him. Claire Danes playsJulie Barnes, a strong-willed girl who stillsometimes loses control of her emotions.Omar Epps is Linc Hayes, a smooth operatorwho's in for arson and, of the three, he's usu-ally the one with the brains. Finally, Mr.Charisma, Giovanni Ribisi, is Pete Cochran,the rebel with a heart of gold.

If the descriptions of the principals soundlike they are cut out of cardboard, the antago-nists are cut out of single-sheet tissue paper.The plot concerns dance clubs, cars, guns, anddrugs. Major drug deals are afoot, and somecops might be crooked. Everything you would

The Mod SquadThat70'sShow

http://aperock.home.mindspring.com/.

GABOR CSANY/-TIIE TECH

TH~ TE~H .page 9

which actually have something tothem.

There's solid guitar work allover this album, ranging from thejangly arpeggios that echo over "MyLackluster Love" to the searing riffin,"Pollyanna," which brings backmemories of "Plowed" with a

reduced tempo. Sponge has always seemedmost comfortable working in two realms: laid-back pop and driving cut-time rock. Both arepresent on the new album. The first is mostclearly manifested in the first single, "LiveHere Without You," an innocent song whichwill grow on you incessantly. The latter rearsits head in my favorite track by far, "1000Times," which combines a great melody withan ominous guitar line and an unrelentingbeat.

I'm also quite partial to "When You're OnFire, Baby, Roll," the heaviest track on the.album, which unconsciously captures theband's desire to be the Reverend Horton Heat."Radio Prayer Line" is a speedy number witha oddly discomforting riff that pops up everynow and then to surprise you. The graduallayering of guitar parts in "All AmericanWorld" showcases the band's more extensiveuse of effects (which is evident throughout thealbum).

New Pop Sunday has the hooks and consis-tency that kept Wax Ecstatic from being aclassic album, but it delves far deeper thanRotting Pinata. It's sadly ironic that Spongehas finally found its stride at the depths of itspopularity. Hopefully, Lookout can give themsome good publicity, and they'll be back onthe radio whe~e they now legitimately belong.

India. This wrath may also be encountered ifyou proceed to convince entering couplesfrom eating at this restaurant. The Tech decid-ed to endure this wrath as a gesture of good-will, and spent part of our waiting periodwarning others from entering the restaurant.

One final jewel of the Royal India is thatthere's no need to bring gum: every table offersa complimentary piece for each patron. You'llhave to check underneath to locate it. If youneed to spit it out, feel free to use therestrooms, because that's about all you can doback there. Royal India has a strict policyagainst toilet paper, working flushes, hot waterand paper towels. It's all about efficiency,baby.

Now, The Tech would never find it suffi-cient to just complain about a probleminvolving poor dining service without offer-ing a substantial solution. We noticed thatthe real problem with the restaurant wasthat it simply could not handle a situationwhere all of its tables were filled. Also, aswe waited for our food, Royal India didtheir best to keep us from falling asleepwith their ear piercing selection of Indianmusic hits. Our solution? A dance floor.Royal India should remove the tables in thecenter of the restaurant and make way for ahip new exciting dance floor. They can alsoremove the 'kitchen since they obviouslydon't use it. Everyone who's anyone inWest Lebanon would flock to Royal India.But, they wouldn't be there to eat; they'darrive to dance! Then the Royal India chefcan go back to doing what he does best:sleep.

Tipping 'is not necessary and offering a 0percent tip will more than compensate for theservice provided by Mr. Royal India.Whatever you offer, he will be sure to yell as

. you run out the door: "Thank You. ComeAgain." We don't think so.

Josh Bittker. Agnes Borszeki, Annie Choi,Gabor Csanyi, Aaron Isaksen, Greg Kuhnen,Kevin Lang, Garry Maskaly, Karlene Roseraand Shantonu Sen contributed to the reportingof this story .

By Daniel J. KatzSTAFF REPORTER

For every Cinderella story of a band thattoils on' independent label after inde-pendent label, there's the polar oppo-site: the band with a rapidly sellingdebut album but followups that just don'tcatch on. Most of these artists are never heardfrom again, but there are a few exceptions.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you New PopSunday (Lookout), an indie album from noneother than Sponge.

Sponge is a band whose hit singles are farmore famous for their choruses than their realnames. (I challenge you to find someone whocan tell you what "Molly" or "Plowed" soundlike, until you say "sixteen candles down thedrain" or "a world of human wreckage," atwhich point they will sing the entire song.)Their second album, Wax Ecstatic, revealed amuch darker sound, more variety of genres,and one of the best slide guitar riffs of all timein the title track.

New Pop Sunday assembles the best ele-ments of both previous albums, incorporatingthe bright guitar sound that defined Rotting/f;nata with the more sophisticated and fore-boding songwriting found on Wax Ecstatic.The result is a collection of songs that grabthe listener like Sponge's pop singles, but

MUSIC REVIEW

Royal India, located In West Lebanon, New Hampshire.

