eatures
Eddy "Strange"?
by Tanya Williams
Collegian Staff. Writer
"Who Is Eddy Strange? More
importantly, why is Eddy
strange?! Don't let the name scare
you! Oh, he's different, but it's a
difference that makes him...uni
que," says E. Talbert Talent Con
sultants." Eddy Strange; the open
ing act, is hard to beat: Every inch
of the man is funny;"states Dallas
Morning News.*On Thursday, Oc
tober 29th, he will be appearing at
Behrend. This comedian has per
formed at The Comedy Store and
The Improvisation, both located in
Los Angelos. He has enertained au
diences in New York, Tennesse,
New Jersey, and Denver. Hehas
performed with Robin Williams,
The Bus Boys, and Frankie Vallee
and the Four Seasons.
Eddy Strange has made several
television and film appearances.
He has appeared on "Entertain-
Weekend
by Rebecca Macey
Collegian Staff Writer
On the weekend of September
25, 26, and 27, Behrend College
sponsored its fourth annual
parents' weekend. These three
special days gave students' parents
a chance to come visit the campus
and to see their children. For many
students, going to college was their
first experience in being separated
from their parents for any period
of time longer than two weeks.
Thanks to parents' weekend,
families were able to spend some
quality time together after being
apart.
. A wide varitey of activities were
scheduled to take place during the
course of the weekend. Families
had the options of attending spor
ting events, buffet dinners, campus
tours, and a "student amateur
night", to name just a few ac
tivities. Parents were greeted Fri
day evening at a welcoming recep
tion in the Reed Building. After
wards, they had a buffet dinner,
student amateur night, a pep rally
and bonfire, and the movie "Han-
Strangeways
Here We Come
tTI
by Justin F. Baxter
Collegian Staff Writer
Everyone has their problems.
And some people choose to sing
about them.
With the release of their new
album, "Strangeways Here We
Come", the Smiths' singer and
lyricist, Morrisey, is once again
singing of all his life's problems,
quirks, insecurities, and his seem
ingly terrible track record in the
game of love.
Morrisey can't "bear to hear the
word love", he has a "girlfriend in
a coma" and doesn't even want to
see her, and once he "dreamt that
somebody loved him". He even
wishes somebody an "Unhappy
Birthday". Not very pleasant
topics but they're all topics that
most people our age can relate to.
This is reflected in their popularity.
The album echoes with the fine
guitar playing of Johnny Marr. His
playing has improved greatly since
the days of "Meat is Murder" and
"The Queen is Dead". It seems
that Marr just couldn't handle the
underconfident rumblings of Mor
.risey. As soon as this album was
completed, he packed up his guitar
and said "see ya ..". What this will
do to the Smiths' music of the•
future remains to be seen, seeing as.
Marr wrote all the music that Mor
risey wrote lyrics for.
It should also be mentioned that
it seems like Morrisey has really
learned to sing. It's taken him a
while but, practice makes perfect.
Well, in this case, a hell of a big im
provement. On 'earlier Smiths'
works it seemed as if Morrisey was
droning on and on. Now he puts
'some emotions behind the emo
.tional lyrics.
It also appears that Morrisey
,drank heavily while writing these
songs. Catch there lyrics: "So I
drank one or was it four and when
I fell on the floor I drank more" or
"...so drink, drink, drink and be ill
tonight'.
But more important than his
alcoholic rambling . is his bad luck
in romance. In "Unhappy Birth
day", Morrisey sings "Loved and
lost...and then I shot myself." In
"Last Night 'I Dreamt That
SOmebody Loved Me" he sings
"Last night I felt real arms around
me, no hope-no harm, just another
Why
merit Tonight", "Live at The
Comedy Store", "Comedy
Tonight" (Metormediaox Televi
sion), and "Lift' Off"(Showtime
Cable). He has been in two com
mercials: (1) Orchard Hardware in
San Jose, Ca., and (2) Pizza
Movers in Baltimore, Md., "Keep
on Cruisin" (Dick Clark Cbs) and
"USA Cable Nightflight" are only
two of the four films he was in.
Strange studied entertainment at
Florida Atlantic University
(Theatre), and Estelle Harmon Ac
tors Workshop. At the National
Association Campus Activities at
Tropicana Hotel, Atlantic City,
Strange recieved First Runner Up
1986 San Francisco Comedy Com
petition. Strange also has
developed some skills and talents
ranging from comedy writing and
golf to small arms expert.
