.9. MfUWiMaii as
fridaytpril 15, 1977
daily nebrssksn
letters
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Tha folknwmg opinion was written by Carta Ens strom. Daily
. Ncbrsskan entertainment castor. '
"Pissin in the wind, bettin on a losin' friend,
making the same mistakes we thought we'd never
make again ... " Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff probably sums up best the situation
in which the local Projectionist Union No. 151
finds themselves.
The members are picketing cinemas, it seems
like they haven't got a friend and this isn't the
first time they've formed picket lines.
The dispute isn't over automation replacing
.- projectionists like it was two years ago. The pro
test concerns an ex-union president subcontract
ing Local Union No. 1 5 1 's contract.
The union isn't protesting the cinemas. Accord
ing to their protest notices, "Rose Enterprise
Inc.'s action in performing the work formerly
done by our members constitutes a threat to de
press the wage scales the union has established
for many years. Our union is in a labor dispute
because of this situation with Rose Enterprise
Inc. Our sole and only interest in this matter is
to protest the substandard wages and hours esta
blished in the area by Rose Enterprise, Inc."
Automation should make life easier for people,
instead of replacing them.
So why doesn't the union get the contract
instead of Rose Enterprise, Inc. who got the sub-
L m A, m i
til .
contract? Because the subcontract doesn't jnclude
unnecessary items such as a cost of living index
increase and ridiculous fringe benefits like sick
leave and two weeks paid vacation and ample
working hours.
Negotiations have stopped and the union mem
bers either take up odd jobs, work as stagehands
at concerts and shows or run films at Sheldon.
Nothing is more irritating than paying $2.50
to have to get up in the middle of a movie to tell
the ticket taker that the film is flickering. Thank
god for technology.
The trouble with the union members protest is
that they are picketing a major source of enter
tainment in Lincoln. On the weekends, the lines
waiting to get in are usually dates. Look at the
notices the union members are handing out and
evaluate them for yourself.
" What if they gave a movie and nobody showed
Up? -
; That would hurt the cinemas right where it
counts, in their pocketbooks. Instead of going to a
Hollywood film this weekend, take in the one at
.JSheldon, (it's cheaper) or go to events on campus,
or party, but don't help automation or subcon
tracts replace the projectionists.
If movies are boycotted over a period of time,
we will never again have to get up to tell the
ticket taker to fix the film.
Arthur I Jcr:;
Yukka juice is good to the last drop
Coffee may soon hit $5 a pound, but don't fret about
it. The great American beverage industry is about to
unveil an inexpensive substitute.
The reason I know is that Milton Haberdash, who live
innocent bystander
lives down the block, is a market researcher for General
Beverages, Inc. He dropped by the other day with a
sample of their new product.
-
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"It's made from the berries of the yukka tree which
grows wild all through Central and South America," he
said. "We roast them and grind them up and we think we
can retail the stuff for about 39 cents a pound."
"I chew it?" I asked. . 7
"No, you boil it and drink the juice hot," he said. "Let
me show you."
So we went out in the kitchen and he took a good 15
minutes boiling up a pot full of hot juice from the berries.
The liquid was almost black with a faint oily sheen on the
top. He handed me a cup, saying, "Just smell that."
I did and wrinkled my nose. "It smells awful," I said,
"really acrid."
"Taste it," he suggested. ,
I did and made a face. "It tastes awful," I said, "really
bitter." '
"Wait," he said. "Let me add two teaspoons of sugar
and an ounce of cream.There, try that-a real nutritious
hot breakfast beverage.".,
"It does taste better," I agreed. "But isn't it fatten
ing?" "Don't worry," he said. "Once you get accustomed to
the strange taste and odor, you can gradually cut out the
sugar and cream. Then you have the perfect hot breakfast
beverage -not a calorie in a carload."
. "You've got a point there," 1 said. "But will it sell?"
"Wait till you see our advertising campaign," he said.
"We start with this poor Latin American peasant tugging a
burro. He says he picks every yukka berry by hand be
cause he wants the very ripest and they're all mountain
grown."
That's better?" 1 asked.
"Who knows? Next we show an expert taster rejecting
several tons of second-class yukka berries. Then we have a
Mrs. Neilsen coming into this young housewife's kitchen
and teaching her to make her husband love her by boiling
him up some hot yukka juice. Lastly, we say that yukka's
locked-in flavor and aroma makes it good to the last
drop."
