Columns
CD thieves rob more than music
By Nate Seltenrich
Ass't Scene Editor
I was in a cold sweat. My heart thumped like a bass drum inside my chest. My fists were clenched, fingers held in a tight ball. My breaths came in quick, shallow, rapid-fire bursts.
Where the heck were my CDs?
I have never experienced a fear as great as that of the potential loss of my CD booklet. Misplaced articles have never inspired nearly as much terror. And I have never been as relieved to finally locate the object of my desire, indifferently resting in the one place I forgot to look.
Am I insane? Have I lost my mind? Misplaced my priorities?
Maybe. But if you can honestly tell me that you would not react the same way in a similar situation, then I commend you.
The truth is, the thought of losing my ridiculously oversized, unwieldly and often impractical CD storage binder makes me shudder.
But the point of this column is not to advertise my weakness. It is, frankly, to discourage theft � the absolute very worst kind of theft, CD theft.
Although I have on a few occasions forgotten where I last placed my CDs, I have never been subject to this, most heinous of crimes. And God willing, I never will.
CDs are more than music. They are personal pathways to memories, emotions and feelings. They offer instantaneous access to songs that make us cry, lyrics that make us think, beats that make us bounce our behinds.
Our music collections represent us. They stand for certain periods of our lives. They help us find ourselves when we too are lost. And they lead us in new directions when we think we have nowhere to go.
My CD booklet is a photo album and a scrapbook. It is a friend, a shoulder to lean on and a warm sweatshirt on a cold night. My CD booklet is big and heavy and would be really awkward for you to steal. My CD booklet cost me a lot of money.
So please, do not steal my or anyone else's CDs. Because there's nothing sadder than hearing someone say, "Yeah, I used to have that one. But it was stolen."
Or, perhaps, even worse: "Yeah, I have that one. I stole it out of some dude's car."
Versatile Roth Rules
By Patricia Ho
Scene Editor
Amidst an industry awash with beefy action figures, tortured souls, giggly teenage girls, pretty boys and a whole sampler of assorted characters, there is Tim Roth.
Defying any sort of classification, Roth is perhaps one of the most underrated actors to ever grace the big screen.
He's short and skinny, with bad hair, bad teeth, an awkward nose and a weak jaw.
Despite not being what most people would consider "good-looking," Tim manages to break out of audience's limited imaginations and be a compelling presence on screen.
Though he may be best known, if known at all, for his role as the villain in Rob Roy or more recently as the cruel General Thade in Planet of the Apes, Tim Roth started acting when most of us were in diapers and has since made over 40 films.
Born and raised in England, Roth was drawn to American shores in admiration of the independent film industry here.
Many artists have to make a choice between selling out but making money or doggedly pursuing a vision but starving in the process.
Not so for Timmy. Pragmatism and idealism complement each other under his direction. Doing studio films helps solve the monetary issues of doing independent films, and independent films enhance his credibility.
As he moves easily between studio films and independent ones, Roth also resists being boxed into one genre.
He has been in everything from Woody Allen musicals (Everyone Says I Love You), to gritty social commentaries (he played a skinhead in Made in Britain), to gangster movies (Hoodlum and Gridlock'd) and to physical comedies (Four Rooms).
Whatever role Roth chooses, he inhabits them seamlessly, while at the same time making them undeniably his. He played an idiotic sidekick in Gridlock'd, a character named Pumpkin in Pulp Fiction, and the list goes on.
Roth's disregard for types, willingness to confront dark issues and his balance of the poetry and politics is what everyone could use a little of.
Check out his movies the next time you rent a video.