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Show Life Monday • January 19, 2009 B3 ^^i^^ How to Schmooze Your Professors Honing your sucking up skills can give your grade that extra boost it needs I WHITNEY WAGNER Life writer Believe it or not, there is an art to sucking up, and it is a lot more than just placing an apple on your teacher's desk. Learning how to get the right recognition from a teacher can be beneficial when grades or a letter of recommendation are due. Here are a few tips to help your professors like and remember you. Positive Attention In the beginning of the semester, make sure the professor knows your name and face. Try to make comments in class or go to their office to ask an intelligent question. Each professor probably has a few hundred students so make a reason for them to notice you. Magnify Commonalities When you are at the professor's B O O K office and you notice a Brown University diploma hanging on the wall, you might ask, "So you went to Brown? You know I am from Rhode Island..." A little small talk about something the professor likes goes a long way. You also will be able to get a feel for what the professor likes, dislikes and opinions so you can understand trie best way to approach the work for that class. Be able to back it up All of the amiable small talk and intelligent questions in the world can not save your grade if you can't back it up. Once the professor knows who you are, he or she will be more likely to notice your work, so your assignments must reflect your "good student" impression. Alyssa Lewis/UVU Review There are subtler ways to charm your way to a good grade. C O M I C R E V I E W B O O K R E V I E W If you haven't read it... Albert Camus' The Stranger i i JASON GIBBONS Life writer Albert Camus was born in Algiers in 1913. His short but captivating book, The Stranger, was first published in 1947 in French. Since the book's publication, it has continually been met with acclaim by readers of each successive generation. The anti-hero Meursault is the Holden Caufield of the working class and he paints a picture of how beautiful and how absurd the world can be. Of his seminal novel, Camus said, "77?e Stranger is the story of a man who, without any heroics, agrees to die for the truth." Today, The Stranger is one of the most widely read novels of the century. Camus received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1957. From The Stranger: "Twice a day, at eleven and six, the old fellow takes his dog for a walk, and for eight years that walk has never varied. You can see them in the Rue de Lyon, the dog pulling his master along as hard as he can, till finally the old chap misses a step and nearly falls. Then he beats his dog and calls it names. The dog cowers and lags behind, and it's his master's turn to drag him along. The Stranger ALBERT CAMUS Amazon.com Presently, the dog forgets, starts tugging at the leash again, gets another hiding and more abuse." Then they halt on the pavement, the pair of them, and glare at each other; the dog with terror and the man with hatred in his eyes." Art Spiegelman's classic graphic novel bleeds history [•BENJAMIN BAILEY Life writer Y ou have to read Mans. Put down whatever novel, textbook or comic book you're reading and pick up a copy. It doesn't matter if you an avid comic book reader or have never touched a graphic novel in your life, this book is required reading. It is haunting, brilliant, and absolutely moving. Mans is a comic book about the Holocaust where the Jews are depicted as mice and the Nazis as cats. Written and drawn by Art Speigelman, Mans is the story of his father's survival through horrors that are difficult to imagine. It is a tale of a son trying to comprehend who his father really is. We have all heard, read and seen countless tales of this time period and these events, but you have never seen it like this. This is, perhaps, the most deeply personal story of the Holocaust that is available today. Despite the cartoon like appearance, or maybe M O V I E because of it. Mans makes these events real in ways other movies and books have not. Winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize, Mans is nothing short of a masterpiece. Few narratives have truly captured the effect that the Holocaust had on not only the survivors, but the generations that followed as well. Speigelman's turbulent relationship with his father and his desire to understand the complex nature of a survivor's tale is incredibly weaved into a classic comic book form. If some part of you believes comic books are for nothing more than tight clad superheroes engaged in epic battles with supervillains, this book will change the way you think. Mans shows us what the graphic narrative is capable of, and what it should aspire to be. If you want to TATH.IR read something different, unique and emotional, then go buy this book. Guaran- Maus is available at bookstores everywhere. teed, it will be like nothing you have ever read. Amazon.com R E V I E W The Wrestler Limited Release. Ugh. H?BRET MEISENBACH Life writer Amazon.com Darren Aronofsky's new film The Wrestler is doing well in keeping decent moviemaking alive. In an age where Michael Bay and M. Night Shyamalan depend on explosions and gimmicks to reel in (and stupefy) crowds, it's nice to know that some are still trying. Good acting, directing, storytelling, and music all fit perfectly together to create a movie that actually allows the audience to feel something besides shock and naps. Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei give the per- formances of their careers in this emotionally draining tale. Of course, Aronofsky is well known for making movies that can only be watched once every three years or depression would set in. His previous films, such as Requiem For A Dream and The Fountain leave the viewer feeling destroyed and fulfilled all at once. His new film, however, has beautiful scenes of hope and love set against the harshest of backgrounds: old age setting in on someone who is not prepared for it. As the titular wrestler. Rourke's character struggles from scene to scene trying to find happiness and the true importance of life. The question for his character isn't if he can discover what he wants, but whether or not he will still be able to attain it in the end. The Wrestler has been in limited release for the past few months. There is a new trend where really good movies are only released this way, because the majority of our country's populous (who are pretty unintelligent) refuse to pay money unless they get to see something explode. This is a bummerExplosions aren't bad, they just aren't enough sometimes. Do filmmakers everywhere a favor and go see The Wrestler. Let them know that people still appreciate movies not based on post-production and big budgets. Movies are the modern play-houses, and there have been plays that have gone on for hundreds of years. Just keep that in mind next time tickets are being purchased at the movie theater. V?U&3~C»^O'~*3i3i>X©2C:2ilOTWB!CTVFWl' ' " / n * " * " * ~'~~^^K'~'~™?^~ry^-r^^*r'2rrwri^rtv<rYx-i!-ei*r *•'•*•*.*••*•••* |