BOUND TO HAPPEN

So we knew it was going to happen, but the word is out and director Oliver Stone is the first one to start filming a movie about September 11 in New York. The story will follow one of two policemen and their survival of the tower’s collapse and their rescue. One of the policemen is said to be Nicholas Cage.

THE SAGA CONTINUES

For anyone who is still an R.Kelly fan, stop. The DVD of the first 12 chapters of “Trapped in a Closet” was released this past week and its rumored that there are still more to come. By the time R.Kelly stops he might as well have written a novel.

Anyone who has taken a creative writing class has been urged to “create a space” when writing about fantasy elements-to write a story that makes the preposterous seem possible. This is something that Audrey Niffenegger accomplishes in The Time Traveler’s Wife. While the novel’s title suggests cheesy science fiction, this isn’t cyber-nerd rubbish we’re dealing with here; Niffenegger takes an abstract concept and turns it into a fleshed-out love story with realistic characters, down to the most minute details.

While Niffenegger writes The Time Traveler’s Wife as an alternating narration between Henry DeTamble and his wife Clare, as the title suggests, the story is essentially Clare’s. Henry, a librarian in Chicago’s Newberry Library, suffers from chrono-displacement syndrome, which causes him to time travel during moments of heightened stress or emotion. The novel traces Henry and Clare’s love affair, beginning from their first meeting in the present.

The flow of the novel can be a bit confusing at times with changing dates due to time travel and alternating narrators, but Niffenegger conveniently marks the beginning of each chapter with the year it takes place. The plot progresses steadily despite the flip-flopping narrators as the chapters begin to explain events in Henry and Clare’s past and future as the reader pieces together the lives they build in the present. For example, at one point, Henry lovingly thinks about a scar on Clare’s body in one chapter, the origins of which he comes to learn during a time traveling episode in a later chapter.

Niffenegger turns potentially hokey moments are into literary beauty during her most exceptional passages describing Clare’s artistic paper-making endeavors and Henry’s time travel. As Henry describes returning to his present, Niffenegger writes, “For an instant I see the metal grid that separates the front of the car from the back, the cracked vinyl seats, my hands in the cuffs, my gooseflesh legs… Everything shimmers [iridescent butterfly wing colors]… before my eyes, the police car vanishes.”

Although the reader knows the ending of the novel as it draws near due to Henry’s time travel, Niffenegger builds tension and delves into emotions that cut to the core of the human existence by using words that evoke feelings of lust, love, fear, desperation, frustration, impatience, and more. The result is a moving story sure to touch even the most stoic of readers.

Hannah Bae can be contacted at h.bae@umiami.edu.

On her debut album, Instigator, 17-year-old Kaci Brown may be undergoing an identity crisis. The Texas-raised Brown entered the pop scene in August 2005, seemingly undecided in her direction. Listening to the short, just-over-40-minute CD can have your head spinning, making you think you’re hearing anyone and everyone from Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears.

Unquestionably talented, singer/songwriter Brown landed her publishing deal at age 13 and taught herself the piano and guitar. The ballads of “Cadillac Hotel” and “You Fool” help widen her appeal from the vocals and the beats of title track “Instigator” and “The Waltz.” However, despite her best efforts to emerge as a crossover artist, the seemingly childish lyrics quickly define Brown as just another pop artist directed towards the teeny-bopper audience.

On her website, Kaci describes her first single, “Unbelievable” as a song “about the crazy things love makes you do, it’s about being in the shadow and believing things that you know can’t be true,” hinting at a more astute and emotional artist than her lyrics would presume.

Brown has worked endorsements for Star Jeans and Hollister, and under the direction of producer and co-writer Toby Gad, who has worked with artists such as Enrique Iglesias and Willa Ford, She toured with the Backstreet Boys during their summer 2005 tour and starts her our mall tour this November.

With the right direction, Brown can harness her vocal range and musical talent and become more then just another pop artist, but until then, Instigator falls in the ranks with other wannabe teenage acts.

Bari Lieberman can be contacted at b.lieberman@umiami.edu.

Automatic VIP anywhere and everywhere on South Beach: if only the life was that easy. The deep circles around the eyes and the look of complete body exhaustion is not what you would expect your typical party promoter to look like. As full time students and full time party promoters, there is little room for free time for anyone involved in the business of partying.

“Everyone thinks it’s easy but you’re only as good as your last party,” NOK promoter Shaun Gold said. That is entirely true because in the eyes of club owners, promoters prove their worth through long guest lists, high tabs (from guests of course) and the ability to really market themselves and their ability to be the perfect host.

As a result, Facebook mailboxes, inboxes and mailboxes have been filled with constant party invites from Ryan Van Milligen’s company Elite Entertainment and Shaun Gold because that is their job: to get people out at the clubs and to have a good time.

“We make the club money. Anyone who comes to my events I’ll treat the same, whether it’s a college student or a star,” Van Milligen said.

While the perks are nice-partying at popular downtown and South Beach clubs such as Mansion, Nocturnal and Amika four to five nights a week and hanging out with stars like Jamie Foxx and Nikki Hilton, things like sleep and time for friends seem to fall through the cracks.

“I pride myself on making sure everyone has a good time,” Gold said. “When you’re on my list there is minimal if any wait and you get in for free.”

Party promoters have to be outgoing, friendly and appealing, according to Van Milligen. They have to have the charisma to get people to come out to the events, stay at events and continue to come to events.

“I am the owner, CEO and CFO of Elite Entertainment and Events, Ultrahost events and Rush Productions. We are one of the biggest promotion companies in Miami and South Beach,” Van Milligen said. “I’ve thrown parties for Shaq and Jamie Foxx and we’re looking to expand to New York, Los Angeles, Vegas and Chicago within the next couple of years.”

Long hours and late nights make a party promoter experience college life very differently than most students; time management is key. Gold is a junior entrepreneurship major and Van Milligen is a senior business finance, pharmacy and entrepreneurship major. “Five days a week I’m out till 5am the earliest. It’s hard on girlfriends and close friends. It’s a lot of stress but that’s the industry, you live off each party,” Van Milligen said.

If you are interested in attending one of the events or think party promoting is right for you, you can email Gold at umnightlife@yahoo.com or Van Milligen at eliteentmiami@aol.com.

“This is my life, you can always contact me. I have two cell phones, email accounts and screen names,” Gold said. “I’m always available.”

Bari Lieberman can be contacted at b.lieberman@umiami.edu.

how to survive the worst-case scenario, party-style:

HOW TO HAIL A TAXI
This is easy: call the cab ahead of time and make sure to stand outside so no one steals it from you.

HOW TO CURE A HANGOVER
Drank a little too much the night before? Preventively, before you go out, you should make sure to eat a full meal and drink lots of water throughout the night. But inevitably you wake up with a headache so try drinking some Gatorade or visiting the local Jamba Juice for a shot of wheatgrass…or just go back to sleep.

BLISTERS FROM HEELS
They made the outfit, you absolutely had to wear that perfect pair of heels, but after a night of dancing, they don’t seem so perfect anymore. All you have to do to cure the blisters is rub on some Neosporin, cover them with a band-aid and leave them alone. No matter what anyone tells you, do not pop them, as it will not make them heal faster.

WALK OF SHAME
So the night carried on to the next morning and now you need to go back to your dorm. Borrow clothes if you can; walking back in gym shorts or even an undershirt and dress pants (boys, remember that jeans are acceptable as “party” attire) is better than the previous night’s outfit. Or if you are lucky, demand a ride back or call a friend to pick you up. Either way, it’s not that shameful, so don’t worry.