Hiking and climbing provide getaways
Sara Lewinter
Staff Writer

Pete Oakley scales the Blowing Rock Boulders. (Photos by Carl Stearns)

While Boone's famous cold weather seeps in, ASU. students are enjoying hiking and climbing the North Carolina mountains.

Whether students are doing a nature walk or a moderately strenuous hike, they are showing interest in the old fashioned stress reliever of walking.

According to an Outdoor Programs brochure, "replacing the negative feelings of frustration and disappointment with positive feelings," a scenic walk through Outdoor Programs can be an encouraging experience.

Freshman Laura E. Alexander says, "It gives me a chance to put everything together and back in my head; helps me put my thoughts in order."

Hiking trips can be arranged through Outdoor Programs, but they are being booked up quickly. Hiking is also in the syllabus of some freshman seminar classes.

Some of the more popular hiking spots are Howard's Knob, Lost Cove Creek and Beacon Heights.

Leaning against the face of a rock and looking for a decent hold make up another common sport amongst students; rock climbing.

This sport requires a good sense of balance and flexibility. Outdoor Programs offers basic, intermediate and advanced climbing sessions at places such as Linville Gorge and Houndears.

The climb at Houndears is a 70-foot climb and this is just a beginner climb.

Every climb is rated on a scale of difficulty according to the height of the climb. Like most climbs, participants begin by repelling from the top. Someone is at the bottom of the climb, belaying and securing the rope.

"At first, it was scary. I was about to chicken out, but the instructors make you more comfortable with what you're doing and make you feel more confident," says freshman Holly N. Clements.

Students make rock climbing a full-time hobby by investing in several pieces of equipment. With the drive to succeed, a fitted harness and shoes, which are three sizes smaller than an individual's actual shoe size, a student can probably rely on finding a fellow climber with a rope and be on his or her merry way to climbing to heaven.

Many students enjoy free climbing, or bouldering, because this type of climbing eliminates the high costs.

According to the pamphlet put out by Outdoor Programs, "October brings the colorful array of autumn leaves, and November brings clear skies and unobstructed views."

So, continue to take advantage of nature's constant adventures of hiking and rock climbing, and take advantage of the opportunities ASU gives students to participate in these activities.

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You wanted the best...oh well
John Starling
Features Editor

Every old musician seems to be really nostalgic (or at least broke) these days.

Starting a couple of years ago, bands from back in the day began getting back together for the god-awful reunion. Ever since Black Sabbath reunited for that half hour set at the end of Ozzy Osbourne's 'No More Tours' tour, the music world has been on edge waiting for the next group of old farts to blow into town.

The Eagles reunion was a complete and utter waste of time, energy and money. What person in their right mind would pay upwards of $100 to see a group of semi-retired seventies rockers sit on stools and strum cheesy songs about California. And let's keep in mind that all of their songs were about California.

Don Henley was doing well for himself before this whole thing. His solo career was going alright and his social activism was well recieved. Post-Eagles reunion backlash left him virtually unnoticed. How many people actually know that he released a greatest hits album not long ago?

This reunion gets an enthusiastic thumbs down. However, it was, for all intents and purposes, the first major reunion of the nineties.

Next on the bill was the greatest band of all time, the Beatles. The Anthology was a fascinating, albeit oriented to hard-core fans, look at the Fab Four's growth into cultural phenomenons.

However, the hope of a reunion tour was smashed in the press by the boys. It would have been the only reunion worth seeing.

The most unsettling thing about this is the question of whether or not it would have happened if John Lennon had not died. Or would it have happened sooner? We'll never know, will we?

By the way, let's not mistake "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" as Beatles songs. They're just Lennon songs with the accompaniment of the Beatles and the leader of ELO. Tastes great, but most definitely less filling.

Another gratuitous reunion was the Jimmy Page/Robert Plant rip-off. Led Zeppelin was one of the best bands of the seventies, but not the best. Its effectiveness was in the somewhat haphazard chemistry of its four parts.

The main flaw was not realizing that John Bonham absence would be dreadfully obvious. He was the real driving force behind the group, with John Paul Jones' fantastic orchestrations and musical influence a close second.

Page was just another weenie, cute boy, blues guitarist and Plant was the run of the mill, whiny voiced lead singer with a pension for swinging his body like Elvis.

The question of whether or not they could pull this Unledded thing off should have been answered before it was asked.

This year, a whole other herd of reunions took place that shook the very foundations of rock and roll (can you detect the sarcasm).

Let's start with the most obvious: Kiss. This bunch of talentless clowns just asked for jokes by putting out a live compilation called You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best (Mercury). What can we say to that? You wanted the best you got the worst. You wanted the best, this ain't even close. You wanted the best...Oh well. You wanted the best: keep looking. You wanted the best and I hope you don't think this is it. Or as Sports Editor Mike Daniels would say, "You wanted this crap, here it is."

The fact that Gene Simmons would have the audacity to say that the Kiss reunion is the realization of every rock fan's dream is absurd. It's more like my nightmare. They weren't even good the first time around. By the way, Gene: David Bowie could give you clowns some pointers as to how to outgrow the glam thing gracefully.

As upsetting as it is for me to say, the Sex Pistols should have stayed a revered memory.