SpongeA More Polished Resmrection

the rate of one item per 15 minutes. Spread itout so that every member of every table hasthe opportunity to smell every dish that youoffer, in hopes that they will change their mindand walk out of the restaurant (which will,again, increase your efficiency). If a table has agreater women-men ratio, it must be servedfirst. You may notice that chicken pakora canact as the rate limiting step, but disregard this.It only decreases your efficiency. And at RoyalIndia, efficiency is everything.

If you understand that food serving algo-rithm, you may be able to maximize yourenjoyment of Royal India's food. A couplemembers of our group suggest another way tomaximize enjoyment at Royal India. StepOne: Wake up at 5 'a.m. Eat a croissant. StepTwo: Don't eat a damn thing for the rest ofthe day, but instead spend the day skiing at theKillington Ski Resort. Step Three: Drive toRoyal India, after first confirming that everyother-restaurant in the neighborhood is full.Step Four: Eat Royal Indian food. Feel like aKing. Burger King, that is, because you willstill be hungry.

The food at Royal India comes close toauthentic Indian cuisine. In an apparent effortto demonstrate that they travel all the way toIndia to produce your meal, the food arrives

i cold, partially t?aten and without utensils. OneTech staffer described the chicken as "gritty,with insane spices." Tests also revealed that aFrosty from the nearby Wendy's can effec-tively reduce chicken-induced swelling of themouth and throat. As a true tourist of India,you must start conserving water as soon asyou arrive, because water stops flowing at7:30 p.m., regardless of whether or not yourfood has arrived. And of course, they wont tellyou this.

If your meal is not sufficient, do not hesi-tate to get up and help yourself to the unfin-ished portions of another tal?le's meal. I did.This is a form of survival at the Royal India.Just be sure not to yell "Hey Josh, the goodstuff's down here, baby" across the restaurantunless you are prepared to face the wrath of

..the one Indian man that works at the Royal

THE ARTS

And Royal India is so intouch with customer needsthat you don't even have toworry about missing yourmeal. It will be there whenyou return. Maybe.

Now, the weak and tiredof the bunch may not be up to walking acrossthe street. Especially after a day of skiing inKillington, Vermont. For this select group,The Tech recommends another strategy. Enterthe restaurant with half your group and placeyour order. Have the other half of the groupenter a half hour later. Have them order whatyou really want to eat. It will arrive, withoutfail, hours before your food is even killed.Being the skilled investigative journalist teamthat we are, The Tech spent the night confirm-ing this theory many times.

Although it's perfectly acceptable to take anap as your food is prepared (there will surelybe time), be sure to wake up when your foodis served. You will learn that Royal India hasperfected a complex algorithm for servingfood. The Tech has not managed to understandthe basis for this algorithm, but we will pre-sent it to the MIT community, as this is proba-bly the only place in the world where such analgorithm can be derived. And more impor-tantly, successfully implemented.

First, take customer orders. Next, toss themup in the air. This may lose some of them, butby the time they get their food, they wontremember. By losing a couple orders you willdramatically increase your efficiency. Thetossing action also allows you' to sufficientlyrandomize the orders to guarantee that justbecause a customer may have placed an orderfar in advance of another, they are not guaran-teed to get their food first. Then, serve food 'at

With a large Qife, slice across ~inach bunches to separate leaves from stems. Swishleaves well in .._ filled with'cold water, lifting them out to leave the dirt behind; drainand refill Sink aDd rc;peat washing if necessary . Weigh out 3/4 pound leaves; reserve therest for Salad or another use. Put the spinach leaves in a l2-inch skillet with just the waterclinging to tIMm Cover and cook over moderate heat lDltilleaves are just wilted, about 3minutes, tossing once or twice with tongs so leaves wilt evenly. Transfer wilted leaves to asieve and place under cold running water until cool Drain wen and squeeze betWeen yourhands to remove excess water. The spinach does not need to be thoroughly dry.

Melt butter in a aman sldl1et over low heal Add garlic and saute one minute to release itsftagrance. Put spinach, garlic and butter in food processor and process to chop. Add ricottaand process until smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides of bowl once or twi

Page 10 THE TECH THE ARTS April 2, 1999

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Saving Private Ryan (**V2)For all the sound and fury unleashed by Steven

Spielberg in this WWII action drama, the result sig-nifies more or less nothing. Other than two majesticbattle sequences (first half and hour and last half anhour), which have taut pacing, amazing visuals, andtaut direction, the rest is lackluster. The story doesn'tbuild toward much, the few character arcs' are eitherbarely existent or utterly obvious, and the acting ispassable at best. It's certainly highly watchable, buteven this is somewhat of a problem, since it turns thehorrors of war into exciting spectacle. ~VZ

Shakespeare in Love (***1/2)What a difference does a good screenplay make!

