March 15, 2002
The Lion's Eye
Page 7
®ooIntertainmente® ¢ ¢
Rocket Man and Piano Man face off in the Philadephia finale
By MEREDITH BECKER
Staff Writer
In the concert event of the year, Piano Man Billy
Joel sat down once more with Rocket Man Elton John.
“ For 4 tickets in the lower, front view level it cost my
father $766 (Thanks Dad!). While the ticket cost was
rather outrageous, the show made up for it. With almost 4
hours of the two entertaining the ¢rowd it was a night to
remember.
It began with Elton and Billy's pianos being
raised up onto the stage on platforms. With the spotlights
shining down on their mirrored black lids, the crowd
erupted into screams and claps of enthusiasm. Then the
lights split from center stage to each side where they
caught onto Joel and John who hopped up onto the stage
with eager grins on their faces (which could be seen on the
screens courtesy of the camaras practically shoved up
their noses.)
They took their bows and gave each other a hug
then separated to their respective pianos: Joel stage right,
John stage left. They began to play an assortment of their
songs ranging from Elton's “I'm Still Standing” to Billy's
“Only the Good Die Young” and in honor of their friend,
George Harrison, “Here Comes the Sun.” They went back
and forth for about 6 songs together then Joel split and left
John to do his own part.
Elton John's time on stage, while colorful, (as
John usually is) was not all that much to scream about. I
decided to save my. precious vocal chords for the now
anticipated time when Joel would come back to the stage.
John sang a few too many of the songs from his newer
album, “That Train Don't Stop Here Anymore.” Then of
course my most loathed song by Elton, “I Want Love” -
the video with Robert Downey Jr. walking around in a stu-
por after being released from his detox program Pecilly
for Elton.
Black history celebrated i in
By SARAH GALLATIG
Staff Writer
During common hour Feb. 18, students and fac-
ulty gathered together in the classroom building to listen
to Christopher Ridenhour's lecture, "The Skin I'm In!" The
seminar was meant to educate others on what it is like to:
be black.
Ridenhour told a story of a boy, little Theodore,
who asked his mother what life would be like without
blacks. He learned that
many of the luxuries
that people take for
granted today would
not exist if not for the
contributions of
blacks. Some of those
inventions include
irons, dryers, pencil
sharpeners, elevators,
refrigerators, combs,
brushes, buses, and
light. Many people
know that Thomas
~ Edison invented the
light bulb, but without
Lewis Latimer light
would not be possible.
Many people have
stereotypes of what a
black person is supposed to be like. A stereotype is an
exaggerated belief, for example believing that "...if a
black person gets wet they smell like chocolate."
Ridenhour poured water over his hand and made people
smell his hand to prove his point. My neighbor laughed at
the sight of this, telling me he would probably eat himself
if he smelled like chocolate,
Ridenhour included the audience in every aspect
of his presentation, which made it interesting and a lot of
fun. He has a sense of humor. He even had a member of
the audience hold up signs signaling when to applaud,
boo, or even "aww" in case he talked about his kids.
Ridenhour also talked about the "black vibe."
This means that black people secretly have psychic pow-
ers and can read each other's minds. Pulling a member of
the audience and secluding him in another room
Christopher Ridenhour visited
on Feb. 18 as part of the cele-
bration of Black History Month
at Penn State Delaware
County Campus.
Billy Joel and Elton John, “Face to Face,” rocked the
First Union Center for 6 nights in February.
Finally John breathed some life back into the act
by playing “Philadelphia Freedom” to which everyone in
the entire First Union Center proceeded to sing along
with. We found out later that Billy Jean King, for whom
the song was written, was actually there at the concert that
night. A few less know songs were sung, and then the
crowing glory, for which I was of course stuck in line for
the ladies room for, “Crocodile Rock.”
I made it back just in time to miss it, of course,
but thanks to the power of acoustics I was able to jive to
the song the whole time I was waiting (men need to wise
“Skin.I'm In” presentation
Ridenhour tested this. He took Canadian coins and placed
them in my hand. The experiment was to see if the guest
could figure out what Ridenhour had changed. When he
came out of the room Ridenhour walked him around the
room and pointed out different objects to see if that was
what he had changed. The man said "no" to everything
except the coins. I'm not really sure how he knew the
coins were different.
During the hour he added in tidbits of history,
including Brown v. The Board of Education and the
Arkansas Nine. For those of you who don't know what
either of those are, Brown v. The Board of Education is a
lawsuit in 1954 that Brown brought against the schools. It
says that separate schools were not equal, and the only
way that all children could have an equal education was to
be taught at the same schools in the same classrooms.