The performance will be at Bpm
in Reed 117 for those to experience
the strangeness of Eddy Strange.
Reunion
nah and Her Sisters" to choose
from to attend.
On Saturday, campus tours and
mini-classes were given free of
charge to parents and students.
Mini-class topics included
"I-Estiny of Behrend", "The Bat
tle of Lake Erie"; and "Com
municating with Your College Stu
dent". The rest of the days ac
tivities included a picnic lunch in
the Wilson picnic grove, a soccer
and a tennis match, and alumni
receptions.
Most parents thought the
weekend was a great opportunity to
spend time with their children,
although there were a few who felt
some changes could be made in the
curriculum. Nick Nickolas of Pitt
sburgh claimed "Actually, I am a
bit disappointed in all the emphasis
put on the soccer game... I think
more family oriented activities
should have been included in this
weekend's lineup." Despite
. some
minor complaints about the ac
tivities, the general — consensus
among both parents and students
was that they were happy to be able
to be with their families after being
apart for a few weeks.
till
.0.
false alarm." In "Stop Me..." he
says "I still love you, only slightly
less than I used to." I wouldn't
doubt it if Johnny Marr left the
group because he was just plain
sick and tired of Morrisey's
moaning.
This album, I think, reinforces
all the rumours of Morrisey's
homosexuality. On their last
album, "Louder than Bombs" he
sang "I'm a girl and you're a
boy."and wanted to "book a room
at the YWCA." On the first song
of this album, "A Rush and a•Push
and the Land is Ours" he sings
"but you're a young man; so
phone me...00h,1 think I'm in
love" and on "Death at ones
elbow" he tells Glenn that he can't
come home tonight and then sings
"Goodbye my love, Goodbye my
loves," and apparently takes his
life with a hatchet. Hey, if you
think I'm making this up buy the
album and read the lyrics.
But note that I did say buy the
album. Even though the song sub
.jects are morbid, add them to the
catchy music of Johnny Marr, and
you've got music that's great to
listen to. .
The Smiths music is original,
fresh and pleasant to the hear. A
far cry from, the barrage of heavy
metal groups that are thrown at us
when we turn on the radio.
"Strangeways Here We Come"
is an excellent compliment to the
catalog of exceptional Smiths'
album, but not quite as good as
"Louder than Bombs". If only
Morrisey could deal with his pro
blems a little better, maybe he and
Marr could patch things up and go
on. But if Morrisey had no pro-.
blems, what would he sing about?
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The television ads for Molly
Ringwald's new film The Pickup
Artist, make it seem an appealing
comic confection. They show the
title character, an irrepressible
would-be Casanova named Jack
Jericho (Robert Downey), hitting
on attractive women with lines like,
"Has anyone ever told you that
you have the face of a Botticelli
and the body of a Degas?" He's as
happy as a clam until he meets the
girl of his dreams, Randy Jensen •
(Ringwald), and is stunned by her
indifference to him. He, of course,
then feels even more compelled to
pursue her. It looks as if it could
prove to be a decent variant on the
ancient boy-meets-girl, boy-loses
girl, boy-gets-girl-back-just-in
time-for-the-closing-credits plot.
That's the advertisement.
As for the movie, well, so much
for truth in advertising. The
makers of The Pickup Artist seem
to have reached their limits in com
ing up with enough good material
for one TV spot and left themselves
little else to work with in the other
90 minutes of the film.
Nineteen-year-old Molly
Ringwald, who became a star play
ing high-school students in John
Dinner is
UMMM...Just smell the heaven
ly aroma of the perfectly seasoned
chicken, roasting in the 'oven.
Ooooh, and imagine a heaping
mound of freshly whipped mashed
potatoes, complete with melted
butter meandering down the sides
of the creamy mound. Fresh green
)•.
cip
*A
by Robert Farnham
Collegian Staff Writer
by Kristen Delonchry
Collegian Staff Writer
"Leadership Workshop Series"
Publicity and Promotion
Mr. Paul E. Bailey
Senior Instructional
Communications Specialist
Intergroup Relations
Dr. Terrell Jones
Asst. Director of Campus
Life (University Park)
Dr. Art Constantino
Director of Student
Organizations (University Park)
Assertiveness Training
Ms. Patricia Brown
Asst. Dean of Student Services
Fundraising
Ms. Linda Cornwell ,
Assoc. Director of
Development and University
Relations
Creative Programming .
Ms. Jamie Grimm
Asst. Dean of Student Services
Group Communications
Major Gary McDavid
Asst. Professor of -
Military Science
A leadership Development Certificate will be awarded for three or more attendances.
