Sathj ®ar Ffrpf
Creating mix tapes
takes thought, effort
BY CHRIS COLETTA
MANAGING EDITOR
There’s a great scene in “High
Fidelity” in which Rob, played
by that incomparable loser John
Cusack, ruminates about the art of
making a perfect mix tape.
Rob sets down basic rules for
anyone who’s going to try to cre
ate such a tape, which he claims
should be the perfect encapsula
tion of some visceral emotion,
one you want to convey to your
listener.
Well, he’s right. And we here
at The Daily Tar Heel in an
effort to expand you gift-giving
repertoire past flowers, chocolate
and used DVD copies of Adam
Sandler movies hereby offer
the following advice in an effort
to make your Valentine’s Day mix
successful:
1. Don’t put songs by these art
ists on any mix tape, ever, no matter
how tempting it might be:
Celine Dion. Mariah Carey.
Winger. Air Supply. Lionel Richie.
Good Charlotte. And Clay Aiken.
Doing so shows a complete and
utter disregard for the boundar
ies of good taste, and any decent
human being would dump you on
the spot.
2. But cheesy stuff like Britney
Spears’ life anthem, “I’m a Slave 4
U,” is acceptable, given that your
significant other has a sense of
humor.
If you do it seriously, though,
you deserve to be tarred and
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feathered.
And then hung, drawn and
quartered.
3. Do make sure to lure your
recipient with songs you know he
or she likes.
If you like Scandinavian death
metal, but your honey is into 50
Cent, you might want to consider
easing her into your musical mind
by throwing “Magic Stick” on your
masterpiece.
This is one of the key lessons
Rob learns at the end of “High
Fidelity,” and it’s crucial to your
success.
4. Don’t use multiple songs from
the same artist.
So you’re sitting here, think
ing it might be a good idea to use
“Something” and “Dear Prudence”
on the same tape.
The thing is, you’re wrong.
Nobody wants to put up with that
crap.
5. Do make sure that you’re real
ly using romantic, sexy or otherwise
appropriate songs for Valentine’s
Day.
There are lots of songs out
there that sound like they could
be chirpy —but when you exam
ine the lyrics, you realize they
actually were written by sad, bit
ter boys and girls who just got
dumped.
Robert Smith, this one’s for
you.
Contact theA&EEditor at
artsdesk@unc.edu.
Dating on the Hill
Straitjacketed teddy bear
stirs controversy, anger
Toy meant to be funny, company says
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MONTPELIER, Vt. - The
Vermont Teddy Bear Cos. plans
to continue selling its “Crazy for
You Bear” through Valentine’s
Day, despite protests from mental
health advocates.
The bear, wrapped in a white
straitjacket with a red heart on the
front, comes with commitment
papers and is meant to convey out
of-control love, the company says.
“We recognize that this is a sen
sitive, human issue and sincerely
apologize if we have offended any
one,” the company said in a state
ment.
“That was certainly not our
intent. This bear was created in
the spirit of Valentine’s Day, and
as with all of our bears, it was
designed to be a light-hearted
depiction of the sentiment of
love.”
Mental health advocates con
sider the bear “a tasteless use of
marketing that stigmatizes per
sons with mental illness,” Jerry
Goessel, executive director of the
Vermont chapter of the National
Alliance for the Mentally 111,
wrote to the Shelburne-based
company.
“A straitjacket is not a symbol
that we want to associate with
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sales of a teddy bear for loved
ones over Valentine’s Day,” Goessel
said. “And the use of commitment
papers, legal documents commit
ting an individual to involuntary
treatment, is not something to be
taken casually.”
Gov. Jim Douglas also has called
the bear insensitive and inappro
priate.
Goessel asked that the 15-inch
bear, which sells for about $69.95,
be pulled from the company’s
shelves.
He said his position is supported
by other mental health advocates.
The company said it would dis
continue the bear, but not before
Feb. 14.
“This bear was developed just
for Valentine’s Day and is not a
permanent addition to our prod
uct line,” the company statement
said.
“This bear will remain an offer
ing for Valentine’s Day.”
Vermont Teddy Bear Cos.
President Elisabeth Robert said
the company had planned the
bear as a one-time offering for
Valentine’s Day, and it will con
tinue selling the bear until it is
sold out.
She said the company is “truly
sorry if we hurt anybody with this
bear” but added that freedom of
expression was at stake.
She said the bear got “the high
est favorability rating” from cus
tomers.
The complaint is the first
received by the company about the
bear, which began selling at the
beginning of January.
Vermont Teddy Bear spokes
woman Nicole L’Huillier said the
company takes Goessel’s concerns
seriously. .
“We in no way are trying to ridi
cule or make fun of people with
mental illnesses,” L’Huillier said.
“The bear is meant to express the
sentiment of how someone might
feel about someone else around
Valentine’s Day.”
Robert said the bear is meant
as a funny Valentine’s Day greet
ing and has been popular among
customers.
“We made a very difficult deci
sion not to withdraw it from the
market,” she said.
“I listened to customers, from a
lot of feedback from our employ
ees. These people are Vermonters
who really don’t like to be told what
to do.”
Vermont Teddy Bear Cos. —a
20-year-old company known for
its Bear-Grams, which include
candy and a personalized message
for the recipient sells more than
450,000 bears a year.
11