This one, co-written by Tom Stoppard, is funny,

This is an offbeat comedy, an offbeat buddy film, anoffbeat romance, and an offbeat revenge story. Ornone of these things. Mix up some wildly varyingcomic elements, combine them with some of mostdeliciously deadpan acting in recent memory, addhighly imaginative and inventive usage ofwidescreen format - and get Rushmore, which isjust about the least conventional and yet solidlyenjoyable movie to come out recently. -VZ

She's All That (*V2)A sickeningly offensive and sexist retelling of

the Pygmalion myth, placing it in the milieu of highschool, where one local stud bets another one thatthey can turn a local nerd into a prom queen. Thereally sad thing is that there are flashes of creativity,originality, and'true human emotions sprinkledaround this whole mess; just enough to make thesurrounding inanity e.ven more depressing. ~ VZ

Tango (***V2)The story of Mario, the director of a tarigo dance

performance, Tango has plenty of screen time fordancers, but also makes room for musiCians andactors. Mario falls in love with the troupe's spon-sor's girlfriend, and the sponsor is not the kind to bemessed with. Less concerned with a traditional lovestory, the film instead concentrates on the tango,danced in a dozen different settings and used todepict key periods in the history of Argentina.Dealing with people of all ages, Tango is also aboutmemories. and desires. Along with a solid plot, themasterfi.d musicians and vibrant dancing make thismovie a thorough delight. - RR

Thrill Ride (**V2)One third exhilarating, taking the audience on

the wild rides through the worlds created solely bythe artists' imagination and state-of- the-art technol-ogy. One third innocuous, with rather bland "educa-tional" footage of rollercoasters and motion simula-tors. One third nauseating, with the impressivecomputer-generating effects being artless and tryingto conceal the fact that there's precious little sub-stance beneath the flashy surface. - VZ

Waking Ned Devine (***Y2)Charming comedy about a small town's quest for

wealth. Nearly 7 million pounds is at stake in the Irishnational lottery, and the sleepy village of Tully Morepulls together to outwit the officials after the winner,one of the town's inhabitants, dies at the shock ofbeing rich. Standing in their way are individual greedand fear oflegal retribution, among others .

Overall, it is a wholly enjoyable, hilarious, andwonderfully written film. One of the best of 1998.-FD

witty, unapologetic in its gags, and completelyearnest in dramatic romanticism. The resulting film' .,

. displays uncanny verisimilitude in recreatingElizabethan England in all of its ungainly squalor and.demonstrates nothing else than the genesis of true art- from such humble beginnings as want, dirt, hate,envy, and lust, as well as love and hope. - VZ

The Mod Squad (**)With a game cast and plenty ofthat 70's sensibility, down to thecamera bouncing in synch withthe cheesy sound effects, TheMod Squad achieves its objec-tive quite well. The only prob-lem is that plot and characterslifted straight from the smallscreen donft fill the big screen.Explosions and abandonedwarehQuses are the name of thegame, with maybe a crookedcop thrown in for good measure.With Giovanni Ribisi stealingevery scene he's in, which is for-tunately practically the wholemovie, The Mod Squad may beright up your.alley. Just don't goin expecting any kind of plot orcharacter development that youwouldn't see in an episode of a70's TV show. - RR

the clock reality-based TV show. It's pleasant, for achange, to see a movie which is done competently:Ron Howard's direction is smooth, and some act-ing, especially that of the leads, is very proficient.But the bland story keeps spinning its sitcomwheels, ultimately forgetting that it originally setout to satirize cheap entertainment. - VZ

Elizabeth (***)A remarkable visual achievement, this story

about one of the greatest rulers of England ever istold by withholding the epic scope and concentrat-ing. on the essential de.tails. The great cast, head-lined by Cate Blanchett in a commanding titularperformance and ably supported by Geoffrey Rushas her chief assistant, works extra hard to createvivid characters from the rather overwritten andoverplotted screenplay. The finale, with etherealmusic by Mozart, is stunning. - VZ

God Said "Ha!" (***>A single extended monologue by Julia Sweeney,

formerly know as Pat on Saturday Night Live, it is astory of one year of her life when everything seemsto be going wrong in the worst possible way. Andyet, the movie alternatively hilarious and poingnant,

Life is Beautiful (***)Most reviewers praise the second half of this

Italian tragicomedy - the,serious half. While it cer-tainly has its merits, it's the first hour which reallymakes this film so remarkable. With its gentlewhimsy, subtle satire, and unabashed romanticism,this is the stuff of which the best romances aremade. There are also classically gorgeous visuals,memorable score, and elaborate visual and verbalgags aplenty. -VZ

and, at some high points, it's both. The connectionbetween the audience and the narrator feels intimateand immediate, and the hour .and a half passes inwhat feels like ten minutes. As always, it's life thattells all the' best stories. -VZ

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (***V2)If you'