•tr
inm on time in Japan, as do
8treets in
ianworldleoderin
ivetechnol
Ofy* Fer-capits income i* among the
Ufheet in theworld.:/
feat Am’i another side of the
mIm Hm JfapMMM an frustrated
with titter stalled standard ofliving,
by tiny, ravsnously
inf commutes; and tedious days at
*a (Acs, reports Reader’s Digest.
Many Japanese typically work six
*0». The work day may stretch
frsm 8:80 a.m. to 8 p.m. or later.
Mmteotehf after hours is a virtual
institution for white-collar workers.
e, it is not un
near
Darinf rush hours, trains fill to
8fi0 percent capacity, often giving
ridsrs the sense they are suspended
in the crash, with their fret off the
they are
t
physically and psychologically mo
lested by the daily experience, and
they arrive at work exhausted.
With almost 33 million passenger
cars in Japan, traffic is nearly im
pacted. Many who commute by car
If atve home at 5 a.m. and can be seer
parked on the street, snoozing or
eati ng a brown -bag breakfast be fore
offices open.
A weekend jaunt from Tokyo to
the seashore—about 60 miles
away—can take up to six hours.
Expressway tolls are exorbitant: A
drive from Tokyo to Osaka, roughly
equal to the distance from Chicago
to Cincinnati, costs $79.
Per many, conditions are discour
aging. Take the Miyakawas, a pro
fessional couple who live in a
middle-class section of western
Tokyo.
TTieir 450-square-foot apartment,
. 75-minute commute from central
Tokyo, consists of dinette kitchen,
bedroom, Study and bath.
entertainment ef tee American public" en tee Itth anneal “American Music
Awards” special, airing on ABC-TV, Monday, January 27, 8 11 p.m. (ET A PT).
Previous recipients of the award have been Bing Crosby. Berry Gordy Jr Irving
Borin, Johnny Cash, Ella Fitzgerald, Perry Como. Benny Goodman. Chuck Berry.
Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Micbeai Jackson. Loreita Lynn, Paul McCartney.
Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Wile Nelson. Neil Diamond and MnrT Hanri
Hip Wizardry Gears For
Center Stage, Jan. 29
Join this one-man odyssey in
search of •hip* when “The Wizard of
Hip (or When in Doubt Slam Dunk)”
comes, to NCSlPs Stewart Theatre
as part of the Center Stage season
on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m.
Chronicling the young African
American male’s coming of age, and
the ensuing, sometimes all-consum
ing quest for hipness, “The Wizard
of Hip" is a blizzard of free associa
tion, rap and stream of conscious
ness.
Writer/star Thomas W. Jones, II,
cq-fqunderend cg-artistic director of
Jomandi Theater in Atlanta, com
bines a multitude of styles and sen
sibilities in this piece: Eddie
Murphy’s humor, Richard Pryor’s
sense of the absurd, Amiri Baraka’s
cadence, Robin Williams’ oblique
ness, and Damon Wayans’ takes on
street life. They all come together to
create a play that works both as a
surface comedy and as astute social
commentary.
In its most sublime moments,
“Wizard” comes off as a jazzy prose
poem. Afro Jo, Jones' character,
graphically examines the purported
components of hip—having pro bas
ketball as a religion, finding salva
tion through sex, for example—but
at a breathless pace so that only
later do you realize he’s been saying
a lot about respect, tolerance and
comoassion alonsr the way.
Discover one man’s definition of
“hip” in “The Wizard of Hip.” For
tickets, call the Stewart Theatre box
office. General admission is $14/
with discounts available to Create
Your-Own-Series subscribers,
NCSU faculty, staff and students,
groups and senior citizens.
Co-sponsored by the Stewart
Theatre Programming Committee
of the NCSU Union Activities
Board.
T
Hardy Ward and Associates
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