THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5
arts & features
HOROSCOPES
HOROSCOPES
Because the stars
know things we don't.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Today is a 9
The trip of your dreams is calling. You can make it happen.
Use intuition and creativity, Let friends help. Careful planning makes good sense. Use what you've been saving.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Today is a 9
Tailor Upgrade Day 29
Today is a 9
You have good conditions for brainstorming. Sell an idea. Color works wonders. Benefits come from an authority figure. Offer encouragement to your partner. Invest in your own dreams. Use words to mend fences.
Germini (May 21-June 20)
Today is a 9
Get out and play. Shared dreams keep you close. Write down your favorite one. Ask for what you want. Make long-range plans with your partner. Results surprise you. Together, you can move mountains.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Today is a 9
It's a good time to escape into a romantic fantasy. Dream a little dream of love. You can finish what you need. Your investments grow. Clean up and pack your bags. Share beauty with someone beautiful.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2014
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Today is a 9
You get further ahead by going back to what worked before.
You have what you need hidden away. Look for it. Brilliant ideas come from nowhere when you're really playing.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Todav is an 8
25 Aug 23-Sep 27 Today is an 8
Delegate to an expert on a home project. You're attracted to another genius. Check their view against your logic. A new technology works. Size doesn't matter. Discover a surprising connection. Others come around eventually.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Today is a 9
There's creative work coming in and it pays well. Weigh a difficult choice carefully. Don't be nervous. Now you can discuss your dreams. Promise to do what's required. Re-connect with someone you love. It could get wonderfully romantic.
scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Today is a 9
A dream could get quite profitable. Start planning your next venture. Pray or meditate to gain insight. Dress the part. Use your secret weapon. A loved one nearby offers support. Replenish your stores. Send invoices and bills.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Today is a 9
Do something for yourself that you've always dreamed of. What have you been waiting for? Meditate on it. Get clear about what you want. Things fall in your lap. You partner encourages.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Today is an 8
Unexpected news changes the situation. Follow your heart.
Peaceful introspection restores you. Think over your moves before launching. Ask friends for advice. Don't commit the funds yet. Check electrical wiring and feed your power source.
+
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Today is a 9
Windfall apples make a sweet treat. Share the rewards of your efforts with your team. Celebrate together. You're on a roll and exceptionally hot. Weave a dreamy romance and dance your magic spell. Get seductive.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is a 9
An unexpected opportunity could stir your secret fantasies. In-dulge in your passion. Your reputation precedes you. Get help building your dream. Expand your influence by partnering with talented colleagues. Count your blessings out loud.
LFK Poetry Slam debuts at the Granada
MARISSA KAUFMANN
@Mariss193
The third LFK Poetry Slam will occur tonight at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St. This is the event's first time with a new organizer.
Siam poetry is so fun or possibilities that it would be detrimental to the art form for there to be a core concept for people to follow," said Cody Keener, the "slammaster," or organizer of the event, from Baldwin City. "It is a genre or an art form that is designed to be as limitless as possible."
Keener said the structure of the event differs from slam to slam.
Keener said poets need to come prepared with three original pieces; the pieces don't have to be memorized. The stage will have a stand for paper or an iPad. Poets have the option to give an intro, but as soon as they start speaking, their
Generally, there are three rounds; each poet will perform one piece per round. Elimination rounds structure the event, so there are 15 poets in the first round, 10 in the second and five in the third round. Each performance is scored by judges on a one-to-10 scale, with decimal points. The highest and the lowest judgers' scores are dropped, so the middle three count toward the cumulative score of each poet, Keener said.
"What is unique about LFK slam is that we have a diverse group of poets who are performing." Keener said. "The subject matter will be all over the place and [there will be] a wide variation of styles as well."
3 minutes with a 10-second grace period begins.
At the first poetry slam at the Green Mill Lounge in Chicago, the winner was awarded a Twinkie, Keener said. For the LFK slam, the winner will get a certain amount of money depending on how much revenue is earned from the $5 cover charge.
Keener said this poetry slam is different than most other poetry readings because the audience is encouraged to clap and stomp its feet and boo and hiss when it finds something unsavory or when they do not agree with a judge.
"It is a very democratic experience and designed to include as many people as possible," he said.
For the LFK Poetry Slam, the participants are preregistered. Keener said pre-registration allows for anyone to perform who wants to; there is no particular selection process Competitive and noncompetitive poets will perform at the slam. Keener said a noncompetitive poet is a "sacrifice poet," who usually performs at the beginning to get the crowd warmed up.
"My personal taste leans toward political or socially conscious messages," Keener said. "I have heard beautiful poems about children, childhood, their life or society in general."
The judges are chosen at the event. The slammaster will search through the crowd and ask people if they would like to be a judge.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m.,
and the slamming starts at
8 p.m. All poets must check
in at 7:45 p.m.; all ages are
welcome with a $5 cover
charge at the door.
Q&A WITH POETS
Sara "MissConception" Glass is a competitor in the LFK Poetry Slam. She is a KU alumna from Overland Park and recent recipient of the 2014 Kansas City Best Poet recognition for Pitch Magazine.
Annette Billings is a sacrifice poet from Topeka who is involved in the LFK Poetry Slam.