The Arkansas Nine refers to the nine African
American students in Little Rock Arkansas who were to
integrate a local high school. The governor of Arkansas,
Orval Faubus, sent the state's National Guard to the school
to prevent the African American students from entering
the school. President Eisenhower finally settled the matter
by sending troops in to maintain order, and let the students
in. This was a very valuable decision because the students
were permitted in the school so everyone was getting the
same education.
Ridenhour used a game to teach black history.
Four students teamed up and tried to answer questions. All
the questions were basic knowledge, but still one had peo-
ple stumped.
The question that was the most confusing was
what is a turkey butt used for? The answer was collard
greens.
Collard greens are considered soul food for
African Americans. All four coritestants received a recipe
for southern greens and a fake one million dollar bill.
Ridenhour closed the ceremony by having stu-
dents read index cards written with slang phrases. The lan-
guage used is referred to as "black" English. Everyone
laughed and joked as one card was read after another.
Ridenhour concluded with saying that "people
have differences because of traditions and conditions in
which they are brought up in."
"The number one goal is to be successful in col-
lege and to educate the rest of the world on diversity," said
Ridenhour.
up when building those types of places, key words: more
bathrooms). Finally getting way too fed up with the other
women [ just hauled butt into the men's room.
After receiving a couple gasps, one hearty laugh,
and a round of applause from the kindly men I got back to
my seat to enjoy Billy. He went full throttle into his per-
formance, letting the audience vote yea or nay for songs
twice. He began with “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”
then to “Captain Jack,” which let me tell you, is a little
uncomfortable with your dad sitting next to you when the
word "masturbation" comes up.
Joel broke off for a while talking to the audience,
then all of the sudden he brings up the terrorist threat on
the Liberty Bell, he pauses then, "Who the f*** do they
think we are?"
The crowd erupts into cheers and claps, stomps
and yowls of support. Joel chose this time to sing “New
York State of Mind,” in between songs he tickles out
some of his piano compositions, then he slid right into
“Lullabye.” “River of Dreams,” “Allentown,” “I Go to
Extremes,” “The Entertainer,” “Movin' Out,” and a couple
more then Sir Elton joined Joel on stage once more.
‘They go on for almost another hour with, “Great
Balls of Fire,” “The Bitch is Back,” “My life” (from
“Bosom Buddies”), “Benny and the Jets,” “Don't Let the
Sun Go Down on Me.” Both their bands, which had per-
formed with them individually came out together for the
closing sequence and did the back ups.
After they left the first time they let us clap fora
good five minutes in the dark until they were ready to do
the encore, which was of course “Piano Man.” The audi-
ence sang the chorus and changed it to “Piano Men" Elton
actually got a little teary at the end of the song then they
left for good, the crew lowered the piano's and raised the
lights. All in all a great night, even if we did have to park
half a mile away and wind up the night with a parking
ticket.
M ovie Reviex WS
By Jennifer Rufo
Say Writer
The Mothman Prophecies * * out of 4 stars
, Ifyou believe in the supernatural, then this
movie might be interesting to you. Based on true
~ events, the story begins with a journalist (Richard
Gere) for The Washington Post who suffers a tragic
loss.
| While driving late one sight he unknowing-
ly winds up in West Virginia where people have
claimed to see a Mothman. The Mothman predicts
uncanny events, which leads to the climax at the end
of the movie.
The Mothman gets annoying towards the
end (of the movie and the romance seems a bit dry.
If you want to see for yourself some of the crazy
things that have gone on involving this character,
visit www.themothmanlives.com. It's not as far-
fetched as you might think.
A Walk to Remember * % % out of 4 stars
Based onghe novel by Nicholas Sparks, this
movie is a guaranteed tearjerker. The story is about a -
bad boy (Shane West) who falls in love with the clas-
sic good girl, Jamie (Mandy Moore), the minister's
daughter. Jamie is a quiet, deeply religious girl who
doesn't care what other people think of her piety.
Landon was the guy who would do anything to fit in
with the cool crowd.
The romance unexpectedly starts with a
staged kiss and continues with a gentle relationship
that will leave every girl in the theater swooning. No
relationship is complete without problems, however,
whether it be Jamie's overprotective father, or the
jealous girls at school, or a tragedy that will leave
both young lovers at a loss for words.
This chick flick is perfect to see with a best
friend over a tub of popcorn, but don't forget the tis-
sues! Mandy's new hair color takes some getting
used to though. For more information, visit
www2.warnerbros.com/walktoremember.