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Friend on a leash
was the American Red Cross 1996 Heart
An Animal of the Year Tatyana Matra, Ivan's
sister said the dog saved her by waking her
putting a house fire. Concluded:
That was all part of Ivan's job, Marino said. Since she rescued him from a shelter when he was nine weeks old, Marino has worked and trained Ivan to serve as her ears.
After the rescue in 1996, the American Red Cross named Ivan the "Hearing Animal of the Year."
him," she said. Marino, Lawrence junior, and her daughter, Alexandra, then 2, were napping when their house caught fire. Marino is legally deaf and did not hear the fire alarm sound. Ivan did." "Somehow he managed to get Alex out of her room to safety and then he woke me up," she said. "We both got out and then the house burned down."
Now, Marino is working to train a dog for her fiancee, Stacey Spontaski, who is also legally hearing impaired.
Spontaski. Lawrence senior, said he was excited for his Keeshond puppy, Jabberwocky, to make his nights more comfortable
"We've been working with him so that I
can sleep without a bracing aid."
Spontaski said. "So that at
ontaski said. "So that at night he'll let me know if there's a fire alarm, or people creeping around in the house." Along with the leashes and dog toys, a sense of security comes
having with having a service dog as a companion. Marino said
"I trust him with my life, and with my daughter's life explicitly," she said.
Having a service dog enables individuals with disabilities to be more independent, said Susan Brown, Community Coordinator at the Independence Inc., 20001 Haskell Ave.
Jabberwocky is in the initial phases of training, and it could take up to four years before he could pass certification tests. Dogs can be certified by a number of social agencies, including the American Red Cross.
A priority in the training process is getting the dog used to any social setting. So this spring, Jabby has been attending classes with Marino.
She said that she'd been taking Jabby everywhere she went to get him accustomed to things so that nothing would startle him.
"A service dog needs to function in a capacity that's not disruptive." Marino said.
situations so that hearing would still be Brown said that an important part of training a service dog was making the dog's safety a priority. For example, there are no regulations about taking a certified service dog to a zoo, but such a situation could be dangerous for the dog.
In addition to training a dog, a master must learn how to accommodate the dog's needs, Brown said.
"He does well in any situation. He can go to restaurants, the grocery store, and he loves to go to the movies," she said. "In airplanes
While Jabby still has a long way to go, Ivan has mastered the human world.
he'll sit in the seat right next to me and eat the peanuts."
Once Jabby has been socialized, Marino said that she would focus on having the 13 week-old puppy master simple obedience commands.
"Once we get past housebreaking and chewing, it should get easier."
Marino said that although Jabby and Ivan competed for attention, the dogs worked well together.
"Jabby learns off of Ivan. We have a sibling advantage when working with Jabby," Marino said. "The companionship between them is just as important as anything."
To be a certified service dog, hearing dogs must be able to perform at least five of 10 functions, including hearing a fire alarm, a crying baby, a stove boiling over, shattering glass and a doorbell.
Marino said that repetition was key to teaching a dog to master these tasks.
"You create a sound environment, get them excited about it, and reward them when they perform appropriately." Marino said.
But it's not all work.
Ivan can shake hands, give a high-five, roll over and even whisper.
"You have to teach them tricks between tasks, so it doesn't seem like its all work and no play," Marino said.
Alex, 5, who is not deaf, takes part in the training. Ivan has been just as much a part of her life, as her mother's. They are nearly siblings.
"I've even found myself saying 'Tvan, leave your sister alone.'" Martino said.
But it is very rare that Ivan or Jabby would leave Marino alone.
"I now have an audience when I go to the restroom. They all have to lay there on the floor and watch me," Marino said.
University Policy on Animals in Buildings
No pets are allowed in campus buildings. Only laboratory animals and owner-accompanied, trained dogs to guide the visually-impaired or assist the hearing-impaired and owner-accompanied, trained and certified dogs to support the physically disabled are permitted.
For more information log on to:
www.sonic.net/~meliski/scim_anim.html
EVENTS CALENDAR
Friday, April 23
Latin American film festival.
"Knocks at My Door." 2:30 p.m.
Spencer Museum of Art auditorium.
Sponsored by Latin American Studies. 864-4213.
University Dance Company. 8
p.m. Lied Center. $7 adults, $5
students and seniors. 864-2787
Student recital, Carrie Sue Ives,
cello. 7:30 p.m. Swarthout Recital
Hall, Murphy Hall, 864-3436.
University Theatre. "Gut Girls" by Sarah Daniels, Delores Ringer, director, 8 p.m. Crafton-Preyer Theater, Murphy Hall. $12 adults, $11 seniors, $6 students. 864-3982.
Saturday, April 24
University Dance Company. 8
p.m. Lied Center. $7 adults, $5
students. 864-2787
Faculty recital. Christopher Richard Moore, trumpet, and Michael J. Bauer and Marie Rubis Baur, organ, 7:30 p.m. Bales Organ Recital Hall, 864-3436
University Theatre. "Gut Girls" by Sarah Daniels, Delores Ringer, director, 8 p.m. Crafton-Preyer Theater, Murphy Hall. $12 adults, $11 seniors, $6 students. 864-3982.
Sunday, April 25
Exhibit. Design craft area scholarship show. Art and Design Gallery. Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Thursday; 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Friday; 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday. Closed Saturdays and holidays.
Ends April 30, 864-4401.