"Forty fighting back"? Say it ain't so, John. The fact that they are 40 and still trying to pull the punk thing off is really disturbing. Lydon had a nice thing going with P.I.L. The thought of him singing "Anarchy in the U.K." or "Holidays in the Sun" is a pretty scary notion.

I love the Sex Pistols. I really do. I just can't let this reunion thing pass for the little spurt of brilliance that was foiled in the late seventies. To quote Lydon (Rotten, or whatever you want to call him), "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

Let's wrap this up with a short comment on the equally short-lived Van Halen reunion with David Lee Roth: What a freakin' joke! You both sucked then and you both suck now. Retire before it's too late.

Such advice could be extended to all of these rockers trying to relive (in vain) their heydays. Remember them in you prayers my children, for they know not what they do. They're only disgracing their own legends by not delivering the goods the way they used to.

Check out artists or bands that haven't quit along the hard road of rock, like Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Frank Zappa (RIP), R.E.M. or others who have stuck to their ethics.

Whether you like these folks or not, give them the respect they deserve for enduring with their original vision and not giving up regardless of the pressures put on them.

Don't be ripped off by bogus reunions that just want to milk the money from your wallet.

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Students and ACT lend helping hand
Ric Beard
Reporter

Less than two days of seeing Hurricane Fran's devastating effects on Surf City, NC was more than enough for Appalachian Sophomore Linda Ngo. Her interest in seeing the damage done by Fran soon gave way to sympathy for the people who lived in the area. "It's heart-breaking," she said.

More than a month after the storm pummeled the coast of North Carolina, people who didn't lose their homes still had debris scattered all over their yards. Thirty minutes driving time south of Surf City, Appalachian and the Community Together(ACT) was taking action.

Act took 10 students to Wilmington, NC to help with the clean-up effort. The site-leaders used chain saws to cut away fallen trees while the students got rid of the debris.

Co-leader Elizabeth Eckler said of the students' efforts, "I can't say enough about the quality of work they did." They continued their work on the UNC-Wilmington campus on Saturday.

But don't get the idea that the trip was all work and no play. The group used their evenings to cook together, go to Fort Fisher and see the boardwalk in downtown Wilmington. "This group had a great time," Eckler said.

Appalachian student John Morehouse agrees with Eckler. "It was a memorable experience," he said.

Nicole Cody is another student who was along on the trip. She said of trip organizer and co-leader Peggy Setzer, "She is an incredible lady who really cares about people. She was a real fireball."

Other students who went with the Act group were Elizabeth Airail(who also helped to plan the trip and drove), Jonathan Airail, June Busby, Rachel Ferrell, Betsy Mathews, Kirby Moore and Brooke Wilson.

Act has now made plans for "Hunger and Homelessness week." They are asking campus clubs and other organizations to help out by sponsoring events during the week before Thanksgiving. Interested groups can contact Peggy Setzer or Amy Cook at 262-3032.

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The Glimmer Man sparkles and fades
Brooks Small
Reporter

Although I am not a big Steven Segal fan, I will admit that I derived pleasure from the boost The Glimmer Man gave to my testosterone level.

Segal, with his oh-so fashionable ponytail, perpetual scowl and stale dialogue delivery is not exactly a master thespian, but when it comes to fisticuffs with the bad guys he is one bad man.

To observe his appeal, one needs only to point out that the theater was full of guys, two of whom kept saying, "I love this guy, he's my man," every time Segal would bloody a new villain.

The Glimmer Man begins like a very obvious Seven Rip-off; industrial music, constant rain and clips of the work of a serial killer with a fetish for crucifixion.

Segal and his co-star Kenan-Ivory Wayans are thrown together as partners on the case because none of us have seen enough interracial buddy cop movies.

Segal plays Jack Cole, a Buddhist, bead-wearing cop with an unknown past who is assigned to work with Wayans on the serial killer case. True to formula, they do not get along at first, but begrudgingly come to respect and like each other.

While Cole is in touch with his spiritual side, Wayans' character, Jim Campbell, is a tough guy on the outside who secretly cries at Humphrey Bogart movies. However, Campbell begins to take on some of Cole's Buddhist practices, like putting dried deer penises under his tongue for his allergic reaction to incense.

The serial killer, known as "the family man" for his affinity for killing and crucifying entire families, has chosen some interesting victims as of late; Cole's ex-wife for example.

We soon find out that the family man has actually stopped killing and a prominent businessman with ties to the Russian Mafia has been offing people who know too much under the guise of the serial killer.

This plot is much more interesting than the one we're introduced to involving the real serial killer, who turns out to be played by the same guy that played Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day. You know, the annoying guy that kept bumping into Bill Murray on the street. Pretty scary, huh?

The plot is not what's important in The Glimmer Man, though, and once you put this aside you'll enjoy it. Besides the action, the movie has the entertaining team of Segal and Wayans going for it, as well as a smattering of humor typical of the genre. Wayans proves to be a very likable action star, although I think he works better as the straight man in comedies like I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

The action does go a little far sometimes, like when Wayans gets shot in the chest, then dangles from a ledge until Segal repels down the building to save him. But, hey, we're talking about Segal here. 

The title, incidentally, comes from the fact that Segal's character used to be a manhunter in Vietnam, and "all you would see is jungle, then just a glimmer of a man, then you would be dead," or something like that. 

The Glimmer Man is now playing at the Chalet Triple Theaters at Boone Heights Shopping Center. I give it two and a half stars. 

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