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TUESDAY, MARCH 10' 2015
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY & BANSAN
arts & features
HOROSCOPES
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Today is an 8
Today is an 8
Make financial decisions for long-term benefit. Plan to grow reserves and take steps to realize a dream. Build the foundation of your family fortune one brick at a time. Recharge with good food, exercise and beauty.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Today is a 9
Teamwork can provide lasting benefit now. Work together for a shared dream. Believe that everything is possible. Exceed (your own) expectations.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Today is an 8
Take action to benefit your career. Invest in efficiency. Get inspired by the possibility of a project, and make promises. Take a walk and meditate on an opportunity. Persistent efforts get through.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Today is a 7
today is a 7 Plan and make your next move. Luck favors bold action, although obstacles may arise Focus on being present in the moment. Long-distance relations open a new angle in the game.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Today is a 7
Put your back into a home project. Make domestic choices for long-term benefit. Take it slow in uncharted territory. Get plenty of expert advice before committing funds.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Today is an 8
Do your homework and take actions from what you learn.
Creativity pays off. Bring patience to a frustrating moment.
A partner has good advice.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Today is an 8
Grab a profitable opportunity. Do the work to your own standards. Multi-task, and remain flexible to dance around obstacles. If it doesn't work the first time, refocus and try again. Action now leads to long-term benefit.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Today is a 9
Today is a 9
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
Word is spreading about what you're up to. Don't listen to inner pessimism. Make a choice to see the glass half full. Actions get farther than words. Invest to strengthen your infrastructure.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Today is a 6
The action is behind the scenes. Peace and quiet lets you really think. Exercise clears your mind. Move your body and creative ideas spark. Learn from the past and what worked before.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb.18)
Today is on 8
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Today is a 7
Collaborate for a common cause. Consider imaginative suggestions. Don't get intimidated by the unknown or stopped by minor breakdowns.
Optimism grows.
Today is an 8
Go for a professional dream today. Make a move. If you feel stuck with fear or doubt, get support from someone who loves you. You can get farther than imagined with steady action.
Dress the part.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is an 8
Explore distant frontiers.
Invest in a long-held objective.
Energy builds for this adventure.
Prepare a dream trip. Get what you need privately. Review what worked previously (and what didn't). Support someone in pain.
CROONING AT THE CAPITOL
Men's Glee Club performs as part of concert series at Kansas Statehouse
KELLY CORDINGLEY
@kellycordingley
Thirty-three men of the University's Men's Glee Club will perform the Alma Mater, National Anthem and KU fight songs for the Kansas Legislature as part of the "KU at the Capitol Concert Series" today at noon. The semester-long series is sponsored by Reach Out Kansas, a program that supports and hosts concerts and musical events in the state. The Glee Club is one of six University music programs scheduled to perform.
Director Christopher Smith, who is working on his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting, said the group is thrilled to have the opportunity.
"I think it's an honor," Smith said. "The dean of music sent an email saying we have a donor who wants to pay for you guys to go sing in the State Capitol, and he said to me they'd like to see the Men's Glee [Club]."
BEN BRODSKY/KANSAN
The Men's Glee Club, founded in 1809, is the oldest choral group at the University. Nathan Dame, associate director and first-year Ph.D student, said the group has a rich history.
"Being a glee club, we're more about the tradition and sharing the fight songs, not just doing normal male choir music," Dame said. "We're having fun while doing it. It's a good mix between what people would think of as a traditional choir and also fun traditions. There's just a kind of brotherhood that goes along with being in a male choir."
"It was one of those things where I was always in choir in
high school and I had wanted to be part of something with that camaraderie of a men's choir." Dame said. "It's just really fun to be a part of."
Dame was the president of the club when he completed his undergraduate studies at the University in 2007. When he returned for his graduate work, he said he knew exactly where he wanted to spend his time.
Smith said the majority of the men in the choir are nonmusic major freshmen who used to sing in high school.
KU Men's Glee Club Director Christopher Smith conducts the club during a rehearsal on March 5 in Murphy Hall. The Glee Club will perform today at the Kansas Capitol as a part of a semester-long concert series by Reach Out Kansas.
"They're overachievers," Smith said. "They're a really challenging group of young guys. They come from all over the campus. We try to target the underclassmen, nonmusic majors because we want that diversity. I talk to them about what Glee is and that our concert works are not as heavy as those at other choirs. We do stuff that's more fun, but it's not all fluffy."
Smith said the opportunity to work with the Glee Club and the members' range of voices is a privilege.
"There's something really special and unique about putting together different voices from people from different backgrounds around the country and the world," Smith said. "There's something about putting those voices together to make a beautiful whole, because the human voice is a part of us. It isn't an instrument you play."
