“Year In” Specials
Forget the family, friends and kindness — the best gifts come in media form. Be it television or magazines, “year in” specials are a great way to catch up on all that you slept through this year. E! will undoubtedly make some brainless list of “the year in celebrities,” and I will eat it up. CNN will take the high road and educate me with news highlights that encapsulate 2001. Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Entertainment Weekly will bombard me with top albums and films as well as short entertainment-industry ditties that are almost like the Year in Shouts. First resolution of Y2K2: copyright this name.
–AR
Olin Park Holiday in Lights
Some families had the holiday tradition of packing the kids in snowsuits, piling in the grocery-getter and cruising through the neighborhoods checking out holiday light displays. The twinkle, the cramped space, light-up Santas, glow-in-the-dark baby Jesuses — the magic filled the car as much as the gas fumes. But the fast-paced changes in society have put this on the endangered ritual list. Thankfully, the good people of local Madison businesses recognized the need to view such light displays, in one location tuned to appropriate music and narration. Electric seasonal genius sprung up on Lake Monona’s shores a few years ago, and busy families, not to mention anyone looking to get the spirit of the season in 15 minutes, thanked the jolly ol’ elf himself.
–AR
Emmie
They are rivals to ArtsEtc. in a sense, but competition brings out the best in writers. Emmie is the WUD-sponsored music monthly that has truly taken hold this semester with a fine blending of profiles and essays — all pertaining to music. Under the guidance of Charles Ubaghs, the glossy’s re-launch scored interviews with Bis, They Might Be Giants and James Sturm, to name a few. Also peep the essay about “why going to shows in Chicago sucks.” Hail, hail to student press.
–MR
Holiday Parties
This is the time of year to strap on a plaid vest, buy that six-dollar bottle of Merlot you’ve been eyeing at Sentry’s checkout and cart yourself to a holiday party. Be it a quaint nosh-fest with your closest pals, the excuse to hook up with your coworker staff party or a raging kegger gone Santa on your ass, pre-exams cheer is binge-drinking with a spice.
–MR
Blog of the Week
I went to Saturday school today. What a blast. I got to do some geometry and read a U.S. News magazine. It was filled with all sorts of shit pertaining to the anthrax incidents. I suppose that anthrax is all the news that the United States can offer, because every single article talked about anthrax or what to do if anthrax strikes in your area. I don’t think I will ever have to worry about anthrax getting me, but if it does get me, I know what to do. If I were to recommend a magazine that has tips that you could actually use, visit High Times and pick the most recent copy up at your local bookstore.
[http://www.dynaleet.com/]
