8
    Mane Event
    Your Friendly Neighborhood Ranter
    “Censorship”
    Danielle Mammano, Junior
    Let us talk of a pet peeve on my top ten list,
    shall we? Being a huge Carlos Mencia fan, I am one
    who is all for freedom of speech. Why are so many
    parents and activists striving to sweep the dirt under
    the rug? Mainly it’s the censorship of music and film
    that gets me. These are artists, and they’re being shot
    down. Honestly, have any of you ever heard a bleep
    on an edited CD and actually wondered what they
    said? The word is still there. It’s clearly visible. And
    parents: whether the CD is edited or not, we do and
    will sing along uncensored. There is no getting around
    it. Not to mention it butchers the song. I’ve had CDs
    that skipped that sounded better than an edited al­
    bum.
    As for movies, let’s face it: some flicks aren’t
    made for family television. That in mind I ask then;
    why do they still show them on TV? It’s bad enough
    that the commercials appear every ten seconds,
    lengthening the movie by another two hours at least.
    Now, I know the motives behind it; young kids watch
    TV too. But that’s just it – it’s only TV. As a charac­
    ter in my favorite comic book stated so well,
    “Any
    pile of stunted growth unaware that entertain­
    ment is just that and nothing more, deserves to
    doom themselves to some dank cell, somewhere,
    for having been so stupid! Movies, books, TV –
    they’re all just entertainment, not guidebooks
    for damning yourself!”
    Parents seem to argue endlessly about that,
    saying entertainment can leave an impression on kids.
    Well, duh. Ever think of leaving
    your
    impression first,
    perhaps! Oh, I don’t know, maybe telling them not
    to take anything that doesn’t have the words
    “true
    story”
    in the description seriously? It also makes me
    curious as to how the kids ended up watching
    Aliens
    and becoming emotionally scarred in the first place.
    Seems to me like somebody’s pointing the finger at
    the
    “big bad”
    media corporations. Either a parent
    lets their kid watch stuff like that or just doesn’t pay
    enough attention to care. Either way, media is hardly
    the culprit here.
    The FCC is the biggest slap in the face of the
    first amendment ever born (except for maybe Jerry
    Falwell). Parents and elders should quit relying on
    censors and sit their kids down themselves to explain
    to them why they don’t want their children listening
    to
    <insert music band here>
    or watching
    <insert
    R
     
