thursday, february 23, 1978
page 8
daily nebraskan
Puns use for immoral porpoises is rio mynah problem
What the speaker said left the audience
aghast. Several listeners stormed angrily
from the room. A man stood up and shout
ed "I'm not gonna take this any more!"
There was talk of tar and feathers, and
fruits allegedly were thrown.
Was it some new aberration on the dark
side of the student fees controversy, or a
manifestation of neo-Nazism? No, some
thing far worse -the speaker had just told
mynah across a state lion for immortal
porpoises."
Sim
Williams
There's something patently offensive
about the pun, that misappropriation of a
word with malice aforethought. At least
it's offensive when somebody else does it.
Even in the high-minded literary
preserve we call the Daily Nebraskan -home
of as intellectual a group as ever
drew and quartered an infinitive-high
caliber puns, Tom Swifties and malapro
pisms sizzle back and forth across the
newsroom in a deadly hail. The air is fill
ed with the cries of the wounded-"Gces,
that was horrible! Wait until tomorrow,
Red Baron-I'll think up one that'll make
you sorry."
The pun truly is mightier than the
sword, as the philosopher said very
shortly before his untimely demise.
It's obvious that at best, the pun is a
lapse of good taste. That is why there's
an organization called LAPSE -the League
for Awful Puns as a Social Embarassment.
You can't say I'm not brave. Knowing
full well what I was in for, I drew $5,000
out of the Daily Nebraskan petty cash
fund and rented a helicopter for the
trip to LAPSE'S impregnable headquarters
near Rock Port, Mo. I was scheduled to
interview LAPSE President Ivan Tumangel
wurtz, known during his Yale days as "the
Atilla of English literature."
"We jecognize what we're doing at
LAPSE," he said. "Our members are
dedicated cultists, willing to become social
outcasts to satisfy their impulse to pun.
These days any kind of sick sexual perver
sion is acceptable, but many people still
ostracize us. And to ostracize is a pair
of birds with their heads in the sand, hah
hah haw hee hee hee, h-urp, excuse me.
That just slipped out, as the clumsy
surgeon said at his malpractice hearing."
"That's all right," I said, relaxing the
grip of my fingers around his throat.
"In journalism they teach us to choke off
our emotional reactions."
"Your impulse to violence is a common
problem," Tumangelwurtz said. He led me
to an elaborately framed portrait. "Our
most honored member, the late Mel
Trcatid, who was killed in the line of duty.
We wanted to bury him in Arlington Na
tional Cemetery, I said gravely, but they
turned us down. Sorry, I couldn't resist
that one.
"It seems Mel was traveling in the
southwest and happened to meet a shep
herd with his flock of sheep. The shep
herd began telling Mel his problems -his
pastures didn't produce enough to feed
such a large flock. It was a serious problem,
of course, but Mel coudn't help himself.
He quoted Browning: 'All, but a man's
sheep should exceed his grass, or what's a
heaven for?'
"The shepherd's howl of pain stamped
ed the flock, and poor Mel was trampled
to death. A casualty, alas, for his art."
"He must have been a very dedicated
punster," I said reverently.
"Yes," Tumangelwurtz replied. "Dyed-in-the-wool."
If anybody knows the statute of limi
tations on aggravated assault in Missouri,
please get in touch with this office immediately.
r ic rmrl
mm QVHIVU V1IIV
After one week on airwaves
KZUM team has high hopes
Students to present original works
The UNL School of Music is sponsoring
a special concert tonight at 8 in the Choral
Room (number 1 19hof Westbrook Music
Building.
The Student Composers Concert will
feature original compositions by throe stu
dents in the School of Music, diadmite
student Jean Samueison will perform her
own work. Preludes (3), on the piano.
Dodecroma by senior Rich Jones is a
composition for a solo flute. Jones said his
work was conceived as an exercise in con
temporary flute-writing utiliing a varieu
of 20th century techniques. He said the
techniques include variations in composi
tional style and in the flutist's
performance.
The piece is comprised of a set of 12
variations of a 140-note scries. Kathy
Allberry will perform the work.
Another graduate student. Phoebe
llamann. composed the music for The
Sibw a work based on lyrics by Rod Mc
Kuen. Donna llarler. a voice professor in
the School of Music, will perform
Ifam'ann's composition. Hamann will
accompany Hurler on the piano.
The last part of the program will feature
a performance of original music by the
Lincoln Improvisation Inscmble. The
members of the group will be Jim Rondcr
on bass and guitar. Brian Hunter on piano.
Paul Vhnyhaiiscn on guitar and saxophone
and Preston Koch on the svnthesier.
By Casey McCabe
With 10 watts of power, a 200-foot an
tenna, and- some enthusiastic volunteers,
Lincoln's non-profit radio station, KZUM,
has high hopes for being a successful
alternative in radio entertainment.