KANSAN How did you get started in poetry?
AB I have written since early childhood, whether diary or journaling.
SMG: I have been writing since I was a little girl, singing songs and writing poems.
KANSAN: What drives you to do poetry?
AB. For me it is as natural and necessary as breathing, — not the drive — [but] the inclination, the tendency, the need to be poetic. To transform life into a poetic form.
SMG: I discovered slam poetry and started listening to more hip-hop. This was a good avenue to get my message out and to be able to perform and have creative expression. Some poetry can be really dry. Poetry is the art of paying attention, which is quite difficult in today's world. I do conscious hip-hop. I have music that I rap to with a DJ. Music is a great way to bring people together. I love the exchange of information.
KANSAN: Why are you participating in this particular slam?
AB: I love all forms of poetry, and the poetry slams are an exciting and dynamic way to poetry. I love poetry in any form.
SMG: Art should be about raising your vibration and making the world a better place. Everything I do is with intention — being happy as people and taking care of each other, not worrying about color and class. All people should be created equally. I am a white Jewish girl from JC, and I tried to be a rapper. I do not think we
should limit ourselves if we put our heart into something.
KANSAN: What is your game plan?
AB: I never make a final decision until I am in the venue. I depend on the energy of the audience to make my decision. My final decision I make when I hear or feel the audience. I am moved about writing about the process of writing and how it comes about. Writing about writing and writing about poetry and how it comes forth. All things of humor interest me. Michael Brownback, my grandchildren, sensuality. There is nothing that I am confined to.
SMG: I usually do not decide that until I get there, until I feel out the room and the competition. I decided to stop focusing on slam poetry and start focusing on my music. It's hard to stay relevant in this scene. The material I will use is older. I do not have the time or brainpower to always create new stuff. I pick my three strongest pieces. The strategy could change at anytime. I do not do the poem that will get me to win. It's about the message. Anything to get a reaction and to get people asking questions and having conversations, that's real poetry.
Edited by Emily Brown
Thriller 'Ouija' haunted by lifeless spirit
The Ouija board, which allows the living to make contact with nearby spirits, has been used many a time in ghost and haunting movies, often to an entertaining effect. Despite being a well-worn trope that usually only leads to either actually communicating with the intended spirit or unleashing something worse (or both), it remains effective when done well and kept to a focused point.
"Ouija" tries to make an entire film from this single element, summoning a deathly routine spirit and essentially copy-pasting the story and characters from other horror films. It sands off any edges of personality or originality from its better inspirations, like a student rewriting a source for a paper so it doesn't show up as plagiarized.
There's nothing that really stands out about the narrative or the filmmaking style, so it's difficult to get interested in a story we've seen a thousand times before. Debbie (Shelley Hennig) has been playing
This is about as cookie cutter and basic as it gets for a ghost story. It's based off a board game, lacks identifying unique characteristics, is PG13 sanitized, has low budget production values and features no-name actors. "Ouija" seems to exist solely to make money, with its target audience indifferent about quality as long as the movie produces a handful of slight scares.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
with a Ouija board by herself and an evil spirit possesses and kills her. Her best friend Laine (Olivia Cooke) finds the board and convinces their friend group to try and contact Debbie's spirit for their own closure. Instead, the same spirit that took Debbie's life latches onto them, and they must find a way to stop it before they're all dead too.
Even at only 89 minutes, "Ouija" slogs along at the pace of an excruciating Scrabble game, like a listless player putting down only the simplest words for the lowest amount of points. The opening fails at creating tension while taking its time building up to Debbie's death. However, the way she dies is the only particularly memorable moment of the movie. It's shocking enough to briefly give hope that the rest of the film will be watchable and
Douglas Smith, as Pete, Olivia Cooke, as Laine, and Ana Coto, as Sarah play the board game "Oujia." "Oujia" moved to No. 1 at the box office, leading the weekend with a $20 million debut.
even be mildly enjoyable. Unfortunately, the occasional pop-out scares of creepy yet uninspired grotesque figures later on have little effect beyond an immediate startle, and the banal worrying of the characters between those bits will have you screaming for
them to get on with it already. Translating a board game to the screen isn't a good idea in the first place, but doing so without giving it any personality just results in a boring time at the theater.
Edited by Emily Brown
QUICK QUESTION
Sam Strunk and Carson Nguyen are roommates and have been best friends since the second grade. Both juniors from Wichita, the two friends made a pact while in the fifth grade to attend Kansas together. The idea sprouted after Nguyen's father showed them a house he was renting out to college students. After attending different schools for their first two years of college, the two friends followed through on their childhood plan of going to school together in Lawrence.
"I'd say the people here. Everyone here is very open and everyone has something special about them. Everyone is from different places, and compared to other places I've been, people are more open to ideas."
SAM STRUNK JUNIOR FROM WICHITA
Wichita juniors Sam Strunk and Carson Nguyen have been friends since the second grade. They attended Fort Hays State University and Wichita State University before coming to the University of Kansas.
"Definitely the people. It's a different environment, everyone's more goal-oriented They all have something they're working towards, so the environment is pretty uplifting."
CARSON NGUYEN JUNIOR FROM WICHITA
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