    rated movie here>
    . They shouldn’t need big
    brother government stepping in to silence the voices
    of artists. Granted sometimes profanity isn’t neces­
    sary, and it has always bothered me that parents go
    after rock music while not even touching the racial
    slur riddled lyrics of rap. Every genre of modern music
    has suggestive or offensive lyrics. It’s one of those all
    or nothing deals.
    For one thing, and I realize I may be contra­
    dicting myself, it’s only a word. The word
    table
    could
    mean something awful if the right meaning was put to
    it. What if the definitions of
    table
    and the
    “f”
    word
    were switched? Angry parents at dinner…
    “
    I swear
    to everything holy, Jimmy, if you don’t sit the
    TABLE down and finish your meal, you’ll be
    grounded for a whole TABLEIN’ WEEK!!”
    Ridiculous, if not hilarious, no? See what I
    mean? It’s only a word. In fact, if you do your re­
    search, you’ll find that just about every swear word
    is of Latin origin. They weren’t curse words in the
    Latin language at all; simply their own names for said
    objects. So basically, teens around the world are get­
    ting yelled at because they can say
    ‘poop’
    in Latin.
    Parents also want to censor violence as well. Why is
    it that everyone focuses on fiction and does nothing
    about reality? I’ve seen so many fights in the lunch­
    room it isn’t even funny – and people
    cheered
    in­
    stead of trying to break it up. In such a barbaric,
    Lord of The Flies
    stylized society; it’s impossible to
    censor violence.
    You want proof that the right parental guid­
    ance can rid us all of the need of the FCC and such
    similar organizations? When I was just a wee ranter,
    my parents laid down the rules of TV time and ex­
    plained to me movies weren’t real. My father, shar­
    ing my
    “it’s just a stupid word”
    philosophy as well,
    bought me my first unedited CD when Blink­182­‘s
    Take off Your Pants
    and
    Jacket
    was released. Has
    the profanity messed me up yet? No. If you teach the
    kids morals and common sense at a young age, they’ll
    be fine. Don’t wait until they start rebelling and buy­
    ing crap you don’t want them to and
    then
    start com­
    plaining. Unless a parent has done their best, they
    should have no say in the debate of censorship.
    In writing his shattering, beautiful memoir,
    A
    Million Little Pieces
    , James Frey does away with a
    lot of things: punctuation, standard grammar rules,
    12­step programs, belief in a higher power, and, even­
    tually, his addiction to alcohol and drugs. In doing so,
    he has rewritten the rules ‘Recovery Memoir’ and
    established himself as a major literary talent.
    There are brutal, startling scenes in
    A Mil­
    lion Little Pieces
    that will leave deep bruises on even
    the most cynical and jaded reader. What’s interest­
    ing is that the most affecting scenes (for me at least)
    are not gratuitously violent. They’re not graphically
    explicit. They’re not emotionally manipulative.
    They’re quiet conversations between a son and his
    parents. But, they are some of the most devastatingly
    honest, heartfelt, self­loathing, eloquent and hopeful
    conversations one will come
    across in a book. They aren’t
    ‘Mom, Dad, I failed biol­
    ogy’
    confessions. More like
    ‘Mom, Dad, I’m addicted
    to alcohol and crack. I’m
    wanted in several states. I
    hated you. I hate my­
    self…’
    kind of confessions.
    On and on with list of what their son has done to
    himself. It’s heartbreaking and inspiring. James’ will­
    ingness, courage to accept the burden and the re­
    sponsibility of his addiction makes readers want him
    to get better; to get whole again.
    Be prepared for a dizzyingly painful visit to
    the dentist’s office and bloody bathroom scenes de­
    livered in Frey’s style ­ spare, relentless, fearless ­
    that will doubtless overwhelm readers. Also be pre­
    pared for an amazing, if doomed, love story and an
    ending that feels like swift kick in the gut. As you’ll
    see from his essay, one of Frey’s goals is to shake
    readers any way he can. He succeeds because of his
    honesty, responsibility, a sense of humor and a greater
    sense of purpose. Thus, after seeing him hit bottom,
    the book has one last remarkable affect: one comes
    away hopeful. —Coates Bateman
    Over Thanksgiving break I read
    A
    Million Little Pieces.
    It’s abrupt, shocking, and
    compassionate. James connects to many others in
    rehab, including a federal judge and a hitman for the
    mafia. It’s a great read, and I’m looking forward to
    reading his second book
    My Friend Leonard.
    ­d. ford
    A Million Pieces
    Book Review
    By James Frey
    What a relief: a perfect pop album. In
    Keep
    on,
    Will Young continues in his quest to veer as far
    away from the slushy cover TV ballads, and onto
    critical acclaim. Co­writing most songs, reflective,
    non­naff, lyrics are backed by instrumentation remi­
    niscent of Stevie Wonder, (hear toe­tapper “Happi­
    ness”) wrapped in the warm production of Steve
    Lipson.
    Ultimately, Will’s thin voice will never be the
    easiest listen, but he can be forgiven, since he sings
    so well, and so impassioned. The album falls into two
    genres: beautiful lush torch ballads, like
    “Who am
    I”
    ,
    “All Time Love”
    and
    “Save Yourself”
    , whilst
    stand out tracks
    “Madness”
    ,
    “Keep it on”
    and
    “All
    I Want”
    are driven funky little numbers. If you’ve
    never had time for TV talent contest winners, here
    make an exception ­ it’s the single proof that some­
    times, these shows actually work to give us, the pub­
    lic, what we really need.
    Reviewer: Lucy Davies
     
    Keep On
    Is riding a bike better than driving a car?? Of
    course it is. From a health stand point, bikes are bet­
    ter because a person has to rely on themselves
    for horse power. Just thirty minutes of bike riding a
    day lowers blood pressure and heart rate dramati­
    cally.
    Money­wise bikes are much more economi­
    cal than cars. The cost of the bike ranges widely;
    however, on average it only costs about $140 a year
    to keep a bike in top performance condition. A
    car, however, costs $6,000 a year, not including hid­
    den costs or extra repairs.
    As for the environment, let’s just say bicy­
    cling has the upper hand in keeping the environment
    The Benefits of Biking
    Joe Olgin, Senior
    clean. Unlike cars, bicycles do not let off harmful emis­
    sions.
    If you wish to remain healthy, save money, and
    help the environment, then cycling is definitely some­
    thing you should consider.
    Bad breath is better than no
    breath at all.

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