Hughes-directed comedies such as
• Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink,
is this film's primary box-office
draw and ostensibly one of its ma
jor characters, but apparently
director James Toback and his
screenwriters were uncertain as to
how to handle her first "adult"
role. She has been given too little
memorable dailogue and unsuffi
cient character developmet to make
Randy Jensen convincing, and in
too many scenes her "acting" is
reduced to closeup shots of Randy
with her mouth slightly open, look
ing vaguely worried.
As the male lead, Robert
Downey also falls short of what the
ads would have you expect. His
Jack Jericho, supposedly the her,
comes across as thoroughly shallow
and self-centered, a guy who will
tell a girl anythingto get, and hold,
her attention. This would be fine as
a starting point (after all, he is sup
posed to be a womanizer), except
that his character seems to have no
other facets to support his conver
sion to good-guy status upon fall
ing for Randy. Downey, while giv:
ing a certain goofy charm to
Jericho's pickup attempts (the best
of which is a girl who tells him that
she's studying for the priesthood),
is unconvincing in the scenes in
tended o humanize his character
and give him depth. Especially con-
served
beans and homemade baked bread
finishes - off this delectable setting.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to
tease with thoughts of such ex
quisite culinary delights. I,too,
know how long it's been since
we've had a homecooked meal.
Luckily, The Student Government
Association and The Office of Stu
dent Services have rendered the
problem of T.V. dinners and pizza.
Penn State-Behrend
Inter Club Council
and
Student Services
Fall 1987
Thursday
Monday
Tuesday
Thursday
Thursday
Tuesday
For more information call the Inter Club Council at 6452
trived is the sappy, heavy-handed
.sequence showing Jack taking care.
of his poor, diabetic, invalid grand
mother (Awww...how touching).
The supporting cast has some
bright moments, especially among
the feminine objects of Jack's at
tention. Saturday Night Live's Vic
toria Jackson has a good bit as the
'thoroughly ditsjr blonde girlfriend
of a -cranky mobster, and former
Miss America Vanessa Williams
appears walking a Doberman nam
ed Caligula that takes exception to
Jack's style. Dennis Hopper, an ac
tor critically acclaimed for his in
'tense performances in "Blue
Velvet" and "River's Edge," plays
"Flash" Jensen, Randy's
.alcoholic, gambling father, with a
surprising hammy flair, stumbling
about and forgetting people's
names. In a relatively minor part,
he can't do much to save the film,
but at least he seems to be enjoying
himself.
That's more than can necessarily
be said for the audience. Apparent
ly believing that using one coherent
plot for an entire movie is too
•pedestrian, Toback has chosen to
use bits and pieces of several, with
'little effort made to link them
together. There was a great deal of
potential in the scenario of the jad
ed pickup artist pursuing the
' possibility of true love, but the
They've announced their 3rd an
nual "Dinner For Six Strangers".
Staff members have opened their
homes (and cupboards) in hopes of
creating the faculty-student rela
tionship Behrend is known for. The
sorting of guests according to their
majors and intents should provide
an evening of enthusiastic conver
sation among friends. A freshly
prepared homecooked meal should
October 1
October 5
October 27 12:00 p.m.
Noon
October 29 5:00 p.m.
November 19 5:00 p.m.
December 1 12:00 p.m.
Noon
Collegian
PAGE 7
t'J
issue has been badly muddled bir
the addition of mobsters, casinos,
gambling debts, death threatS,
back rent, and so on. It's not that
the resultant plot is all that hard Co
follow; it just doesn't seem worth
following.
The Pickup Artist, the movie,
just can't measure up to The
Pickup Artist, the commercial. Its
insubstantial, unfocused, and not
very much fun. Even her worship
ful fans will probably find this to
be Ringwald's worst movie and
Downey might well be having se;
cond thoughts about his cinematic
career. Go see The Pickup Artist • if
you must, but don't say yoU
weren't warned. - :
also be a welcomed change Irons
burgers and fries.
The dinners are set to be held on
Sunday, October 18, at 5:00. This
is your chance to meet a bunch of
new people as well as get to know
faculty here at Behrend College.
So bring yourself, and your app
petite as you prepare to eat a dinner
with six strangers, and leave with a
variety of new friends.
Reed 116
5:00 p.m.
- Wintergreen
7:00 p.m.
Reed 116
Reed 116
Reed 116
Reed 116
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C