The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 28, 1995, Page 12, Image 12

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    Arts ©Entertainment
Thursday, September 28, 1995 Page 12
- f;: ~ ■■ \ ■■v ■ ; \ , ■- . v._ I . -
Matt Woody
Internet
enhances
television
It’s been said many times by many
people that television is a giant waste
of time.
We’ve even invented nicknames
for the TV set to remind us of that —
TheTdiot Box, The Boob Tube, yada
yada.
But stand back!! With the Internet,
the void of television can reach new
heights.
We’re not yet to the point where
we can feed our cathode-ray addic
tion over the Internet, but we are
close.
Until then, the Internet will be a
useful complement to television.
Together, they form a partnership the
1 ikes of which haven’t been seen since
Bonnie and Clyde, oxygen and nitro
gen, Hall and Oates, raisin and bran.
On the World Wide Web, pages
are devoted to just about any show
you’ve heard of (“Friends,” “Beverly
Hills 90210,” “The A-Team”),
haven’t heard of (“Laurie Hill,” .
“Blackadder”) or wish you hadn’t
'heard of (“Herman’s Head,” “Sis
ters”).
But these pages can be fun.
Check out this great “Seinfeld”
page— <http://www.engr.wisc.edu/
~heinj/seinfeld.htm!>
Loaded with more than you need
to know about “Seinfeld,” including
synopses of all episodes, trivia quiz
zes, sounds and lots of pictures, this
page will drain the hours away.
The truth is out there ... on the
Web.
Pages about lhe X-rues are.
plentiful, but much of it is from du
plicity, in other words, a lot of the
pages have the same things.
The best “X-Files” page I found is
<http: www.neosoft. com/sbanks/
xfiles/xfiles. html>
Some of the more interesting things
here are “The Web Files, strange
unexplained occurrences” from visi
tors, and various QuickTime movies.
Links to many other “X-Files”
pages can be found at <http://
www. airmail. net/~brk/x-files>
Why be limited to just one show?
Some entertainment companies have
a large on-line presence. Sony Pic
tures Entertainment, TV division is
at <http://www.spe.sony.com/Pic
tures/tv/cttv. html>
This site is very visual and covers
all of that company’s television pro
grams, from “Party of Five” to “Mad
About You” to “Ricki Lake” and
many more.
Untangle yourself from the Web
and find the Usenet newsgroups, ac
cessible from all student e-mail ac
- counts at UNL.
Rec.arts.tv is the place to go to ask
a question about most shows or ac
tors. :
Many shows have their own
newsgroups (for example,
alt.tv.wings), but not many alt. groups,
television ornot,areavailablethrough
UNL’s server. And few shows are
listed as rec.arts.tv.xxxx.
Of course, I’ve only scraped the
surface of what’s out there. That’s
the nature of the beast.
Cyberscape is a weekly column focus
ing on computers, with a heavy emphasis
on the Internet. Send ideas, questions or
comments to Matt Woody at
<dn*unlinfo.uni.edu> ; \~v
Travis Heying/DN
Entertainer Jeff Raz performs for a University Foundations class Wednesday afternoon in Kimball Recital Hall. Raz
performed acts from his one-man play “Father-Land” along with a juggling act, a talent he’s been performing for 24 years.
Creative clowning
Performer sparks thoughtful discussions
By Jeff Randall
Senior Reporter
l -
He may be known for clowning around, but
Jeff Raz has serious issues to discuss with stu
dents at UNL.
“Hopefully, the students will be able to take
something away from the classes I’m in,” said
Raz, an artist-in-residence. “Something about
themselves and the creative process that they
wouldn’t have discovered before.”
Raz is now in the middle of a three-week
residency program at the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln.. And he is giving University
Foundations students lessons in artistic cre
ation, courtesy of his one-man play, “Father
Land.”
Raz, who also performs as a clown in the San
Francisco-based New Pickle Circus, has been
concentrating his efforts on writing and direct
ing plays. “Father-Land” is one of his latest
productions.
After receiving the opportunity to come to
UNL, Raz said, he examined the traditional role
of the artist-in-residence and how he could
change it.
“We’re supposed to come to the university
with our art, supposedly in a bag over our
shoulders, and spread it out for the locals to see,”
Raz said. “But I think that’s insulting to both the
artist and the locals. I want to help the people I
come in contact with to make their own art.
“And maybe I can go away with some ideas
from them, too.”
Raz has explored the themes of tragedy and
racism related tQ his own family and the horrors
of the Holocaust, in “Father-Land,” which has
become a very personal and emotional piece for
him.
But by examining his family’s tragedies, Raz
said, he hopes to reach students who want to do
the same. Raz facilitates discussions after his
performances which help with that process.
“I try to get the students to talk about their
own families,” Raz said. “Sometimes, even a
simple recollection about a Christmas they re
member or a birthday can turn into a great
story.” '
The motive behind the class discussions and
performances is to get students thinking cre
atively for themselves, Raz said.
“I want them to realize that writing and
creating comes from the inside, not the outside
experiences,” he said. “You don’t have to climb
a real mountain to write a great story, you have
to climb the emotional mountains you build up
within yourself.”
‘Strawberry’ flavorful despite barriers
Courtesy of Miramax Rims
Jorge Perugorria stars as Diego, a
gay artist in Cuba who befriends a
committed Communist in
"Strawberry and Chocolate.”
By Linda Garcia
Film Critic ' "*
Good acting and several thought-provoking
themes make- “Strawberry and Chocolate” an
entertaining film, but for those who don’t know
Spanish, understanding those themes through
subtitles may be difficult.
Movie
Review
Diego (Jorge Perugoma) is
a flamboyant, gay artist in
Cuba. He falls for David
(Vladimir Cruz), whom he
meets in an ice cream parlor.
But David, a committed
Communist party member,
rebuffs his advances and
works to gather information
against him. David reports
Diego to a fellow nartv mem
— ber, Miguel (Francisco
Gatorao), and they try to entrap him for his
“free-thinking ways.”
But this requires David to spend time with
Diego, and the two end up striking up a friend
ship of sorts. They become fast friends, although
Diego hopes for romance.
David also becomes friends with Diego's
somewhat eccentric neighbor, Nancy (Mirta
Ibarra). Nancy has a history of attempting to
... ■ ■ ■■ 4 ■ , — ■ ■■■■■■».
Director: Tomas Gutierrez Alea
Stars: Jorge Perugorria, Vladimir Cruz,
Mirta Ibarra, and Francisco Gatomo
Rating: R
Grade: C
Five Words: Cuban film of budding
friendship
commit suicide when she has problems and of
talking to a statuette of the Virgin Mary when
site needs advice.
After her fifth suicide attempt and subse
quent recovery, she and David become involved,
and he loses his virginity to her.
The film turns serious when an exhibit Diego
has been working on is banned, and he is forced
to leave Cuba because of a scathing letter he
wrote to museum directors.
The movie does a good job of portraying life
in a Communist country. David is constantly
supporting his comrades. Slogans are printed on
"" See STRAWBERRY on 13