Weekend workshop. "Reptile Rodeo." 1:30 p.m. Natural History Museum. $ . Ages 7-adult. Preregistration required. 864 4173
Spring recital. KU Trumpet Ensemble. 2:30 p.m. Swarthowlet Recital Hall, Murphy Hall. 864-3436.
University Theatre. "Gut Girls" by Sarah Daniels, Delores Ringer, director, 2:30 p.m. Crafton-Preyer Theatre, Murphy Hall. $12 adults, $11 seniors, $6 students, 864-3982.
Fountains of Wayne spurt suburban satire
MUSIC
REVIEW
Fountains of Wayne
Utopia Parkway
Rating : A
By Matt Cox
Kansan music boy
Fountains of Wayne combines four decades of pop music and add a slight modern twist to make it their own.
The modern rock song with a '60s hip-swing backbeat called Denise is warming up the radio these days. Collingwood sings "She controls me. She can't help herself. Won't you tell me...do you love me Denise?" The song boasts tons of "la la's" and "woah woah's" to make a hard rocker sick and a popster happy. Great song.
Songwriters Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger are back with their second album, Utopia Parkway. It's all about living the teenage life in suburbia, things they love, and things they love to satire.
Hat and Feet takes a different turn in style. It has a repeating acoustic lead with music as smooth as a cool summer's breeze.
Collingwood can't feel this breeze in the song, however.
*Prom Theme* is the ultimate satire of every prom theme song. Collingwood sweetly sings to a piano accompaniment and a traditional love song beat. The tone is sad and is so well-done that if you didn't listen to the words, you might think it was a serious love song.
because he sings about drowning in his own sorrow. He sings, "I'm just a sitting duck that just ran out of luck."
Not everything is so introspective.
Collingwood sings "But tonight we feel like we're stars. We'll play our air guitars 'cause we're eighteen."
The band seems to turn into The Beatles on Laser Show. You can almost see McCartney and Lennon shaking their torsos as the guys shout "Oh yeah, we're goin' to the laser show."
The song is about the experience of seeing a Pink Floyd and Metallica concert. It's a weird combination, but the satire works. They seem to poke fun at typical concert-goers for no apparent reason with a heavy layer of piano and a go-beat.
Nope.
In Lost in Space, The Beatles and Weezer seem to combine for a story about a valley girl. This complements a previous song called Valley of Malls. This song pokes fun at the way valley guys and gals shop.
Actually, most of this album makes fun everything that is stereotypical about the yuppie community.
The entire album is a pop-lover's dream. It has few songs that surpass the three minute mark and melodies that are instantly memorable. College music afficionados should give this album a try.
Oh well. It's hilarious.
Pushing Tin Rating : F
By Brendan Walsh Kansan movie critic
Have pity on the actors in Pushing Tin. The poor direction wasn't Cate Blanchett's fault; Billy Bob Thornton had nothing to do with the miserable writing; John Cusack couldn't help the horrid pacing of the film, and Angelina Jolie couldn't have made the characters any more believable.
Nick Falzone (Cusack) is a hotshot air traffic controller in New York City. He has a suburban home, a nice Cadillac, cute kids and a loving wife, Connie (Blanchett).
Just like Maverick hated Iceman in Top Gun, Nick finds a rival in Russell. The two, usually fueled by alcohol, compete to see who can have more planes in his allotted air space, who can shoot more free throws at a work party and who can hold a burning match longer. If there was any more testosterone in this movie, female audience members would grow facial hair.
Turbulence comes with the arrival of a new air traffic controller, the mysterious Russell Bell (Thornton). Russell is a maverick air traffic controller, who heroically — or foolishly, depending on how one looks at it
directs planes within feet of one other in an effort to land every plane on time while maintaining order in the skies.
These challenges apparently lose their thrill, so Nick sleeps with Russell's tawdry wife, Mary (Jolie).
Mary feels obligated to tell her husband about the affair, which greatly upsets Nick. In the tightknit community of air traffic controllers, sleeping with your co-worker's wife is taboo. Russell, an understanding guy, tells
John Cusan, above, and Billy Bob Thornan, left, are not smiling. This is because their new movie, *Pushing Tin*, is awful. Contributed photos
Nick it's OK because, after all,
"If you ever want to sleep at night, don't marry a beautiful girl."
Nick doesn't trust Russell's good will and becomes paranoid that his wife is about to get it on with Iceman, err. Russell. For Nick, paranoia leads to breakdown, which leads to the departure of Connie. This leads to soul searching. After a brief stint in Colorado, this leads back to Connie.
This is the stupidest movie of the year — at least among those that didn't purposely try to be stupid. It's never clear whether Russell is a mystic shaman, who has come to bring wisdom to New York, or just a big jerk. Russell's pairing with the 19-year-old Mary is about as likely a mix as Democrats and the National Rifle Association; and it's never explained why Nick isn't content with his wife.
The pacing of the movie is incredibly slow most of the time, which contrasts sharply with the scenes in the air traffic control building. They show the stress of the job through half-second scenes and erratic camera angles that leave the audience just as stressed as the
controllers.
The 1986 film *Quicksilver* showed that riding a bike delivering messages wasn't a fun job, but at least the audience didn't have to sweat along with Kevin Bacon.
Australian Blanchett does a great Long Island accent; Thornton does what he can for his character; Jolie succeeds in making her 19-year-old character look 35; and Cusack puts on his usual loser-guy charm when given the opportunity. But despite the potentially great cast, the movie is slow, boring, incomprehensible in parts and definitely a waste of time.
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