Thursday, March 28, 2024

Features

FEATURES

New UFO lands at Wharton

A rancher, isolated in the countryside, hears a strange noise and goes to investigate. He finds one of his fields strewn with unidentifiable pieces of metal. In 1947, the country’s obsession with UFOs started with that scene in Roswell, N.M. In 2000, students and faculty members in the MSU Wind Symphony are translating it into music with a new version of Michael Daugherty’s “UFO” at 8 p.m.

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Local artist finds muse on campus

On the surface, Dan Matson is a typical lawyer.But he’s also an artist with a passion for water colors, heavy oils, poetry and theater.Serving as DeWitt’s city attorney, Matson has fused law and art throughout his career.Matson published a collection of poems and pictures, “The Art of Art,” in September.

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the Lowdown

In the 1800s, Levi Strauss made them out of tents. These days most designers make them out of materials from corduroy to leather. Blue jeans: They’re an American classic, right up there with cheesy teen movies and www.fishydance.com. From rhinestones to cargo pockets to bright colors, most trends have found their way onto jeans.

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Woman on Top carries film

It is a fairly common occurrence to see a performer carry a movie on his or her shoulders alone. The film itself could lack most of the things it needs to be good and yet prove to be entertaining because of the mere presence of a certain actor or actress. This is more or less the case in director Fina Torres’ new film, “Woman on Top,” starring Penelope Cruz. The film sets out to be a romantic comedy, but struggles when it comes to being funny and doesn’t exactly embody romance in the literal sense.

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Owner eyes Lower Level hangout

Dan Falconer sees himself as a perfectionist.When he opened his record store, Lower Level, on Grand River Avenue on Friday, he realized he had something special.“I built this record store towards myself and what other people would want,” he said.

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Native American writer to discuss his poetry

For writer Maurice Kenny, his Native American heritage is a strong influence on his work. “If you have Native blood, then anything you write would be about Native Americans, because first you are a human, then you are a race, then you are an artist,” Kenny said.

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Robots make comedy debut

Providing a catchy alternative to professional wrestling and other popular combat sports, Comedy Central added a new series to its lineup of sitcoms.“BattleBots,” an action-packed series consisting more of homegrown strength than loud, exaggerated wrestlers with colorful costumes and even more colorful names, brings reality-based fighting to a whole new level.The show, which consists of one-on-one battles between metallic robots built entirely by contestants, is proving to be hot after just a few episodes.“‘BattleBots’ is probably one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen,” Lyman Briggs freshman Manish Shah said.

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Living the dream doesnt translate into selling out

Every underground act seems to hate pop music and everything it stands for. They hate “Total Request Live” and teeny bopper Britney Spears going diamond when most underground acts can’t even ship enough copies to go gold.Being a star doesn’t mean you don’t love music.

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'Copa' takes stage at Wharton

Bright colors, swinging sounds, vibrant dancing and supreme singing are all key in a hit musical. “Copacabana” proved itself to be just that at its Wharton Center opener Tuesday night.

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Girlfight packs a potent punch

When looking at a particular film, there are certain values to look for - certain virtues that can make or break the spirit of a movie.The acting, for example, can lift a film above all of its hurdles, despite how horrible or great the story is.

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Coffee Talk

When Judy Wang was 21, she decided not to go to college. So her parents bought her a coffee shop to manage instead.“For the first two years, I worked really hard - I didn’t go out at all,” Wang, 25, says during a work break at 8:30 p.m.

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Electronic music to hit Lansing

Scarce beats, a dearth of DJ scratching and a lack of the pulse-pounding electronic rush of techno will all end this weekend in Lansing. The Capitol Area Electronic Sound and Image Festival is coming to Lansing tonight and Saturday. The festival is free to the public and is the first electronic music festival in the Lansing area.