"Well," I said, "at least it was only 39 Cents a pound."
"Initially," he said. "As soon as we get the country
hooked on it, we'll have to hike the price to $5.
"Nonsense!" I said. "Who'd ever pay $5 for a pound of
dried-out, baked, ground-up berries in order to extract an
acrid-smelling, bitter-tasting hot juice which has no
nutritional value whatsoever?"
- "You will," he said confidently. "And soon."
(Copyright Chronicle Publishing Co. 1977)
Uovb rslsos questions
Will Huffman's review of Block Sunday in your issue of
April 7 was fair and direct enough, but I was sorry to see
him pull back from commenting one way or the other on
questions which a film of this type raises. Such as:
Doesn't a studio admit an enormous lack of creativity
by producing a film whose sols' subject is psychopathic
acts of violence, and whose sole reason for being is to
" record these actras "realistically" as possible?
Is it necessary for movie studios to be used as think
tanks" for the development of new terrorist strategies and
techniques: new methods of extortion; new possibilities
for destruction?
And finally, doesn't any film which portrays terrorist
operations or mass murders impartially and realistically
give those acts just a slight cast of romantic heroism? If
just one impressionable individual sits through a film like
Black Sunday or Two-Minutes Warning, and decides that
shooting a lot of people would be a gdod way to solve his
her problems, and might be fun in the bargain, should this
person's reaction be dismissed, because a lot of other -people
who say they felt no urge to grab a gun and mow
people down as they were coming out of the theatre, and
because the movie made a lot of money for Warner
Brothers (or Paramount, or MGM, or whoever)?
I think that everyone who writes about films should
have opinions about these issues. Since the film industry
seems more and more willing to re-label abnormality
"Entertainment", it's up to the critics to set, things
straight.
Nathan Briggs
Palestinians neglected
No restraints! That's the cry heard among the press
when a judge invokes a gag order. And I agree. A free
.press is essential to America's freedom, but so is a fair
press. I think the Daily Nebraskan has been lacking in the
latter. "
On Wednesday, April 6, a Palestinian spoke in the
Centennial Room to give the Arab side of the Mideast
conflict. For 30 years we have been inundated with the
Israeli viewpoint and now there was a chance to. help
- balance the scales. Sadly the Daily Nebraskan chose not to
cover the speech.
The Daily Nebraskan 's neglect is hardly surprising how
ever, when we consider the biased attitude our press has
had toward the Mideast. This raises the question: Can the
. press remain free if it is not fair? ;
; 5 KrisMadan
Challenging FAB -
fn response to the recent article concerning a petition
challenging Fees Allocation Board powers.
It's about time somebody contested the allotment of
our hard-earned money to any "official" student organiza
tion that can think of ways to spend it. I support the
recent action of Lyle George in the filing of a petition to
prevent this, and am sure that a majority of students feel
the same way. The present situation can be changed if
more of us would just express our opinions. Let's seize
this opportunity to halt the exploitation of ourselves.
Steve George
M EC A not subversive
' Once again, 1 am disgusted with the choice of front
page news on the part of the Daily Nebraskan. To find
that an article concerning some obscure drinking
fraternity (MECA) makes front page news only confirms
my suspicions about the ability of this publication to find
something to print. Referring to MECA as "politically
subversive" is to presume that there is something to sub
vert. As a past senator of ASUN, there is not enough sub
stance in the organization to subvert. "
During my brief and typically uneventful term in
ASUN, I found it to fulfill all the aspirations of the stu
dents who either never made or never forgot their position
in the high school student council. We spent long Wednes
day evenings listening to the impotent drivel and political
machinations of inadequate college students aspiring to
politics. Anyone wishing to accomplish anything of use to
fellow students was immediately squashed in a series of
Catch 22 maneuvers. Not surprisingly, the body has little
credibility with the academic community, the Board of
Regents or the Nebraska Legislature.
ASUN has all the clout cf a pile of spaghetti. To accuse
a group of students who drink beer and discuss "student
politics," such as they are, of political subversion is in
credibly absurd. You have confirmed my opinion "of the
Daily Nebraskan 's news gathering abilities. - . .
Sara H. LeRoy
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