Justin Kline, a freshman from Overland Park, said he joined the club on a whim, looking for something fun to do, but never expected the opportunities the club has given him.
"The first home basketball game of the semester, we sang the Alma Mater and National Anthem at Allen Fieldhouse," he said. "To just jump right on board as a freshman is awesome. KU Men's Glee is doing nothing but growing and expanding."
Working with the human voice is something Smith said he's always had a passion for because it is like no other instrument. He has been working with different types of choirs since he was 17 years old, so he said directing Glee Club came naturally.
Placement auditions take place at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. If you are interesting in joining Men's Glee, contact Christopher Smith at christophersmith@ku.edu
christophersmith@ku.edu
Upcoming performances at the Statehouse include:
KU Brass Ensemble,
Steve Leisring, director
Wednesday, April 1
KU Horn Choir, Paul Stevens, director Wednesday, April 29
KU Trombone Choir,
Michael Davidson, director
Thursday, May 7
"To be able to put that together in a chair is a really special experience," he said. "To work with them day-in and day-out is a reward. It's a special thing."
Singing at the Capitol is something Dame said doesn't happen often, and it is important to showcase what the University music program offers. Dame said supporting the University as a whole at the Capitol is important.
KU Men's Glee Club Associate Director Nathan Dame conducts during rehearsal on March 5 in Murphy Hall. Dame was the president of the club when he was an undergraduate at the University in 2007.
BEN BRODSKY/KANSAN
"For some of these guys, it may be the only time they ever get to do this." Dame said. "There's all sorts of changes going on at the Capitol, and regardless of whatever you
believe, being able to show support for what goes on not just in your own major or your own life but as the University as a whole is very special."
Edited by Emma LeGault
'Chappie' proves a messy, intriguing sci-fi tale
"Chappie" gives a new take on the robot-with-a consciousness story, but in a more compelling way. It showcases the bizarre South African electro-rap group Die Antwoord so much that it feels more like it's "The Die Antwoord Movie" than one prominently featuring them. Not only does their weird aesthetic accompany them, but their songs fill in the soundtrack as well.
Considering that writer/director Neill Blomkamp
With gangs running rampant in Johannesburg, South Africa, the government has begun using a militarized robot police force from a weapons manufacturer. Deon (Dev Patel), the designer of these robots, steals a deactivated one after figuring out how to create a human-like consciousness, intending to test it on his own.
and Die Antwoord are popular representatives of film and music for South Africa, respectively, it makes sense they would team up with a movie that's fittingly idiosyncratic. While the resulting product proves less gozon and satisfying than hoped for such a wild pairing, it certainly leaves a unique impression full of odd charms.
Before he can do so, gangsters Ninja, Yolandi
(Ninja and Yo-landi Visser from Die Antwoord, playing more criminal versions of their usual personas) and Amerika (Jose Pablo Cantillo) kidnap him. Deon can't turn the robots off like they want him to, but offers them his robot (played by Sharlto Copley) instead, and they name him Chappie. Cute like a shy puppy at first, Chappie quickly learns about the world around him, how to express himself and how to act.
abusive dog owner trying to toughen him up, dropping the scared robot off in dangerous areas to fend for himself. This likeness is abundantly clear as Ninja convinces Chappie to join their heist plan after encountering a dead dog and a living one, telling Chappie he has to do what it takes if he wants to be the living dog.
Blomkamp's tackling of social issues through his thoroughly detailed sci-fi vision offers food for thought in his films, but following his debut with apartheid allegory and modern sci-fi classic "District 9", his storytelling ability has been losing steam. His follow-up "Elysium" went far more formulaic with its healthcare disparity narrative, while "Chappie" wanders around in an exploratory, but not so compelling, fashion.
Ninja teaching him how to walk, talk and intimidate like a gangster makes for hilarious silliness, as does Chappie stealing cars for Ninja with the enthusiasm of an energetic dog destroying things around the house in excitement. But there's real sympathy with Chappie as he suffers, Ninja acting like an
Though Blomkamp does get
into thought-provoking ideas with consciousness, he drags some of them out longer than their interest sustains, while a subplot with Hugh Jackman as a designer of a bigger militarized robot is obvious where it is going from the start. And considering how awesome the action scenes were in Blomkamp's previous two films, the action here disappoints. While still enjoyable, it lacks most of the inspired edginess and spectacular violence Blomkamp does so well. Chappie uses throwing stars as his primary weapon, however, and there is a distinct pleasure in that ridiculous concept, just as it's a sweet surprise that a story about a gangsta robot has an emotional heart at its core.
— Edited by Valerie Haag
COLUMBIA PICTURES
Chappie, played by Sharitto Copley, is the main character in the upcoming film "Chappie," a story about a robot trained to be a criminal by Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser of Die Antwoord fame.
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