Well-hidden in the basement of Open
Harvest at 2635 Randolph, the station is
located in a maze of rooms, some cluttered
with construction debris, that hopefully
will turn into a suitable broadcast studio
for K7AJM.
There is no attempt on the part of sta
tion workers to deny that money is scarce,
even for needed items. But since the of
ficial beginning of transmission at 89.5
MHz on the FM dial this past Saturday,
KZUM has been humming along to a vari
ety of sounds, aided greatly by the time,
knowledge, and equipment given to the
station by its volunteer workers.
Mike Chamberlain is such a volunteer.
According to Chamberlain, KZUM is a new
alternative to FM radio; noncommercial,
with a format decided by the listeners.
Sonic records he plays during his shift as.
one of ten board operators come from his
personal collection. He has been with the
station since it was just an idea and admits
he has high expectations.
"We're fiat broke now. but there are a
KZUM's airwaves extend primarily
to Lincoln's city limits, but reception
quality depends on tire listener's type of
receiving equipment.
Chamberlain said several engineers at
the station would be willing to help
interested persons construct a better an
tenna system.
One may have to listen for a while be
fore hearing his favorite sound, but in the
meantime the listener is exposed to music
from several diverse backgrounds. If a
person is not pleased with what he hears,
he is more than welcome to add his own
improvements, according to Chamberlain,
lot of areas we'd like to develop," he said.
"No one is getting paid right now, but
there are some very knowledgable people
donating their time.
"The concept is in offering the public
what they want. They replied to question
naires we sent out, and we play the music
they request with no strict guidelines."
The station has a series of regular fea
tures, including poetry readings Sundays at
9 p.m.; jazz programs Tuesday and Satur
day at 8 p.m.; opera, Mondays at 7
p.m.; 20 Years of British Beat, Sunday
7-9 p.m.; and recordings of the Women
Speak programs every Thursday at 6 p.m.
KZUM operates from 4 p.m. to
midnight, seven days a week, but the sta
tion plans to expand its hours when
possible. '
Les Blank films portray his photographic imagination
By J. Marc Mushkin
This week the Sheldon Film Theater is
presenting the films of Les Blank as part
of the Filmmaker's Showcase. Several of
Blank's films will be shown at different
times beginning tonight, through Saturday.
The films are free (although donations
are encouraged) and Blank will attend
evening screenings starting Thursday.
At a preview screening I was able to see
three examples that will be part of the
series, Chulas I'ronteras, Hot Pepper.
i movie
preview
and The Blues Accord in' to Light nin'
Hopkins. Bach is an enlightening and
fascinating exploration of a different cul
ture through the music distinctive to each.
Chulas Fronteras deals with the lives and
music of ,Chicanos in Texas. They arc a
group with ties to two often conflicting
cultures and national identities Mexican
and American.
Through the music they create. Blank
shows the effects of this division and illum
inates some of the unique problems they
face.
Hot Pepper, in a similar manner,
examines the Creoles of Louisiana. The life
anil music of Clifton Chcnier. a great
accord lan blucsman, is highlighted.
Vie Blues Accordin' to I Aghtnin' Hop
kins is more directly about Hopkins'
music, but it too helps illustrate the cul
ture of the black Southwest.
The films arc a magnificent showcase
for Blank's photographic skill and imagina
tion. The pictures he develops of these dif
ferent cultures are exciting because these
arc compelling documentaries but at the
same time beautiful and poetic works of
cinematic art.
Essential to the impact of the films is
the imagery and absorbing mixture of
music and visuals that Blank creates.
The music is the key.
After seeing Light nin' Hopkins, one
wants to run out and melt down, for
example, the Spinners' records into just
what they are: plastic. Plastic soul, plastic
emotion, plastic everything seems to dom--inate
popular music today, and films such
as these are reminders of the authenticity
of those true folk art forms.
Blank's films are doubly important
because so much of the life he records
is vanishing every day. We are losing a
great deal. It is hard to imagine this kind
of rich culture centering around some
mindless disco nonsense.
Lightnin' Hopkins and the others are
a part of us worth seeing and hearing.
It would be a shame to lose sight of what
real roots our decaying culture has.
The "other Blank films showing are
Chicken Real, God Respects Us When We
Work But He Loves Us When We Dance,
The Sun's Gonna Shine, Christopher Tree,
Spend It All, A Well Spent Life, Dizzy
Gillespie, Dry Wood, and A Poem is a
Naked Person.
The ball's in your court . . .
, ami
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THIS VAC CONTRIBUTED BY TMf PUBUSMER
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Photo COUrtKV of Sheldon Film Thcatw
Lightnin' Hopkins pauses for some refreshment in Les Blank's film The Blues
According to Lightnin' liopkin