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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1990)
Page lVpliraskan 6 Arts & Entertainment Billy fills in for his vacationing father We Ipe^wvedl Wtr<J5 poHew c^pjsbs... ^ ^ /rr^k » i Brian Shellito/Daiiy Nebraskan As you may know, I previously have expressed my professional admiration for the unparalleled comic talents of Bil Keane, creator of the riotous Family Circus cartoon strip. Perhaps many of you have noticed strong Keanian influences in my own writing style. Even with all of my respect for Keane and his transcendent comic insight into the human condition, I have never stooped so far as to bla tantly copy his witty gimmicks. Not that the temptation hasn’t been there, mind you. How 1 wish 1 had the awe-inspiring ability to come up with the “follow-Billy-all-around-lhc ncighborhood-along-a-black-dotted linc” concept. Genius! Unadulterated Genius! Or how about the 4 ‘Who broke this lamp?” routine. ‘‘Not Me” or “Ida Know" arc invariably the cul prits, and it is invariably funny. But perhaps my all-time favorite Bil Keane idea that gets more funny every time it’s repeated is the sce nario wherein Keane takes a vacation and Billy has to fill in. A colleague of mine here at the Daily Nebraskan just threw a dictionary at me because l am laughing so loud envisioning Billy’s uproarious drawings. I finally have given in to the temp tation,and I now openly will swipe an idea from my mentor and hero Bil Keane. Many of you may not be aware of this, but seven years ago, just al ter my ninth-grade year, I became a father to a blond-haired, blue-eyed bundle of joy that I named Billy. It’snot important just now who the mother is, or how 1 came to be a father. All that matters is that Billy now is 7 years old and eager to follow in his old man’s footsteps. So 1 now will allow my son to lake over this week’s column. His humor is not quite as advanced as his pop’s, but I think you’ll agree that he is very funny for a second grader. Here it is: Billy James Hanna’s first ever humor column. Uh ... OK ... urn ... once, I was sitting behind this girl in Mrs. Wilson’s homeroom and I reached over and pulled her hair and then threw a spit wad at her. Isn’t that funny? Then, I was in P.E. class and we were standing up against the wall so we could pick teams for floor hockey and I stood behind Mike ... he’s my best friend and once we threw a fire cracker down an anthill and it was rcallycoolcspccially when their body parts llcw up into the air ... so I was standing behind Mike and I made this farting noise under my arm and we laughed a bunch but Mr. Fahlus couldn’t figure out who it was and, and, and this one girl, Lisa .. . she’s kinda stupid ... she started going "Oooh, that’s gross, sick!" But I didn’t care and I just did it louder in her face. Then there was this time in the lunchrtxxn and me and Mike and Steve and Pat and Richie and Lisa... she’s a girl but she doesn’t act like one so she’s OK ... and Mark and Derek, we started mixing all of the food we See HANNA on 7 New O’Connor LP characterized by diversity By Robert Richardson Staff Reporter Sinead O’Connor ‘‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” Chrysalis “God gram me the serenity to accept the things I can, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Sinead O’Connor (pronounced Sha nayd) begins her latest release with the Serenity Prayer, used in Alcohol ics Anonymous treatment. And the multi-fariousncss she appeals for in the Serenity Prayer is seen in what may be the most diverse album this year, “I Do Not Want What 1 Haven’t Got.” O’Connor’s voice really can in trigue the listener with its different styles. In several songs, O’Connor takes her soft, sweet angelic voice and IcLs it transform into a raspy woman with an altitude furor, and then trans forms it back again. But it’s surprisingly appropriate. For O’Connor, being musically diverse is being musically diverse in all aspects. O’Connor showcases Crazy People’ switches between hilarious, boring By John Payne Senior Reporter ‘‘Crazy People,” a hit and miss comedy starring Dudley Moore and Daryl Hannah, covers familiar ground, yet manages to produce enough funny material to win audiences over. Poking fun at advertising and at moviV the mental health field, it overcomes its lackluster moments to finally re deem itself. Moore plays Emory Lecson, a New York City advertising executive who is cracking up under the strain of several account deadlines. He is so burned out from creating new ad slo gans day after day that suddenly a bold new idea comes to him - blatant honesty. His presentations include ads for an airline that read “Sure, a lot of people die in airline crashes every year, bu* most of our passengers sur vive.” His realization of the absolute, unbiased truth about products mysti Hcs his colleague played by Paul Reiser and enrages his boss, played by J.T. Walsh. Convinced that Lccson has gone mad, the advertising company sends him away to a sanitarium to recuper ate. While Moore is engaging in a rather silly romance with fellow pa tient Hannah, the advertising world is rocked by his ad slogans, which mis takenly have been unleashed on American consumers. Ads like Jaguar’s catch phrase, “For Men Who’d Like Hand jobs From Beautiful Women They Don’t Even Know,” cuts right through all the masked sexual innuendo that comes with car advertisements. The frank ness of the ads are such a hit with the public, that sales skyrocket. The unabashed deception of ad vertising that “Crazy People’’ exam ines is the best thing about the movie. Particularly good is a scene where the group executives rack their brains to emulate Lccson’s work, trying to come up with one truthful statement about a product they’ve been lying about for See CRAZY on 7 herself by playing the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, percussion and electronic drums all on one al bum. O’Connor even helped arrange her own music. Give her a Grammy and 10 votes for Superwoman. There is no doubt that O’Connor’s most popular song currently is “Noth ing Compares 2 U.” The only doubt is whether or not she is sincere on this song, but because it obviously is writ ten by Prince (notice the stupid num ber letter combination in the title) one can assume that a cool sound and not sincerity was the desired affect. This is a great song that could have re tained some respectability if O’Con nor hadn’t shown so much doubtful emotion. O’Connor is going to have two songs besides “Nothing Compares 2 U,“ that arc musical sleepers, or take a while to become hits. “Feel So Different” and “Jump In The River” arc two songs that will help her achieve greatness and leap to her place in history. But the song lhalcon tains the most meaning is the title track, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.” In the only song without accompaniment, O’Connor sings a self-portrait of herself. The intense meaning of the song is like O’Connor’s attractive and expressive eyes. “I have all that I requested, and I do not want what I haven’t got.” Courtesy of Paramount Dudley Moore and Daryl Hannah star In the Paramount comedy “Crazy People."